Chapter 1

##INTRODUCTION:

Damian, my destined partner, is the alpha that all wolf girls dream of.

For him, I went alone to the North, his pack.

But for three years after we signed the contract, he remained chaste, staying at least three feet away from me, refusing to mate with me.

I thought he was just busy with the affairs of the wolf pack and had no time to care about me.

Until I stumbled upon Damian pinning Lyra, his sister, against a rough tree trunk, his mouth savagely devouring her lips like a wild beast.

"You know I long for you, Lyra!" he roared.

"Why did you force that boring Selena on me?!"

At last I understood. The only person he truly loved was Lyra.

He hurt me again and again for Lyra, and even when we were trapped in the forest and almost swallowed by the shadow plague, he ran away with Lyra in his arms without looking back.

"Whether Selena can escape or not has nothing to do with me. You are the most important person in my world!"

I was heartbroken, but he wanted to complete the final mark with me because of guilt.

He didn't know that I had already dripped my heart's blood on the moonstone the day I found out about his affair with Lyra.

Our mate bond had been completely broken long ago.

###CONTENT

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 1

Damian Alpha and I have been married for three years without mating.

And now, he is kissing his sister, my bestie, and forgetting everything.

The thick scent of their mingling pheromones filled the air, stinging my eyes.

"You know it's you I want, Lyra!" he growled, his voice hoarse. "But the Moon Goddess tied me to that nobody, Selena! And you want me to mark her? Claim her? Are you trying to make me betray my own heart, drive me insane?!"

Lyra trembled in his arms, her eyes red from crying. "Damien... I love you too... But the pack laws are strict, the elders... they'd never allow us..."

"I'll only ever go crazy for you, Lyra!"

His fingers tangled deep in her hair, his eyes blazing like fire. "Forming that damn bond with Selena was the biggest compromise I could make! I don't love her. My wolf, my body, everything in me rejects her!"

Every word he said felt like it was tearing my heart apart.

So that was it.

His frozen desire only thawed for Lyra.

I was just a joke, a tool he used to deal with the elders and keep the pack calm.

That night, like every other night for the past three years, I shivered alone in my empty room, but this time, there was no hope left in my heart.

I’d chased him for seven years, then waited another three, empty-handed. And just like that, my loyal heart shattered.

When morning came, I went straight to the pack's wise woman and got the Moonstone of Separation.

I’d barely let a drop of my heart's blood fall onto the stone when the curtain to the cave was yanked open.

It was Damien.

He burst in, grabbing my wrist so hard it hurt.

For the first time, I saw a flicker of panic on his usually cool face.

"Selena! Lyra... she was attacked by a Shadow Spider last night. She’s been poisoned, she’s unconscious!"

He was breathing hard, a hint of fear I’d never seen before in his voice. "Only your pure moon energy can cleanse that damn toxin! The pack healer said your power is the best match!"

I hadn't slept all night; my soul felt hollowed out, and I was slow to react.

He must have thought I was refusing, because he actually got down on his knees and begged me, his voice raw.

"If my power didn’t clash with the poison, I'd never ask you!"

"You and Lyra grew up together... I know you wouldn't just let her die. If you agree, I'll do anything!"

I looked at him, my eyes dull, but a pathetic sliver of hope still flickered deep inside.

"Anything?"

A moment later, I heard myself hiss through gritted teeth.

"Does that include... completing the final marking?"

"Yes!" he said, without a moment's hesitation. Firm.

Even though I had my answer, I couldn't stop shaking.

He’d do anything for Lyra.

The marking he’d resisted countless times, the symbol of the deepest bond between mates, was now just a bargaining chip to save the woman he loved.

And me? What was I?

A pack messenger rushed in, reporting Lyra’s condition was critical.

That powerful Alpha, for the first time, looked vulnerable in front of me. "Selena... I'm... begging you."

All hope died in me then, but I still got on his wind wolf mount and agreed to save Lyra.

The ritual took place on the forbidden Blood Moon night. My moon energy flowed through him, as a conduit, to Lyra.

I could feel his body tense, his pheromones wild with worry for her.

And me, I felt like an empty shell.

After the ritual, I lay in my own hut for three days. Damien never showed up.

When I went to the sacred spring to recover my strength, as arranged by the elders, I’d always pass Lyra’s healing cave. I’d see Lyra in bed, and Damien, never leaving her side.

He’d gently trace her face with his fingertips while she slept, his eyes filled with a devotion and tenderness I’d never seen.

He’d brew moon-energy-infused herbal soup himself, even holding it in his mouth to feed her bit by bit when she was unconscious, just hoping she’d recover.

Worried she’d get cold, he covered her with his most prized snow-wolf king pelt. When she needed to be moved, he’d carry her in that heart-stopping bridal carry, as if Lyra was made of fragile glass.

Every move, every look, screamed how much he loved that woman.

I watched in silence. I didn't disturb them.

Only on full moon nights, alone, I’d nurse the ache in my soul for that final bond.

Even though he'd promised, I chose to give up.

The last time I passed her cave, Lyra’s voice, weak but smug, drifted out: "Damien, you should go back and be with Selena. She’s your Luna, yet you don’t care about her feelings at all, refusing to leave my side for even a second."

Damien tucked her in, his tone cool. "Lyra, you know I only care about you. As for Selena, she can't leave me. Don't worry about her."

True, people in love don’t need to care about others' feelings.

But Damien, it’s not that I can’t leave you. I’ve already decided to give up.

Back in my hut, the Moonstone lay quietly in a corner.

Damien happened to come back then and looked surprised to see me.

"You're recovered? Why didn't you say so? I would've had the wolf guards send you some nourishing prey." His voice was flat, like nothing had happened.

He hadn’t even bothered with me when I was injured and recovering, let alone now that I was better.

"I know you're busy taking care of Lyra. I wouldn't want to bother the Alpha with such small things," I said, my voice calm.

The air instantly froze.

He was silent, his deep eyes unreadable. He reached up and untied the leather cord at his collar, revealing his sexy throat and collarbone.

A strong wave of Alpha pheromones, heavy and demanding, washed over me.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, his hot breath fanning my neck. His lips pressed down on mine, hard, without any feeling or desire.

I jerked away.

Seeing that, he stepped back, annoyance clear in his eyes that I’d interrupted him. He frowned, staring at me as if he was really seeing me for the first time.

"The marking ritual. The condition you set, remember?" His voice was low and hoarse, laced with anger.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, and forced a smile.

"I was just kidding, Alpha. Don't take it seriously. Can I... change my request?"

The tension in his face suddenly eased, like he’d just shrugged off a huge, ugly burden. His tone lightened.

"Of course."

I saw it all but didn't call him out.

I took out the Moonstone and turned it over. There was an ancient groove on the back that needed both our energies at the same time to officially break the bond.

"Then, Alpha, please leave your decision on this."

"This is what I want most right now."

It was the first time Damien had seen me so eager for something. Surprise, and a barely hidden disdain, flashed in his eyes.

"The thing you want most? Did you spot some rich hunting ground, or a mine full of moon crystals that’s got you so pleased?" he asked, reaching to take a closer look at the Moonstone.

The next second, the communication crystal on his belt lit up.

It was Lyra’s delicate voice, a little whiny. "Damien, is the moon-energy soup you’re making for me ready? When are you bringing it? I’m starving..."

Only then did I realize he’d just stopped by on his way to deliver soup to Lyra.

"Be right there," Damien's voice was gentle, completely different from the coldness he showed me.

He didn't delay. Without even glancing at the Moonstone, he casually infused his "agreement" energy into it.

To him, it was just a small thing to get rid of me, as simple as tossing a piece of meat to a cat.

Then, holding the communication crystal, he turned and went into the kitchen next door. An hour later, the rich aroma of herbs wafted out.

He strode out with the pot of medicine.

From start to finish, he didn't say another word to me.

The first crack finally appeared in the bond the Moonstone represented.

Watching his retreating back, I quietly answered his earlier question.

"What I want isn't a hunting ground, nor a mine."

"What I want is freedom."

"Damien, I wish us... separate peace, and may we never meet again."

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 2

For the next few days, Damien didn't come back to my hut.

I didn't care where he went. I just quietly emptied the hut of my things.

The fancy furs he’d "graciously" given me, symbols of his Alpha's mate; the moon-grass bracelet I’d woven for him, hoping to keep him safe; the cold, meaningless tokens we’d exchanged under the elders' watch when the Moon Goddess "mistakenly" linked us... and all the things I’d carefully prepared for him that he’d never even glanced at.

I left nothing, throwing it all into the abyss behind the hut.

I watched as the small, cold hut grew emptier and emptier.

I felt like I was finally free.

After tossing out the last bundle of my pathetic, one-sided love, I turned and saw Damien.

He was standing at the doorway, staring at the edge of the now-empty abyss, a look of surprise on his face.

"Why... did you throw all that away?"

"Didn't need them anymore, so I cleared them out," I said vaguely, not wanting to talk much. "What brings the Alpha back?"

Damien didn't seem to want to dig deeper. He just lifted his wrist and looked at the sunstone embedded there.

"There's an important full moon gathering tonight. All core members have to be there. I'm here to get you."

