Lyra felt as though she had fallen into an ice cave carved from silver.

Her fists clenched tightly, claws threatening to break through skin. Fenris controlled New Metro territory with absolute dominance. Once he spoke, no wolf in any den dared help her. His command voice echoed through every pack runner, every elder, every guard who might have offered sanctuary.

In the end, the path she had worked so hard to find was blocked again. The familiar darkness crept through her chest—the bond-sickness that came from a forced claiming, from years of having her will crushed beneath his Alpha authority. Her whole body shook, even her voice trembled.

"Fenris… if you keep forcing me like this, aren't you worried you'll be pushing me to death one day?"

Fenris's expression stiffened for a moment, his amber eyes flickering with something that might have been concern—or possession. Then he said softly, "Lyra, I love you so much. How could I ever push you to death? Since you're begging anyway, why beg outsiders instead of begging me?"

Lyra couldn't say a word. His love was too heavy. It crushed her until she couldn't breathe, until her wolf cowered in the depths of her soul, until her own scent turned bitter with submission she had never chosen.

She couldn't bear it anymore. "I'm begging you. Can you show me mercy?" She looked up at him in despair, letting him see the hollow emptiness in her eyes.

For the first time, the proud Omega of Stormvale blood lowered her head to Fenris Blackthorn. Everything was going exactly as he wanted, yet seeing Lyra give in still made Fenris uneasy. Something in his chest tightened—a warning he refused to acknowledge.

He lowered his eyes and pulled her up, his grip firm on her wrist. "Come back to the den with me first. I'll take care of your brother's case."

Lyra accepted her fate. As long as Kael could be cleared of his charges. As long as her brother could walk free from the iron-silver holding den where he'd been caged for crimes he never committed.

Her lips parted slightly. "Fenris, if you break your word again, our story will only end when one of us is in a grave."

But Fenris didn't hear her.

All of a sudden, Selene suddenly collapsed for no clear reason—her body going limp, her scent turning sharp with distress that seemed too perfectly timed. All of his attention went to her. He gathered Selene up in his arms and rushed out of the private chamber, his command voice booming for healers.

Watching how carefully he held Selene, how his entire being oriented toward protecting her, Lyra laughed softly. The sound was hollow.

She didn't understand. If he loved Selene so much, why wouldn't he let Lyra go? Why wouldn't he sever their bond and release her from this cage of teeth and territory?

Fenris, could you really see your own heart clearly?

That evening, Fenris didn't come to escort her to the Moon-Market rite. He sent word through a pack runner that she should go first.

Before Selene returned, Fenris never let Lyra be alone. His scent was always nearby, his guards always watching, his presence always pressing against her like a weight she couldn't shake. Right after Selene came back, everything changed.

As soon as Lyra entered the grand hall where the Moon-Market was held—a cavernous space lit by silver-touched lanterns and thick with the mingled scents of a dozen bloodlines—she saw Selene holding Fenris's arm as they walked in together.

So it wasn't that he had no time. He just had no time for her.

The market broker, Balthazar Gravesong, flattered Fenris eagerly, his oily voice carrying across the gathering. "This must be Selene Nightbloom. Seeing you in person is even better than rumors. You're beautiful and capable—your scent-weaving talents are spoken of in every den."

"Everyone says that if you hadn't left Alpha Blackthorn's side back then, the position of his bonded mate would surely have been yours."

"No wonder Alpha Blackthorn takes such good care of you. You two look perfect together—your scents practically sing in harmony."

Selene smiled proudly, her delicate features arranged in perfect humility that didn't reach her eyes. "You flatter me, Balthazar. I owe everything to Fenris for giving me a chance to serve his pack. If not, how could an Omega with a severed bond like me stand here today?"

The crowd stepped on Lyra to praise Selene. Every word was a blade, every glance a judgment. Fenris didn't say a single word to defend Lyra—didn't release even a hint of protective scent, didn't acknowledge her existence.

In their first year of forced bonding, someone once spoke badly about Lyra. Fenris had broken that wolf's jaw on the spot, his dominance crashing through the room like a storm. Now, these wolves mocked her word by word in front of him, and Fenris showed no reaction at all.

So this was the difference between love and no love.

Lyra took a deep breath, steadying her wolf, and turned to leave. But Selene deliberately stopped her, her voice pitched to carry.

