In their eyes, I was lazy. Weak. A Luna who had forsaken her duties.

Not because I lacked strength—but because I no longer had power in this house.

I numbly placed the last dish into the wooden cabinet, the clang of porcelain sounding louder than the hollow throb in my chest. The grand kitchen of the Sharp Fang Pack House gleamed with imported marble and enchanted lighting crystals, yet I felt like a stranger in it.

This wasn’t my home.

Not anymore.

“She’s sulking again,” came a silken voice from the other room. It was my daughter—in—law.

I stilled.

“Jealousy,” Elder Aric, said with a low chuckle. “She’s always been that way. She thinks staying beside the Alpha of the Sharp Fang Pack gives her the right to be worshipped. But she forgets—Heidy earned her status here. Claire just married into it.”

Heidy… Heidy Black.

The name hit like a lash across my wolf skin.

A beat of silence followed.

Then they started talking again.

“She always wanted both—power and affection. But in this world, you can’t have it all,” Alpha Lucas, my husband said flatly. “She chose the bond, so she must bear the consequences.”

Their words dug deep.

What they didn’t know… was that I never truly had either.

The sound of the front gates unlocking echoed through the manor— it was sharp, mechanized magic clicking in place.

Then, came the confident click of high-heeled boots.

Heidy.

Her scent arrived before she did—crisp moon flowers laced with burning sage. A dominant she-wolf’s perfume. She strode in, her long coat of Alpha fur trailing behind her like she was already the Luna.

“Alpha Lucas, I’ve brought the border reports and the alliance agreements from Moonfall territory,” she said, bowing respectfully. Her voice, warm as honey, grated against my raw nerves.

Lucas rose instantly, removing his reading glasses. “Heidy, thank you for your hard work. Stay for the evening meal. We’ve missed your presence.”

Heidy smiled modestly, brushing nonexistent dust from her flawless black coat.

“Only if it’s not an inconvenience.”

My daughter-in-law, Jasmine, clutched Heidy’s arm affectionately. “You look radiant. Your aura has strengthened again. What are you eating these days?”

Elder Alpha Aric chuckled warmly. “You’ve grown even thinner. That’s the mark of a true leader—burning energy to protect the pack.”

As always, Heidy Black responded to their praises with grace, then finally glanced around.

“Where is Claire? I haven’t seen her since the last full moon council.”

Lucas’s expression instantly soured.

“She’s brooding in the kitchen again. Honestly, she still fantasizes about holding a wedding ceremony as if she’s some fairy-tale Luna. She forgets she’s nearing forty-one. As if we have time to entertain her delusions.”

Elder Aric answered.

I clenched the edge of the sink so hard, that the veins in my hand bulged. My claws itched beneath my skin, begging to extend, but I retracted them forcefully. This wasn’t the time to lose control.

Heidy’s voice floated in again, too sweet to be sincere.

“Well, Alpha Lucas is already a legend in the Lycan halls. Claire just wants to feel relevant, perhaps. But it’s true—she should be more considerate of your duties. If I had her life—mated to a powerful Alpha, shielded from all war—I’d dedicate my entire existence to the household. She’s lucky she even gets to stay in this Pack House.”

Elder Aric nodded. “You speak with wisdom, as always… Claire, have you made dinner? We have guests. Don’t make them wait. How many times must I remind you—you’re so poor at handling things.”

I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve. The scent of meat and herbs filled the kitchen, but it no longer stirred hunger—just nausea. Still, I brought out the dishes and placed them gently on the long obsidian table. No one even looked up.

My son and his mate were flirting across the table. My mate—Alpha Lucas—was laughing with his father and pouring Heidy a drink.

Such a gesture he never offered me, even once.

My apron reeked of grease. My braid was loose, and my face felt tight from dried tears.

They sat like a family.

And I stood like a ghost.

It felt like I was watching someone else’s life. Like I had fallen out of the timeline where I was Luna, beloved and radiant, and into this strange parallel where I was a forgotten relic, only remembered when something needed cleaning.

After the meal, I gathered the empty dishes in a daze. The enchanted table shimmered beneath the oil stains, reflecting my disheveled face.