The Blood Moon Pack’s biannual full moon gathering decided the pack's future.

For the past three years, as his "mate in name only," I’d never missed one.

But this time, I refused.

"I haven't been feeling well lately, so I won't attend," I said, my voice distant.

"What's wrong? Want me to get the pack healer to check on you?"

His tone was gentle, which made me uncomfortable, even a little sick.

I shook my head lightly. "It's nothing. Just want to rest."

"Then you just stay home..." Damien was about to agree.

Suddenly, Lyra burst in like a gust of wind, giggling as she threw herself at Damien, naturally linking her arm through his, her body pressed tight against him.

Her eyes, full of challenge, met mine.

"Selena, just come with me! If you’re not there, I’ll be so bored! Right, Damien?" She blinked her seemingly innocent eyes, her voice sickly sweet.

Damien’s heart instantly softened.

He swallowed the rest of his words, nodded, and even personally lifted the fur curtain leading to the gathering place.

"Since it's a gathering, if you're not feeling well, just sit and rest. You don't have to join the discussions. Lyra's just recovered, so it’d be good for you to keep her company."

Watching his attitude change in a split second, I should have felt nothing, but my heart still ached.

Yeah, Damien would agree to anything Lyra asked.

I didn't say anything else, just bent down and got into the beast-drawn carriage that symbolized the Alpha's authority.

Lyra sat next to me, her warm body brushing against mine intentionally or not, chattering non-stop, her voice low enough for both me and Damien in the front to hear clearly.

"Selena, you purified the Shadow Spider venom for me, so your body should be recovered, right? You have no idea how much I suffered in the healing cave because of the rejection symptoms. My head was spinning, I had nightmares all the time. Luckily, Damien was there with me, or I wouldn't have made it. He hasn't been able to take good care of you because of me lately, so please don't be angry, okay?"

I looked up and saw her undisguised probing and showing off.

I said lightly, "I won't. He's your Alpha, I'm his pack member. It's his duty to take care of you. Why would I be angry?"

Lyra seemed relieved then, taking my hand like she always did, chatting casually, but every word stabbed at my heart.

"I knew you wouldn't mind! Damien gave me this moonstone claw bracelet today, isn't it pretty? I just casually mentioned once that I liked stones that sparkle in the moonlight, and he remembered! He went through a lot of trouble to get it from a dangerous crystal mine! And these fluffy wolf cub dolls, Damien specially traded for them at the human market for me yesterday. Damien's carriage is too dull, so these are perfect decorations, cute, right?"

Looking at the claw bracelet on her wrist, clearly pulsating with powerful moon energy, and the pile of wolf cub dolls on the seat, I could barely breathe.

Damien always favored simplicity and practicality. His cave and carriage had almost no extra decorations but necessities and weapon totems symbolizing power.

But because Lyra loved these "useless trinkets," as he would have called them, he had no objections, letting her decorate his carriage like a wolf cub's den.

I remembered a long time ago, I’d once painted a cute moon and wolf totem on one of his frequently used stone cups with colorful berry juice, hoping to bring him a little joy.

The next day, he’d replaced the cup.

He’d said, "Selena, I don't like these flashy things. Don't take it upon yourself to decorate my personal items anymore."

So, this was the difference between being loved and not loved.

I stayed silent, closing my eyes tightly, not wanting to see her smug face anymore.

Lyra thought I was tired and stopped bothering me, turning instead to chat non-stop with Damien.

From the weather in the territory today to some small affiliated pack, from embarrassing stories of them raiding bird nests as kids to the special roasted meat they might have at tonight's gathering.

No matter what she said, Damien had a reply, a smile always on his lips, looking at her dotingly.

I listened quietly, but my heart felt like an invisible hand was squeezing it, sending pangs of pain through me.

I remembered how, when I’d mustered the courage to share something interesting happening in the pack, he’d always respond with short, dismissive words like "Mm," "Okay," "Got it," "Fine," as if saying one more word to me was a waste of time.

But with Lyra, he was always so engaging, so patient.

Even when we were in the same small space, his gaze would drift, intentionally or not, to Lyra in the back, his eyes full of undisguised love.

His love was so blatant.

Why, for the past three years, had I been so blind, completely unaware of it?

No, maybe I had noticed, but I’d just been lying to myself.

I turned my head to the window, telling myself over and over:

It's okay, Selena, just a little longer.

Once the full moon gathering is over, once the energy in that Moonstone fully merges, our bond will be completely broken.

Everything will be over.

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 3

At six in the evening, the Blood Moon Pack's full moon gathering officially began.

Bonfires blazed, and the moonlight was bright.

Damien sat in the main seat. Traditionally, as his destined mate, I should have been on his right.

Lyra, as Damien's "most trusted companion" and "future key supporter of the pack," sat on Damien's left, a position even more prominent than some of the older elders.

Damien was the first to raise his moon-wine cup, toasting the elders and leaders of the affiliated packs.

I also stood up, picking up the cup in front of me, which reeked of strong alcohol.

Lyra reached for her cup too, but Damien quickly stopped her.

"You haven't fully recovered. You can't drink such strong liquor."

Lyra looked at the stern-faced elders and leaders around us, nervously lowering her voice so only the three of us could hear, "But... Selena's strength hasn't fully recovered either, and she's toasting. If I don't, isn't that... against our Blood Moon Pack's rules?"

Damien frowned, took her cup without hesitation, then turned to the elders, his voice booming, "Esteemed elders, leaders. Lyra was recently severely injured defending the pack. The pack healer has advised her against strong moon-wine for now. However, the ancient traditions of our Blood Moon Pack must not be broken. I, as her Alpha, and as her closest companion, will drink this toast on her behalf!"

With that, he downed both Lyra's cup and his own.

A bold move, awe-inspiring.

It drew murmurs of admiration and praise for Lyra's bravery.

I looked at my own half-empty cup, then at Damien, who was already helping Lyra sit back down and carefully adjusting her seat cushion. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

I took a deep breath, fighting the nausea that came with drinking this strong moon-wine when my lunar energy was still weak. I tilted my head back and drained the rest of the cup.

The fiery liquid burned its way down my throat and into my stomach.

Under the intense stimulation of the alcohol, my already weak body reacted violently.

An unbearable pain shot through my stomach. I bit my lip so hard it bled, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, soaking my bangs.

But I couldn't make a sound, couldn't show any weakness, because the etiquette at Blood Moon Pack gatherings was incredibly strict.

Before the elders and the Alpha signaled the end of the gathering, no core member could leave their seat without permission, much less show any discomfort or weakness.

So I could only grip the edge of the stone bench beneath me, my knuckles white from the pressure, and force myself to endure the excruciating pain.

All the wolves were drinking merrily, cheering for the Alpha's "wisdom" and Lyra's "courage."

No one noticed anything was wrong with me.

Even if they had, no wolf would dare to defy the Alpha's wishes at that moment for me, his out-of-favor Luna.

Damien effortlessly handled the leaders toasting, while keeping a close eye on Lyra out of the corner of his eye.

He kept piling the most tender, juicy roasted meat and the sweetest, rarest berries onto the stone plate in front of Lyra, which soon became a small mountain.

My plate, however, remained empty.

Damien's mother, an older she-wolf once renowned for her beauty and wisdom, still regal, narrowed her eyes at my empty plate.

"Damien," her voice was low but carried an undeniable authority, "don't just focus on Lyra. Selena is here too. She is your mate, chosen by the Moon Goddess. She hasn't eaten anything. Is the food not to her liking?"

Only then did Damien turn his head. His gaze rested on my deathly pale face for a second, then, as if completing a task, he casually picked a piece of foul-smelling Fire-Scale Lizard meat from the pile in front of him and put it on my plate.

That Fire-Scale Lizard meat was tough and carried a special fire-type energy. My lunar energy leaned towards the yin, inherently clashing with this fire energy.

Eating it wouldn't kill me instantly, but it would cause chaos and intense discomfort within my body.

I had mentioned this to him once when we were alone.

He’d just given a faint "Mm," and I didn't know if he'd listened or just hadn't cared.

Now, it seemed it was the latter.

Facing the concerned gazes from all around, tinged with various meanings, I was silent for a moment.

Then, I picked up my stone knife, emotionlessly cut the lizard meat, and ate it, bite by tiny bite.

Chewing the tough meat felt like gnawing on a red-hot iron.

The strong fire energy surged down my esophagus into my stomach, instantly clashing violently with my already weak lunar energy.

An even more intense pain quickly spread throughout my body.

Lyra happened to see me eat the meat. Her eyes widened in surprise, and maybe... a little bit of schadenfreude?

But she quickly lowered her head, hiding her expression.

Damien's mother nodded, satisfied. Her gaze then fell back on Lyra, and she spoke earnestly.

"Lyra, next month will be your third Pack Contribution Day after your coming-of-age ceremony. According to Blood Moon Pack rules, it's time to find a suitable mate for you. I plan to hold a grand mate-selection ceremony, inviting all outstanding unmated Alpha and Beta males from powerful neighboring packs. You can see if there's anyone you like. Settling your mating anjo sooner rather than later is good for you, and for the pack."

The color drained from Lyra's face instantly.

