Matteo brushed off all my humiliation with just one simple sentence. My heart felt like it had been stabbed by a sharp blade. My eyes went blank, my mind completely numb.

I did not know how long I sat on that cold floor until all the guests had left and the hall lights went out, shrouding my body in endless darkness.

Slowly, I snapped back to my senses, pulled myself up, and stumbled out of there.

Outside, rain was pouring down in sheets. I walked along the roadside, letting the rain soak me through completely. I could not tell if the water on my face was rain or tears.

I had no idea where I was going. I just wandered through the endless night, wrapped in the downpour.

Suddenly, a blinding headlight flashed in front of me. The car kept getting closer and closer until I could not keep my eyes open.

As the speeding car came at me, a wild thought suddenly crossed my mind. If I just let it hit me, maybe the pain would finally end.

I did not move, just closed my eyes and waited for the massive impact to shatter me into pieces. However, the expected impact never came.

The car stopped steadily right in front of me, and the window rolled down, revealing Matteo's cold, handsome face.

"Get in."

I did not budge, still dragging my exhausted body through the rain. Matteo's expression was conflicted, and his tone grew heavier.

"Are you trying to torture yourself? Get in the car!"

My feet stopped, and I slowly turned around. The rain had ruined my makeup, and I knew I probably looked horrible.

I replied, "I'm just a Beta. How could I trouble an Alpha to come pick me up?"

Perhaps my words hit a nerve. Matteo's expression grew even more grim as he stepped out into the rain, not caring that his expensive suit was getting drenched, and grabbed my hand tightly.

He said, "I know what happened tonight hurt you deeply."

I looked up at him.

He continued, "I've already lost Sabrina once. I can't lose her a second time. Listen, I have another property under my name. Since you need a place to live right now, consider it my compensation to you."

I did not compromise. I pushed his hand away with all my strength and looked at him coldly.

"I'm just your Beta. Why would you need to compensate me? It was my mistake before, not keeping myself in a Beta's place. From now on, I'll remember my position and won't bother you and Sabrina any longer."

Matteo's face darkened instantly. "Alyssa, are you throwing a tantrum?"

"How would I dare?" I scoffed.

"Everything I've done is just to comfort Sabrina. Don't you know that you're actually..."

Matteo's voice seemed to grow increasingly distant.

My head hurt terribly, and I did not hear a single word after that. My vision blurred, and the world tilted beneath me.

Maybe my emotional outburst had triggered the wolfsbane poison that was still in my blood, because everything started spinning, and my consciousness was fading.

When I opened my eyes again, the sharp scent of herbs filled the air. I lay quietly on the hospital bed with an IV drip in my left hand.

The healer came for rounds and saw that I was awake. He smiled kindly and said, "The Alpha really cares about you. He stayed by your bedside all night, you know."

I stared blankly at the hospital ceiling, feeling pathetic and ridiculed.

Matteo could care about anyone, but that person would never be me.

I used to fantasize about him, thinking he cared about me at least a little bit. Nonetheless, our relationship had been an accident from the start, a beautiful dream I had created for myself.

Since the dream was over, all I wanted was to escape from him and never come back.

During my time in the hospital, Matteo never once showed up.

His guards would just send me messages from time to time asking about my condition and telling me to rest well.

I was in the hospital for over a week. Once my body was fully recovered, I returned to the company.

During my hospital stay, the pack's gossip about Matteo and Sabrina never stopped.

"Alpha booked out the entire Firefly Park for Sabrina's birthday. The whole pack gets three days off to celebrate."

"Alpha gifted Sabrina his family's heirloom gemstone. Her position as future Luna is practically sealed."

"Sabrina likes the sacred relic from Meadowbrook Pack. Alpha failed to get it for her several times and is rumored to be planning a war to take it."

Countless trending topics flooded in on social media, with new articles breaking every hour. Faced with all that news, I just quietly put down my phone.