Next to Heidy—who was now leaning confidently against the table, speaking animatedly about military strategies and trade routes—I looked like a servant girl from a lower pack, not the daughter of the great Alpha Marcus of the Wildfang Pack.

Heidy and I were best friends since we’re little, like me, she was also in her forties, yet still breathtaking. Her skin glowed. Her posture was commanding. Her wolf aura pulsed strong with every word she spoke.

And me?

I got married early. Given up the Wildfang legacy. Given up training, given up my title as the only daughter of a powerful pack, and my ambitions.

I thought love would be enough.

I was wrong.

The laughter from the living room reached the kitchen once again. It was loud and vibrant.

The cold water stung as I washed the last plate. I looked down at my fingers—calloused and red from years of toil.

Then I heard it.

“Didn’t she buy some lunar tonic last week?”

Elder Aric asked casually.

My heart leaped.

Maybe he remembered I was unwell.

“I think Claire doesn’t need it,” he continued. “Give it to Heidy. She’s under pressure, balancing negotiations and patrols. She needs her strength.”

I dropped the ladle in the sink.

“That tonic was… for me,” I whispered. “I went to the healer last week. She said I was burning out. That I—”

Alpha Lucas turned, his face like stone. “You’re being petty. You can always buy more. Or do you not understand how shared wealth works? That money comes from our house—my house. And Heidy is your best friend. Or is even that too much generosity to expect from you?”

I froze.

Best friend?

She was the blade. And he handed her the hilt.

Heily was the she-wolf who would replace me the moment I collapsed. I could see it in the way Lucas looked at her now, not like a threat, but like an option.

Like a future.

My wolf stirred deep within, groaning beneath years of forced suppression.

They had all chosen Heidy. Over and over again.

And I let them.

I held the Lunar tonic in my hand like a lifeline.

This… was something I had saved for over a year. I had bartered furs for it. Brewed herbs for the sick in nearby packs. Hunted alone in the deep woods when Alpha Lucas refused to send a warrior with me. This was mine, something I clawed at — with every shred of strength left in me before I could finally afford it.

A small vial of the lunar elixir—rare and sacred to she-wolves. Meant to heal the soul and restore strength during a full moon.

But I said nothing as Alpha Lucas snatched the vial from my trembling hands and gave it to Heidy without hesitation.

As always.

After becoming his mate, I was no longer allowed to run with my pack. No longer allowed to fight, to hunt, to train. Alpha Lucas claimed a true Luna stayed in the Pack House, not on the battlefield or anywhere else.

I hadn’t shifted in over five years.

As the daughter of a powerful Alpha—I had once been feared. Trained by warriors. Gifted with powerful bloodlines, blessed by the Moon Mother herself.

Now, I was nothing more than a ghost in my mate’s territory. A housebound Luna in name only.

My claws dulled. My wolf is silent.

Firewood, moon salt, meat, herbs, charcoal ink, healing salves, and even tea leaves were all costs Alpha Lucas expected me to manage with no coin of my own. Every money I asked for was accompanied by a scoff, a reminder that I was a burden. A leech.

I lived like this for twenty years.

Pleasing. Shrinking. Swallowing every insult like ash.

I didn’t want to go on like this.

I walked back to my room—the once beautiful room now dull and cold—and sat at the old wooden desk.

My fingers trembled over the computer keyboard as I typed, word by word, the severance document.

A Mate Bond Severance.

Tears burned down my cheeks, each dropping a silent howl of despair that no packmate would hear.

I didn’t even realize Alpha Lucas had returned until I heard the door creak open.

He entered with the grace of a man who knew he owned everything in his path.

His eyes landed on my tear-stained face, and he sighed, irritated.

“Crying again?” he said. “Claire, must you always be so dramatic? It’s just a damn supplement. Why does it matter so much to you? Or are you jealous of Heidy again?”

I stayed silent.

That angered him.

A low growl rumbled in Lucas’s chest, his irritation boiling over. He stalked toward me like a predator closing in on a wounded mate, then backhanded me across the face—sharp, deliberate, and thick with dominance. It wasn’t just a slap; it was a warning from a wolf who knew no mercy.

