Chapter 1

At my birthday party, my fiancé's widowed sister-in-law Lira announced to everyone:

"I'm pregnant, and the child is Kael's."

Kael, my fiancé, the current Alpha of Blackrock Pack.

I looked at Kael, waiting for him to deny it, but he lowered his eyes and nodded coolly:

"The child is mine. My brother died under Rogue claws trying to save me. I owe him my life, so now I'm giving him a child in return. Consider it repayment."

Then he finally raised his head to look at me, without a trace of apology in his eyes:

"But Lira and I are innocent. This child is from IVF. Our wedding will be postponed. We'll decide what to do after she gives birth."

Later, I heard Kael and Lira having sex in the study.

So the so-called innocence was all a lie.

My heart shattered in an instant.

Numbly, I dialed my father's phone.

"Dad, about the arranged marriage you mentioned before—I agree."

The moment I hung up, I turned around to see Lira standing in the shadows of the corridor.

She leaned against the stone wall, toying with a delicate porcelain cup in her hands.

"Elara," she held the cup out to me, "help me take this herbal tea to the kitchen and warm it up. It's gone cold."

That arrogant manner, as if she were already the Luna of Blackrock Pack.

I glanced at her deliberately loosened collar and sneered: "Are your hands broken?"

She'd ordered me around like this plenty of times before, using various trivial matters to test my boundaries.

Back then, for Kael's sake, I'd endured it all.

But now that I'd agreed to my father's arranged marriage, I didn't need to tolerate her for another second.

Lira didn't get angry. Instead, she moved closer and lowered her voice:

"I heard everything you said to your father on the phone."

My eyes sharpened.

She smiled even more sweetly, her hand slowly covering her abdomen:

"Since you want to leave, I'll help you out."

The next second, she suddenly grabbed my wrist and threw herself toward the ground.

A dull thud—she fell onto the stone floor.

And I was violently pushed to the ground by a sudden force.

A piercing pain shot through my ankle where my old injury was.

Six months ago during the winter hunt, Kael had led a squad deep into the border and been ambushed by dozens of rogues, suffering severe injuries.

I'd dragged him—twice my weight—out of the ambush circle, killing our way through.

But at the last moment, a rogue hiding in the shadows shot a silver arrow into my ankle.

The doctor said the silver weapon was soaked in wolf's bane, enough to kill a full-grown adult wolf.

I'd endured the excruciating pain and dragged Kael back from death's door.

When Kael woke up then, he held my trembling body with tears in his eyes:

"Elara, you gave me this life. I'll never let you get hurt again for as long as I live."

But now?

The moment anything involved Lira, he completely lost control.

He rushed over and without asking whose fault it was, shoved me to the ground.

Then he turned to help Lira up, gently asking if she was hurt.

He didn't spare me a single glance as I trembled in pain.

Lira nestled pitifully in his arms, pulling his hand to cover her abdomen as she complained tearfully:

"I just asked Elara to warm up some herbal tea for me, and she pushed me down."

Kael glared at me viciously and roared:

"Do you know how much suffering Lira has endured to preserve a bloodline for my brother? How can you be so vicious as the future Luna of the Pack? If anything happens to this child, our engagement is over!"

I forced myself to smile through the searing pain in my ankle:

"If she wants to get pregnant, why bother with artificial insemination? You could just sleep with her directly. You'd both enjoy it and get a baby. Wouldn't that be more convenient?"

Kael's face turned livid with anger.

"Elara, when did you become so vulgar? This is my sister-in-law. I won't allow you to insult her like this!"

Lira buried herself in Kael's arms, crying even harder, her shoulders trembling slightly.

I pulled out a bitter smile and said to Kael, "Let's break off our engagement."

Lira made a show of trying to get out of Kael's arms, but he held her even tighter.

"Kael, don't blame Elara. I just felt dizzy and lost my balance. I'm fine—go comfort Elara."

Kael patted her back soothingly, then turned to me coldly:

"Elara, when will you be as sensible as Lira?"

Lira suddenly gasped softly, clutching his sleeve weakly:

"Kael, my stomach hurts so much. Can you carry me back to the bedchamber to rest?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Kael immediately scooped her up and rushed toward the bedchamber without the slightest pause.

I couldn't hold it in anymore and shouted at his retreating back:

"Kael, are you blind? My wolf's bane injury has relapsed—can't you see?"

He only paused for a second, then carried Lira away even more determinedly without looking back.

My throat tightened, and tears fell uncontrollably.

I could only support myself against the stone wall and limp back to my guest room to treat my wound.

All night long, Kael never showed up.

Well, in the past whenever we fought, I was always the one who gave in first, the one who went to comfort him.

But not this time. Never again.