Chapter 1
I’ve ruled the Blood Moon Pack since I was little.
My Alpha parents had me late in life, and I nearly died from being premature. They treasured me more than anything.
The year I shifted, I saved Alpha Lucas Black from a rogue wolf attack.
When I learned he was my fated mate, I forced him to bond with me by any means necessary and joined his Black Thorn Pack Pack.
I burned with rage when I found out he loved Olivia, a half-witch, half-wolf Omega.
I had her artwork destroyed and spread lies that her blood carried a witch’s curse.
I twisted the truth of her peaceful divorce from the Silver Moon Alpha and painted her as a rejected Luna, making her a mockery to the entire pack.
This time, I deliberately reported Olivia’s gallery for tax issues.
For forty-eight straight hours, Lucas couldn’t bail her out of the Wolf Pack Enforcement Bureau no matter what he did.
Lucas finally found me.
“Have you lost your mind?” he said, each word sharp. “What did Olivia ever do to you? Come after me if you have to.”
“Come after you?” I sneered. “Lucas, get it straight. I’m your Luna. Olivia did nothing wrong. The mistake is you having her in your heart.”
I lifted my chin. “Don’t forget. You owe me this life, and you’ll never repay it.”
Before I finished speaking, Lucas pulled out a silver blade and drove it into his chest.
Blood splattered across my face. He was pale, but his voice stayed steady.
“I’ll give you my life. Is that enough?”
...
I froze in place.
Lucas pulled the blade out and readied to stab himself a second time.
Agony ripped through my bond, snapping me back to my senses.
I lunged forward, snatched the silver blade from his hand, and threw it to the ground.
“You’re insane!”
I grabbed his hand and poured my moon power into him. Tears slipped down my cheeks before I knew it.
I’d been weak since birth. The power I gave him couldn’t keep up with the silver poison spreading through his body.
I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Someone! Call pack medical emergency!”
The lights in the pack hospital hallway burned blindingly white.
The red surgery light had been on for two hours.
Sophia Black, Lucas’s mother, stormed up and slapped me across the face.
“How much more will you torture Lucas before you let him go?!” Sophia’s voice shook with fury. “Do you have to watch him die in front of you?!”
My cheek throbbed with fire.
The image of Lucas bleeding out, unconscious but with a look of relief on his face, replayed in my head and wouldn’t fade.
I only wanted Lucas to talk to me more, to care about me a little more.
Seven years ago, we’d had a huge bonding ceremony.
But that night, Lucas refused to mark me.
He accompanied me back to the Blood Moon Pack and chatted warmly with my parents.
Yet at the Black Thorn Pack Pack house, he ignored me completely, eating in silence across from me without a word.
When I was sick, he brought the pack’s top healer, but he never spoke a single kind word.
Anniversary gifts were always the latest jewels from auctions, but he never handed them to me himself.
I told myself it was just a matter of time.
And I’ve got nothing but time and patience..
Until five years ago, when Olivia came back to Black Thorn Pack Pack with her daughter.
Lucas left me to pick her up. When guards sent photos of them being close, my wolf snapped, and I destroyed Lucas’s study.
When Lucas came home, he only stared silently for a few seconds and said flatly, “Should I have the Beta call a renovation crew?”
His tone was calm—so calm it crushed me.
Later, when Olivia opened a gallery, he invested. When she was sick, he stayed at the hospital. For her birthday, he picked out gifts personally and attached handwritten cards.
I saw it all. So I started targeting Olivia.
Until today.
My wolf Mia whispered in my head, “Amelia, maybe we were wrong from the start.”
“Lucas is a perfect mate. But he never loved us.”
“Okay,” I heard myself say. “I’ll let him go.”
Sophia stared at me in disbelief. “What did you say?”
I lifted my head and repeated, “I’ll end my bond with Lucas, just like you want.”
I turned and left straight away, running right into Olivia, who’d rushed over.
She froze when she saw me, looking flustered.
“Luna Amelia, my number somehow ended up in Lucas’s mate contact list. The hospital called me. I’ll leave right away if you’re upset—”
A sharp pain shot through my heart, but I didn’t scream or rage like before.
I walked past her with a blank face.
“No need. Stay and take care of him.”
It was dark by the time I walked out of the hospital.
I wandered down the street with no direction.
I joked bitterly to my wolf, “Mia, look at that. I don’t even have anywhere to go.”
Mia paused for a moment. “I think we can go back to the Blood Moon Pack.”
Two hours later, I reached the Blood Moon Pack. The lights in the pack house were still on.
I pushed the door open.
My parents stopped talking. They smelled my sadness, and my mother Elara rushed to me.
She held my face and stared into my eyes. “Who hurt you? Was it Lucas?”