She looked at Damien in panic, like a frightened fawn, practically begging him with her eyes.

Damien's expression changed abruptly. He tried to maintain his composure and find a way to politely refuse.

"Mother, Elders. Lyra is still young by our pack's standards. Her choice of mate concerns her entire life's happiness and our pack's future alliances. It can't be so rushed. I will personally select for her, ensuring I find a male who can truly match her and cherish her."

Hearing this, the elders on the platform began to persuade him.

"Damien! We know you've cared deeply for Lyra since childhood, but finding a mate is guided by the Moon Goddess and is the right and duty of every pack member! You already have Selena as your destined mate; Lyra should have her own! And you're so picky, who knows how long this selection process will drag on!" one hot-tempered elder couldn't help saying.

"Ever since your bond with Selena was confirmed, the council of elders has been looking for suitable mates for Lyra. We've selected dozens of outstanding young talents from major packs. But you? You either say their strength isn't enough, their bloodline isn't pure enough, or their personality doesn't suit Lyra! You haven't approved a single one!" another elder chimed in.

"Exactly! Lyra and Selena are around the same age, and this year they're about to go through their second heat! They're not that young anymore! You, as her older brother, already have a destined mate. She must also hope to find her other half soon, to have her own warm den and a strong protector!"

Lyra panicked.

For the first time, she mustered the courage to whisper, "I... I'm not in a hurry to find a mate... waiting... waiting a few more years is fine..."

"Lyra!" Damien's mother's tone became sterner. "Although you are not and the former Alpha's biological child with me, we have always treated you as our own, investing more in your upbringing and care than even some distant relatives! We naturally hope you find a good match, marry a truly strong and responsible Alpha, bringing honor and support to our Blood Moon Pack! Now, Damien's mate has been designated by the Moon Goddess. It is both reasonable and right for us to plan for your future! This mate-selection ceremony is settled! Go back and prepare yourself, show the grace of a Blood Moon Pack she-wolf!"

Amidst the chorus of agreement from the elders, Damien's father, the quiet former Alpha who held the ultimate decision-making power, finally spoke slowly, "Do as your mother says."

Lyra trembled, her beautiful eyes instantly filling with tears, ready to fall.

Damien's face darkened completely, veins bulging on the back of the hand gripping his wine cup.

He couldn't take it anymore!

Suddenly, he shot up from his seat, his powerful Alpha aura exploding outwards.

"I said! Lyra's mate! I'll decide! It's none of your business!"

The young Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, usually calm, collected, and diplomatic in front of the elders, was actually confronting the entire council, even defying his own parents, all for Lyra!

Every wolf present, whether elder, leader, or ordinary pack member, was stunned by Damien's earth-shattering declaration, their faces turning incredibly grim.

"What do you mean, none of our business?! Damien, you're too insolent!" One of the oldest elders was so angry his whiskers trembled. "Lyra is at the prime age for choosing a mate! If we don't find one for her now and keep delaying, do you want her to become the laughingstock of the entire werewolf world?! How can we, the elders who watched her grow up, not care!"

"Exactly, Damien! We know you and Lyra have been close since childhood, but don't forget, you already have Selena, your mate designated by the Moon Goddess! You and Selena will have your pups, and you will jointly lead the Blood Moon Pack! In the future, your focus will inevitably be on your own mate and offspring! Even if you dote on Lyra, you can't put her first in everything like you do now! And you certainly can't... take the place of her future mate!"

Another elder tried to reason with him.

Damien was completely enraged by these harsh words.

Without thinking, he retorted coldly, almost roaring,

"I will never have pups with Selena in my life! As long as Lyra doesn't want to find a mate, I will absolutely not force her! As long as I'm here, the Blood Moon Pack will always be her home! Even if she never wants to find one, I can support her for a lifetime! With my Alpha status, with the entire strength of the Blood Moon Pack, I will protect her, worry-free, for her entire life!"

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 4

The leaders of the Blood Moon Pack argued endlessly over Lyra's "marriage," powerful pheromones clashing violently in the air, thick with tension.

But I remained deathly silent.

I sat rigidly on the cold stone bench, like a soulless puppet, watching Damien lose control and challenge his parents and the entire council of elders.

I just felt like a huge stone was crushing my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The pain in my stomach, intensified by the violent emotional turmoil, became even harder to bear.

I quietly got up, hoping to slip away from this suffocating place while they were arguing and no one was paying attention.

But the old Alpha, furious, slammed his palm on the stone table in front of him.

"Damien! What nonsense are you spouting! What do you mean you'll never have children with your destined mate! Do you want our Blood Moon Pack to die out?!"

With his roar, the incredibly heavy stone table, along with all the food-laden stone plates, sharp bone knives, and heavy wine cups on it, were sent flying by his immense power.

Then they came crashing down towards Damien and Lyra!

Damien reacted like lightning! Almost instinctively, he pulled Lyra, who was beside him, tightly into his arms, shielding her completely with his broad back and strong arms, protecting her from any flying debris!

And me...

I was standing less than three steps away from them.

I had just stood up, not even taken my first step.

I watched, horrified, as the burning roasted meat, scalding hot soup, sharp bone knives, and shattered stone plates...

like a sudden disaster, rained down on me.

I had no time to react at all!

The moment Damien unhesitatingly chose to protect Lyra, my body, my soul, had already frozen, unable to move.

"Ah..."

Scalding soup splashed onto my bare arms and neck, instantly raising terrifying red blisters, burning painfully.

Hard stone shards, like sharp blades, hit my shoulder, forehead, and cheek.

Dark red blood immediately seeped from the wounds, quickly staining my clothes.

I grunted and fell heavily onto the hard stone floor.

It felt like every bone in my body was about to break.

Even worse, among the flying food, a few pieces of the Fire-Scale Lizard meat I’d been forced to eat earlier, which was like poison to me, landed on my open wounds!

That scorching fire energy, through my broken skin, directly invaded my body, clashing even more lethally with my already dangerously weak lunar energy.

An unbearable itching, like countless ants gnawing at me, spread through my body, followed by a heart-wrenching.

I forced my heavy eyelids open. In my blurred vision, I only saw Damien still holding Lyra tightly, not even looking back, quickly leaving the chaotic square with her.

His back was still so straight, so... cold and heartless.

The scene before me grew blurrier.

My consciousness, like being pulled by a dark vortex, plunged straight into endless darkness...

I don't know how long passed before I slowly woke up to the sound of low sobs.

Opening my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar cave, the air thick with the scent of herbs.

Lyra was slumped by my bedside, her shoulders shaking, seemingly asleep, but tear tracks still wet on her cheeks.

And behind her stood Damien, his expression as cold as ever.

He had taken off his precious snow-wolf king fur cloak and gently draped it over Lyra's shoulders.

Then he slowly raised his hand, as if to stroke Lyra's sleeping face, but just as he was about to touch her skin, his gaze met my empty one.

His movement froze.

A moment later, he nonchalantly pulled his hand back, said nothing, just looked at me deeply, then turned and walked out of the cave, probably to call the pack healer.

After watching him leave, I used all my strength to try and pull my hand, which she’d been using as a pillow and was almost numb, out from under Lyra's arm, but I still accidentally woke her.

She groggily opened her eyes, rubbing them, her voice concerned.

"Selena, are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I looked at my carefully bandaged wounds and gently shook my head.

My voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like me.

Lyra finally seemed completely relieved, handing me a bone cup filled with spring water.

"That's good. Last night really scared me! You were not only burned by those flying stones and hot soup, but you also had such a severe lunar energy backlash! I really regret not stopping you from eating that Fire-Scale Lizard meat! And you, really, knowing your body is allergic to that fire energy, you should have just told Damien to get you something else. Why did you have to be so stubborn and force yourself to eat it?"

She grumbled softly, subtly watching my reaction.

Damien, along with an elderly pack healer, walked in just then.

Hearing Lyra say I was "allergic to Fire-Scale Lizard energy," Damien's steps faltered noticeably, his expression complex.

I shook my head gently. "I wasn't being stubborn. It's just, the full moon gathering has too many rules, the elders and leaders were all watching, I didn't want to spoil everyone's mood because of my personal issues, and I especially didn't want to... embarrass the Alpha, so I... ate that meat."

Lyra sighed, taking my hand that lay outside the fur blanket, and said sympathetically, "Sigh, I know you don't like those stuffy occasions either. Let me tell you some good news. Damien has already agreed, and he's talked to the council of elders. From now on, except for the grandest annual Moon Goddess festival, we don't have to attend those tedious full moon gatherings anymore! You won't have to tiptoe around those rules, and... I won't be pestered by those elders to find a mate anymore!"

Remembering the chaotic scene before I passed out, and now hearing this "good news," I just felt a wave of sadness.

To stop Lyra from being forced into mate selection, Damien could fight the entire council of elders, even change pack traditions that had lasted for centuries.

It proved he loved Lyra enough to defy anything for her.

I knew, with him desperately trying to shield Lyra like this, sooner or later, he would publicly announce his forbidden love for her.

It would surely cause a huge sensation in the Blood Moon Pack, even the entire Northern wolf clans.

I didn't want to be involved anymore.

I just wanted to leave soon.

