I hadn’t moved from the bench placed on the balcony for what felt like an eternity, the scent of damp earth and pine needles doing little to soothe the ache in my soul. Suddenly, an iced mug of frozen beverages spilled across my head. The chilling sensation made me shiver in the cold.

Ember, her eyes gleaming with cruel amusement, sauntered into view. She’d shed her human guise and stood before me in her magnificent wolf form, a cup of the chilled beverages clutched in her powerful jaws.

"Ava," she growled after shifting to her human form, her voice a low rumble, "Did you enjoy the show? Watching you leave with tears in your eyes, was truly delightful."

So, she’d been watching.

"I heard your wolf is rejecting the change. Shivers, fever, weakness… you must be suffering, hmm? You can’t even hold your wolf form properly. But me? I shift effortlessly. You're now a half-breed, but at least your life force was good for something. I owe you one. Thanks for the… entertainment."

“Do you know I never needed a life force! I purposely defected my life force just at the time when your mother needed yours, forcing Lucas to put yours in my chest, causing your mother to die instantly.”

"And our father, the late Alpha, that fool had a change of heart after knowing how I slept with your mate, causing the death of his first wife. He really thought he could challenge me for Alpha and give my pack to you? Keep dreaming. They belong to me. You were nothing but a weakling, a disgrace."

"The old fool had the nerve to challenge me when I demanded him to leave the Alpha's position to me. So, of course, I had to teach him a lesson. I shifted and… persuaded him to yield. He was so humiliated. But, he was still powerful. That fool would have won, had I not whispered into his ears how I snatched your life force, causing you the suffering for your whole life. That was when he lost his desire to live, and died, murmuring your name in his last breathing.

"When the elders were considering you as Alpha since you are the eldest daughter, I reminded the pack of your human weakness. As I expected, they were easily swayed; they chose me instead. Your human blood made you vulnerable, they needed a pureblood Alpha."

"By the way, you were too weak to witness your father's final submission. He whimpered like a pup, his tail tucked between his legs, as he was forced to surrender his title to me. Serves him right! He dared question my claim, so I took his leadership in return!"

My eyes burned with a fury I’d never known.

I had never imagined this was the true reason for my father's decline.

My body trembled, overwhelmed by the shock. How could she be so ruthless? How could she usurp my birthright and speak of it with such callous indifference?

I lunged, claws extended, ready to tear her apart, but before I could reach her, Ember deliberately spilled the chilled beverages over herself, letting out a dramatic yelp.

The next instant, someone shoved me violently backward.

Lucas, my husband, still sweating and wearing wrinkled clothes, stood protectively in front of her, his eyes narrowed with fury as he snarled at me, "Ava! What in the name of the Moon Goddess do you think you're doing?!"

With feigned distress, Ember whimpered, "Lucas, I only wanted to offer her some comfort and apologize for stealing her mate. But she accused me of killing her father, attacked me, and even… poured the frozen beverages on me on this cold night. If you hadn’t intervened, she might have killed me!"

"Offering her drink was my idea," she added, affecting a wounded expression. "I know they weren’t much, but it was a gesture of goodwill. And now I’m even injured…"

Lucas’s expression hardened immediately.

"Ava, your father was weak. He couldn’t handle the pressures of Alpha. He shouldn’t have challenged Ember’s rightful claim. Before the challenge, it’s expected for the Alpha to prove their strength. Ember was only asserting her dominance, and instead of accepting the natural order, you’re blaming her for everything?"

I couldn’t believe the absurdity of his words.

"Lucas, tell me the truth. How did my mother truly fall? Did she truly receive my life force?"

Lucas’s face tightened with annoyance.

"Of course. Didn’t I already explain? The ritual backfired. These dark rituals can be brutal. Didn’t I tell you already? Don’t you understand? And now you’re turning Ember into the villain. Apologize to her. Now."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Tears welled in my eyes, the weight of betrayal crushing me. This was the man I had loved for seven years, who wouldn’t even offer me the truth.