At that moment, I realized I could calmly accept Matteo's devotion to Sabrina.

After being discharged, I returned to the company and continued to work diligently as usual. During that time, I tried to avoid direct communication with Matteo, entrusting all pack work to the next Beta.

When I placed the documents he needed on his desk and prepared to leave, Matteo called out to me from behind.

"This afternoon, I'm going on a business trip to Shadowridge Pack. You and Sabrina are coming with me."

My body stiffened. Just as I was about to refuse, Matteo shut his office door. I swallowed my protest and kept silent.

During the afternoon trip, Sabrina kept complaining about the long journey. Even so, Matteo showed no sign of annoyance, just comforting her patiently.

The car stopped at the foot of a mountain where the path was rough and uneven. It was so narrow that it could only fit one person at a time. We had no choice but to get out and hike on foot.

Sabrina threw her bag at me with a disdainful look. "Carry my bag."

We walked a long way, and none of us noticed the danger quietly approaching from behind. The grass by the roadside rustled, and several rogues who had been lurking for a while burst out of the bushes.

"Sabrina, watch out!"

The rogues lunged at us viciously, and Matteo shielded Sabrina behind him, kicking one rogue away.

Another rogue immediately switched targets, thrusting a silver dagger toward me. Trapped in the circle, I could not dodge in time, and the blade plunged deep into my shoulder.

The wounded area burned like flames. As blood kept pouring out, my strength gave way, and I fell to the ground.

The rescue team arrived quickly, and the rogues fled in panic.

In my daze, I heard two urgent voices.

"Alpha, Alyssa was injured by silver. She needs to be rushed to the hospital immediately."

"Save Sabrina first! She's passed out!"

Then, I lost consciousness.

...

In my haze, I heard familiar sobbing sounds. I struggled to open my eyes and saw Penelope's swollen, red eyes.

"Alyssa, I got a call from the hospital saying you were hurt by silver and almost died! I was so scared for you."

It had been a long time since anyone had worried about me. In that instant, all the pain I had been holding back came crashing down.

I could not hold back anymore and cried in Penelope's arms.

We held each other for a long time.

Penelope sat by the bed, preparing some fruit for me while chatting about lighter topics.

"We haven't seen each other much since graduation. How have you been? You're not getting any younger, Alyssa. It's time you dated someone. Once you're better, I'll introduce you to some hot guys so you can take your pick."

I pressed my lips together. "I'm not interested in dating right now."

Penelope handed me the fruit. "That won't do. I showed your photo to people around me, and they're all fighting to have me introduce you to them."

Just as she finished, the door burst open.

Matteo walked in, his face like thunder. "Who gave you permission to do that? Stay away from shady people."

Penelope pouted. "What do you mean by 'shady people'? Those are my friends. Besides, Alyssa is just your Beta. What right do you have to interfere with her love life?"

Hearing that, an inexplicable fire ignited in Matteo's heart, and his words came out in anger.

"I'm your brother, Penelope. When I say no introductions, that's final. Feelings can't be forced, and it's not something you can fix with a setup."

Yes, feelings could not be forced. I finally understood that.

I forced a smile and quickly changed the subject. "Alpha, what brings you here?"

Seeing that I was not in life-threatening danger, Matteo relaxed slightly. He kept avoiding direct eye contact, as if he were guilty of something. The words of concern reached his lips, but after thinking, he swallowed them back down.

Eventually, he said, "Nothing much. Penelope hasn't been home for three days since she's taking care of you. I'm just here to take her home."

"Alright, Matteo, but Alyssa is still weak and needs someone to take care of her. I'll stay with her until tonight."

After Penelope finished speaking, she pushed Matteo out, leaving just the two of us in the room.

She watched his retreating figure and sighed. "He was anxious enough to mobilize the entire pack's blood bank to give you transfusions. Why is his attitude so cold when he sees you?"

My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly came to my senses. After all, I knew that he just did not want to be blamed by the elders for a Beta's death.