Seeing me silent, Lyra seemed about to say more, but the communication crystal on her waist suddenly flashed urgently.

It was the old Alpha.

Lyra's expression froze.

She instinctively let go of my hand and looked at Damien for help.

Damien frowned, took the flashing crystal from Lyra, said nothing, just gestured to Lyra, and then hurried out.

Lyra saw Damien's grave expression and knew something serious had happened.

She didn't dare delay and quickly followed him out.

The room fell into a suffocating silence again.

Only the elderly pack healer remained, carefully examining my wounds and my internal energy.

"It seems the external injuries are no longer a major concern. But your lunar energy, due to the previous forced exertion and the impact of the fire energy, is very weak. To be safe, you should go to the depths of the sacred spring for a thorough purification and recuperation," the healer said after finishing the examination.

I took the token from the healer, allowing me to enter the core area of the sacred spring for treatment, and walked alone towards the deepest of the pack's territory.

The core area of the sacred spring was usually only accessible to the Alpha, Luna, and heroes who had made great contributions to the pack.

The teleportation arrays to the core area were all on the summit of the sacred mountain. I didn't want to attract attention there, nor did I want to encounter Damien and Lyra again, so I planned to take a little-known path.

But just as I reached the entrance to the stone steps, I heard familiar voices faintly.

"Lyra! You listen to me! I don't care what those old fools will think or how they'll react when they find out we love each other! And I don't care what the Moon Goddess's damn decree is! I just want to keep you by my side! With my life, with everything I have, I want to keep you under my wing forever! I never want to be separated from you! As long as I can be with you, even if... even if I have to give up the Alpha position of the Blood Moon Pack and become an enemy of the entire wolf race, I'm willing!"

It was Damien!

"But Damien, have you thought about Selena? She's... she's still your mate in name! And she grew up with me, like a sister. I... I can't let her suffer so much hurt and injustice because of us!" Lyra's voice was thick with tears, sounding incredibly kind.

Damien let out a pained growl, roughly grabbing Lyra's wrist and slamming her against the coarse rock wall. His bloodshot eyes were filled with desperation, like a wounded beast.

"If you care so much about whether she'll get hurt! Then you shouldn't have let me accept that ridiculous fated bond in the first place! You shouldn't have just watched me tie that innocent woman to an Alpha who doesn't even love her! You knew I didn't like her at all! My wolf, my heart, my body, from beginning to end, has only ever craved you, Lyra!"

He screamed out years of repressed pain and torment, no longer the cold, composed Alpha, but like a madman about to be consumed by despair!

He threw all caution to the wind, lowered his head, and almost savagely, kissed Lyra's lips!

Lyra seemed startled by his sudden madness, but after struggling for only a moment, her body went limp. She closed her eyes, her arms slowly wrapping around Damien's neck, uncontrollably sinking into the moment.

In the air, their pheromones crazily intertwined, clashed, and merged, emitting a heart-stoppingly sweet scent.

Just as Lyra was about to suffocate from the kiss, she let out a tearful moan.

"Damien..."

She leaned weakly against Damien's chest, panting.

Just as she was about to say something more, her gaze inadvertently swept past the bottom of the stone steps and landed on me, standing at the entrance, looking as if I’d been struck by lightning.

The color drained from her face instantly.

"Selena...?!"

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 5

I just stood there, watching them.

Watching the lingering madness and possessiveness in Damien’s bloodshot eyes.

Watching the panic and guilt Lyra couldn't hide on her paper-white face.

I had a million questions I wanted to scream, but when they reached my lips, not a single word came out.

Lyra, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, violently pushed Damien away – who was still lost in the moment – and rushed towards me, forcing a smile uglier than tears.

"Selena! You... why are you up? Are you feeling better? You didn't even call me when you got up... I... Damien and I were just discussing... discussing how badly you were hurt, and what precious herbs and prey we should get to help you recover your strength and feel better... and then... then a nasty bug flew into my hair, and Damien... Damien was helping me get it out..."

She babbled incoherently, desperately winking at Damien behind her, trying to get him to back her up and confirm her "story."

Damien, however, just pursed his lips, his face cold, saying nothing, only watching me with those deep, unreadable eyes.

Seeing Lyra on the verge of tears, Damien finally, as if doing her a huge favor, managed to squeeze out a reply: "Yes."

I knew Lyra wasn't frantically making up this terrible lie because she actually cared about my feelings, and definitely not because she wanted to protect our so-called "sisterly bond."

She was just scared.

Scared I'd expose their dirty affair.

Scared she'd lose her "innocent and kind" perfect image in the Blood Moon Pack.

Scared she'd lose Damien's unconditional love and protection.

After finding out I'd been betrayed by my most trusted bestie and my destined mate, I did hate Lyra.

That hatred, like a venomous snake, gnawed at my heart day and night, making me miserable.

I didn't know how to face Lyra, with whom I once shared everything.

But now that I’d decided to completely sever this mistaken bond, none of it mattered anymore.

I didn't care.

So, even though I knew they were teaming up, putting on a ridiculously flawed show for me, I couldn't be bothered to call them out.

It would only make me look even more pathetic.

I suppressed the complicated mix of sadness, anger, disappointment, and disgust in my heart and managed a stiff smile.

"Oh, I see."

My voice was so calm, it even surprised me.

Lyra didn't know what I was thinking. She just assumed I hadn't clearly seen their passionate kiss earlier, that I actually believed her flimsy excuse.

She let out a sigh of relief, quickly stepped forward, and affectionately linked her arm through mine, cooing at me in that familiar way I once knew so well.

"Selena, what were you going out to do? Are you going to the sacred spring to heal? Want me to come with you? I actually have some things I wanted to talk to you about."

I took out the token the pack healer had given me from my pocket, my voice flat. "The healer told me to go to the depths of the sacred spring for a deep purification and recovery."

Lyra immediately and enthusiastically offered to go with me, then pulled me away from that disgusting place in a hurry.

Damien stood rooted to the spot the whole time, just watching our retreating backs with those dark, unreadable eyes.

The purification ritual in the core area of the sacred spring was longer and more painful than I’d imagined.

But every jolt and cleansing wash of lunar energy felt like it was stripping away the ugly marks deep within my soul.

It hurt, a lot, but it was also... clarifying.

The results came out quickly. The healer said the residual fire energy in my body had been completely cleared, but my lunar energy, due to the previous overexertion, had damaged its foundation and needed long-term rest and nourishment from rare herbs to slowly recover.

He suggested I stay in a healing cave by the sacred spring for at least another month.

I had no choice but to accept.

Lyra, true to her word, came to visit me almost every day.

And whenever Lyra appeared, Damien would also coincidentally show up nearby, due to various "pack affairs" or "territory patrols."

The two of them kept staging these "chance encounters."

But I knew in my heart, Damien never truly wanted to accompany me, his mate in name only.

The freshest prey and sweetest berries he "happened" to bring each time would, after I "accidentally" refused them, be "reluctantly" passed on to Lyra.

The potent healing herbs he traded from other packs, after Lyra "unintentionally" mentioned she needed them too, would be "fairly" divided, with Lyra getting a large share.

When the three of us "accidentally" gathered to chat, Damien's gaze would always uncontrollably linger on Lyra's smiling face.

He'd instinctively smooth Lyra's wind-tousled hair, naturally pass her the sweetest spring water from his own cup, and his lips would curve up when Lyra laughed happily...

I saw everything he did, and I remembered it.

Occasionally, a familiar, subtle ache would still prick my chest.

But that was all.

I never showed these emotions, never foolishly argued or begged like before.

Because I knew I was truly, finally, moving on from this mistaken relationship.

The invisible connection between us, born from the fated bond deep in my soul, was fading.

One day, it would break completely.

And I would completely let go.

The day I was discharged, the day I decided to leave the Blood Moon Pack for good, Damien actually came himself.

He even, uncharacteristically, suggested taking me on a "mate's hunt and patrol" as compensation for the grievances I'd suffered.

This was the first time since he became Alpha that he’d actively invited me like this.

I paused, a little confused about what he was up to.

But he didn't give me a chance to refuse, directly pulling me onto his magnificent black war wolf mount.

First, he took me to the Moon-shadow Forest, the most beautiful of the Blood Moon Pack's territory, also richest in prey.

There, he showcased his incredible hunting skills as an Alpha.

His agile form moved through the trees, every strike precise and deadly.

Then, he piled the most precious prey in front of me and said in a tone that left no room for argument, "These are all yours."

Next, he took me to the pack's treasury, which was filled with glittering gems, rare ores, and weapons and ornaments made from precious materials.

He casually selected a dozen items that, in his eyes, symbolized the Luna's status and glory, laying them out before me one by one, like a generous king displaying his wealth and favor towards me.

"This necklace, strung with South Sea moonlight pearls, has a gentle luster that complements your fair skin."

"These armbands, crafted from thousand-year-old blood jade, are said to have the miraculous effect of concentrating lunar energy, which will help you recover your strength."

"This cloak, sewn from ice silk and fire fox fur, is light and warm, capable of warding off the northern cold."

...

For the past three years, although we were mates in name, Damien had never truly taken me on a date.

