Chapter 2

I put my phone on the coffee table, picked up the remote, and changed the channel.

A reality show was playing on TV. The hosts on screen were laughing hysterically.

I leaned back on the sofa, suddenly finding the scene absurd.

Here I was, sitting in this 2,150-square-foot house, keeping watch over a marriage that existed only on paper, waiting for a man who would never care about me to come home.

While he was out with his first love.

Openly, rightfully.

Because when we first married, he made it clear: "If it weren't for you, Sera and I wouldn't have ended up like this."

He meant that I was the one who tore him and Sera apart.

A werewolf and an Alpha were supposed to be natural mates.

I was the interloper who forced them apart.

I was the one who used my family's influence and that arranged marriage to bind him.

But what was the truth?

The truth was that my father's company was facing a severe financial crisis and desperately needed cash flow.

And his pack was facing threats from rival packs, needing my family's business network to secure weapons, supplies, and intel.

Our elders sat down for one dinner, and the marriage was decided.

Nobody asked me if I wanted to marry him.

Nobody asked him if he wanted to marry me.

But in everyone's eyes, it was a fair trade.

His family provided the money, mine provided the resources. Everyone got what they wanted.

Only Sera became the victim of this transaction. And I, a human, didn't even qualify as a victim.

He probably felt I had stolen her place, turning her from a rightful girlfriend into an outcast mistress.

So he gave all his guilt to Sera, and kept all his coldness for me.

On our wedding night, the pack held a massive banquet.

Everyone was waiting to see if the Alpha would mark his bride on the spot.

Damon stood up, raised his glass, and announced to the entire room, "Tonight is just a formality. Human laws govern marriage, but pack rules are different. The two don't interfere with each other."

The room fell dead silent for a second, then whispered gossip erupted.

Sera sat in the corner, holding her glass, wearing a smug smile.

I stood beside Damon, looking like a total joke.

The humiliation of being publicly declared unworthy of his mark still makes my face burn when I think about it today.

Since then, we had slept in separate rooms.

He slept in the guest room; I slept in the master bedroom.

I suddenly realized that in three years, he had only stepped into this master bedroom twice.

Once was on our wedding night, when he made that speech.

The other time was last year when I had a fever. It spiked to 103 degrees, and I was completely delirious.

Gamma Clara called the pack doctor, asking him to make a house call.

The healer asked, "Is she marked?"

Clara said no.

The healer replied, "Then I won't go. I only serve pack members. Call an ambulance."

Clara ended up calling an ambulance herself to take me to the hospital.

That feeling of being denied basic medical care just because I lacked a mark on my neck still makes my spine go cold.

After that, I never asked anyone in the pack for help again.

He didn't come home at all that night.

When I woke up at 7:00 AM, I checked my phone. No messages.

After washing up, I went downstairs. Clara was already preparing breakfast.

Seeing me come down alone, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately just asked, "Luna Vance, what would you like for breakfast?"

She was the only one in this pack who still called me that.

"Just some oatmeal is fine, Clara."

I sat at the dining table. My phone screen lit up.

It was a text from him.

"Sera got hurt during training last night. I stayed over to look after her. There’s a pack tactical meeting this morning, so I won't be back."

I put down my phone and took a spoonful of oatmeal.

"Clara, could you help me buy a few moving boxes over the next few days?"

She froze. "Are you moving, Luna Vance?"

"Yes. I’m moving out in a few days."

Her mouth opened, seemingly wanting to ask why, but seeing my expression, she swallowed her words.

She had lived in this house for three years. She had seen everything. She understood.

"Of course, Luna Vance."