Chapter 3

Mira POV

A mind-link forcibly cut into my mind, carrying my mother's blunt accusation.

"You're not even planning to show up at Sophia's birthday party tonight?"

Birthday?

The wolf within me paced back and forth irritably. She had already issued an impatient command:

"Whatever your excuse is, seven o'clock tonight—be there on time!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the mind-link was forcibly cut off.

I didn't want to go.

But thinking it over, I was leaving soon anyway. There was no need to cause trouble at the last moment.

So I picked out a black dress and had the driver take me to the birthday party venue.

The entire Silver Moon Pack banquet hall was brilliantly lit.

When I arrived, the party was at its liveliest.

The center of attention was Zane and Sophia standing in the middle.

Sophia wore a white gown, like a carefully tended rose.

Although the attack years ago had left her poisoned with wolfsbane, causing severe blood disease, sustained by regularly drawing my blood, her face now glowed especially rosy with joy.

And Zane—my mate in name only—his gaze never left her from start to finish.

"I heard Alpha Zane personally supervised the wolf guards for three days and nights to prepare a surprise for Sophia."

Amid the guests' chatter, I watched Zane kneel down and willingly adjust Sophia's hem for her.

The smile on his face held a tenderness I had never seen.

That scene had once been like a silent knife.

Suddenly, the lights converged on the stage.

My father, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, announced radiantly, "I've decided that Sophia will soon inherit the entire Silver Moon Pack, including all the pack's wealth and trust funds—everything will be inherited by my daughter Sophia alone!"

The entire hall erupted in shocked murmurs.

As his other daughter, I received nothing—not even a mention of my name?

Probing, pitying, and schadenfreude-filled gazes shot toward me in the corner.

But the most shocking part was yet to come.

Zane led Sophia onto the stage and opened a velvet box.

Inside was the Silver Moon Necklace, symbolizing the Luna identity of the Shadow Phantom Pack.

"Isn't it said that only successive Lunas can wear it?" a pack member exclaimed.

Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Zane personally placed that necklace around Sophia's neck.

"Zane, this is too precious," Sophia covered her mouth, looking down at the audience timidly. "This should be Mira's."

My mother immediately chimed in. "Mira is already Alpha Zane's mate—she doesn't lack these things. You're weak and need her blood to sustain you. This compensation is only right and proper."

Zane's gaze swept across the audience below, cold as ice.

"If not for that accident years ago, the one standing by my side today, becoming Luna, should have been Sophia all along. This necklace is merely returning to its rightful owner."

The words "rightful owner" felt like a slap across my face.

The pack guests' snickering was like ants, gnawing away at my last shred of dignity.

I looked at the happy family of several people on stage, at Sophia's triumphant eyes and Zane's heartless face.

At this moment, I felt no turmoil in my heart whatsoever.

No heartache, no sadness, not even anger.

I turned and silently walked toward the exit.

"Look, Luna Mira is crying," whispers came from behind me.

I didn't stop walking and entered the restroom.

In the mirror, that face had not a single tear—calm as a deep sea.

So after your heart dies, it really doesn't hurt anymore.

These people, these things—to me, they were already an irrelevant past.

I pulled at the corners of my mouth in the mirror.

Just endure a little longer. Once the mate dissolution agreement is ready, I can leave completely.