The few times we attended pack events together were mostly at the elders' insistence, and even then, he'd reluctantly bring me along.

No matter how much affection and care I showed him, no matter how much I did for him, he ignored it all, let alone patiently picking out gifts for me and giving detailed comments like he was doing now.

So I felt very uncomfortable, almost like the Damien before me was a stranger, making me feel... a chill down my spine.

A young, clueless she-wolf guarding the treasury, seeing Damien so attentively choosing gifts for me, looked at me with envy. She couldn't help but whisper, "Future Luna, the Alpha not only personally accompanies you hunting and chooses the most precious gifts for you, but he also so carefully considers your preferences and needs. To have such a powerful and doting Alpha as your mate, you must feel incredibly happy and proud!"

I watched Damien take out a black obsidian token from his pouch, signaling the she-wolf to pack up all those gifts and send them to my hut.

Throughout the whole process, he didn't even ask me once if I liked any of it.

Happy? Proud?

If I didn't know the person he truly loved was Lyra; if I hadn't experienced the humiliation at that full moon gathering and the desperation of being on the brink of death; if I hadn't witnessed his passionate kiss with Lyra on the sacred spring path...

Maybe, I really would have been like this young she-wolf, moved to tears by his sudden favor.

But now, seeing these exquisite, expensive, yet cold gifts, my heart was just numb.

I knew better than anyone that Damien's sudden, uncharacteristic actions weren't because he'd fallen in love with me.

He just couldn't give me real love and respect, so he was trying to use these things to make up for what he owed me, to silence the gossip from the elders and pack members, to soothe his own conscience.

What he could give me, I didn't need.

And what I once wanted, he couldn't give, and never would.

This fated bond, mistakenly forged by the Moon Goddess, was an absurd mistake from the very beginning.

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 6

After that pointless gift-giving trip, it was already dusk.

Damien glanced at the sky and coolly asked if I wanted to eat anything.

I had no appetite for any of his "offerings," so he decided on his own to find a clearing by a stream, light a bonfire, and prepare a simple "mate's" dinner.

He then added, seemingly casually, "Lyra just told me through a wind-whisper stone that she happens to be nearby collecting night-glow grass, so I asked her to join us."

The northern forests were so vast, yet we just happened to run into her here.

Whether it was a coincidence or if he just couldn't wait to be with Lyra, I didn't know, and I didn't want to bother finding out anymore.

I just said, "Mm," and went to sit on a large rock by the stream, closing my eyes to rest, not wanting to look at his hypocritical face any longer.

About fifteen minutes later, Damien arrived with Lyra.

Lyra, still acting all innocent and worldly, chirped happily as soon as she saw me, linking her arm through mine affectionately, as if there had never been any bad blood between us. "Selena," she blinked her pure, innocent eyes, "I let Damien take you out to cheer you up. Was he good to you today? Did he get you any prey or crystals you liked?"

Only then did I realize that Damien's strange behavior today had all been approved by Lyra.

The few, precious warm moments I'd had in the past three years were actually Lyra's handouts to me.

How ridiculous!

I lowered my head, unwilling to respond.

This so-called mate's dinner, I ate it like I was chewing wax, mechanically putting the half-cooked roasted meat into my mouth.

Although Lyra was constantly chatting with Damien about interesting pack gossip, sometimes giggling at Damien's "wit," sometimes playfully complaining that Damien had been neglecting her lately due to "busy pack affairs," she kept glancing at me, sharply noticing my extremely low spirits.

So, when the bonfire started to die down, she insisted on pulling me along to a nearby hot spring to "relax."

"Selena, wasn't Damien's hunting and patrol trip with you today fun? Or were the gifts he picked out not to your liking, so you've been so down?"

She said this in a "wise older sister" tone while helping me undress.

"Don't mind Damien, he's usually so serious, but when he's with us she-wolves, sometimes he's really... really clumsy."

"Let me tell you," she leaned closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a huge secret, "a long, long time ago, I just casually mentioned I wanted to taste the legendary starlight fruit, which only grows in the Moon Goddess's garden. And he actually snuck into the forbidden area, only accessible to past Alphas, risked being torn aby guardian beasts, and brought back a whole basket for me! And guess what? After the elders found out, he was punished by having to soak in the ice lake for three days and nights. At that time, a few she-wolves from other affiliated packs who had crushes on him came to visit, wanting to taste the precious starlight fruit too. He wouldn't give them a single piece, even saying defiantly, 'I risked my life to get these, so naturally, they only belong to Lyra!' That story, our Blood Moon Pack members have been telling it as a joke for years! Don't you think he's been that bossy since he was little?"

She giggled as she spoke, her full chest bouncing, looking alluring in the moonlight.

I quietly watched the undisguised pride and happiness in her eyes.

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't.

Yeah, only someone who knows they're favored, cherished, would be so bold, right?

An indescribable sourness and sadness welled up in my heart.

I didn't want Lyra to see how I was feeling, so I made an excuse to go into the nearby woods.

But I'd barely left the hot spring area, before I could even calm myself, when I heard horrifying roars from the sky not far away.

Then, thick black smoke, reeking of strong corrosion, spread rapidly from the direction of the stream we’d just left, towards the entire pack territory!

The surrounding trees, upon contact with the black smoke, withered and rotted at a visible speed, turning into disgusting pools of black pus.

The air filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and death.

"It's... it's the 'Shadow Plague'! Run!"

"Oh gods! How did those shadow creatures sealed in the 'Abyss of Despair' suddenly get out!"

Screams and cries for help, filled with terror and despair, came from all directions.

My first thought was Lyra, still at the hot spring, unaware of the danger!

So even though I knew that if I touched that terrifying "Shadow Plague," I'd be corroded like those withered trees, not even bones would be left, I still, without hesitation, ran against the tide of panicking, fleeing pack members, towards the hot spring!

Just as I reached the edge of the hot spring area, I saw Damien tightly shielding a disheveled Lyra in his arms, struggling to fend off the encroaching black smoke, preparing to break through to safety with her.

Lyra, like a frightened little bird, clung tightly to Damien's arm, her anxious voice, broken and intermittent, carried through the thick, suffocating black smoke. "Damien! Selena... Selena is still out in the woods! She... she doesn't know about the 'Shadow Plague' here! You... you go save her first! I... I can find a way to get out myself!"

"Forget about her for now! You leave this contaminated area with me first!"

Damien's voice was still steady, firm, and unyielding.

But Lyra stubbornly tried to push him away, wanting him to save me first.

"I'll be fine! Damien, go save Selena! She... she's your Luna in name, after all! If anything happens to her today because of us... what... what will you do? The council... the council won't let us off either!"

"Lyra! Listen to me!" Damien suddenly roared, cutting her off, holding Lyra even tighter in his arms. "I don't care what happens to her! I just want you to be safe! If she can escape on her own, that's her luck; if she can't... that has nothing to do with us either! In my world, there's only you. Nothing else matters!"

Every word, like a sharp blade, stabbed viciously into my heart.

I bit my lip so hard, the rich taste of blood instantly filled my mouth, the pain almost suffocating me.

Damien, tightly protecting Lyra in his arms, turned and quickly broke away in the opposite direction from me.

At the same time, the other pack members, completely crazed with fear, surged like a tide towards any seemingly safe exit.

I was pushed down in the chaos, falling heavily to the ground. My body was trampled black and blue by the stampeding pack members, my bones feeling like they were about to break.

I trembled violently from the pain, cold sweat drenching my clothes in an instant.

The black smoke from the "Shadow Plague" grew thicker, reaching my feet, starting to corrode my exposed skin.

I couldn't help but let out a pained groan.

Driven by the instinct to survive, I gritted my teeth against the intense pain, got up from the ground, and, leaning on a tree trunk already half-corroded, stumbled step by step towards what I remembered as a relatively safe area.

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 7

Luckily, I managed to save myself.

Alone back in my hut, I saw dozens of fake messages of concern from Lyra through our mental link. It just made me sick.

I replied with the shortest possible message: "I'm fine, don't worry."

Then, without hesitation, I unilaterally cut off all mental links with her.

From now on, we were done.

As for Damien...

I instinctively tried to sense the faint mental connection between us, the one from our fated bond.

Dead silence.

Not a single message of greeting, not a single thought of concern had come through.

It seemed he really, as he’d said, didn't care if I lived or died.

For the next full week, Damien didn't show up.

I didn't ask where he went or who he was with.

None of it mattered anymore.

I just quietly performed the final ritual to sever the fated bond.

The Moonstone, having absorbed my heart's blood and Damien's "agreement to separate" energy, was placed in the center of my hut, within an ancient ritual circle drawn with moon-grass and stardust.

I sat cross-legged, channeling all my remaining lunar energy, chanting over and over the forbidden spell from the ancient wolf chronicles to break a fated bond.

Every chant felt like a sharp blade cutting into my soul.

The pain, bone-deep, almost made me pass out.

But I gritted my teeth and endured.

Because I knew, only then could I completely escape this fate.

Occasionally, during breaks in the ritual, I'd subconsciously see Lyra and Damien's sweet interactions through the pack's internal wind-whisper stones.

Like Damien peeling a whole plate of her favorite flame shrimp for her.

