Declan frowned, his hatred for me running deep.

He and I had once been deeply in love.

In the battles against our enemies, we trusted each other completely, our teamwork seamless.

He promised me he would be loyal to me for life.

I had excitedly brought the news to the pack elders.

At the feast celebrating us as mates-to-be, I was supposed to be the only one on his mind.

But Declan's gaze never once left my sister, Dahlia.

A knot of unease tightened in my gut, and I expressed my dissatisfaction to him that night.

But when I told him, his brow furrowed with impatience, his tone dismissive.

I brushed it off, assuming he was just exhausted from the long banquet.

I let him rest, never imagining it was the beginning of my tragedy.

On the day of our bonding ceremony, I saw the corrupted mate's mark belonging to Dahlia on his chest and furiously confronted him.

However, he just looked at me with cold eyes and said, "I will not let an ambitious she-wolf be my Luna! The Luna of this pack can only be your sister, Dahlia!"

I couldn't understand.

Why was the wolf who once praised my talents now attacking me with such vicious words?

Losing control, I rushed to the center of the ceremony, demanding to know if Dahlia had said something to Declan.

In the midst of the argument, enemies armed with moon-forged silver weapons suddenly breached our defenses, slaughtering everyone.

I fought with all my might but ultimately fell into a pool of blood, watching my pack members fall one by one.

I couldn't rest, even in death.

As one of the pack's mystic architects, I had failed to defend against the enemy.

How did they break through? I died with my eyes wide open, consumed by hatred and confusion.

So when I opened my eyes again, reborn, I chose to let Declan and Dahlia be.

I did not cause any trouble for Dahlia. Instead, I led the pack members in reinforcing our defenses, cautiously investigating every possible weakness, and ultimately, we slaughtered the invaders, preventing the disaster.

Watching the two of them successfully complete their bonding ceremony, watching the pack celebrate, I had no more regrets.

I decided to leave them behind and forge my own future in the human world.

But I never imagined they would twist my choice to leave into something so contemptible.

They called me a failure in love, believing I was expelled from the pack, forced into the outside world.

"Aveline, you are no longer the Alpha's daughter. You should lose that arrogant attitude."

Declan stood before me, his arm wrapped around Dahlia's waist.

Dahlia's eyes were red and swollen as she said with a sob, "Aveline, I don't care about your past with Declan. I can accept it."

"Come back and live in the pack, even if it's as an Omega."

After speaking, Dahlia looked me up and down.

"And by the looks of it, you still haven't found a mate, have you?"

"I know it's painful that Declan chose me over you. So, to make it up to you, Declan and I will help you find a mate."

"Given your status, you're past the point of finding an Alpha mate, but I'll do my best to find you a decent Beta."

Her words sounded so sincere, making many werewolves sigh at her thoughtfulness.

I couldn't stand to watch her act any longer and turned to leave.

But as I turned to go, I bumped into the banquet's centerpiece—the Starlight Projector—sending it crashing to the floor.

A heartbeat later, Dahlia's shriek tore through the hall.

She covered her mouth, pointing at the shattered crystal on the floor, and shrieked, "Aveline! That was the ceremonial centerpiece Ultima Corbin prepared for his mate!"

"What have you done?!"

Dahlia's cry immediately drew everyone's attention to me.

They looked at the shards on the floor, their faces pale with shock.

"Ultima Corbin is ruthless! The youngest and cruelest Ultima in Alliance history!"

"And he adores his mate! I heard a wolf barely brushed against his mate, and Corbin lopped off the guy's hand!"

I rubbed my forehead, recalling that this was true.

But that was because the wolf had gotten handsy.

Corbin had only told him to apologize, not knowing the man had dared to touch me.

When Corbin found out, he flew into a rage and cut off the hand that had touched me.

"If Aveline destroyed the Ultima's ceremonial centerpiece, will he kill her?"

I looked at the person who spoke, shocked.

In their eyes, was Corbin really that brutal?

I would have to talk to him about his reputation later.

However, the werewolves around me mistook my shock for fear.

Dahlia's eyes danced with schadenfreude, even as she feigned concern.

She nervously grabbed my hand. "Aveline! Run! I'll help you explain!"

Declan pulled Dahlia behind him in disgust.

"Leave her be, Dahlia! You're too kind!"

"Someone like her should have been dealt with long ago! If you help her, you'll be dragged down with her!"

At the mention of being "dragged down," the crowd instinctively recoiled from me.

However, Dahlia did not.

She shook off Declan's hand and anxiously pulled me along, her concern a blatant performance.

"Aveline, I'll get you out of here! I've always felt guilty that Declan abandoned you for me. So it's only right that I do this."

"The pack is doing well now. I'll go beg the Ultima for mercy later. He'll forgive your disrespect."

Declan sneered.

"Good thing I chose Dahlia. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even known when I'd be dragged down to my doom by you!"

Declan's words earned murmurs of agreement from several nearby werewolves.

"Alpha Declan's decision was the right one! It's a blessing our Luna is Dahlia!"

"Luna Dahlia is both beautiful and kind!"

I snorted, showing no intention of leaving.

Declan angrily grabbed my wrist and dragged me outward.

"Aveline! Dahlia is right! You're nothing but selfish!"

"Let me tell you, today is a special occasion. You're going to bring disaster upon our entire pack!"

His hypocrisy disgusted me, and I wrenched my hand from his grasp.

"Touch me again, and I can't promise what will happen to the pack, but I guarantee you'll lose your Alpha title."

"What?"

I rubbed my aching wrist, looking at the stunned Alpha.

"Get your filthy hands off me, Declan."

"And you, Dahlia. Drop the act. It's disgusting."

Dahlia froze, clearly stunned that I had called her out so bluntly. Fresh tears welled, clinging to her lashes.

"Aveline... I'm doing this for your own good... I'm worried about you. How can you say that to me?"

I sneered, my voice flat. "If you were really worried about me, why didn't I hear a word from you in the three years I was gone?"

"So why the phony act now?"