Chapter 1

On the day I was released from prison, rain poured from the sky as I followed my husband to the cemetery to pay respects to our daughter.

Rain hammered against the tombstone.

Damian Blackthorne, Alpha of the Black Wolf Clan, suddenly spoke in a voice so calm it was almost cruel.

“The day our daughter Elsie drowned, I was the one who had the image crystal by Moon Lake destroyed.”

I froze where I stood.

The next second, I turned and met my son’s eyes.

There was not a trace of guilt in them.

Aiden’s tone was careless, almost light.

“I was the one who testified that you abused my sister. I cleared Celeste Mom of suspicion.”

The torment of more than a thousand days and nights in prison was nothing compared to the agony of this truth ripping me open.

A metallic sweetness surged up my throat. I grabbed Damian by the collar and screamed hysterically,

“What did I ever do wrong? Why would you do this to me?”

My son let out a soft laugh.

“My sister is already dead. What, were we supposed to let Celeste Mom go to prison?”

“You were just a useless Luna who couldn’t do anything. So what if you spent a few years in jail?”

Damian pried my fingers off one by one, his voice cold.

“I gave you the respected title of Luna, admired by everyone. But Celeste is pitiful. Even after giving birth to Pearl for me, she still can’t let anyone know about it, and she has to be cursed as a shameful mistress who can never be seen in public.”

“So, Evelyn, as long as you stop making things difficult for Celeste and her daughter, I won’t send you back in a second time.”

…

I collapsed in front of my daughter’s grave, feeling as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.

Damian bent down and brushed the rain-soaked hair from my face.

“Evelyn, you were the one who insisted on having someone investigate Celeste.”

“So I arranged for someone to teach you a lesson. I wanted you to behave.”

“But I didn’t expect them to go too far and leave you disabled.”

The dull sound of iron rods smashing into bone exploded in my ears all over again.

That day, I had just found a clue that Celeste was the one who drowned my daughter.

I was about to find Celeste and make her pay when a group of wolf guards pinned me to the ground.

Again and again, they brought their rods down on my legs.

In a pool of blood, I used the last of my strength to crawl, inch by inch, toward the door.

“Help me…”

But all that remained in the corridor was the sound of footsteps growing farther and farther away.

The pain and despair from that day were still vivid in my mind. I took a deep breath and looked at the son standing before me.

All I felt was strangeness.

And cold.

My son looked at me coldly as I collapsed in the mud and rain.

“Stop acting like you’re the victim.”

“Celeste Mom was about to hold her harp recital then. You were the one who insisted on making trouble for her.”

“Father didn’t even want to do anything at first. You forced him.”

My own flesh and blood was speaking for my enemy.

The last string in my mind snapped completely.

I forced myself to stand and slapped my son hard across the face.

The crisp sound of the slap cut through the roar of the rain.

My son covered his face, stunned.

Damian suddenly reached out and shoved me away.

“Evelyn Hawthorne, why are you hitting a child?”

I crashed into the tombstone.

Blood mixed with rainwater and streamed into my eyes, staining the whole world red.

Two wolf guards lifted me up and dragged me into the car, taking me back to the Blackthorne Pack estate.

Damian pushed an adoption contract in front of me.

“Pearl will be adopted under your name.”

Pearl Blackthorne.

His daughter with Celeste.

I swept everything off the coffee table, my eyes bloodshot.

“Damian, you want me to acknowledge the daughter of my enemy? Dream on.”

“She killed Elsie! I will never raise that bastard!”

Shattered porcelain sliced across the back of my hand. Blood dripped onto the carpet.

Damian frowned and pressed a handkerchief against my bleeding wound.

“Evelyn, stop making a scene.”

“As long as you can be a little more generous and accept Celeste and her daughter…”

“You will still be the mate I love most. The position of Luna will always be yours.”

Nausea churned violently in my stomach.

I yanked my hand back.

Damian’s face darkened.

“Evelyn Hawthorne, you need to calm down.”

“When you’ve thought this through, you can come out and talk to me.”

He turned and left the room.

The door slammed shut behind him.

Silence returned.

Blood continued to bead from my hand, taking with it the last trace of warmth in my heart.

I immediately booked a ticket to the Southern Territory.

A home like this I would never return to it again.