Chapter 1

I heard Alpha Alexander had fallen for a human girl who already had a longtime boyfriend.

But Alexander was the true ruler of this city.

There was nothing he wanted that he couldn't take.

My friend told me all this when she brought clothes to the facility where he had me locked away.

I coughed up a mouthful of blood and passed out.

When I woke up, Alexander—whom I hadn’t seen in six months—was standing by my hospital bed, speaking in a cool, detached voice.

"Eleanor, promise me you won’t cause her any trouble, and I’ll bring you home. You can have all the privileges of a Luna again."

Finally, I gave a quiet nod.

Before blacking out, I had just learned that my brother Charles lost everything in a failed investment last month and got tangled up with ruthless loan sharks.

If Alexander hadn't stepped in, they would have driven Charles to his death.

It was just infidelity.

For Charles's sake, I wouldn't fight it anymore.

Less than ten minutes after the car pulled out of the compound, a black SUV slammed violently into our flank.

The car rolled twice before grinding to a halt.

The driver's neck was twisted at an unnatural angle. He was already gone. I crawled out through the shattered window, a sharp, tearing pain ripping through my shoulder blade.

For a werewolf, an injury like this wasn't fatal; it would heal in minutes.

But the second wave of attacks came even faster.

A silver bullet grazed my ribs, and an agonizing burn spread instantly. Silver suppressed our healing, and blood quickly soaked through my clothes.

I dragged myself into the roadside bushes, pulled out my phone, and dialed Alexander's number.

It rang for a long time before he finally picked up. Swallowing the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat, I choked out, "Alexander, I..."

His voice was laced with impatience.

"Didn't I send a driver to pick you up? I told you I'm busy. Eleanor, can't you just be reasonable for once?"

The background noise on the other end suddenly flared.

A familiar sound came through.

A girl's desperate screams echoed: "Alexander, do whatever you want to me! Why do you have to hurt him?!"

Alexander’s voice remained calm, but his words sent chills down my spine.

"Sophia, I warned you. If you dare say yes to his proposal, I'll make sure he spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair."

So, the fragile little girl Alexander fought so hard to protect was named Sophia.

Suddenly, I realized why that sound was so familiar.

It sounded just like me the first time I caught Alexander cheating, smashing every single thing I could find in our house.

Alexander always knew how to drive people insane.

On the line, Sophia sobbed, begging him to spare her boyfriend.

Right before I lost consciousness, I heard Sophia's whimpers.

"Please... be gentle..."

When I woke up, Alexander was sitting on the nearby sofa, scrolling through his phone.

Noticing my gaze, he hesitated, reaching out to check the temperature of my forehead.

I turned my head away, my voice raspy.

"I'm fine."

Alexander scoffed, pulling his hand back coldly.

"Eleanor, pulling a stunt like this the moment you get out? Don't you think it's time to stop?"

My mind went completely blank.

"I've told you countless times, no one will ever threaten your position. You are the only Luna and Mate of Alexander Harrison."

"Competing with a fragile human and getting yourself all battered up—what does that even get you?"

So, he actually believed this assassination attempt was just a pathetic ploy to fight for his attention.

I parted my lips, but every word felt hollow.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

After all, I had no right to defend myself anymore.

Alexander seemed pleased with my submission.

Soon after, Charles called to tell me that Alexander had covered the interest on his predatory loans.

See? As long as I stayed invisible and knew my place, Alexander would solve all our problems.

"If it hurts too much, Eleanor, just leave him. Break the Mate Bond," Charles said, his voice strained. "I'll figure out the debt somehow."

My hand trembled as I held the phone.

I knew what had happened. Our family assets had been seized and liquidated by the Pack.

Our cars, our estates, everything had changed hands overnight. Yet it still wasn't enough to fill the debt hole.

Charles had been pushed to the edge, forced to put every property under his name on the market within three days.

I heard that when Alexander finally found Charles, my brother was sitting alone in an empty living room.

All the furniture was gone, leaving only a single sofa. On the coffee table lay stacks of deed transfers.

We had lost everything. We were cornered.

Now Alexander was offering cars, houses, and money.

All he wanted in return was for me to play blind and make way for his beautiful romance with Sophia.

Given our situation, what right did I have to say no?

I forced a faint smile. "It doesn't hurt. I'm just playing blind. I can do that."

After being discharged, I tried my best to be a dutiful Luna.

I stopped asking where Alexander went or how much he spent.

When he got drunk at business banquets and needed someone to pick him up, I sent Sophia’s number.

When he said he craved my homemade clam chowder, I dialed Sophia and told her to make it and deliver it to him.

When he mentioned his new custom cufflinks didn't match any suit, I had Sophia coordinate with his personal tailor.

...

Until three months later, when Alexander called me out of the blue.

He said he was coming home for dinner tonight.