I came home and set the mate bond dissolution papers on the table, then sat and waited for Damien.

It was well past midnight when the door finally opened. Damien rushed toward me.

"You—"

Before I could speak, he seized me by the collar and slammed me backward into the edge of the table. Pain shot through my spine, and I gasped.

His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging at his temples, staring at me like he wanted to tear me apart. "The antidote. Where is it?"

I could barely breathe. "What... antidote? I don't know what you're talking about."

He hurled me onto the couch. "Don't play dumb! Vivian was poisoned with wolfsbane. She's in the hospital. The doctor says only a specific antidote can cure it. She told me everything — you did this to her."

My vision darkened at the edges as I fought for air, my mind reeling.

"She's pregnant! She could lose the pup if she doesn't get the antidote soon. Do you have any idea how devastating this is for a mother? How could you be so cruel?"

I had no idea what he was talking about. All I knew was that he was hurting me over some other woman.

Damien was torn with turmoil, but at the sight of my tear-blurred eyes, his tone softened He dropped to his knees before me. "Elena, please. I know how you feel right now. I'll explain everything later. Just tell me where you hid the antidote. If we wait any longer, Vivian could die."

Watching him kneel there, desperate — my heart clenched.

Seven years ago, he'd knelt just like that. For me.

I'd been captured by rogue wolves. Damien had charged into the pack to save me, but he was outnumbered and beaten to the ground. They dragged me further and further away, my screams growing fainter.

Then — Damien knelt before them and begged.

"Please. Let her go. I'll do anything."

The mighty Alpha, kneeling before rogues. The humiliation should have been unbearable. But Damien hadn't cared. He only cared about saving my life.

Now I was seeing that same desperate look on his face. But it wasn't for me. It was for another woman.

I thought they were just a fling, but now it seemed Damien had truly fallen for her.

The realization cut through me like a blade. When I could finally breathe again, my voice came out raw. "It wasn't me."

He didn't believe me. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "This isn't the time for games! She told me everything — you had someone poison her water!"

Falsely accused with no way to defend myself, all I could do was cry and deny.

His gaze turned glacial. He scanned the room, then stormed into the kitchen.

Before I understood what was happening, he came back holding a bag of berries.

Horror flooded through me. "What are you doing? You know I'm allergic to those!"

Pain and reluctance flickered in his eyes, but his hands were anything but gentle.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I don't want to hurt you. I have no choice. Just give me the antidote and I'll pretend none of this happened."

I didn't poison anyone. How would I know where the antidote was?

I tried to run, but he caught me and pressed the berries to my lips.

"Last chance. Where's the antidote?"

I clenched my jaw and shook my head.

Disappointment filled his eyes. "I didn't want it to come to this. You forced my hand."

He pinched my nose shut. Gasping for air, my mouth opened involuntarily, and he shoved the berries in.

Blisters erupted across my skin. The suffocation washed over me as well.

"I just want you to feel what Vivian felt. Give me the antidote and I'll give you the allergy medicine."

Berry juice mixed with tears on my face. My vision blurred. Damien's face dissolved into nothing, and then — darkness.

In the darkness, I dreamed.

I was running through an endless night, but no matter how fast I ran, I couldn't find the light. Shadowy hands clawed at me from every direction, pulling me down.

I jolted awake, drenched in sweat.

Damien was slumped at my bedside, gripping my hand, murmuring my name over and over.

For a disorienting moment, it felt like seven years ago — when I'd been hospitalized and he'd stayed by my side all night.

He felt me stir and snapped upright, his worry easing slightly when he saw my eyes open.

"Elena. You're awake."

His voice was gentle. He reached for my hand. "You have no idea how worried I was."

Beneath the blankets, my fists clenched. The disgust I felt toward this man had reached its peak.

How could he do this to me, then sit there looking concerned?

I pulled my hand away and turned my face from him.

His smile froze, but he recovered quickly. "I panicked. It was reckless. But you know — Vivian saved my life. She saved me, Elena. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be standing before me now. As a Luna, do you not know how to repay a debt of gratitude?"

Repaying a debt — or being blinded by lust?

The lipstick stains on his shirt collar were still there. Whatever they'd done while I was unconscious was obvious enough.

"When you lost your memory, she filled the role of your mate," I said evenly. "In a way, she was your mate. Of course you should care about her."

He stared at me, thrown. My understanding hadn't brought him relief — only a strange ache.

"Let's dissolve the mate bond, Damien. I can't share my mate with another woman. If one of us has to go, I'd rather it be me."

I said it with a straight face, hoping for the answer I needed.

Instead, he laughed.

I didn't see what was funny about any of this.

He pulled me into his arms, pressing my head against his shoulder. "You're adorable when you're mad, you know that?"

"I'm not—"

"I know what you're thinking. You want me all to yourself, right? Relax — what I have with Vivian is gratitude, not love. You're the one I want. Once she has the pup safely, I'll cut things off. So no more talk about dissolving our bond, okay?"

In his eyes, my feelings didn't matter. My earnest pleas were just "tantrums" and "acting out."