My heart was completely numb, and I would not be moved by any bit of his tenderness anymore. During my hospital stay, I occasionally heard the healers discussing in the VIP room upstairs.

"The Alpha really cares about Sabrina. He's mobilized all the nutritionists to prepare meals for her."

"That's not all. The Alpha personally brings her tea and water, and the gifts sent to her room every day are piling up. She's truly the future Luna."

Once, those words would have cut me to the bone. However, they did not stir me at all then. I had finally stopped loving him.

The day I was discharged, I returned to the company to complete my final resignation procedure.

Just as I was about to leave, I ran into Sabrina in the hallway. She deliberately bumped into me while holding a cup of coffee.

She snapped, "Ah! Are you doing this on purpose? You're always causing trouble."

I spat, "You're the one who bumped into me. I haven't even asked you to reimburse me for my clothes, yet here you are, pointing your finger at me."

Sabrina was stunned by my retort.

Furious, she poured the scalding coffee over my head, exclaiming arrogantly, "Do you know who you're talking to?! Don't blame me when I tell Matteo to fire you!"

After saying that, she swaggered away. My clothes were completely soaked, so I had no choice but to go to the restroom to deal with the mess.

"Alyssa!"

Through the mirror, I saw Penelope as she exclaimed in shock, "Why are your clothes wet? Who did this?"

I did not say anything, but the sharp Penelope immediately guessed it. "It was Sabrina, wasn't it? I'm not letting her get away with this."

She stormed into Matteo's office.

"Penelope, have I spoiled you so much that you don't even bother to knock before entering my office?" Matteo asked.

Penelope ignored him and walked straight up to Sabrina.

"Sabrina, don't think you can do whatever you want just because Matteo likes you. Why did you pick on Alyssa? You and Matteo haven't even held the marking ceremony yet, and you're already acting like you're the Luna."

Matteo also saw my disheveled appearance, and his brows furrowed slightly. Just as he was about to ask what happened, Sabrina threw herself into his arms.

"Matteo, I didn't do anything. It's clearly Alyssa holding a grudge from before and trying to frame me. I swear I'm innocent!"

"You..."

Seeing Sabrina twist the truth, Penelope was so angry that she was left speechless.

Without another word, she swung her hand and slapped Sabrina squarely across the face.

She hissed, "Sabrina, stop lying!"

Sabrina covered her face and burst into tears. "Matteo, your Beta and your sister are ganging up on me. I can't stay here anymore. I'm leaving and never coming back!"

Matteo panicked, and a slap landed across Penelope's face. It was the first time in his life that he had ever struck his beloved sister.

"Penelope, if you keep acting out like this, you're going to spend the night kneeling before the pack altar."

Then, he turned to me, his voice cold as ice. "I've already compensated you for what happened before. Why can't you let Sabrina go? Maybe you just don't want to be my Beta anymore."

Penelope covered her face, looking at the man before her in disbelief. She barely recognized her own brother anymore.

I regretted dragging Penelope into that and quickly pulled her away.

However, she was unwilling to let it go and made a big fuss about telling their parents, so I sighed and told her I had already resigned and was leaving.

Penelope froze at first, then tears spilled down her cheeks.

...

On my last night before leaving, Penelope and I had dinner together and even went shopping. She did not go home that evening, squeezing into my tiny apartment and talking through the night.

Finally, as dawn approached, Penelope took me to the airport. Just before we parted, Matteo sent a message asking where she was.

Penelope got angry upon seeing his name and was about to call him to give him a piece of her mind, but I stopped her.

"Don't get angry with Matteo because of me. After all, he's still the Alpha. Just wish me happiness, that's all."

The plane was about to take off, and we hugged goodbye.

Right before boarding, I sent Matteo one last message.

[Matteo, we'll never see each other again.]

After hitting send, I blocked all his contact information. Then, I boarded the plane without looking back.