Chapter 1

After Alpha Lucas's first love came back, I left without telling anyone.

I didn't tell him where I was going, and I didn't tell him I was pregnant.

The first month after I left.

The Alpha didn't care at all, spending every day doting on his first love.

The second month after I left.

The Alpha's friends started placing bets on when I would come crawling back.

The third month after I left.

The Alpha finally panicked and sent people to search the entire territory.

But they still couldn't find a single trace of me.

From that point on, the name Eleanor Smith became a forbidden topic among all werewolves.

But what no one knew was that every night, he went crazy missing me.

Blackwood Pack had a tradition—an annual year-end gathering that outsiders were never allowed to attend.

This year, there was an uninvited guest.

Lucas's first love, the human who had once rejected him: Genevieve Roth.

When the two of them walked in, the banquet had already started.

Lucas had his arm half-around Genevieve as they walked straight toward me.

I stared blankly at Lucas's joyful face, and suddenly my eyes began to sting.

He was the only man I'd ever loved in my life.

Three years of marriage, and I still hadn't found my way into his heart.

"Get up. This isn't your seat."

Lucas spoke seriously, not caring about my dignity at all.

I was Lucas's legitimate wife, yes, but I wasn't the Luna in his heart.

For three years, he hadn't even been willing to truly mark me.

Now that the human girl he deeply loved had returned, naturally I had to give up this position.

I didn't say no.

If this had been the old me, I probably wouldn't have accepted this humiliation.

But after all these years, my heart had long been shattered, and I'd already accepted the fact that he would never love me.

Just as I was about to stand up, Genevieve's gaze fell on my neck.

"That necklace you're wearing looks very unique."

I instinctively raised my hand, my fingertips touching the cool pendant.

This was what Lucas had given me on our first anniversary after the wedding.

It wasn't particularly valuable, but it was the only gift I'd received in three years. I'd always treasured it.

"I really like it." Genevieve turned to Lucas, her tone carrying nostalgic coquettishness. "It feels just like the one I lost before. Lucas, would you ask her to give it to me?"

Everyone's eyes focused on my neck, then looked toward Lucas.

I looked at him too.

I didn't know what I was hoping for.

Was I hoping he would remember what this necklace meant, or hoping that I mattered more to him?

Lucas didn't look into my eyes. He just pulled a bank card from his pocket with practiced ease and tossed it in front of me.

"Is this enough?"

Whispers suddenly erupted around the table, mixed with low snickers.

Three years married to Lucas, and this wasn't the first time he'd bought my dignity with money.

As the Alpha of Blackwood Pack, he was truly wealthy.

Wealthy enough that it seemed like everything in this world could be bought.

But he could never buy my love again.

Seeing my silence, a flash of surprise and impatience crossed Lucas's eyes:

"Three years of marriage, and you're not going to raise your price now, are you?"

With one sentence, he threw the memories I cherished on the ground and trampled them repeatedly.

My hands clenched deeply into my palms. This necklace had been against my skin for three years, but now it felt like red-hot iron.

Genevieve pretended to be understanding: "Lucas, don't be like this. After all, it's Eleanor's property. I was just saying—I don't really want it..."

"If you like it, take it." Lucas interrupted her, looking at me with a commanding tone. "Take it off."

I used the last of my strength to undo the clasp at the back of my neck.

The necklace fell into my palm, still warm with body heat.

I gently placed it on top of the cold bank card.

I should have known all along—between us there was only money and our arrangement.

Now that the girl he deeply loved had returned, our arrangement was over.

As I turned to escape this suffocating place, Lucas called out to me:

"Wait. Take this bank card with you."

In that moment, I heard the sound of my own heart breaking.

"Okay."

Lucas, I forgot to tell you.

I'm pregnant.

And this child will have nothing to do with you.