Johanna went looking for Elspeth Sage, the sorceress who lived alone on the border of the Northern Wolflands.

"I don't care what it costs me. Do whatever it takes to use the forbidden rites to help me break our mate bond," Johanna said.

Johanna traded her betrothal pendant and her future happiness in exchange for Elspeth's spell that forcibly broke the mate bond while also temporarily ensuring that Carlin wouldn't notice it had been broken.

With the lies and the betrayal, Johanna felt as if the entire Silverplume pack had taken her for a fool. There was no point in maintaining a bond built upon deceit and disloyalty.

Of course, there was a reason why Johanna didn't cut off ties publicly. She knew full well she was powerless. Even if she exposed Carlin, it would only make it harder for her to get away. The Silverplume pack wasn't going to let a wolf who knew that much about their secrets leave.

Once the mark had been removed, Johanna went along with the act. During the day, Carlin continued to behave as if he loved her desperately and refused to betray her, no matter what. He kept kneeling in the ancestral shrine, the punishment Maria had meted out, and spent his days repenting in front of his ancestors.

But once the sky turned dark, he would leave the shrine from a secret exit and sneak into Allison's room, where the two indulged in their lust.

Assuming that Johanna wouldn't notice a thing after having drunk the medicine that was supposed to cut off her ability to sense anything from her link with him, Carlin grew bolder in his illicit affair with Allison. He even mated with her right in the ancestral shrine for the thrill of it.

Johanna had truly loved Carlin. Naturally, it was hard for her to abandon all feelings for him at the drop of a hat. Thus, she found herself tailing them a couple of times.

She heard their moans.

"My darling."

"This is incredible!"

"Give me more, my Alpha."

The repulsive sounds rang all the more clearly in the dead of the night. They felt like blades stabbing deep into Johanna's heart. But simultaneously, it helped her finally lose all feelings for the heartless, cruel Carlin.

After putting up with it for a few months, Johanna finally got her chance to leave the Silverplume pack.

Allison was pregnant, and Maria publicly called it a blessing from the Moon Goddess. She claimed that following Uriel's death, the Moon Goddess couldn't bear to see the Silverplume pack lose its pureblood lineage. Therefore, she had allowed Uriel's spirit to take physical form at night, thereby giving Allison and the entire Silverplume pack this pup.

Johanna was also told this story, though she found it entirely laughable. She knew better than anyone else how the pup came to be.

She tried to see if Carlin felt even the slightest bit of remorse toward her.

"Carlin, ever since Uriel died and your mother suggested that you and Allison mate to carry on the pureblood lineage, I feel an intense pain every night. I've never heard of the Moon Goddess being so moved that she would allow a dead spirit to take physical form at night before. Is the pup actually yours?" Johanna asked.

"How could you even think that, Jo? Mother and the elders want me to do it to carry on the pack's glory, but haven't you seen the way I refused to comply with their wishes? I've chosen to stay loyal to you, even if it means spending all my time kneeling in the ancestral shrine in suffering. Yet here you are, accusing me of something like this. How could you say something this hurtful to me?" Carlin protested.

He looked genuinely saddened, as if Johanna were the heartless one making an outrageous claim—as if his love for her had been for nothing, for she didn't even trust him.

Johanna wanted to laugh. She couldn't be bothered to argue with him about it. Instead, she continued to plot her escape.

However, Carlin reached out and pulled her into his strong embrace, something he hadn't done in a long time now.

"Jo, since Allison is with pup now, Mother and the elders won't force us any longer. You could say that Allison has helped us get through this. Moreover, it won't be easy for her to raise the pup alone. We should help her out more.

"I hope you can forget all about the past. Once the pup is born, I hope you can treat her pup as if it were ours, just like I will."

Upon hearing that, Johanna's disappointment reached its limit, and so did her resolve. She had to leave this heartless place that caused her nothing but sorrow as quickly as possible.

This entire situation was a ridiculous mockery.

Johanna couldn't help but contemplate the situation. The Silverplume pack was undoubtedly the most prominent in the Northern Wolflands. They seemed invincible, but who knew how many dark, unspeakable secrets were hidden behind their strength?

Even the pack Alpha not only betrayed his Luna but even teamed up with the entire pack in an attempt to play her for a fool.

