Today marked exactly two weeks of cold war between my mate, the Alpha of the Red Moon pack, and me. He didn’t seem to be too bothered with our fight. I found out exactly why when I saw a young woman in our house, Violet Murphy.

He treated her like a treasure, completely indulged in every way. She radiated a healthy glow, like sunshine; heartwarming and beautiful. The complete opposite of the current me.

Ryan must have loved her so much that he let her crush the bracelet that my late brother gave me, murder the wolf that was my best friend, and dig out my brother’s remains.

Every time he acquiesced to her cruel actions, my heart died little by little. I decided that I should do him a favor and told him to break the mate bond between us. I would readily accept it.

I felt like I didn’t know him anymore. Was everything just a game for him now that he felt bored after he achieved everything? Even as I became his plaything… that thought crossed my mind as Ryan bit my lip.

Frustration etched in his tone, and in his eyes, were a myriad of emotions. He growled as his wolf threatened to take over. “When are you going to stop your little game, Scarlett?”

However, it wasn’t a game. It’s just a last wish, as I am currently dying…

***

I rushed home as soon as I could, still reeling in shock upon the diagnosis of my condition. I longed to seek Ryan’s comfort, because none in this world could calm me down the way my other half would.

“Ryan…” I let out a little sob as soon as I stepped into the house, my voice cracking a bit.

I was pregnant and I couldn’t be happier that we would finally have our own pup. However, that hope came crashing down when the doctor said that I only had a little less than a month to live.

My wolf's spirit was dying, and if she died, I would too.

At the thought of this, I decided that I wanted to spend my remaining days with him and ended our cold war. I just want to succumb to his warm embrace once again and forgive what he had done two weeks ago.

I didn’t find him as soon as I stepped into the house, so I went to our bedroom.

My body rooted to the ground as soon as I saw someone emerging from there. It was a woman, and she was wearing Ryan’s shirt, along with my trousers.

The same woman that had been the cause of our fight, Violet. She looked small and delicate, and Ryan’s oversized shirt showed her neckline. She didn’t look awkward, as if she had done this a lot of time.

My hand flew to cover my mouth. I couldn’t believe that Ryan had allowed someone else to live in the house that was reserved for the ruler of the pack, the Alpha and Luna only. Worse, he had let her in our bedroom.

I suddenly felt upset. Ryan had told me that he wouldn’t let any other female use his clothes, even if it was unused. He didn’t even let them touch his clothes.

Once, a female werewolf had returned a shirt that he had accidentally left after he returned from hunting. Upon arriving home, he ordered the shirt to be burned. Now, someone else has this privilege.

The vanilla scent that only female werewolves have, clung strongly to the shirt. It was evident that she had used it more than once.

He even let her use my things. Was he so eager to find my replacement as soon as possible even before I die?

“Scarlett?” She called out to me, cautiously. However, I didn’t miss the flash of malice in her eyes.

She bit her nails. Her voice shook slightly, “I see that you have come back. Sorry…”

I narrowed my eyes. The fight between me and Ryan started because he had kissed this woman. He claimed that he only intended to help her get out of tricky situations. Someone was claiming to be her mate when he apparently wasn’t.

Ryan had to pretend to be her mate so that the person would back off. After returning from our business trip, I decided to ignore him. After two weeks, surprisingly he still didn’t contact me.

As it turned out, there was someone accompanying him already. My eyes flashed with pain at the thought.

“Why are you wearing my trousers, and Ryan’ shirt…?”

Violet gasped. “It’s your trousers? I am sorry, I guess I wasn’t looking properly. I just underwent a cataract operation and my eyes are currently a bit blurry and it’s straining me to look for too long. So, I must have picked the wrong clothes from the pile of them.”

There was hesitation in her voice. “Ryan was worried that I could not take care of myself because of my eyesight, and he suggested that I live here temporarily. I hope that you don’t mind.”

“You can go change your clothes then.” I said in a stern voice.

Violet widened her eyes at my words, but then she entered the bedroom again. This time, I followed to make sure that she wouldn’t make any trick.

“Go to the bathroom in the next room.” I told her sternly. After all, I was still the Luna of the pack.

She looked indignant, but she still followed my instructions. Surely, this woman had a hidden intention.

I looked around after Violet left to change her clothes. Inadvertently, my eyes spotted some girl underwear on the bed. Those weren’t mine.

“Ryan, whose are those?” I asked Ryan with a flat tone as soon as I saw Ryan come out of the bathroom.