His phone rang — Vivian's ringtone, the one I recognized instantly.

He answered, his expression melting into tenderness. Then he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

"Elena, Vivian knows she was wrong to accuse you without proof. I'll make sure she comes to apologize."

He left before I could respond. Just like that — gone, leaving me alone in the hospital room.

The day I was discharged, I took a cab home by myself.

Passing the pack altar, I told the driver to stop and got out.

Beyond the altar lay a sculpture garden — every Alpha and Luna pair in the pack's history had their likeness here.

I walked to the very last one and looked up at our faces.

Damien had carved this himself. He'd said no sculptor could capture a tenth of my beauty, so he had to do it with his own hands. He'd practiced for months, slicing his fingers open again and again, failing and starting over. Even with bandages wrapped around all ten fingers, he wouldn't quit.

When it was finally finished, he'd picked me up and spun me around, barely able to contain himself.

I'd cried when I saw it.

Now the sculpture was neglected, covered in scratched graffiti — "die," "disgusting," and worse.

None of that bothered me anymore. But the sight of it — of us — was unbearable.

I shoved the sculpture off its pedestal. Our faces shattered against the ground.

Every memory of him disgusted me.

When I got home, Vivian was sitting on my couch. Wearing my clothes.

"Luna, you're back! Is my being here making you uncomfortable? Maybe I should go."

She squeezed out a few tears. Damien's heart melted on cue. He wrapped an arm around her and opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it.

"No need. If this is Damien's home, it's yours too. Make yourself comfortable."

The words died in his throat. Watching me stand there, utterly expressionless, the unease in his chest grew.

It was as if... as if I truly didn't love him anymore.

He forced the thought away. She's just being mature about it, he told himself.

Then his phone rang. He rushed outside to take the call. I caught only one sentence from the other end:

"Alpha, the Moonlit Forest Resort is booked. When should we expect you and the Luna?"

My heart sank. Even the pack members could see it now — Damien didn't love me. I was Luna in name only. The real Luna, in everyone's eyes, was Vivian.

"You heard them. Everyone knows I'm the real Luna."

Vivian rubbed her belly smugly. "This child will be the Alpha's heir. One day this whole pack will be mine. What do you have left? No baby, no mark, no bond. Face it — you've already lost."

I didn't bother responding. I went to my room — I had luggage to pack.

A crash of breaking glass came from outside, followed by Vivian's scream.

I stepped out to check. Damien came running too. Vivian was on the floor, writhing in pain, a silver blade buried in her arm, blood pooling beneath her. His face went white.

"Vivian! Are you alright?"

She forced a few words through gritted teeth. "Elena... she tried to kill me..."

Damien's expression went black. Without waiting for my explanation, he threw me to the ground.

I instinctively wrapped my arms around my belly, pain tearing through me.

He scooped up Vivian and looked down at me, cold as ice. "If anything happens to Vivian's child, I will never forgive you."

Then he was gone.

My body ached, but the baby was fine. I had no intention of telling Damien about this child. He wasn't a good mate, and he wouldn't be a good father.

For days, Damien didn't come home. Vivian, however, was posting nonstop — intimate photos with Damien, one after another. I didn't care about any of them, except one photo that made my heart lurch.

Damien was on one knee, offering a protective amulet to Vivian.

Her caption read: 【He prayed to the Moon Goddess for this. It will keep me safe for life. His devotion warms my heart.】

I searched every corner of my room. My amulet was gone.

The man who'd sworn to protect me forever was the one breaking me, piece by piece.

I steadied myself and called my father. "Dad, how's everything I asked you to prepare?"

"All done. That son of a bitch is going to pay for what he did to you."

Relieved, I turned my mind to getting Damien to sign the dissolution papers. But that day came sooner than I expected.

A week later, Damien came home carrying jewelry and gifts. When he noticed my room had been cleared out, he frowned. "Why are you packing?"

"I'm going away for a few days."

"Where?"

"Is that your business? You never tell me where you go."

Something nagged at him — maybe it was the residual tug of the mate bond — but he wouldn't let himself think the unthinkable.

He pulled out a small box. Inside was an exquisite ring.

"Elena, I know I've been wrong. Even if you struck first, as an Alpha, I should have been generous. I shouldn't have blamed you just for your mistake."

"This is a family heirloom. I value it more than my own life. I'm giving it to you. No matter what happens, you're still the Luna of this pack."

The ring was a sacred relic. Not every Luna in the pack's history had held it — it represented supreme authority and the power to govern.

Once, I would have wept with joy. Now I only gave it a cold glance.

Watching me, Damien's heart plummeted. He swallowed hard. "Elena, are you—"

His phone rang, cutting him off. He checked the caller and stepped away.

Whatever was said on the other end drained the color from his face. His body trembled. His eyes went red. As if he’d heard something terrible.

"I'll take care of everything," he managed after a long pause.

He hung up, turned to face me, and couldn't meet my eyes.

"Elena. Let's dissolve the mate bond."