For the sake of their so-called glory and ensuring the survival of the pureblood lineage, they had the audacity to propose having him be the father of the pup instead. They even wanted her, the one who had been betrayed, to raise the offspring produced through his infidelity once the pup was born.

It was nothing short of them cruelly trampling all over her dignity.

Allison was now with pup. There was a unique duality to werewolves—while they were physically formidable and had extraordinary recovery rates, she-wolves were extremely weak when they were carrying a pup and required constant care from the males.

That night, Carlin didn't pretend to be locked away in the ancestral shrine like he had the past few months. Instead, he conjured up an excuse for himself. He told Johanna that since Allison was pregnant, he had to check on her. He was worried something might happen to Allison and Uriel's pup.

Johanna had long since been hurt and disillusioned by him. She no longer felt disappointed. Instead, her gaze was filled with nothing more than exhaustion and indifference.

"Got it. Go ahead. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep," she said.

She was no longer interested in seeing what Carlin and Allison got up to. They had done far too many unforgivable things already. She couldn't be bothered to care whether even more might happen tonight.

It was nearly dawn when Carlin finally returned to their room. Although he hugged her from behind as affectionately as ever, his voice was clearly laced with the huskiness of someone who had just satisfied his physical lust.

"Sorry, Jo. I ended up staying a little longer with Allison. Don't take it the wrong way. She was crying because she missed Uriel, so I had to keep her company. I tried talking to her and comforting her in the hopes of making her feel better."

Johanna could smell Allison's scent on Carlin. Feeling repulsed, she forcefully struggled out of Carlin's arms.

"Why did you come back then? You should just move into Allison's place. Since she's pregnant, she needs you to take care of her the way Uriel would've. I don't need that."

Johanna couldn't keep the anger and disgust out of her eyes.

"Why are you suddenly having a fit? Uriel died saving me, and Allison is carrying his pup. Isn't it my duty to console her in his place when she's upset?" Carlin retorted.

"Jo, do you actually think something is going on between Allison and me? If you insist on thinking that… so be it. I won't ever get involved with Allison's matters anymore. If you want me to stay away from her, I'll do as you wish. I'm going to prove my innocence to you, even if it means bearing the brunt of Mother and the elders' reprimands."

Despite saying that, he took his anger out on Johanna anyway. Shoving her aside roughly, he left in a huff, slamming the door behind him.

For the next few days, Carlin seemed to keep his word. He purposely avoided all contact with Allison, even when the pack invited a healer over each month to check on the pup.

"Carlin, Uriel's gone, and Allison is carrying his pup. You should be taking care of her on Uriel's behalf," Maria painstakingly scolded.

Carlin took the hint and put on a show with Maria.

"So what? Jo got pissed when I had to console Allison the other night. She doesn't like me paying attention to any other she-wolf besides her, even if it's Uriel's widow and her own older sister."

In just a few sentences, he cast all the blame onto Johanna.

Just then, the healer came out after having checked on Allison and the pup. She said, "Both the mother and the pup are doing well, but the mother seems to be in poor spirits. I suggest you all spend more time talking to her to keep her in a good mood."

"Well? Why are you still standing there? Since you don't want Carlin to do it, you can do it yourself," Maria said to Johanna. "No other she-wolf in the Silverplume pack is as jealous and possessive as you are. You don't even trust your own mate and sister."

Johanna had no choice but to enter Allison's room. However, the moment she approached the bed, a seemingly weak Allison abruptly reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly.

Her instinctive reaction was to try and break free, but that was exactly what Allison wanted. She allowed herself to fall out of the bed just as Johanna pulled back before wailing, "My pup! My pup!"

Her cries drew in everyone who had gathered outside, including Carlin, Maria, and other core members of the pack.

Carlin was the quickest to react. He shot over to Allison and held her tightly. His voice trembled with concern as he said, "Allie! I'm here. Don't be afraid. I won't let anything happen to you or the pup."

"I'm scared, Carl! Save the pup! I can't lose him!"

Their display stirred up mixed emotions in Johanna. It still affected her, after all. It made her sad to see the truth blatantly presented before her.

However, before she could compose herself, one of the members of the Silverplume pack shouted in anger, "It was Johanna's doing! She wants to destroy our pureblood lineage and ruin us all by killing the pup!"