My father Jacob’s face darkened. “I’ll contact the Black Thorn Pack Pack council right now.”
“Don’t,” I stopped him. “Mom, Dad, I’m ending my bond with Lucas.”
Tears filled my mother’s eyes instantly.
“We’ve seen how you’ve suffered all these years with him. We wanted you home, but we were afraid you’d be unhappy here.”
My father was quiet for a long time before speaking. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then end it,” my father patted my shoulder. “The Blood Moon Pack will always be your home.”
I stared at my father’s graying temples, and my throat tightened.
From the corner of my eye, I saw papers spread out on the table.
I picked them up and read carefully. My fingers went cold.
The pack’s core development project had been blocked, leaving them in a financial crisis. My father had asked Black Thorn Pack Pack for help, but Black Thorn Pack Pack demanded the Blood Moon Pack join them unconditionally—something that would break the entire alliance.
No wonder they were still awake until now.
I closed my eyes. “Lucas is doing this to you on purpose…”
My father tried to sound casual. “It’s not that bad. I can handle this little problem.”
The dense numbers and clauses stung my eyes.
When we first bonded, everyone said Lucas was lucky to have me. My parents had gone out of their way to help him for years, afraid of hurting his pride.
Black Thorn Pack had grown stronger and stronger. I never thought the first thing he’d do once he had power was take away my parents’ authority.
And my parents had never told me a single thing about these ugly truths.
I couldn’t imagine how much they’d suffered for this bond I’d forced.
I took a deep breath.
“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. I was so selfish. It won’t happen again.”
I stayed up all that night, going through every document on my computer, piecing together everything I’d ignored.
Two days later, Lucas moved to a regular ward. I brought the signed mate termination papers to the pack hospital.
Chapter 2
I stood outside the room and looked through the glass window.
Lucas leaned halfway up in bed, and Olivia was feeding him porridge. The man who’d always been cold and distant with me let Olivia care for him without protest now.
Lucas smelled my presence and looked up. His eyes turned icy in an instant.
Olivia followed his gaze, jumped up flustered. “I’ll go get some hot water.”
“Don’t. The nurses can handle that,” Lucas stopped her, his voice sarcastic. “What are you doing here?”
“If you don’t think I’ve hurt enough, I can do it again.”
I opened the folder calmly. “I’m not just your mate. I’m the pack’s Luna. There are a few project documents that need your signature.”
Surprise flickered in Lucas’s eyes. He frowned and took the pen.
He signed without even reading.
Olivia tried to calm things down. “Luna Amelia, Lucas is just being childish. The healer said he’s fine. Don’t stay mad at him.”
I watched Lucas finish signing, closed the folder, and smiled slightly.
“Thanks for taking such good care of him. I’ll have the Beta pay you double a nurse’s wage.”
Lucas’s face darkened instantly. “You!”
I didn’t look at him again and turned to leave.
There were too many things to sort out from the papers I’d taken from Blood Moon Pack. I practically lived in the Luna’s office.
Until a sharp pain shot through my chest. My wolf gasped.
“Amelia, we never recovered our power after we gave it to Lucas last time. What if something’s wrong?”
I pulled my focus from the piles of papers and thought. Before I could figure it out, a sharp reprimand slammed into my mind through the Mindlink.
“Amelia, you’re the Black Thorn Pack Luna. Your Alpha is being discharged today, and you won’t even show your face? What kind of Luna are you?”
I’d heard scoldings like this a hundred times.
“Amelia, you’ve been bonded for years and haven’t given your Alpha a pup. You don’t deserve to be Black Thorn Pack’s Luna!”
“Amelia, failing to win your Alpha’s heart only proves you’re a failure as a Luna.”
I used to feel wronged. But when I told Lucas, he only responded coldly.
“Sophia is my mother and the pack’s High Elder. She’s only saying a few words to you. Endure it.”
I ignored Sophia’s Mindlink and looked back at my computer.
It was another victory feast for Black Thorn Pack.
I didn’t want to go, but several Alphas from other packs would be there. It was a good chance for the Blood Moon Pack.
The second I stepped into the pack hall, I saw them in the center of the crowd—looking like a perfect family.
Lucas held Olivia’s daughter, his face unusually soft.
A pack member who’d recently joined walked over with a drink, flattering them. “Alpha, Luna, you two are made for each other.”
Olivia waved her hands in panic, but Lucas didn’t correct him. He just introduced smoothly.
“This is Olivia Voss, owner of Moonlight Gallery. She’s the most talented artist in the pack. If you ever need help with art investments or collections, you can ask her.”
The man nodded knowingly and flattered Olivia with a smile.