He froze.

There was a look of surprise on his face when he saw the girl’s underwear on the bed, but he didn’t seem to think much of it.

“It’s Violet. You know her…” he paused briefly, his eyes studying my face. “She is Violet Murphy.”

“She was the one you kissed, right?” I asked him bluntly.

“I didn’t kiss her, Scarlett. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I have explained it to you about it, haven’t I? I am your mate, and it’s natural that we should trust each other. Why are you acting like this?” he pursed his lips in annoyance, and I went silent.

“Those things are also hers, right?” I continue to ask.

He frowned as he glanced at the things that were strewn all over the bed. There was not only underwear but also a pile of clothes.

“Don’t exaggerate it. She might have just opened her suitcase and tried to find something. So she ended up bringing them all out.” Ryan explained to me.

“She was wearing our clothes.” I insisted.

“You are making it too much of a big deal, Scarlett. She also already told you that her eyesight isn’t good, right? Besides, she is already changing her clothes, just like you requested.” He was looking at me like I was acting so childish for bringing this up.

I bit my lip and didn’t argue anymore. Suddenly, the urge to tell him about my pregnancy just vanished like that. If I were to tell him about my disease, I wonder how he would react. Would he be happy that I would soon be gone from his life?

I traced the bracelet on my wrist and was slightly comforted. It gave me the feeling as if my brother was here with me and it gave me strength.

After our minor argument, Ryan went out to do his duties. He only came back when it was dinner time. Usually, we always talk about a lot of things during dinner; it was the time that I have waited the most. However, now there was an additional person on the table.

I sat beside Ryan while Violet sat across from us.

We were still picking up foods to our plate when Violet stayed silent. There was confusion on her face and she kept on rubbing her eyes.

She took a spoon of something and then stopped. The action made Ryan ask her, “You don’t like the food, Violet?”

Violet acted as if she was surprised and then shook her head. “Sorry if it takes me a while to pick the food. I still can’t see clearly. Please don’t wait for me, you two can eat first.”

Suddenly, Ryan moved from the seat beside mine. He brought his plate along, and then he sat beside Violet. “What kind of food do you like? You can tell me and I will pick it up for you.”

I shot him a look. He seemed to understand that his actions made my mood plummet. Through mind-link, he explained, “It will be convenient to help her pick the food if I am here. I believe that you will understand. The more she eats, the sooner she will get better. She will take care of herself then.”

“Fine,” I said flatly.

Throughout the dinner, I witnessed them being so close to each other. Every food that Violet requested, Ryan would get it for her.

He even went as far as asking the cook to make the dishes if they were not available on the table yet. I only took a few bites and lost my appetite; not sure whether it was because of my illness or because of them.

I excused myself to return to the bedroom early and took a bath.

There were a lot of Luna duties that I had done earlier. They piled up because of my absence. As I let my mind wander, I finished cleaning myself in no time.

I exited the bathroom and was surprised to see Violet sitting on the bed. She said something about packing her stuff out of the room and I just gave a quick glance.

“Why did you go to this room in the first place, anyway?” I raised my eyebrow, sarcasm apparent in my tone.

“I didn’t look clearly…” she explained with a low voice. “I believe I already explained my condition to you.”

I only shook my head, and no longer pursued the matter further. However, seeing that innocent look on her face still made me uncomfortable. She was obviously not an innocent person.

Memories of her and Ryan being so close with each other flashed in my mind. I hurriedly shook the image away, not willing for negative thoughts to enter my mind.

I was looking for distraction when my thoughts were disturbed. I suddenly heard something breaking. My head snapped toward Violet, who had stepped away and was looking down confusedly.

I almost stopped breathing upon seeing what it was. The bracelet that my brother had given me was shattered, the pieces all over the floor. I had taken it off and put it on the bedside.

“I-I am sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Even so, there was no apologetic tone or expression in her eyes. She did it on purpose.

Rage consumed me and blinded all my rationality away. I took a quick stride and slapped her.

At the same time, a sound thundered inside the bedroom. “Scarlett? What are you doing?”

It was Ryan, who had just returned from the kitchen.

Violet let out silent sobs, and when she looked up, her eyes were glistening with tears. “I-I am sorry that I disturbed both of you. I didn’t mean it. I just want a place to stay.”

Her hand clutched her right cheek where I had slapped her.

I ignored her and started picking up the scattered bracelets all over the floor. The materials were a bit sharp and some of them cut into my skin, but I didn’t care.