His hand grazed my cheek like he couldn’t be bothered to use his strength on me anymore.

“Look at yourself,” he sneered. “Fat. Bloated. You haven’t shifted in years. There’s no muscle left. So why waste rare and expensive tonics on you? Heidy earns 137,000 a year. You? You’ve earned nothing.”

My chest tightened.

I didn’t tell him I’d gained weight because I was overworked, or that I only ate what was left after everyone else had fed. I served the warriors, cleaned the pups, tended the sick, cooked the meals, and mended the tunics.

I didn’t tell him I wore the same wolf-hide cloak for ten winters.

Never bought myself armor.

Never ran under the full moon.

So this was what Alpha Lucas Barlowe meant by "seeking pleasure"?

He towered over me now, his Alpha dominance pushing down like a crushing fog.

“What are you doing?” he barked. “Come here.”

He expected me to help him undress. To kneel and pull his boots off like I always did.

For two decades, I obeyed.

But not tonight.

Tonight, I sat frozen, staring blankly ahead, my fingers clenched around the shard.

“Claire,” he growled, his voice lowering. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

I looked at him, and for the first time in years, I saw him clearly—not as the mate who once whispered false promises into my ear, but as the male who broke me piece by piece.

“When you were young,” he hissed, “you were so cute. Sweet. You used to smile and beg me to play with your hair. What are you doing now? You’re nothing but an old she-wolf. A useless Luna.”

I didn’t flinch when he grabbed my collar and yanked me to my feet.

But deep inside, my wolf stirred.

Just a twitch.

A flicker.

--

Years ago, under the blood moon, he said to me:

Marry me, Claire Wildfang. I will be the wolf who charges forward, and you will be the one who holds the Pack. We’ll rely on each other, be each other’s harbor in the storm. Hand in hand, we’ll run through life’s wild hunt.”

At the time, Lucas had just ended things with Heidy.

Was it love? Or just bitterness?

I was too young to tell the difference.

“You’re gentle. Strong. Smart. Loyal,” he said. “Heidy’s too wild. She doesn’t get me. But you, Claire… you’re everything I need.”

Years ago, I believed him.

I gave up on myself. I gave up my alpha father’s pack. Gave up freedom.

Twenty years of being the perfect Luna. The perfect mate. The perfect fool.

Now I saw it for what it was.

Alpha Lucas Barlowe mated with me with a clear plan — a calculated trap from the start. His sweet words were bait — honey layered over poison.

He needed someone who would support him while he and Heidy clawed their way up the ranks of the Council of Alphas.

He needed someone to carry the burden so he could chase his ambitions. A stepping stone. A housekeeper. A weak Luna who wouldn’t challenge him.

He needed someone to waste.

And I let him.

I was deep in thought when suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket, its glow slicing through the shadows. I hesitated.

How many moons had passed since anyone remembered I existed?

How long had I been forgotten — cast aside like a lone wolf past her prime?

It’s already been so long, that I don’t even remember anymore.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and froze. A photo had been sent to me through the pack’s secure Airdrop network — a wedding photo.

It wasn't just any wedding, but Alpha Lucas and Heidy’s. There they stood, side by side under the blue moon, dressed in ceremonial wolf-hide robes embroidered with silver threads that shimmered like starlight — the sacred garb of fated wolfmates in our pack.

The air around them seemed to pulse with ancient lupine energy, the kind only alpha bonds could summon during moon-blessed unions.

Attached to the photo was a wedding invitation stamped with the blood-red wax seal of the Sharp Fang Pack’s High Council. The invitees were named: my son, my daughter-in-law, and the elder alpha Aric Barlowe.

But not me. Of course not me.

The wedding date was next Wednesday.

It wasn’t just any day. It was the same night Lucas and I had once marked for a joint border run and council negotiations — On the same date, the moon had claimed our firstborn pup, Stephanie, twenty years ago. The night she was lost to the curse that haunts our bloodline like a howling ghost.

Lucas was going to mate with Heidy beneath the blue moon — on the anniversary of our daughter’s death.

My hands trembled uncontrollably as I stared at the image glowing coldly on my screen.