In a haze of despair, I snatched another cup of chilled beverages from Ember's hands. She had emptied only one forth of it on herself, I emptied the rest in one sip.

The moment the liquor hit my empty stomach, a searing pain ripped through me, and I stumbled, collapsing to the earth, my wolf form flickering uncontrollably, the chilled beverages, now poison, chilling my veins.

Lucas’s eyes widened in shock as he urgently called out, "Ava, what are you doing? It’s too cold! Stop now!"

I threw the empty cup to the ground and flashed him a smile.

"Ava, what have you done?" Lucas's voice was laced with a mixture of anger and worry, but I knew it was all an act.

I tried to speak, but my voice was barely a whisper. "You... lied to me, Lucas. You knew the truth about my mother's death, and you lied."

Lucas's expression faltered for a moment, and I saw a glimmer of guilt in his eyes. But it was quickly replaced by a mask of indifference. "Ava, you're not thinking clearly. The cold in your veins has affected your mind.”

My wolf, filled with anger and resentment, lost its control, and I had to shift, though my form was only half and looked very disturbing. Lucas chuckled, he immediately said, “Stop shifting, Ava. You will exhaust the moonstone in your chest. Don’t shift, please.”

Lucas reached out to grab me, but Ember quickly stepped in his way.

"Uncle, I'm feeling a little off. I think it's because Auntie's wolf is so unstable..." Lucas’s eyes lingered on my retreating figure for a moment, his hesitation palpable, but he didn't chase after me.

That night, Lucas never came back. I packed up all my things and left our den, watching as the trees disappeared into the distance.

It wasn't until the next day that he finally called me through the enchanted stone,"Ava, I was wrong yesterday. I know your inability to control your shifts is a deep wound, and I shouldn't have said those things."

"But Ember is still traumatized, having watched you like that. I'm worried something will happen to her, and I won't be able to protect her. As her uncle, I need to take care of her."

I replied, my voice cold and distant, "It's okay. I was impulsive yesterday. You should take care of her."

"You've been struggling to control your shifts, so you must be exhausted. I'll arrange for you to meet with the pack's elder tomorrow. She'll help you learn to control your wolf."

"Okay."

But the next morning, Lucas didn't show up. It didn't matter. Not every goodbye had to be spoken in person. I placed the divorce papers on the table and walked out the door.

At the forest's edge, Lucas called again, his voice full of regret. "Sorry, Ava, I have a pack meeting that ran late. I won't be able to meet with you until tonight. I'll send someone to pick you up."

"Tomorrow is the full moon. After the pack's run, I'll perform the ritual and change the moonstone in your chest."

It was the perfect excuse, one that could easily cover up a lie. What Lucas didn't know was that he was still wearing the pink gem pendant that I gifted him on our wedding anniversary, the same as I wore around my neck. It could share our location to each other whenever we wanted.

Tracing his location through my pendant, I knew Lucas had taken Ember to the pack's sacred hunting grounds, a place reserved for mates and family.

"Okay, I was actually planning to give you a gift, too." I said.

"Really? I can't wait to see it."

After hanging up, I took one last glance at the forest, then walked away without a second look back, took off the pink gem pendant and crushed it under my legs. Lucas, goodbye.

On the other side, after sharing the hunt with Ember, Lucas took her out for a candlelit dinner. Only after that did they rush to Lucas's ritual chamber to prepare the herbs required for transplanting another stone in my chest.

He waited for a long time, but I didn't not show up. Worried, he tried to contact me with the enchanted stone, but couldn't catch up. His heart began panicking as he knew I desperately needed my moonstone exchanged with a new one. As if remembered something only now, he took out his pendant in haste and tried to trace my location. But unfortunately, it wasn't working either.

“Ava…” he whispered in a hoarse voice, “Time is slipping, where are you?”