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.

“Scarlett! Stop being childish. She didn’t do it on purpose. Can’t you see that her eyesight is still not good? Maybe it fell to the floor, and she didn’t see it, thus she accidentally stepped on the bracelet.” Ryan’s voice was tinged with annoyance. His lips pulled into a thin line, and I could see that his patience was dwindling down.

I stayed silent, my eyes telling him that I was still angry and not convinced.

He took a deep breath and then continued, “I already explained to you that I did it to save her from those people. Once someone claims that they are mates with her, even I cannot save her.”

Yes, I already knew that there was such a rule between the werewolf community. However, has it to be him who kissed her? I suddenly had the urge to throw up.

“She is also a savior of our pack. She told us beforehand about the rogue attack so that we could be prepared. Without her, our losses would have been greater, with many pack members dead. Don’t you feel sad for them?” he continued, seeing that my breathing wasn’t as erratic as before. He probably thought that I had calmed down.

Inwardly, I smiled bitterly. I stood up and turned around, then told him. “Then I will be the one getting out of here, Ryan.”

He growled in frustration. Anger evident in his voice as he told me arrogantly. “You can try it. Go out and I will cut the funds to Miracle Shelter.”

I stopped, turned my body around to face him. My face painted with shock and disbelief. Did I hear it, right?

He actually used the Miracle Shelter to threaten me, his own mate, for the sake of Violet!

Because of frequent rogue attacks, my brother and I lost our parents early. We grew up in Miracle Shelter, where the werewolves, who had nowhere to go, stayed. There were a lot of kids and elderly there.

The place became a haven for werewolves who had no pack. They formed a close relationship with each other, like a family that the bond managed to keep us sane. We were not like rogue werewolves, where they succumbed to their wolf's side and acted primarily on instinct.

Although I joined Ryan to regain his place as the rightful heir of the Red Moon pack’s Alpha and later became his Luna, it was still my dream to see those kids and elderly get their stomach full and always warm during the winter. So, we also worked hard in order to make our business successful along with handling the pack.

I never guessed that out of anyone, Ryan would be the one dared to actually use this to threaten me.

My own mate, who was supposed to be the one protecting me, was making me feel threatened instead.

I closed my eyes in silent agony. For the sake of those kids and elderly, I could only compromise with him. I stayed silent, and he seemed to take it as an acquiescence that I no longer objected to Violet living here.

When I opened my eyes again, his pair of blue eyes had become calmer. His anger dissipated at my compliance.

Until his phone rang, and without looking back at me, Ryan exited the room. He went to Violet, who was complaining that her eyesight had gotten worse after I slapped her. With my hearing, I could still hear a bit of their conversation.

After he was gone, a familiar furry figure in his majestic black night color walked in. It was Lupin, my wolf companion whom I had raised since he was a pup.

“Lupin.” I trudged toward him, cradling his head, and he licked my face affectionately.

Lupin was a normal wolf, but he possessed intelligence better than his peers. However, no matter how smart he was, Lupin was still ultimately an ordinary wolf. It has been thirteen years since we took care of him.

He was already old and wasn’t as strong as before. Worse, his left front paw was injured when he tried to save us and that left him disabled ever since. Still, my love for him didn’t change.

When I had a fight with Ryan and spent my days outside, the staff had taken care of him. He was a docile wolf and a lot of people liked him.

Lupin seemed to sense my misery. He nudged me with his snout, as if telling me that he was here for me. I nearly burst into tears. A lot of things here hadn’t changed, only him…

I stroked Lupin’s black, silky fur and whispered in anguish. “Lupin, do you know? He had changed. Now, I don’t know if he is still the same person at all.”

He nudged me again, rubbing his head against my cheek. I took a deep breath and finally couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. They burst out like waterfalls.

After I felt a bit calmer, I guided him back to his room. Tonight was a sleepless night for me, and when I fell asleep, I sunk into a nightmare.

It happened when I was still a teenager. Ryan, who grew up without parents, found his mother again. However, she didn’t seem sane and only instinct had taken over.

Since he was yet an adult, Ryan couldn’t hold back the full force of an adult werewolf. Worse, it was a rogue werewolf who had gone feral. Panicking upon the situation, I jumped in front of him, taking the claw that embedded itself in my stomach.

I coughed a lot of blood at that time, thinking that I was going to die. It was also the first time that he looked so desperate. “You are not allowed to die! What does life mean without you? If you die, I will join you. Do you hear me, Scarlett?”

I jolted awake, feeling like a thousand needles pierced my nerves. I took a deep breath to control the dizziness, then I got up. The dream really bothered me that I was no longer interested in sleeping.

I got out of the room and at the same time chanced upon Violet, who was in her wolf form and tearing at Lupin. She hurled him into the air and I panicked.