Like Damien grooming Lyra's soft fur under the moonlight, like a true mate.

Like Lyra drawing two cuddling wolf cubs in the snow with her claws, carving her and Damien's names beside them...

My heart was already a still lake, no ripples disturbed its surface.

Days passed.

The Moonstone in the ritual circle, continuously absorbing my lunar energy and my will to separate, grew dimmer and dimmer, the cracks more numerous and deeper.

Finally, when I had almost exhausted the last of my lunar energy, the pack's wise woman contacted me through a mental link.

"Miss Selena, today is the last day before your fated bond with Alpha Damien breaks. According to ancient wolf law and the intentions both of you previously infused into the Moonstone, as long as you cast this Moonstone into the Blood Moon Pack's 'Abyss of Severed Fates' before moonrise tonight, the fated bond between you will be completely broken. Are you ready?"

I had waited too long for this day.

I immediately got up, picked up the nearly shattered Moonstone, and walked towards the pack's forbidden land—the Abyss of Severed Fates.

Returning from the forbidden land, I felt incredibly weak, yet an unprecedented lightness filled me.

Just as I was about to pack my last few belongings and leave this heartbreaking place for good, I unexpectedly received an urgent mental message from one of Damien's subordinates.

"Selena... uh, Miss Selena! The Alpha... the Alpha got drunk at the feast celebrating the successful hunt of a thousand-year-old Shadow Demon Wolf! He's very unstable right now. Would you be able to bring him back to the Alpha's cave?"

I asked for the location of the feast, hesitated for a moment, but eventually went.

Not because I still harbored any illusions about him, but because I didn't want him to become a laughingstock among other pack members while drunk and disorderly.

Reaching the entrance of the huge cave where the leaders gathered, I was about to lift the heavy curtain and go in when I heard Damien's drunken voice.

"Those few days hunting with Lyra in the Moon-shadow Valley... were the happiest time since I became Alpha... no, the happiest time of my entire life. Only she was by my side. We didn't have to care about those damn laws; we could express our desire and love for each other freely. I wish time could have frozen at that moment... Lyra could have been mine alone, forever..."

The bone-deep pain in his voice made the other Beta wolves in the cave, who were usually close to him, look uncomfortable.

"Alpha, please don't talk such drunken nonsense. Miss Selena might be here soon. She'd be heartbroken if she heard you say that. She loves you so much, she even cut ties with her own pack to stay with our Blood Moon Pack for you... She only has you now, you can't let her down," a young Beta wolf said, mustering his courage.

"Yeah, Alpha! Miss Selena even gave up the precious opportunity to awaken stronger lunar energy at the Moon Goddess's temple just to be with you! All these years, whenever you returned late from a hunt, she'd light a moonstone at the cave entrance waiting for you; when you were injured in battles with rival packs, she stayed up day and night, using her pure lunar energy to heal you, guarding you for a whole month; when you were patrolling the territory and accidentally ate poisonous berries, writhing in pain, she found out and immediately, regardless of the danger, crossed the entire forest to find an antidote for you..." another older Beta wolf couldn't help adding.

"We know you've only ever had Miss Lyra in your heart. But... but you and Miss Lyra, after all, aren't the mates originally designated by the Moon Goddess. Miss Selena, she's the mate the Moon Goddess gave you, the one who should truly belong to you. You'll regret hurting her!"

Hearing their advice, Damien chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Regret? I've only ever regretted one thing in my life."

"Three years ago, I shouldn't have, in a moment of weakness, accepted this damn fated bond!"

"If, back then, I hadn't bonded with Selena... then, would Lyra and I still have had a chance to be together?"

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 8

My chest felt like it had been slammed by a giant rock, so tight I could barely breathe.

But strangely, it didn't hurt with that tearing, heart-wrenching pain like before.

I closed my eyes and took a long, slow breath.

When I opened them again, all the turmoil in my eyes had calmed.

I hitched the small bag on my shoulder, the one holding all my belongings, a little higher, then raised my hand and gently pushed open the heavy fur curtain.

The Beta wolves, supporting an almost-collapsing Damien, came out of the cave.

When they saw me, their faces showed a mix of embarrassment and pity.

After a few brief pleasantries, they clumsily helped get the dead-drunk Damien onto the back of my gentle moon-deer mount.

Then, they bowed to me and quickly left.

I silently led the moon-deer, carrying the unconscious Damien, slowly towards the Alpha's cave.

Along the way, the moonlight was bright, the night wind cool.

Only Damien's intermittent mumbles echoed in the quiet night sky.

"Lyra... Lyra... My Lyra..."

Finally, we reached the Alpha's cave, a place that once filled me with longing, but now only held despair.

It took all my strength to get him off the moon-deer and onto the huge stone bed in the center of the cave.

He was so incredibly drunk, his body as heavy as a rock. The moment he touched the bed, he couldn't hold himself up anymore, collapsing downwards and pulling me down with him.

Then, like an octopus, he wrapped his arms tightly around me, his aggressive male scent instantly enveloping me.

His face was buried in the crook of my neck, his hot breath on my skin sending unsettling shivers down my spine.

Like a child who’d done something wrong, he kept calling Lyra's name in that deeply affectionate tone.

"Lyra, my precious Lyra. Don't be angry with me, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have drunk so much, shouldn't have let them see me so vulnerable. But... but I really feel awful. I think about you every day. I crave to hold you, to possess you fiercely, every single moment. Lyra, don't leave me..."

His arms tightened, almost crushing my bones.

I tried to break free from his suffocating embrace, my voice carrying a stubbornness I hadn't even realized I possessed.

"Look clearly! I'm not your Lyra!"

Damien seemed startled by my voice. He slowly opened his eyes, which were hazy from alcohol, and stared at me for a long time.

Then his eyes suddenly became unusually bright. He tightened his grip, pressing me closer to his scorching chest, full of an undeniable dominance.

"I know you're my Lyra... I know you're angry with me. Because I... because I let that Selena... take the place that should have been yours..."

His lips, hot and smelling strongly of alcohol, rained down frantic, tiny kisses on my sensitive neck, earlobe, and cheek.

"I'm really not Lyra!" My voice trembled as I screamed.

But Damien seemed not to hear me at all. He gently stroked my hair.

Then, he pulled out that communication crystal, glowing with a faint bloody light, from his pouch, held it up in front of me, his tone proud, like a child eagerly showing his most precious treasure to his beloved.

"My little moon, don't be angry. Look at the surprise I prepared for you. This is a one-of-a-kind Luna gown I designed myself. It's made from the rarest starlight flower petals, which only bloom on the night of the full moon, and the tail feathers of the legendary ice phoenix. And this claw ring, it's set with the purest blood soul stone, representing eternity and loyalty."

"I've been preparing all this for you since the day we first met under the moonlight. Every time I see you, I imagine what you'd look like wearing this gown, becoming my Luna, standing by my side, receiving the worship of all the packs. When I put this claw ring on your finger, would you cry tears of joy, just like now..."

Looking at that incredibly ornate, dark red gown and that strangely shaped claw ring, I suddenly felt overwhelmingly sick.

It took all my strength to argue back, my voice choked with tears.

"You... you love her so much... then... then what am I, Selena... what am I?"

"Selena?" Damien seemed annoyed by my question. He frowned, as if talking about an object that could be casually discarded. "Her? She's nothing."

"If it weren't for the Moon Goddess's ridiculous joke... if it weren't for you, my Lyra, needing me to accept her, I wouldn't even have given her a second glance!"

After saying that, he seemed to have exhausted all his energy from the alcohol. He held me tightly, buried his face deep in my chest, and over and over again, with a heartbreaking tenderness, he kept murmuring.

"Lyra... My Lyra... I love you... I only love you..."

"Lyra... I miss you so much... I want... I want you right now..."

His body, hot and hard as iron from suppressed desire.

His hands also began to wander, roughly and urgently trying to tear off the thin layer of clothing on my body.

I laughed.

Laughed until tears streamed down my face.

So, in his heart, I wasn't even a replacement.

I was just a joke, nothing at all.

Until the first ray of dawn peeked through the cracks in the cave, illuminating the absurdity of the room.

Damien finally, from drunkenness and exhaustion, fell into a deep sleep. His even breaths rose and fell in his solid chest.

I lay perfectly still, letting him hold me tight.

I looked at him for a long time.

His handsome, almost perfect sleeping face now looked a bit pale from the hangover.

After a while, I carefully slipped out of his embrace.

Then I leaned down and placed the Moonstone, which had long since completed the severing ritual, by his pillow.

Damien, in his sleep, seemed to sense my departure.

His thick eyelashes fluttered slightly, but he didn't open his eyes, just unconsciously mumbled,

"Selena... don't go... get me... some sobering... spring water..."

This was the first time he’d called my name in his sleep.

It was also the last thing he ever said to me.

This time, I didn't humbly reply "Okay" like I used to.

Instead, I slowly stood up straight and took one last, long look at the man I had loved for seven years.

I turned and left with my baggage, without looking back.

I had no lingering attachment to this pack full of deceit and betrayal.

I walked out of the Alpha's cave, out of the Blood Moon Pack's territory.

