Dylan looked at Joanna firmly.

“I told you, we wouldn’t rush into having pups! This is Ella’s choice. You can’t force her.”

In that moment, I even felt he was protecting me.

But it was all too late.

My wound split open. Blood soaked through my dress.

I had lost too much blood. My vision started to blur, then I fainted.

The last thing I saw was Dylan’s burred figure. He held me tightly and called my name.

“Ella, I love you. Don’t you leave me…”

When I woke up, I found myself in the Wind Ripping pack’s healer’s home. Tanya was an old friend of my mother-wolf’s once.

She told Dylan, “You did the right thing taking her here. The wounds on her back are deep.”

Dylan signed, “Please the best herbs you have. I will pay you no matter how much it costs.”

Dylan turned around and noticed I was awake. To my surprise, he looked worried.

“Are you feeling okay?”

I tried to move, but I could feel a burning pain on my back.

“Why are you even here? I’m sure someone else needs you more.”

I thought he would turn around and leave, but he didn’t. I could also tell that he looked at me with complicated emotions.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt this badly?”

“You were busy with Eleanor. If I had called you, would you have come immediately?”

“Of course I would,” he said.

His answer wasn’t what I had expected.

“Ella, trust me this time. I will stay here and take care of you tonight.”

For once, Dylan actually kept his word. He didn’t leave.

He carefully changed my bandages, prepared my meals and rushed to find Tanya for more pain-relieving herbs when I had the backache.

At night, he lied down gently beside me to keep me company. It almost felt like the best time we had ever shared.

But I knew in my heart this wouldn’t last.

Tanya’s treatment worked well, and I felt much better the next morning.

When Dylan helped change the bandages, I showed him how much better my wounds looked.

Dylan’s hands ran over my back, then suddenly froze. When our eyes met, I could see that his eyes were filled with lust. He hadn’t looked at me like that for quite a long time.

Dylan leaned down to me.

He slowly pressed me back onto the bed. Just as his lips were about to meet mine, I heard a crash.

I turned to see Eleanor standing by the door.

She looked so disappointed. The bowl of werewolf’s stew she had been holding had fallen to the floor. The bowl shattered into pieces. The werewolf’s stew splashed everywhere.

Eleanor stood there, as if she were the Luna and I was the one cheated with Dylan.

"I'm sorry. Am I disturbing something? Ella, Dylan had already spent so much time taking care of you! I needed him as well. How could you do this to us?!”

Dylan stopped what he was doing right away.

Eleanor’s voice was trembling with sobs.

Then, she turned to leave.

“Eleanor!”

He teleported away.

When he teleported, his movement was too fast. He tore my wound open again.

I could feel the pain.

I wanted to cry, but somehow, I laughed at myself for trusting him again.

It was Tanya who found me, the bed had already been soaked with my blood.

When I woke up again, an elder from the pack called and asked me how the preparations for the annual Full Moon Ceremony were going.

The Full Moon Ceremony was extremely important for an Alpha. All the elders would come to pay their respects, along with members from other packs.

Every year, I was the only one handling everything, as his Luna.

I usually arranged all the details according to Dylan's preferences. It required a lot of time and energy, because I needed to confirm every guest, every seat and every decoration.

The elders asked, “Is everything okay?”

I took a deep breath and said, "Yes.”

This would be my last Full Moon Ceremony as Dylan’s Luna.

After 2 days, I wouldn’t be Dylan’s Luna or even stay in this pack anymore.

On that day, I was among the guests, busy arranging seats for everyone.

When I turned around, I saw Dylan and Eleanor walking in.

Dylan was wearing the blue tuxedo I had bought him and Eleanor was wearing a blue dress that matched his, as if they were the Alpha and the Luna.

He and Eleanor kept chatting with other werewolves, as if I was just one of the servants.

Then it came to the part where everyone presented gifts to pay tribute to the Alpha. Dylan received many valuable gifts.

What I had prepared was a battle bracelet made of pigeon blood red crystals. Such a battle bracelet would enhance the owner's defensive abilities during battles, and I had started searching for it half a year ago.

A guest said, “There were very few pigeon blood red crystals like this in the world. It would cost more than a million!”

“It must have been bought at an auction, only something this worthy can be used as a gift for our Alpha.”

I saw Dylan’s eyes light up when he looked at the gift. I had been with him for 3 years. I knew this bracelet was just to his taste.

Clearly, he liked it. But he only nodded at me, as if I were a stranger.

Eleanor stepped forward and picked out her own gift from the pile. Hers was a pair of werewolf gloves. It was too roughly made.

The crowd fell silent instantly.

Someone laughed and others began clapping in a provocative way.

“These gloves don’t even have high-quality fur. They’re made from mixed fur of different animals.”

“Look at those! The two gloves aren’t even the same size. How could anyone give such a gift to the Alpha at a gathering this important?”

Before Eleanor could say a word, Dylan pulled her behind. A low growl rumbled in his throat.

The crowd went deathly quiet.

All the werewolves cautiously lowered their heads. Because this meant the Alpha was angry.