Suddenly, the heavy wooden door creaked open and my son strode in, his footsteps sure and predatory, the gait of a young wolf ready to dominate. He clapped my shoulder with a wolf’s confidence.

“Mom, my mate’s friend is getting bonded next Wednesday. We’re all invited — even Grandpa. You should pick out some dresses in the next two days. It’s a high-rank pack bonding. You don’t want to shame the bloodline.”

I swallowed hard and nodded silently, dread pooling in my gut. My son’s words were a blade twisting deeper, right through my tether to the pack.

As he left, Alpha Lucas and I were left in a suffocating silence. I hesitated, then raised my eyes to his — searching for any flicker of the wolf I once loved.

“Next Wednesday… are you going on that border trip?” I asked quietly.

Lucas blinked, momentarily unmasked. Then he nodded.

Making the last shred of hope in me shatter like a bone under a fang.

That night, I tossed and turned, trapped beneath the weight of unshed tears and a gnawing ache in my chest. Lucas had always been too intolerant of my restlessness, shoved me aside, and retreated to his side of the bed, leaving me alone with my pain.

At dawn, my body betrayed me — my internal clock pulling me awake at exactly 4:30 a.m., as it had every moon rise since the day Stephanie’s heartbeat vanished from the pack bond. I used to sleep late, before the mating, before this cage.

Silently, I slipped out of the house, carrying a basket of fresh-picked roots and greens, the morning mist curling around me like a spectral pack.

Passing through the eastern clearing, I saw Elder Alpha Aric speaking with two elder wolves of the council. His voice carried over the cool air, proud and sharp like a claw unsheathed.

“My goddaughter is getting bonded next Wednesday,” he boasted, holding up a photo on his phone. It showed a sleek ceremonial wolf-hide dress, trimmed with glinting moonstones. “I didn’t sleep all night choosing it.”

One elder scoffed. “By the moon, since when do you have a goddaughter? What about your daughter-in-law, Claire? Haven’t seen her in moons.”

Elder Alpha Aric waved the comment away, venom dripping from his words. “Claire? Don’t speak her name. She was just the daughter of an Alpha of a crumbling pack— and barely that. My goddaughter is the Alpha’s secretary. Capable, loyal, and wise. She’ll be the one to care for me when I’m grey and toothless.”

I lowered my gaze and tried to slip away unnoticed.

Until...

“Elder Alpha, is that Claire?” one of the elders called out.

Aric looked at me, his eyes cold as a winter forest.

“Come here,” he snapped, beckoning like a predator eyeing weakened prey.

My face burned with shame as he barked orders, “I’m attending the bonding ceremony. This dress — eleven thousand silvers — you’ll transfer the funds. And don’t disgrace the bloodline. You’re fat and slow. I barely acknowledge you as the Luna of my pack.”

His hand snatched my phone, using Alpha Lucas’s secondary pack alpha card to pay for the dress before shoving me toward the market stalls.

“Move faster! Morning meals don’t cook themselves. Do you want to starve your Alpha? Useless, unfilial she-wolf.”

I staggered beneath the weight of his words, my shadow stretching thin across the dawn-lit stones, bloated and broken.

Back home, I prepared the morning meal with trembling hands. When my son and daughter-in-law finally descended, they barely touched their food, scowling with distaste.

“This slop isn’t fit for wolves!” My daughter-in-law spat, flinging her chopsticks aside like claws.

Alpha Lucas’s footsteps echoed down the stairs. He didn’t even glance at me as he swiped his pack alpha card. Slamming his phone down on the table, he growled, “You dumb, useless mutt spent eleven thousand silvers again? Always feed yourself and waste resources. Claire, do you even care about our status in the pack?”

I opened my mouth, my lips trembling, desperate to defend myself.

But just as I tried to speak, he cut me off. “I don’t want to hear your howling. I’m off to the High Council’s meeting,” he snapped, grabbing his coat and stalking out with a snarl.

I stood frozen, then slowly retreated upstairs, a prisoner in my own home.

Over the next days, I kept the whole house spotless and toiled like a she-wolf under punishment. Lucas barely acknowledged the change — using it as fuel to work harder, snapping less at me only when his tempers had already been spent at the office or during patrols.