I thought of the unfair treaty I’d seen at my parents’ house and scoffed.
My voice made the air tense. Olivia stepped closer to Lucas instinctively.
I met his gaze for a second, then looked away. I turned and walked to the group of chatting Alphas, joining their conversation.
Surprisingly, an Alpha from a nearby pack was deeply interested in Blood Moon Pack’s latest tech research project and asked me several questions in a row.
At events like this before, as long as Lucas was there, I’d either cling to him to claim what was mine or sulk over being ignored.
I never knew how satisfying this could be.
After talking, we locked in a preliminary cooperation and agreed to discuss details later. I nodded politely and headed to the terrace to breathe.
I turned and almost walked straight into someone’s chest. Lucas was standing behind me.
“Something wrong?” I looked up at him.
Lucas paused at my cold tone before speaking. “Olivia’s gallery is new. She needs all the connections she can get.”
So what? What did that have to do with me?
Was he… explaining himself to me?
I stared at him strangely, hummed, and tried to leave.
He spoke again. “Why is your power so much weaker?”
My feet froze.
—How strange.
That was the first thought in my head. It also felt bitterly ironic.
For seven years, I’d gotten hurt during training and limped after him. He didn’t even glance at me.
I’d cried until I could barely breathe. He only frowned and told me to stop being dramatic.
Now that I’d let go and decided to walk away, he suddenly noticed my weakness, like he was doing me a favor.
I closed my eyes and didn’t want to say anything.
Olivia ran over, tears in her eyes, her voice urgent.
“Lucas, Bella’s gone!”
Chapter 3
Lucas immediately ordered a team of guards to search for the girl. He frowned. “When did you last see Bella?”
I didn’t want to stay anymore and walked straight to the elevator.
In the quiet space, her tearful scream echoed strangely in my ears.
“Lucas, Bella’s gone!”
Olivia’s daughter.
I stared blankly at the descending numbers.
What happened to that kid wasn’t my problem.
I reached the parking garage. My driver was waiting and opened the car door. But suddenly, I recalled that afternoon.
I’d just thrown paint all over Olivia’s carefully made contest entry. Then I met a pair of big, round eyes.
“Miss,” the little girl said softly. “Why did you break the painting?”
I’d been in a terrible mood. I almost said it out of spite. “Someone hurt me, so I’m getting back at them.”
The little girl tilted her head. “Next time someone hurts me, I’ll do that too!”
I hesitated, then knelt down and spoke gently for once. “Has anyone been hurting you?”
“They say my mom is bad, so they won’t play with me.” The girl looked down and twisted her dress.
In that moment, I knew who she was—Olivia’s daughter, brought back after her bond ended.
Instinctive disgust rose up, but finally I just reached out and touched the top of her head.
“What your mom did has nothing to do with you.”
That afternoon, I stayed longer than I planned and played games with the little girl for a long time.
I slammed the car door shut with a loud thud, startling my driver.
“Damn it…” I muttered under my breath, angry at the random memory or at Olivia for losing her kid.
I was about to turn when a beat-up old van drove toward the exit.
In a place full of luxury cars and tight security, that van stuck out like a sore thumb.
My gut dropped. I kicked off my annoying high heels, pulled the driver out of the seat, and said.
“Alert the guards. That fake-plate van is bad news.”
I slammed the door and hit the gas, chasing after it.
I’d gotten my racing license during my rebellious years. My skills were rusty, but I still knew the basics. I stayed right on the van’s tail.
They realized they were being followed and sped up, trying to lose me.
I pressed my lips together, timed it right, turned the wheel, and crashed into them hard.
Crash!
A loud scraping noise filled the air. The van swerved and scraped against the guardrail before stopping.
I wasn’t good situation either. My still-weak body screamed in pain from the impact.
“Amelia… I smell more than one of them. We can’t fight them in our state,” Mia said lowly.
I frowned and jumped out without hesitation. “I don’t have a choice now.”
Three fierce-looking werewolves jumped out of the van. “Stupid Omega, you want to die?”
I stood barefoot but showed no fear. “Pack patrol will be here any second. I’d run if I were you.”
“Freeze right there!”
Pack patrol arrived just in time.
The three werewolves tensed up, cursed, and ran off, leaving the van behind.
I lunged into the van and spotted a small figure in pink curled up in the back seat corner.
It was Bella.
My heart jumped into my throat. I checked her breath and sighed in relief.
I lifted her and stepped out of the van.
My eyes met Lucas and Olivia, who’d just arrived.
Olivia snatched Bella from me instantly, tears in her eyes. She was angry but too scared to yell at me.
“Luna Amelia, I know you don’t like me, but this is between adults. How could you… how could you hurt Bella?”