Dylan picked up the gloves. Obviously, they didn’t fit him.

He forced them on, held his hands up and declared, “This is the best gift I’ve received. Compared to all these expensive things, I prefer Eleanor’s.”

Eleanor looked up into Dylan’s eyes and said, “I made this specifically for you. But it seems to pale next to others’ gifts, like that bracelet. It makes me sad.”

When Dylan heard this, he stepped forward and picked up the bracelet. He held it up, and said, “Eleanor’s handmade gift touched my heart more. As for this…”

He dropped the bracelet to the ground and crushed it under his shoe. I heard the sound of it shattering.

That bracelet could keep him stay unharmed in battles. But now, none of that mattered.

He would choose to humiliate me in front of the whole pack just to make Eleanor feel better, letting everyone laugh at me.

That was enough.

I felt our mate bond weaken more. The werewolf I had once loved so deeply was gone.

The day after tomorrow, I wouldn’t be his mate anymore.

Dylan would be free.

So would I.

Every time, Dylan would choose Eleanor over me. Just like today, when he didn’t hesitate to crush my gift to protect her pride.

During the second half of the Full Moon Ceremony, everyone gossiped about what had just happened.

Some she-wolves pointed at me behind my back, while others gathered around Eleanor, as if she were new already the new Luna.

I stood at the door and saw off the werewolves until the last one left. I let out a breath of relief.

But I spot Dylan and Eleanor still standing by the gate.

Snow had started falling. Winter had come unusually early this year.

I decided to ignore them and walked inside, but Dylan called out to me.

He said impatiently, “Eleanor’s feeling cold. Give her your fur shawl.”

I looked at the shawl on my shoulders. It was a gift from my mother-wolf, her most beloved one. The fur on it was made from rare animals my father had hunted.

I looked at Eleanor, she was already wearing Dylan’s blue tuxedo coat.

“You have already given her your coat. Isn’t that enough?” I asked.

Eleanor sneezed intentionally.

“Dylan, I feel so cold.”

Dylan pulled the fur shawl off me and put it over Eleanor’s shoulders.

“Dylan, are you crazy? This was my mother-wolf’s…” I started.

He didn’t even let me finish my words, “I know it was your late mother-wolf’s. So what? Eleanor just needs it for a while.”

I reached out and grabbed a corner of the shawl, but Dylan dragged my hand away.

Eleanor said, “I’ll wash it and return it to you when I’m done.”

I said, “No. This was handmade by my mother-wolf. It can only be dry cleaned. I’ll have someone pick it up at your apartment door tomorrow morning to get it back.”

Eleanor rolled her eyes at me.

She got into the limo and called out to Dylan, “Are you coming?”

Dylan seemed about to say something to me, but he glanced at me and got into the limo.

The limo disappeared into the snow.

At that moment, I felt so cold. I was left all alone.

My phone was almost dead when I finally got a ride. By the time I got home to our mansion, I felt my head burning up.

I got a fever.

I made myself some herbal tea and quickly fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, I felt my heart racing and my whole body ached. I touched the other side of the bed with my hand.

No surprise. He didn’t come back.

The next day, I felt much better but was still weak. I checked my cellphone and was shocked to see a photo from Eleanor. She had soaked my shawl in her bathtub.

I could see that the fur had fallen off and been ruined.

Then Eleanor sent a message: “Oops, I forgot. But this shawl of yours can’t be that expensive, right? I heard it was made by your mother-wolf herself. I’ll pay you $10 for it. That’s quite enough for a second-hand trash.”

I even noticed traces of the fur on the shawl was neatly cut.

She did it on purpose.

I teleported out and got in the car.

She could mess with me, but she shouldn’t do this to my mother-wolf’s shawl.

I drove fast all the way to Eleanor’s apartment and knocked hard on the door.

Eleanor opened the door wearing a lace silk nightgown, looking like she hadn’t woken up yet. She looked at me in shock and asked, "What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?"

I asked her, "Where’s the shawl? Give it to me or I will kill you."

She shrugged and said, “It’s still in the bathtub. What do you want it for? Didn’t I say I would give you $10? You didn’t have to come all the way to my place over such a cheap thing.”

I could barely control myself.

My hands shifted into wolf claws, and I scratched hard at Eleanor’s face. Blood flowed down her face.

“Why did you do this to me? That thing is worthless!”

I didn’t back down.

I grabbed her by the chin and asked, “Did you do it on purpose? You did all of these on purpose, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t act like you are the innocent one! You deliberately came back at this time, got close to Dylan, made him help your mother-wolf, told me about you two’s sweet past, interrupted our kiss in the hospital, and destroyed my mother-wolf’s shawl. Let me tell you, don’t play tricks on me. The reason I didn’t confront you before isn’t because I’m weak.”

Suddenly, Eleanor put on a weak look and sat down on the floor.

She said, “I really don’t understand why you’re treating me like this.”

Just then, I heard a familiar voice.

“Ella, have you had enough of this nonsense?”

I saw the bedroom door open. Dylan walked out shirtless.

He looked at me as if I were his enemy.