"Lyra Stormvale, you're here. Why didn't you greet me properly?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward them. The broker, who had just insulted Lyra, looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and bury himself beneath the stone floor.

Lyra couldn't leave now. So she walked over calmly, her cold eyes sweeping across everyone present. She let her noble bloodline show in her bearing—the ancient Stormvale dignity that no forced bond could strip away.

"Selene Nightbloom, I am Fenris's bonded mate. My Alpha is here. Why shouldn't I be here?"

"As for you—you left Fenris back then to chase after foreign Alphas with larger territories. After your bond was severed, you ran back to this territory to find him again."

"One thing you said is right. Fenris has patience. If I were him, I would stay far away from an Omega like you, not keep you by my side as a scribe."

"As an Omega, let me give you some advice, Selene. If you want to bond again, find an unmated Alpha."

"Stop clinging to a bonded male every day. It's embarrassing, and it only makes people think no Alpha wants your scent."

Every word cut sharply. Lyra showed Selene no mercy at all. The gathered wolves shifted uncomfortably, scent-pressure rising in the hall.

Before Selene could arrange her features into hurt submission, Fenris spoke first, his command voice crashing through the room as he angrily scolded Lyra, "That's enough!"

"Selene is my person. If you have a problem, take it up with me. Don't bully her."

The smile on Lyra's face looked worse than crying.

Bullying Selene? From beginning to end, the one being bullied was always Lyra.

But Fenris was blind to it. Clearly, he couldn't see it at all.

The pack members around looked at Lyra with pity. As the bonded mate treated like this, she was probably one of a kind.

Painful memories flooded back one by one. Her illness acted up again, the familiar trembling that came when her suppressed instincts warred against the forced bond.

"If I'm not welcome here, then I'll leave." She clenched her fists tightly.

Selene pretended to step forward to stop her, but Fenris stopped her instead. "Leave her alone. The entire Stormvale bloodline is finished. She still carries bad temper from that. I'm not going to spoil her."

After leaving the Moon-Market hall, Lyra went to the back garden of the Central Den.

The last time she came here with Fenris, the place was full of moonflower vines. His promises were just like those blossoms. Beautiful for a moment, then quickly withered.

She didn't want to cry, but because of her illness, tears kept falling. Her hands shook as she took out a vial of heat-stabilizers. Before she could take the medicine, Selene rushed over and snatched it away.

She was no longer weak like before. Now she was sharp and cruel.

"Oh? Is this medicine for your unstable condition? Huh, so you really are broken. Kael is a criminal in the holding den and now you're mentally scattered. You two really are perfect siblings."

Lyra could endure many things. But not insults about her brother. Her eyes filled with anger. "Selene, say one more bad word about my brother, and I'll tear your throat out!"

Selene laughed coldly. "Lyra, you're no longer the Stormvale heir. Your bloodline is disgraced. Fenris protects me everywhere now. What do you have to fight me with?"

"Just like back then. You knew Kael didn't force himself on me. But all I had to do was release distressed pheromones and act pitiful, and Fenris believed me."

"What I didn't expect was that Fenris would personally send his own bond-brother to the iron-silver holding den for me. But that proves how much he loves me."

"Lyra, I destroyed your pack once. Now I can turn you into a miserable omega dog again. If you don't believe me, we can try and find out."

Lyra completely lost control. She raised her hand and slapped Selene hard.

"Selene, you framed my brother. I will end your life!" She grabbed Selene by the neck, her eyes red with rage.

Just as she thought she could finally take revenge, Fenris rushed over. He pulled them apart with Alpha strength and threw Lyra several meters away.

Lyra's calf was cut by a sharp stone. A long wound opened, over ten centimeters. Blood stained the ground.

But Fenris only looked at Selene. "Selene, are you hurt? Are you okay?"

Selene hid in his arms, crying softly. "Fenris, I thought I was going to die just now. If you hadn't come, the Stormvale omega would have killed me."

Fenris turned to look at Lyra. His eyes were full of disappointment and hatred.

In the past, the way he looked at her was full of love. Now, after just a few words from Selene, only hatred remained.

Fenris... Fenris... You kept saying you love me. But everything you do hurts me.

"Is this what you call a mating bond?" Lyra muttered to herself.

Fenris spoke coldly. "Lyra. Apologize."

Even in this miserable state, Lyra still refused to lower her head.