Lucas’s silent gaze moved from my bare feet to my face. His voice was sharp with suspicion.
“What did you do?”
A thumbtack I’d stepped on earlier stabbed my foot. My weakened wolf power made my healing and cold resistance drop fast.
I pressed my lips together and snapped. “Do I need to explain myself to you?”
Lucas’s chest rose and fell. His eyes turned colder.
“I thought you’d changed after all this time. But you’re still the same—willful and cruel.”
I lifted my chin, swallowing the ache that threatened to burst out. My face was completely empty.
“Yeah, that’s me. The pack enforcers are here. Can I go with them for questioning now, Alpha Lucas?”
Chapter 4
It was late at night when I left the Wolf Pack Enforcement Bureau. I went back to the Blood Moon Pack.
Although I tried my best to walk steadily, my mother noticed my weakened state right away.
She was about to call the pack healer.
I held up a hand to stop her.
“Mom, I’m fine. I was really brave today. I saved a little girl.”
My mother looked at me and said softly but firmly. “My Amelia has always been kind.”
I froze.
Whenever I got in trouble and people called me spoiled, my mom would always smile and say. “My Amelia is a good girl. She’s just straightforward.”
I didn’t cry when Lucas doubted me.
But my mother’s words made my eyes burn.
I looked down quickly and changed the subject.
“Mom, Dad, the overseas plans are done. In about two weeks, we can move the Blood Moon Pack core territory to that place. We’ll all leave together.”
A few days later, Blood Moon Pack’s largest business group was investigated for tax issues by the United Wolf Packs Council.
As soon as I got the message from my Blood Moon Pack’s Beta, I sent a Mindlink to Lucas.
“Did you let Olivia report the taxes?”
He was quiet for two seconds and didn’t deny it.
“You owe Olivia for what happened with Bella. Let her blow off steam, and it’s over.”
I almost laughed at his entitled tone.
“Lucas, you’re so dumb! It’s a miracle Black Thorn Pack hasn’t gone bankrupt yet!”
I cut off the Mindlink immediately.
The United Wolf Packs Council investigated thoroughly and cleared Blood Moon Pack of any tax issues.
Just when I thought everything had settled down, the United Wolf Packs Financial Regulation Department found me.
“Luna Amelia, we received a tip that you’ve been moving large sums of money across borders. You’re suspected of profit manipulation. Please come with us for questioning.”
This charge was way worse than tax trouble.
I looked at the papers they showed me and knew this was Lucas’s plan. Olivia wasn’t smart enough for this.
“Okay. I’ll come with you.”
I contacted the Blood Moon Pack lawyer.
The questioning was longer and harder than I imagined.
I sat on a hard chair. The people across from me switched shifts nonstop, asking the same things over and over.
I explained again and again. My voice went from clear to hoarse.
No one offered me water. I didn’t ask for any.
The sky outside turned from bright to dark, then bright again. I couldn’t remember how long I’d been sitting there.
I was only allowed to use the bathroom twice, with a female guard watching me every step of the way.
Lack of sleep made my temples throb. My eyes blurred from focusing for so long.
“Amelia, our power isn’t coming back… it’s fading away,” Mia said.
I pressed my lips together and promised we’d find a way to fix it later.
I forced myself to stay awake and answer every tricky question.
Finally, after countless checks, they let me leave.
I stepped out of the building, unsteady on my feet. I tried to call my parents to tell them I was okay, but no one answered.
Even the Mindlink was just empty static.
I immediately contacted my Beta of Blood Moon Pack. “Amelia… Alpha Jacob… he’s in the hospital!”
My eyes widened. I ran back to the Blood Moon Pack and straight to the pack hospital.
Outside the private room, my mother looked like she’d aged overnight. When she saw me, she grabbed my hand tightly, holding back tears.
“After you were taken, we tried everywhere to find out if you were okay. We heard you were being targeted and hurt.”
“We were so worried. We knew you’d never endured anything like this. So we went to see Lucas.”
“But Olivia came out instead. She said so many horrible things. Your father turned pale with anger.”
Tears streamed down my mother’s face.
“He’s never been mean to anyone in his life. But his hand was shaking when he pointed at Olivia. On the car ride home… your father just collapsed.”
“The healer said it was a sudden heart attack from rage and stress. We don’t know if he’ll wake up…” My mother broke down and cried loudly.
I listened, and my blood turned cold.
I hugged my trembling mother gently. “Mom, don’t cry. Take care of Dad. I’ll be right back.”
“Amelia, where are you going? Don’t do something stupid!” my mother panicked, holding me back.
I turned and smiled. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
I left and dialed a number. “Find out where Olivia and Lucas are right now.”