With the last of my savings, I traded for a travel token to a distant southern human city at the border market.

They said it was spring there all year round.

Sitting in the merchant caravan's wagon, I watched the familiar forest and mountains behind me rapidly recede in the dawn light, eventually disappearing beyond the horizon.

I took out the communication crystal I’d always kept close to me and completely deleted all mental link imprints of Damien and Lyra.

When the wagon stopped before the ancient city gates of the southern city, the first ray of morning sun, warm and brilliant, fell upon me, dispelling all the gloom and cold.

I tilted my head up, took a deep breath of air filled with the scent of flowers and freedom, and took one last look in the direction I’d come from.

Goodbye, northern snow and ice.

Goodbye, Blood Moon Pack.

Goodbye, Damien.

From now on, I, Selena, will live for myself.

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 9

(Third Person POV)

When Damien finally woke up from his drunken haze, the sun was already high in the sky.

A throbbing headache made his vision blur.

He instinctively wanted to call for Selena, to ask her to fetch some ice-crystal grass dew to ease his headache. But when he opened his eyes, he saw the cracked Moonstone.

He froze for a second, then frowned impatiently and picked up the stone.

"Selena, what kind of trick are you playing now? So I had a few too many drinks yesterday, is that any reason to scare me with this thing?"

He grumbled, turning the unremarkable stone over in his hand, ready to get out of bed.

But his movement stopped abruptly when he saw the ancient rune on the Moonstone, the one symbolizing a completely severed bond.

This Moonstone... the separation ritual was actually complete!

The color drained from his face. Forgetting his killer headache, he leaped out of bed, not even bothering to put on a robe, and rushed out of the cave bare-chested.

But he searched the entire Alpha cave, even all the places nearby he could think of where Selena might be, and found no trace of her.

What made him even more uneasy was that all the items in the cave that once carried Selena's unique lunar energy signature, things he’d once scorned but now made him feel strangely empty, had vanished completely, as if Selena had never existed in his life.

His mind went blank. A very bad feeling crept over him.

After a long moment, Damien took out his communication crystal from his storage pouch, intending to contact Selena, only to find their mental link had been completely severed.

Selena... had actually left?

Why?

Hadn't he been "good enough" to her lately? He’d given her gifts, taken her hunting.

And... and she loved him so much, loved him enough to give up everything for him. How could she bear to leave him?

He slumped onto the bed, his headache worsening, almost splitting his skull.

Suddenly, another communication crystal on his belt flashed urgently with a new message.

He quickly lit up the crystal screen.

It was a message from Lyra.

[Damien, are you busy? I suddenly really want to eat those sweet rainbow berries we found in Moon-shadow Valley last time. Can you go pick some for me now? Please?]

The moment he saw Lyra's message, all thoughts of Selena vanished from Damien's mind.

He got up and sped off towards Moon-shadow Valley.

In his mind, Selena's current departure was just her playing hard to get.

He was sick of having to pretend to be a good mate.

Since Selena dared to throw this "running away from home" tantrum, let her taste what it was like to lose his protection.

He'd see who came crying and begging him to restore that ridiculous bond in the end!

Damien sneered, no longer thinking about Selena, nor did he send any wolf guards to search for her.

He raced through the treacherous forest at full speed for a good two hours, then carefully searched a hidden valley filled with poisonous insects and miasma for most of the day before finally finding the rare rainbow berries Lyra wanted.

By the time he arrived at Lyra's dwelling with a small bag full of berries, it was already sunset.

His precious sister looked like she had just woken up, stretching lazily. The moment she saw him, she shrieked and threw herself into his arms.

"Damien!"

Damien caught her steadily, drowning in the faint, intoxicating scent of her hair.

"I got the rainbow berries you wanted. Eat them while they're fresh."

He took the berries, still warm from his body heat, from the small pouch in his pocket, successfully earning Lyra's sweet smile.

"Thank you, Damien! You're the best to me!"

She cheered, taking the small bag of berries. Then she took out her own communication crystal and carefully took several photos from various angles, seemingly preparing to show off to someone.

After taking the photos, she picked up the biggest, juiciest berry, took a small bite, then pouted her pink, alluring lips and complained, "Oh, Damien, why did you only pick such a small bag? I remember Selena seems to like these rainbow berries too. If you don't give her any, she'll definitely be upset when she finds out. How about... I give half of this to Selena? Remember to send it over to her later, okay?"

As she spoke, she habitually found Selena's mental link window, preparing to share one of the prettiest photos with her.

But the photo filled with a show-off failed to send.

"Damien! Selena... Selena cut off my mental link! Did... did she find out something? Or did you... did you do something to make her angry again?"

Lyra panicked, looking at Damien.

Hearing his precious sister's question, Damien snorted coldly, his tone dismissive. "I didn't do anything. She's the one who wanted to leave."

With that, Damien took out the Moonstone from his pouch and tossed it in front of Lyra.

Back in his own cave, he hadn't thought much about it, nor had he felt anything was wrong.

But now, facing the beloved he cherished so carefully, Damien could no longer suppress it. He gently took Lyra's small hand, his voice low, "Lyra, my little moon, isn't this good? It was Selena, that woman, who wanted to break the fated bond with me. She's completely gone now. We finally have a chance to be together, just like those days when we hunted together in Moon-shadow Valley, openly..."

As he spoke, he moved closer to Lyra.

Lyra's body involuntarily retreated until Damien cornered her against the cave wall, with no escape.

"Damien. We... we are... siblings, after all... The council of elders, and Father and Mother, they'll never agree to this..."

Her voice trembled as she tried to use her last shred of reason to stop Damien's potentially reckless actions.

However, her weak resistance was utterly futile against Damien's determined pursuit and possession.

Just like during those precious times they had spent alone together, they had long behaved like a true couple, sleeping in each other's arms every night, kissing and caressing without restraint, and even... even crossing that final line long ago, driven by desire, completing the most intimate union among wolves.

Damien reached out, grabbed Lyra's slender wrists, and pinned her fiercely against the rock wall.

Like a beast driven only by desire, he lowered his head and viciously kissed Lyra's soft, sweet lips.

"I told you! For you, my Lyra! Even if it means becoming an enemy of the entire Blood Moon Pack, even if it means completely cutting ties with my parents, I don't care!"

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 10

Lyra only struggled symbolically for a moment before quickly surrendering completely, letting Damien do as he pleased with her.

Her beautiful, captivating face turned bright red from shyness and excitement, as tempting as a ripe apple.

She was kissed by her "brother" in name until she almost suffocated, only able to let out soft, broken moans.

And those rainbow berries she’d been craving earlier were now crushed underfoot, completely forgotten.

Damien seemed very pleased with her current submissiveness. He let out a low growl full of possessiveness, then suddenly swept Lyra up into a bridal carry, strode to the deepest of the cave, and gently placed her on the bed.

Then, like a famished beast that had finally caught its beloved prey, he eagerly tore off Lyra's silk clothes, revealing her exquisite, tender body.

He planted one fiery kiss after another on her jade-like skin, from her sensitive neck to her slightly rounded breasts, then to her flat, soft belly, and finally to that mysterious and alluring valley…

After a night of wild indulgence, Damien was finally satisfied.

He held Lyra tightly in his arms, feeling the warmth of her skin, and whispered seductively in her ear, "Lyra, my little moon, shall we... shall we ask for the elders' blessing and officially become mates? Even if other pack members find out our true relationship, it doesn't matter. For you, I can do anything, give up anything..."

The man's scorching vows made Lyra's earlobes tingle and her face flush with shyness.

Lyra shook her head slightly, her beautiful face full of conflict.

"But Selena loves you so much... If we really do this, she'll be heartbroken. Damien, can you go find her? We can apologize to her together, ask for her forgiveness. Selena is my best sister, she's so kind-hearted, she'll definitely forgive us. Then you two can make up, have your pups peacefully, and you can inherit your Alpha position..."

"Enough!"

Before she could finish, Damien cut her off abruptly.

The man's face instantly filled with the anger of being fooled, his once gentle and doting eyes turning sharp.

"I listened to you and performed the fated bond ceremony with that woman, tolerated her by my side for three whole years! Now, she's the one who initiated the breaking of the bond, she's the one who chose to leave! Lyra! You know perfectly well that the person I love, from beginning to end, has only ever been you! If I'm with Selena, neither of us will be happy! Can't we just be brave and fight for it once? Just once, please?"

This was the first time he had ever so firmly refused Lyra's request.

In the past, no matter how willful or unreasonable Lyra's demands were, he would always find a way to satisfy her.

But now, just when he finally saw a glimmer of hope to be with Lyra openly, he was once again rejected by Lyra with such a ridiculous excuse. He could no longer suppress his inner frustration.

Lyra, looking pitiful, shrank back and leaned into Damien's embrace like a frightened little animal.

"Damien... just... just this once... please? Selena really is my best sister. I really don't want her to be sad because of me. And if we really get together, Father, Mother, and those strict elders will definitely punish us severely. As long as... as long as you and Selena are still together, we can still see each other often, like before, can't we?"

She cried a river of tears. Damien sighed heavily and finally, helplessly, pulled her into his arms, gently rubbing his chin against the top of her soft hair.

