Chapter 2

Lily POV

This morning, Alex told me he was hosting a barbecue party with his friends.

So today I left work early to help Alex entertain his friends.

But when I reached the garden, I only saw a barbecue grill with no one around.

Looking a bit further, I saw Alex pressed on top of a woman, their moans piercing my ears with each gust of evening breeze.

My breath hitched. I strode over quickly.

Then I violently flipped over the entire barbecue grill.

"Ahhh—!"

The searing coals scattered across the cobblestone ground with shrill screams.

I watched as Alex whipped around, using his entire back to shield the woman, blocking most of the flying sparks.

In that instant, my heart felt like someone had viciously squeezed it.

He would actually protect her like this.

"Chloe, are you okay?"

His tone was so gentle it nearly made me sick.

The woman called Chloe trembled as she grabbed his reddened, burned arm, sobbing softly. "I'm fine. But you... does it hurt?"

I laughed coldly. "Stop acting. Get out."

Chloe's face went pale as she shrank back.

But Alex stepped in front of her, looking down at me from above, his voice cold as ice. "Apologize."

The Alex I'd known for seven years had never shown me such a cold expression before.

I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white.

"In your dreams."

I ground out the words through gritted teeth, then turned and walked toward the house.

The moment the door closed behind me, I could no longer pretend to be unaffected. Tears fell.

I never imagined he could be so gentle with someone else.

He betrayed me, yet demanded an apology from me.

And I had to witness it today, in our home.

I knew he'd been getting close to that woman recently.

But she was just an Omega working as a waitress.

I thought he was just fooling around.

But I was dead wrong. He brought her home, right in front of me.

He probably didn't expect I'd accidentally discover them.

Of course he didn't expect it. He'd hidden it so well. Maybe his refusal to Mark me was precisely for this reason. He didn't want to remain faithful to our relationship.

I collapsed onto the bed that once belonged to both of us, tears dropping onto the pillow.

I don't know how much time passed before I was violently pulled from the bed and thrown onto the floor.

Looking up, I saw Alex's cold face. His shirt still bore traces of coal burns on the back, though the wounds had already healed.

"What are you doing?" I asked hoarsely.

He didn't answer, just grabbed my shoulder.

"The coals burned her just now. With such a serious wound, an Omega like her can't guarantee it'll heal on its own."

I froze, then laughed. The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet room. "So what? Are you going to burn me back now?"

He was silent for a long time before sighing. "Lily, why do you have to target her? I promise you, in a month I'll still become your mate. But for what happened today, you must make amends to her."

"Alex—"

Before I could finish, I felt a sharp, searing pain in my shoulder!

He actually burned me with a piece of coal he'd gotten from somewhere, its heat still lingering!

I gasped for breath, the pain making my vision go black. I nearly laughed up blood. "You want me to apologize? Screw you!"

His expression turned completely grim. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Think about your Pack. Think about your broken father. Now answer me—will you apologize or not?"

I felt thunderstruck, tears instantly blurring my vision.

"You know what I care about most, and you're actually using them to threaten me?"

Yes, my pack wasn't doing well right now.

After my mother died, my father was devastated and never recovered.

He no longer dealt with pack matters, and no longer had the ability to, because his wolf suffered every moment from the pain of losing his mate.

A pack without an Alpha could hardly resist erosion by those with ambition.

Even though I tried hard to maintain everything, to become the new leader, I couldn't do it.

That's why I was here.

Alex was the Alpha of the world's most powerful Moonclaw Pack. My pack needed Moonclaw Pack's protection.

Fortunately, Alex loved me. At least that's what I used to believe.

A complex emotion flashed through his eyes. His tone softened, though it remained cold. "Lily, Chloe is different from you. She's a poor Omega who's been looked down on since childhood. You have things she never had. Why must you argue with her?"

"So," my voice trembled, "I should give her my man too?"

He paused, avoiding my gaze. "No matter what I do this month, you'll still be my mate. The Luna position will always be yours."

I closed my eyes, feeling dead inside. The burning pain in my shoulder intertwined with the coldness in my heart.

"Fine. I'll apologize."

He dragged me downstairs to the living room. Chloe was already waiting there, wearing my silk robe that she'd found somewhere.

I lunged forward, trying to tear the robe off her. "That's mine!"

But Alex blocked me, his tone impatient. "It's just a piece of clothing. I'll buy you a new one. Hurry up and apologize!"

His large hand gripped the back of my neck with force that nearly suffocated me. Only when I squeezed out "I'm sorry" through gritted teeth to Chloe did he finally release me with satisfaction.

Watching the relieved smile at the corner of his mouth, my heart felt torn to shreds—a hundred times more painful than the burn on my shoulder.

If he were my enemy, I would have bitten through his throat.

But he wasn't. He was my lover. And I still needed to rely on him to protect my pack.

I thought this terrible farce had finally ended.

But the next day, his people escorted me to the Pack medical center.

He didn't even look at me, just said to the doctor: "Take her in."

The cold operating table, the blinding surgical lights, the doctor expressionlessly preparing instruments, the needle gleaming with cold light.

Before I fully understood what was happening, I heard him outside the door, speaking in the casual tone one might use to discuss the weather—

"Chloe is very upset about the scar on her shoulder. Use your skin for her regeneration treatment."

The anesthetic needle pierced my skin with a sharp pain. I struggled in horror, but was held down firmly. Before I could resist or cry out, my consciousness rapidly sank into endless darkness.

When I woke up, the white ceiling made me dizzy.

Alex's beta Evan quickly came forward to help me up.

"Lily, you're awake? Thank god. I'll get the doctor."

Beta Evan hurried off to find someone, leaving his phone on a nearby stool.

The screen was lit, and a conversation in the chat group between Alex and several of his close friends popped up.

"Alex, what's going on with you and Chloe? Are you really not going to be with Lily anymore? Your Mark ceremony is in a month."

"I didn't say I wouldn't. But this is the first time I've met someone like Chloe. She's really sweet, really innocent. I feel soft every time I see her."

"Then what about Lily? She can't tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes."

"Don't worry. Her Pack is falling apart right now and needs my protection. She won't leave me."

I gripped the phone tightly, my knuckles turning white from the pressure. The cold metal edges dug painfully into my palm.

In that moment, the last trace of hope and doubt lingering in my heart was finally shattered by these naked words.

So in his eyes, I was nothing more than someone begging for his protection, someone who could be discarded and used at will.

I pulled at the corner of my mouth, wanting to laugh, but my throat felt bitter.

Then I took out my own phone and calmly dialed the number of Alex's mother.

"Eleanor," my voice sounded unnaturally calm, "I don't want to marry Alex anymore."

Eleanor on the other end anxiously inquired.

I answered softly, each word clear and terrifying.

"No, I'm not refusing the union with Moonclaw Pack."

"I just... want to change the person."

"I want to become mates with Alex's brother—Sebastian Sterling."