"I did nothing wrong. I will not apologize." She continued, "Fenris, you're the one who's wrong. You trusted Selene. She admitted it herself just now. That she framed my brother and destroyed my pack."

"From beginning to end, she has been weaving false scents in front of you. She has been lying to you the whole time."

Lyra thought that after revealing so much, Fenris would at least question it—even if he didn't fully believe her.

Yet, he didn't.

"That's enough! Even now, you're still trying to frame her," Fenris snarled, his Alpha command voice pressing against her like a physical weight. "Back then, your brother forced himself on her. And now you keep throwing false scent-accusations at her."

"Lyra, I really misjudged you. I didn't expect your heart to be so cruel."

Lyra's heart turned completely cold. She slowly climbed up from the ground. Even though she was in a terrible state—her Omega submission instincts screaming at her to bare her throat—she stood straight.

"We were both wrong. Maybe we should never have been bonded," she said.

Her white ceremonial clothes were stained red with blood at that moment. But Fenris felt no pity and mocked her instead.

"Hah! Even now, you're still blaming others. Lyra, I've been too good to you."

"Since that's the case, you need to learn a lesson so you won't harass pack members. Summon the Pack Guards! Tell them that Lyra Stormvale had intentionally injured a fellow Omega."

Everyone around was shocked, their scents spiking with fear and disbelief.

Selene pretended to be kind and said softly, her voice trembling with practiced weakness, "Fenris, forget it. She is still your mate. I can suffer a little. Don't let my matter damage your bond."

But Fenris replied firmly, "Selene, you don't need to be so understanding. I promised you long ago that I would never let anyone harass you again."

Hearing his promise to Selene, Lyra felt sharp pain in her chest where the forced bond-mark burned. Those words... he once said the same things to her.

Lyra looked at him and spoke slowly, "Fenris, back then, to make me accept your claim, you promised you would never let me suffer. You said you would only love me in this life."

"You said I could do anything and you would always protect me." By the end, her voice grew weaker. She was exhausted. "You made too many Moon Oaths, but you kept none of them."

Fenris didn't care. "Every cause has its result. Your brother hurt Selene. Your whole bloodline should make up for it."

Lyra stared at him with red eyes. "What if everything was a lie she told you? What if the scent evidence was fabricated?"

Fenris sneered. "You're saying again that she framed your brother? I've heard this for years. You're not tired of saying it, but I'm tired of hearing it."

"Don't you always say the one in my heart is Selene?"

"Fine. I'll make it true. I'll let you see that without my protection, without my Alpha authority, you are nothing."

He turned to the Pack Guards and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Take the Mate to the Sanctuary Den. She'll calm down properly after that."

As the guards grabbed Lyra, her heat-suppressant medicine fell to the ground, the vials scattering across the stone floor.

Fenris reacted quickly. When he saw the medicine, he laughed coldly. "Suppressants? You're having heat instability? Lyra, what trick is this now?"

"You really love acting, don't you? Fine, I'll go along with it."

"Tell the Sanctuary Den that my mate is mentally unstable. No special treatment for her."

"Put her together with the other broken wolves. Let them 'discuss' their afflictions together."

Lyra already knew Fenris was heartless. But hearing such cruel words with her own ears still made her heart shake.

As she was dragged away, she laughed coldly. "Fenris, you will regret this."

For the next half month, Lyra was locked in the Sanctuary Den with wolves who had lost themselves to moon-madness and feral rage.

During the day, she received so-called "submission therapy." She was bound with silver-threaded restraints for forced compliance sessions. She was made to swallow unknown herbs that dulled her senses and suppressed her wolf entirely.

At night, she had to stay alert, afraid the feral wolves might attack her in their confusion.

For fifteen days, she was tortured until she was barely recognizable as the proud Stormvale Omega she had once been.

The only constant thing was this: Every day, Fenris sent pack members to force her to admit she was wrong—to sign a Moon Oath of submission and false confession.

At first, Lyra said nothing. Later, she was tortured until her mind began to fracture. She could barely speak through the haze of drugs.

In the end, she couldn't hold on anymore. She looked at the wolves Fenris sent and said in despair, "I did nothing wrong. If you're capable, then kill me."

If death meant escaping this horrible life forever, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Finally, on the fifteenth day, Lyra was pushed to the edge of death. She was rushed to the Healer Den overnight, her wolf barely flickering within her broken body.