Once Maria and the elders gave the order, several young, formidable pack warriors surrounded Johanna.

In her panic, Johanna shifted into her wolf to fight back, but how could she single-handedly take on the experienced warriors?

Her dark gray fur flapped in the air, drenched red by her blood.

"Don't bother showing her any mercy. She brought it upon herself. I refuse to acknowledge someone as vicious as her as my daughter," Carmen declared.

Even though she was present, she didn't plead for them to go easy on Johanna. Instead, she growled, "You knew how important the pup is to Allison and the entire pack, but you still had the gall to try and harm the pup! You're just jealous because Allison is better than you in every way!"

While werewolves quickly recovered from their injuries, Maria and the elders were determined to ensure Johanna suffered. They had her tormentors use whips that were covered in silver.

Johanna was beaten to within an inch of her life. Her entire face and body were covered in blood. She was barely conscious when Carlin finally called out at leisure, "That's enough. Allison and the pup are more important. We mustn't frighten them."

Ignoring the bloodied Johanna, he picked up Allison and covered her with a blanket.

"How are you feeling, Allison? Are you hurt?" Carlin asked, still anxious about Allison's condition.

In the end, Johanna was dumped in the ancestral shrine and expected to repent for her misdeeds.

Meanwhile, back in the room, Carlin and Allison were wrapped up in each other's arms.

"You've been so good to me, Carl. With Uriel gone, I don't know what I'd do if you weren't around to take care of me, dote on me, and give me this pup."

"Uriel and I were twins. It's only natural for me to complete what he couldn't do on his behalf."

"But this isn't the only thing Uriel has left undone. I'm only 20 years old. I still have my entire life ahead of me…"

"Well, for as long as it takes, I'll do everything in his place. What's the matter? Haven't I done a good job recently? Haven't I kept you satisfied, baby?"

"To be honest, Carl, you're actually better than Uriel. I still think about the other night when you took me 17 times…"

"You know, Uriel wasn't the only one who fell in love with you at first sight. But I was the younger brother. Between us, he was the one who had the final say. We had to be of one mind. I couldn't disregard the glory of the pack for my own selfishness.

"That's why I was willing to mate with Jo. I figured that since she's your younger sister, treating her well would be akin to treating you well too. After all, once you became Uriel's mate, I could still see you every day."

"Carl! We're in the middle of a conversation! What are you doing with your hands? You're so annoying!"

At last, the truth was out.

Johanna, who was passing by, overheard everything. She rejoiced over the fact that she had already broken her mate bond with Carlin.

Once again, she approached Elspeth for help in treating her injuries. Perhaps she looked pitiful enough, for Elspeth tended to the wounds without asking for anything in return.

"Was it your mate who hit you? Judging from your tears, you seem to be in great sorrow. It looks like your heart is hurting more than your body," Elspeth remarked.

With a bitter chuckle, Johanna replied, "You're right. It hurts so much. I'm guessing no one can withstand the pain of being abandoned by both their mate and their family. We can recover from physical wounds, but the wounds in our hearts will remain forever.

"Still, I'm used to being framed and set up the way I was today. I've been through it countless times all throughout my childhood."

"You poor thing," Elspeth remarked. "If you ever need help, feel free to come to me."

It had been a long time since Johanna had received such care from someone else. Ever since she was a young pup, she was bullied by everyone else—especially Allison.

Allison came across as a kind-hearted she-wolf who couldn't hurt a fly. However, in reality, her favorite pastime was bullying Johanna for entertainment.

After bullying Johanna for eight years, she ran out of ideas to make it more fun. Moreover, Johanna had grown so accustomed to the abuse that she no longer reacted to it. Therefore, one day, she told Johanna she wanted to play a new game.

It was simple.

Allison would hurt herself. Then, she would tearfully twist the truth around to their parents and claim that Johanna bullied her. Johanna was free to defend herself before their parents decided who was in the right.

Their parents had always doted on the gorgeous Allison more, so it went without saying that Allison won all the time.

Johanna had no choice but to put up with the false accusations without protest. Her suffering only ended when she became Carlin's mate.

At the time, she thought she would have the protection of a mate who loved her. Moreover, since both hers and Allison's mates were twin brothers, she figured that Allison would at least hold back a bit more out of consideration for Uriel.

It never occurred to her that things would turn out as they did today. It wasn't just her parents who declared Allison victorious today. All the elders of the Silverplume pack, and even Carlin, who had liked Allison from the start, took Allison's side.

When marking Johanna, Carlin had sworn to the Moon Goddess that he would love and cherish Johanna forever.

But alas, Johanna couldn't forget the indifference in his eyes when he stood by and watched while she was brutally assaulted.

From that moment onward, her tears finally ran dry. Although her heart continued to ache, she was determined to leave the Silverplume pack and Carlin for good.

Johanna and Elspeth came to an agreement. At midnight tomorrow, Elspeth would use a teleportation spell to whisk Johanna out of the Northern Wolflands and to a place where it would be hard for the pack to find her.

In the remaining time, Johanna would put an end to everything.

Carlin had said he marked her and treated her well solely because she was Allison's younger sister, right?

Carlin didn't think this counted as him being disloyal to his mate. After all, prior to Uriel's death, all he did was look at Allison. He didn't do anything that counted as betrayal.

In fact, just like others, Carlin genuinely believed that the ordinary and unremarkable Johanna had no right to expect anything more. It was already a huge honor for her that she could become his mate because of Allison.

Well, Johanna was going to personally inform Carlin that she was the one who broke their mate bond first. She was the one who discarded him. She didn't need the tainted so-called love he gave her.

Upon returning to the Silverplume pack, Johanna headed straight for her room.

"Oh, you little temptress. I can't keep my hands off you."

"Are you saying that pitiful mate of yours can't satisfy you anymore?"

Chuckling, Carlin replied brazenly, "She's like a block of ice, but you're the hottest flames."

"You're terrible! You know full well I'm your brother's widow, but here you are lusting after me."

"You should've been mine in the first place! You're driving me crazy, Allison."

"Then ruin me, Alpha," Allison said in a sweet, coy voice. "Make me forget he ever existed."

Carlin hastened his thrusts. The sounds of their moans mingled with the sounds of their bodies slamming against each other.

"Shit—"

"Don't stop! Harder—"

Their blissful cries and grunts rang on and on like an unstoppable farce. For Johanna, listening to them while standing next to the myrtle tree outside, a symbol of steadfast love, was a mockery. It also crushed the last of her dignity.

She heard it all clearly, but she didn't cry. Her gaze was still. She simply murmured, "All of you will regret this."

Johanna had made up her mind, and there was no turning back. She destroyed every gift Carlin had ever given her. In the past, they were like treasure to her, but now, they were as worthless as the one who had given them to her.

Once she was done with that, she looked out the window and stared at the myrtle tree. It symbolized steadfast love, and she and Carlin had planted it together.

At the time, Johanna looked forward to the future. She hoped that their love would grow strong and flourish like the tree.

After staring in silence for a while, she stoically retrieved an ax from the room and headed toward the myrtle tree.

She struck the tree once, and then again, using more force with each strike. Eventually, the trunk was chopped into two, and the top half fell to the ground.

Using the ax, Johanna stuck the letter she had prepared into the remaining stump.

The letter read, "It all ends now, Carlin. After seeing what you did with Allison, I asked a sorceress to break our mate bond. But you've been too busy to even notice. I can't accept my mate betraying me. In any case, you've never loved me anyway, so I've made my own decision.

"I've decided to end it all myself and leave for a place where I won't have to see you again. Uriel's dead, and I won't ever come back. You and Allison are free to do whatever you want now."