It was nothing compared to the pain I felt when I heard Ryan speak to defend Violet. “You can stay, Violet. Don’t mind Scarlett.”

He turned to me. “Scarlett, what’s the meaning of this? She just wants a place to stay temporarily. When she is officially a member of our pack, she will get her own residence. Besides, she has helped our pack tremendously and is a savior to our pack.”

“When did I agree with it, Ryan? She can get the hell out of here.” I said coldly.

I held back the sob that was threatening to burst out of my chest. My wolf's spirit stirred and I also could feel her pain that our mate didn’t love us anymore.

“Why did you become so cold-hearted, Scarlett? Your temper has gotten worse. You weren’t like this before. We are just letting her stay temporarily because she just underwent eye surgery.” Ryan said in a disapproving tone, and his eyes were brimming with disappointment.

I looked at him in disbelief. What did he just call me? Am I a cold-hearted woman? In order to defend Violet, he could even say such hurtful words to me.

We have been mates ever since we were very young back then, when we were adolescent. I could feel it in my bones that he was the one destined for me. None could imagine how ecstatic I felt when I found out on my eighteenth birthday that we were actually mates.

He promised that he would love me deeply and forever. Seeing him favor another woman over me like this made me almost breathless. My wolf's spirit stirred further and excruciating pain spread all over my body.

“I am also sick, Ryan.” I muttered under my breath. Why couldn’t he feel it through our mate bond that I was sick, really sick, that I had less than a month left to live?

He looked at me, and his gaze became hard. He berated me. “You are already an adult, Scarlett. Act like one and don’t be childish that you always want to compete with others.”

His words pierced my heart and for a split second, I wondered if I had mistaken him for my mate when he actually wasn’t. Was I too smitten with him that I recognized the wrong person?

However, I knew that it was only my doubts speaking. The tattoo on our body was similar, and he was certainly my mate.

I didn’t know whether he felt the intense emotions swirling in my heart right now. There was a flash of what seemed like concern in his eyes before they disappeared, replaced by the sternness of the leader of a pack.

“You are a Luna, Scarlett. You should be generous with your pack members. Violet is going to be one of us soon.” After he said that, he left me alone to escort Violet out of the room.

I looked down. The pieces of sharp objects from the shattered bracelet had unknowingly embedded themselves into my palm. In my anger, I must have clenched my fists too hard.

Without caring for the pain, I continued to pick up the pieces, which felt like picking up the pieces of my heart.

This bracelet was a gift from my brother. Before I turned eighteen, I was attacked by a group of rogues and got so sick that no doctor could help me. My wolf became dormant and because of that, I also fell into a coma. My twin brother, Austin, heard about a temple that could grant people’s wishes.

He climbed that temple which was located at the top of a mountain. For two days and two nights, he relentlessly climbed alone. He prayed there for my health. Austin had sat for five days straight without food or water until someone there gave him this bracelet. After he returned, he put the bracelet on me. Miraculously, I woke up.

I wondered if this broken pieces of bracelet could be a sign. I had woken up because of it, and now that it was broken, it meant that my life would end soon, right?

Bitter laugh escaped from my mouth.

Suddenly, I heard someone clearing his throat. I already knew who it was, so I didn’t look up.

“She destroyed my bracelet, don’t you know?” I muttered coldly, sending him a brief glare before resuming my action.

Ryan clutched both my hands, stopping me from picking up the sharp pieces any longer. He said softly, “Let’s go to the infirmary.”

“She destroyed my bracelet, don’t you know?” I repeated, my voice rising a bit.

There was a brief silence before he spoke. “It’s just a bracelet, Scarlett. I can get you a lot more with whatever materials you want. Gold or diamonds, you can name it.”

I closed my eyes. Didn’t he know how much this bracelet meant to me? Two weeks after Austin gave it to me, he died in order to save someone from rogue werewolves. With that, he also buried his dream of becoming a warrior in a pack. He was gone before he could join any pack.

And the person he saved was none other than Violet.

My throat felt dry, and I pulled my hands from his grasp. The pain jerked me into slight tears, but I forcefully held back. After my wolf's spirit began dying, which I didn’t know exactly when, my regenerative ability also slowed down a lot.

Instead, my skin was more fragile that a light pinch could bruise it for days. I had hidden this condition from Ryan. I thought that I did well in hiding it, but seeing his reaction today, I had doubts. Maybe he just didn’t care.

“Get her out of here or I will be the one getting out of here.” I growled at him.