"Alright... I understand... I promise you, I'll go find that woman, Selena, and bring her back. But, Lyra, this is the last time. If that woman dares to be so ungrateful again, I won't care about her life or death anymore."

At these words, Lyra immediately broke into a brilliant smile. She nodded vigorously, her voice as sweet as honey.

"Mhm! I knew it, Damien, you're the best to me!"

Damien smiled, his well-defined hand uncontrollably stroking Lyra's waist, feeling her captivating curves.

"But... let's wait a couple more days. It took so much to get rid of that troublesome woman. I want to enjoy a few more days of this carefree world, just the two of us, with you."

Lyra didn't speak. She shyly lowered her head and nodded gently, tacitly agreeing to Damien's proposal.

Immediately, the man flipped over, once again pressing the delectable, beautiful body beneath him firmly under his own.

"Enjoy tonight, my dear, little moon."

To fulfill Lyra's wish as soon as possible, Damien, starting the very next day, took Lyra everywhere with him, indulging in pleasure within the Blood Moon Pack's territory.

The ordinary pack members, unaware of the truth, saw their intimate behavior and thought it was just the Alpha doting on his most beloved sister.

But Damien's trusted subordinates and the pack elders knew the truth.

After Selena left, the two of them could finally, without any scruples, expose their forbidden love to the light of day.

Damien even, under the pretext of "celebrating the successful hunt of a thousand-year-old Shadow Demon Wolf," hosted a grand victory banquet in his Alpha cave, inviting all his close Beta wolf leaders and promising young pack warriors.

At the banquet, Lyra sat intimately beside Damien, like a true Luna, held tightly in his embrace, enjoying his meticulous care and affection. Damien wouldn't even let her drink more than a sip of the lightest fruit wine, afraid it would harm her delicate constitution.

The Beta wolves who usually called Damien brother, seeing this, though outwardly congratulatory, had eyes full of worry.

Finally, one Beta wolf leader, who was closest to Damien, couldn't help but ask, "Damien, where's Miss Selena? Why isn't she with you at such an important celebration today? You and Miss Lyra are so close now, aren't you afraid Miss Selena will be heartbroken if she finds out?"

"Yeah, Damien," another Beta wolf chimed in, "although we all know you and Miss Lyra grew up together and have a deep bond, and you've loved Miss Lyra for so many years. But, on an occasion like today, if Miss Selena found out, it might... not end well, right?"

Damien had already drunk several jars of strong moon-wine by then, and his eyes were a bit hazy. Hearing them mention Selena's name, he just scoffed dismissively, his tone contemptuous.

"Her? That ridiculous fated bond between us has long been completely broken!"

####CHAPTER-NAME: Chapter 11

The entire cave erupted in an uproar.

"What?! The fated bond is broken? Such a huge thing, how come we didn't hear anything about it?"

A Beta wolf about Damien's age exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

"But... Damien, since the bond between you and Miss Selena is broken, are you... are you planning to officially mate with Miss Lyra now?"

Another, more astute Beta wolf, asked tentatively. "However... Damien. With the Blood Moon Pack's strict rules and conservative council of elders, plus your nominal sibling relationship with Miss Lyra... for you two to truly be together openly, it will probably... be very difficult."

"Exactly, Damien! Are you... are you two really prepared to face everything that might happen next? The council of elders... and the old Alpha and your mother... have you talked to them?"

Everyone's gaze focused sharply on Damien and Lyra.

In their eyes, now that the obstacle between Damien and Lyra was completely removed, Damien would surely do whatever it took to truly bond with his beloved Lyra.

But the more they discussed it, the uglier Damien's expression became.

He instinctively pulled Lyra even tighter, then lowered his head and gazed at her affectionately, "Lyra... my little moon... what do you think?"

He had actually given Lyra the power to decide their future.

It seemed he was trying to show Lyra his determination: with just one word from his precious sister, he would immediately offer her the entire Blood Moon Pack, even everything he owned, without reservation, willing to pay any price.

Facing the surrounding gazes, Lyra, unhurriedly, replied in an innocent tone, "Oh, uncles, brothers, please stop teasing me and Damien like this. Selena... she's just having a little tiff with Damien right now, she's not thinking straight, that's why she did something so impulsive. They are, after all, destined mates chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. They'll definitely make up later. So please stop fueling the fire, okay?"

"How could I possibly be with my own brother? Between us, it's just the purest sibling affection."

After speaking, she even deliberately turned to Damien with a sweet look. "Damien will definitely find a way to win Selena back later, right?"

Everyone present cast looks of disbelief at Damien.

No one could believe Damien would agree to such an absurd and outrageous request from Lyra.

"Lyra is right. That woman, Selena, is just throwing a tantrum with me right now. Soon, I'll bring her back, and then, we'll ask for the Moon Goddess's witness to restore our fated bond."

He stared intently at Lyra, as if merely stating an irrelevant fact.

The Beta wolves present frowned, utterly confused.

Finally, the Beta wolf leader who had been closest to Damien couldn't help but whisper a reminder again, "But... Damien... didn't you just say that Miss Selena has completely broken the fated bond with you? Then she... probably won't come back so easily, right? And since you and Miss Lyra are truly in love, we... we will all do our best to help you. But now you... wanting to be with Miss Lyra on one hand, while stringing Miss Selena along on the other... isn't that... isn't that a bit wrong?"

Dead silence.

They had always felt that Damien maintaining a nominal mate relationship with Selena while being entangled with his sister Lyra was highly inappropriate.

Now, they couldn't help but want to speak up and dissuade him.

Before Damien could answer, Lyra, in his arms, quickly and aggrievedly replied.

"Being able to bond with Damien, to become his Luna, has always been Selena's greatest wish. The reason she left now must be because of some unpleasant misunderstanding with Damien, so she's just throwing a fit, trying to get Damien's attention. I'm only trying to help Selena by persuading Damien to find her. I believe Selena will come back. She loves Damien so much, how could she truly let go?"

Damien nodded.

He felt Lyra was absolutely right.

Back then, if Lyra hadn't begged him, asking him to pay a little more attention to the unremarkable Selena for her sake, he would never have agreed to the fated bond ceremony with that woman. The situation was the same now. As long as he was willing to lower his Alpha pride a bit and actively show Selena some goodwill, that woman would surely, like before, come wagging her tail back to his side, continuing to be his nominal Luna, someone he could summon and dismiss at will.

As for these few days without Selena...

He'd just consider it a final period of unbridled joy, a gift from the Moon Goddess for him and Lyra to enjoy their time alone.

Thinking this, the man picked up an unopened jar of strong moon-wine from the table, slammed off the clay seal, and then tilted his head back, gulping it down like water.

Lyra, beside him, was about to speak up to stop him, but Damien had already leaned down abruptly, once again fiercely kissing Lyra's soft, sweet lips.

This was the first time they had kissed so openly, so wantonly, in front of so many mutual friends and subordinates.

Lyra reached out but couldn't push him away even an inch.

Soon, she was once again completely lost in Damien's passionate, stormy kiss.

Just as Damien, completely muddled by alcohol and lust, was about to take the woman in his arms, who drove him wild, right there and then in front of everyone, the heavy curtain of the cave was violently yanked open from the outside!

An old wolf-man with a stern face strode in.

It was the former Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, Damien's father!

"Damien! Lyra! You two... you two wretched creatures! How dare you do such shameless things in front of so many pack members! What... what on earth are you doing!"

The old Alpha's voice, like a clap of thunder, boomed throughout the cave.

Instantly, the couple, who had been kissing passionately, froze.

Lyra's face was ashen. She frantically tried to jump off Damien, but Damien, instead, held her even tighter, giving her no chance to escape. He lifted his head and looked defiantly at his father.

"Father, what we were doing, haven't you already seen it with your own eyes?"

Lyra couldn't believe her ears. She whipped her head around, looking at Damien in despair, her voice sharp, "Damien! What... what nonsense are you talking!"

Damien, however, ignored her attempts to stop him, instead looking at her with a possessive and deep affection, "Lyra, my little moon, today, right here, in front of Father and all our pack members, let's officially announce we're together, okay? I don't want to love you in secret, hiding like this anymore. We have no blood relation. We can be together openly, even bond like true mates, have our own pups. My Lyra, we can be together forever and ever, never to be parted."

Seeing the undisguised madness in the man's eyes, and then her adoptive father's face, contorted with rage, Lyra suddenly raised her hand and, with all her strength, slapped Damien hard across the face.

"Damien! Stop talking nonsense! We... we are brother and sister!"

That slap stunned everyone present.

A clear five-fingered mark quickly appeared on Damien's handsome cheek.

He looked at the woman he loved, silently clenching his fists, his knuckles cracking from the force.

The other Beta wolves in the cave, who had been watching the drama, had already slipped out quietly through various exits the moment the old Alpha appeared.

The old Alpha looked at the disgraceful pair before him, snorted heavily, and couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on them.

With a sharp wave of his hand, several Alpha guards who had been lurking outside the cave quickly rushed in and, without a word, pinned Damien and Lyra down, immobilizing them.

"Today, both of you, get into the dungeon! Until you sort out this filthy, business between you, neither of you is getting out!"