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."

Something flickered in my eyes — the first crack in my composure.

Damien's face twisted with conflict. "Vivian has a terminal illness. She doesn't have long. Her dying wish is a mating ceremony — a real one. She wants to be my Luna before she goes. She saved my life. Can't I grant her this one thing?"

"Of course, we'd only dissolve our bond temporarily. We'll get back together afterward. This won't affect the alliance between our packs. I don't want our personal business to interfere with politics."

All those pretty words boiled down to one thing: he wanted Vivian's child and my family's wealth. He wanted it all.

Despite everything, I nodded.

Relief broke across his face. "I'll have the papers drawn up right away."

"No need." I pulled the dissolution agreement from my bag. "I've had these ready for a while."

His relief vanished, replaced by something hard and suspicious.

"How did you—"

"Stop stalling. Sign. Your Vivian is waiting."

He picked up the pen but hesitated at the last moment, looking up at me. "Elena... do you still love me?"

I laughed — a cold, hollow sound — and turned the question back on him. "Do you?"

"Of course I—"

Vivian's wailing cut through from outside.

"Damien! If I can't be with you, what's the point of living? I'd rather die than be apart from you!"

She raised a silver blade to her own chest. Damien bolted toward her and caught her in his arms. "I've already dissolved things with Elena! The ceremony is happening. Calm down!"

She thrashed and sobbed. "You haven't signed yet! You're lying to me!"

Without a second's hesitation, Damien bit open his hand and signed his name in blood. He flung the papers at me. "Sign it! Do you want to watch her die?"

I bit my own hand and let my blood fall onto his. The two bloods merged and ignited, burning the contract to ash. In that instant, our bond was severed.

Even though love was already dead, the severance still hurt — a deep, aching hollow where the bond had been.

Damien's jaw clenched. His body shook. I knew he felt it too, but he wouldn't show it — not in front of Vivian.

The moment it was done, Vivian stopped crying. She grabbed Damien's arm and walked out without a backward glance.

Silence filled the room. My heart emptied along with it. The pain of dissolution was far worse than I'd expected. Sweat beaded on my forehead before I even realized it.

After a long while, I went to my room, grabbed the bags I'd already packed, and walked out of the place I'd called home for seven years.

At the airport, I blocked Damien on everything — every number, every contact, every link to my old life. Then I boarded the plane.

The pack's buildings shrank beneath me until they were nothing. A new life was beginning.