Chapter 2

The next second, the squeak of the glass door startled him.

"Emily, taking clients during lunch? Business must be good. No wonder you ordered two burgers today. Got a big spender, huh?"

It was Leo, the DoorDash guy who delivered my lunch every day.

I joked around with him for a bit and took the food.

James looked uncomfortable being referred to as a "big spender." He turned his face away and let out a soft sigh.

But this was just how the neighborhood was.

Wendy from the nail salon next door popped in to ask if I wanted to go to a bar tonight.

Sarah, a white-collar worker living upstairs, dropped off a heavy suitcase, asking if she could leave it here until evening.

Amy, a high school student, rushed in to borrow a power bank.

They all looked at James with curiosity, their eyes lingering on his expensive clothes.

Finally, he shifted uncomfortably and crossed his legs.

"Emily, how can you let yourself sink this low? Hanging around with these... humans?"

His eyes looked slightly red, though I might have been mistaken.

My wolf, curled deep in my mind, let out a lazy yawn, utterly dismissing his dramatic attitude.

I just didn't bother to tell him.

"The pattern you want is a bit difficult," I said, stretching my back and wiping the sweat from my forehead with my elbow. "My friend’s shop doesn't have the specialty pigments for it. You should go to a larger studio."

I gave him the address of another shop and eagerly opened my food.

But James didn't leave.

I felt a bit awkward, so I pushed the fries toward him.

"Are you hungry? If you don't mind, have some."

James’s gaze flickered over my fingers.

My nails were permanently stained with ink that wouldn't wash off. Then his eyes drifted to my burgers and fries.

When he spoke, his voice was raspy.

"This is junk food. It's unhealthy... You never used to eat this."

In his memory, I was a picky eater who only ate the freshest meat.

If the food was even slightly off, I would throw up for hours.

I smiled.

"Well, I couldn't exactly order takeout in the dungeon, could I? Besides, working manual labor all day cured all my picky habits."

"Try some fries, Mr. Harrington. Oh, look, they gave me an extra packet of ketchup today. Score!"

I happily took the extra ketchup and threw it into the storage box behind me.

The box was already filled with leftover condiments. Sometimes, buying a loaf of bread and using these was enough for a meal.

"Enough!" James roared.

I startled.

The next second, he threw a black card onto the counter.

"This is my supplementary card. Take it."

His movement was so violent that he knocked over the stool and almost flipped my lunch.

Luckily, my reflexes were quick. I blocked the tray, barely saving my burger.

"Mr. Harrington," I sighed. "If you're not going to eat, I will..."

"Emily!" James growled, his voice trembling. "I'm serious!"

"This card is linked to my platinum account. There's a five million limit. Spend whatever you want."

"Buy a decent shop, start a real business, be your own boss! Stop rotting in this filthy place as a manual laborer!"

"Have you forgotten who you are? You are the daughter of an Alpha! The heir to the Moon Shadow Pack!"

2

His roar was deafening, dragging me straight back into my memories.

The pack I was born into was powerful. The Moon Shadow Pack was one of the largest rulers of this territory.

I was the Alpha's only daughter until I was seven, when my mother got pregnant with twin girls.

But just as we were joyfully anticipating their arrival, my father's betrayal came right on schedule.

He fell for a human woman named Victoria. Their love was loud, chaotic, and destructive.

It was so bad that Victoria paraded herself right in front of my mother, demanding she step down as Luna.

My mother refused.

So, Victoria secretly poisoned my mother with wolfsbane.

It took all three of their lives. My mother died with her eyes wide open, never finding peace.

Afterward, my father locked me up and starved me for a day and a night, forcing me to forget what happened and forbidding me from telling anyone the truth.

Victoria became the new Luna. She brought along my stepsister, Isabella—who was actually her daughter with my father.

That was when I realized my father had been cheating on my mother for a very long time.

My nightmare began.

Beatings, verbal abuse, lies, and constant bullying became my daily life.

To survive, I trained relentlessly. I became the fiercest young warrior in the pack.

Back then, James was the son of the Silver Moon Pack's Beta.

We met on the training grounds. We trained together and grew up together.

But I never expected that during a routine patrol in the woods, two rogue wolves would ambush us.

They tried to attack. To protect me, James threw himself into the fight.

I was injured while trying to save him, leaving a permanent scar on my chest.

That scar was once our sacred vow. He swore he would never betray me.

But then, Isabella noticed him.

She saw James standing by my side and smiled that bright, innocent smile.

It reminded me of Victoria. When she stood next to my father, her smile had the exact same calculating curve.

And my dark premonitions quickly became reality.

Before I knew it, James was constantly bringing up Isabella.

At first, he said she was sweet and innocent. Then, he said she was pitiful, living under our roof. Eventually, it turned into, "Emily, stop bullying Isabella all all the time."

I wanted to have a serious talk with James, but it was the anniversary of my mother and sisters' deaths. I had to visit their graves first.

But when I returned from the cemetery, I walked into a scene I will never forget.

Isabella and James were wrapped in each other's arms in bed.

"James, why didn't you go pay respects to your future mother-in-law today?" Isabella purred.

"Her mother doesn't deserve to be my mother-in-law... If I had to choose, I'd choose yours," James replied.

My mind went completely blank. Blinded by rage, I lunged into the room.

I used a silver dagger to slash Isabella’s face.

Right after, James locked me in the pack's dungeon.

And my Alpha father didn't raise a single finger to stop him.