Chapter 2

"That's enough."

Briar chimed in at the perfect moment, her voice a breathy wisp, her slender fingers tugging at Kael's sleeve. "It's all my fault… I'm the reason Selene's ceremony fell through again… There are still auspicious dates this month—please, stop pushing it back…"

Halfway through her sentence she broke into a fit of coughing. Kael turned instantly, his palm settling on her back, patting gently.

"This has nothing to do with you. Don't overthink it. Your sister can't live without me—it makes no difference when we hold the ceremony."

"That's where you're wrong."

I finally spoke. My voice was so calm it startled even me.

Every expression in the room froze at once.

I gave the backpack in my hand a little shake. "I'm leaving."

The words had barely left my mouth.

Crack—

Mother's palm struck my face with full force, the sharp sound echoing through the foyer.

My head snapped to the side. I tasted iron on my tongue.

Her hand was still trembling, her nails digging into her own palm. "You dare cause another scene! All these years we've spoiled you rotten. How did a perfectly good child turn out so insufferably willful?"

"Leave? And go where? So you can set the whole Northern Realm buzzing with gossip, make everyone think we're playing favorites? Selene, when are you going to grow up? How could I have raised a daughter like you—you're not worth half of what Briar is!"

The taste of blood spread through my mouth.

Yes. Every time before, I'd made a scene.

Because I didn't understand.

I didn't understand why, when it was Briar who shattered Father's prized ancient fang crown, they decided I was the one who'd smashed it. I didn't understand why, even with the estate's security footage, they refused to believe I hadn't pushed Briar down the stone stairs.

Even the moonflowers I'd planted in the garden that triggered Briar's allergies had been entered into evidence as proof that I was trying to murder her.

And this wasn't the first time Mother had raised her hand.

The last time was only two days ago.

Briar had wanted to wear the custom ceremonial gown I'd spent six months preparing for the bonding. I said no.

And then—right on cue—she fainted.

Mother charged at me, shoved me so hard I stumbled, then grabbed a pair of scissors and, right before my eyes, shredded that gown I'd waited half a year for into ribbons.

Over Briar, she and I had been driven nearly to the point of drawing knives.

So the old me had fought back with everything I had—demanding that someone, anyone, tell me I was right.

But this time, I truly didn't want to fight anymore.

Because I'd finally seen it clearly.

I am the incarnation of the Moon Goddess.

In all the Northern Realm, only those who forged an emotional bond with me could receive the blessings the Goddess bestowed.

The day after I was born, the Graves family—teetering on the brink of extinction—were struck overnight by a string of miraculous windfalls. Their power swelled at breakneck speed until they secured their place as the most powerful clan in the Northern Realm.

Father's chronic illness, already deteriorated to a terminal stage, vanished as if it had never existed. Even the elder who treated him couldn't explain it.

My best friend Liora, inseparable from me since childhood, grew more stunning with each passing year and she became Hollywood's first werewolf to win Best Actress.

And Kael.

He had been nothing more than a stray low-rank gray wolf roaming the border territories.

No parents. No pack. No surname. He scraped by running a market stall at the border bazaar, hounded by enforcement patrols, beaten up by rival vendors.

Until one night, he found me—a little girl lost in a night market. I stared up at his handsome face.

In that single instant, I fell for him.

From that moment on, he awakened as a White Wolf Alpha, his abilities and influence soaring at an impossible rate. He established the Frost Clan, never once losing a business deal or a territorial dispute, and today stood as the man closest to the Alpha King's throne in all the Northern Realm.

All he had to do was complete the bonding ceremony with me—make me his Luna—and the throne would be his.

For over twenty years, they'd held me in the palm of their hands, showered me with love. Kael, above all, had treasured me like something precious.

Because of me, they'd gotten everything they ever wanted.

And then Briar was brought into the Graves household.

And everyone changed.

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