Chapter 1

Ever since I returned to Alpha Jason, I stopped crying and begging.

Whenever his first love, Amanda, called him away, I simply demanded cash.

The reason was simple: my daughter was born with a dark curse, and I needed an astronomical amount of money to hire a witch who could cure her.

The day my daughter's curse flared up again, I desperately sent guards to fetch our Pack Healer.

I waited for hours, but the Healer never showed up.

Later, I found out Amanda had called him over for a minor headache.

I sat in the dark, cradling my bleeding daughter until dawn broke.

When Jason finally returned, he hesitated, looking guilty. I just smiled faintly at him. "Don't forget to wire the money."

Then came the day the Healer was scheduled to suppress the curse.

Amanda called Jason again, her voice breathless over speakerphone. "Henry is having nightmares and won't stop crying. He needs you here to hold him to sleep..."

Jason hung up and turned around, crouching down to break the news to our daughter.

Lily mimicked my gesture, stretching her tiny hand out toward him.

"It's fine, Daddy. Just wire the money. Today's rate is triple."

At her words, the guilt on Jason's face instantly vanished.

He stood up, pointing an accusing finger at our daughter, and turned on me in disgust.

"Jennifer Collins, is this how you raise our child?"

I calmly pulled Lily behind me.

"What's wrong with that? If she can't have love, she might as well have money. At least she won't end up like me—having her heart pulverized by her mate before finally learning that lesson."

Jason choked on his words.

His phone rang again.

Amanda's son, Henry, wailed through the speaker: "Alpha Jason, hurry up! You promised you'd sleep in my room tonight!"

Lily tightly clenched the hem of my shirt.

Noticing our daughter's grip, Jason surprisingly didn't answer right away.

He reached out, trying to ruffle Lily's hair.

"Be a good girl, Lily. Stay home with your mom and wait for the Healer today."

"Once you're better, Daddy will take you hunting in the forest, okay?"

Lily flinched, dodging his touch. She blinked her big eyes and repeated, "It's fine, Daddy. Just send the money to my account."

Jason's expression hardened into pure frost.

Before storming out, he spat venomously:

"Jennifer Collins, keep spoiling her! You're both completely out of your minds!"

The front door slammed shut, vibrating straight through my chest.

Lily tugged at my sleeve, holding up her tablet to show me.

"Mommy, look. Daddy transferred a lot of zeros."

"With what I saved before, is it enough to hire the grand witch?"

Looking at her pale little face, my throat tightened. I pulled her into a fierce embrace.

"It's enough, baby. Mommy will find someone who can cure you."

"And when you're healed, Mommy will take you far away from here."

While waiting for the Healer to arrive and suppress the curse, my maid whispered to me nervously:

"Luna... people in the pack are talking. They say the Alpha took Amanda and her son to the theme park yesterday..."

"Someone even overheard the boy calling Alpha Jason 'Daddy.'"

I zoomed in on the photos circulating online, staring at Jason's relaxed, radiant smile.

I couldn't even remember the last time he had smiled like that at me or our daughter.

I locked my screen and looked away.

A second later, Jason's call popped up.

"Jennifer, don't read into the rumors. People are just gossiping."

"I've already ordered the pack warriors to shut them up."

I paused for a second before realizing he was talking about Henry calling him Dad.

"I'm not mad. Kids say things without thinking."

"Since I've already rented you out to them, make sure you show them a good time."

Without waiting for his reply, I hung up.

After the Healer finished suppressing the curse, he pulled me aside with a grave look. Her body was growing weaker; the next flare-up might be fatal.

My legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed onto the floor.

When our Mate Bond had fractured years ago, Jason had declared before the Pack Elders that I wasn't allowed to take a single dime from pack assets, just to teach me a lesson.

The very next day, Lily's curse flared up. She almost died.

I had knelt in front of the Healer's clinic, clutching my burning child, only for the Healer to speak through the closed door: *The Alpha has commanded it. My hands are tied.*

It was only after I swallowed my pride and begged Jason that he finally allowed the Healer to suppress it—and nothing more.

He had said, "Keeping her breathing is enough. Don't get greedy."

Over the years, I spent every waking hour searching for a cure, raising the bounty higher and higher, but no one could break the curse.

Until today.

A master healer finally accepted my bounty, promising to attempt the ritual on the upcoming full moon.

I had already submitted our visa applications to move abroad. Whether the cure worked or not, I was taking Lily and leaving this pack forever.

Jason's text popped up:

[When are you coming home? I cooked your favorite dinner.]

I didn't reply.

An hour later, I pushed open the front door.

Jason was happily dishing food onto plates for Amanda and her son.