Chapter 2

Emily Carter POV

"You want to marry Alpha King Alexander Blackwood?"

My mother's face went pale with horror. She gripped my shoulders, her voice shaking violently.

"Emily, have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what kind of man he is? Ever since that battle years ago, he goes completely feral every single night. The Council is desperate to find a compatible mate to suppress the poison in his blood. But the previous three fiancées sent by other packs, they all vanished into thin air the moment they entered his castle. If you go there, will you even survive?"

I didn't try to pull away. I just squeezed her hands back. My voice was soft but steady.

"Rumors aren't always true. Besides, in everyone else's eyes, aren't I just a crazy woman who would do anything to steal her brother? A madman and a madwoman. We're a perfect match."

"But..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I've always loved you like my own daughter. How can I push you into a burning hell?"

"You know the state of the Moonhowl Pack better than I do, Mom. James has been embezzling a massive chunk of pack funds just to buy Sophia luxury items. Didn't the Council say that if we send a bride, the Alpha King will provide a massive financial bailout for our pack?"

I calmly laid out the facts, watching her face crumble as I pushed harder.

"And once I'm married, James can finally be with Sophia without constantly worrying about me. The Moonhowl Pack is saved, and James gets his freedom. Everyone wins."

My mother stared at me for a long, painful moment before burying her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"My sweet girl... I am so sorry..."

I gently patted her back, feeling nothing but a profound sense of relief.

"Please keep this a secret from James for now. I don't want him thinking I'm doing this to guilt-trip him. In two weeks, I will leave directly with the Alpha King's men."

Two weeks.

What a coincidence. That was the exact day James planned to formally propose to Sophia.

In my last life, I ruined his proposal. In this life, I would use my marriage to buy him the future he wanted.

After comforting my mother, I went back to my room.

The moment I pushed the door open, the room suffocated me with reminders of James.

The walls were plastered with candid photos I had taken of him.

The closet was stuffed with clothes he had casually bought for me. Even the lighter sitting on my desk was a cheap thing he had tossed aside, which I had cherished like a sacred relic.

Looking at these things I once valued more than my life, I felt a wave of nausea.

I grabbed several large black trash bags and began to purge.

Photos? Ripped to shreds.

Clothes? Cut into rags.

Gifts? Smashed to pieces.

Bit by bit, I swept ten years of pathetic, unrequited delusion into the trash.

It took me three grueling hours. I was dripping with sweat, and my fingers were bleeding from sharp plastic edges, but looking at the empty room, my chest felt lighter than ever.

I took a shower and had just lain down to sleep when my bedroom door was violently kicked open.

A loud crash echoed through the room.

I bolted upright, startled.

James stood at the doorway, radiating pure fury. He was gripping a tablet in his hand, his eyes dark enough to kill.

He marched over to my bed and slammed the tablet hard against my chest.

"Emily Carter, look at you! You pretend to be all sweet and compliant on the outside, voluntarily handing over your research, while stabbing us in the back with this disgusting stunt!"

I gasped from the impact, wincing as I picked up the tablet.

On the screen was the top trending topic on the pack's internal forum.

"Sophia Langley of the Ironclaw Pack, Bully and Abuser Exposed."

"Sophia Langley's Criminal Past!"

"Sophia the Homewrecker!"

The leak was highly detailed, complete with photos and documents. It listed Sophia's punishment records for bullying pack members back in the Ironclaw Pack, and even featured intimate photos of her with several different male wolves.

To an ordinary werewolf, these actions might not seem like a death sentence.

But Sophia was about to become the Luna of the Moonhowl Pack.

A Luna was expected to possess impeccable morals and a nurturing grace to balance the rough, hot-tempered Alphas. She was the anchor of the pack's stability.

Unsurprisingly, the comment section was flooded with members questioning her fitness to lead.

I glanced at it briefly before tossing the tablet back onto the bed.

"I didn't do this."

"If it wasn't you, then who?!"

James suddenly lunged, wrapping his hand tightly around my throat. He pinned me against the headboard, the veins on his hand bulging.

"Who else but a psycho like you would keep digging up dirt on Sophia? Do you honestly think that ruining her reputation will make me accept you? In your dreams!"

My breath was cut off, but I didn't claw at his hand. I just stared back at him coldly.

"James Whitfield, calm down! I said, it wasn't me."

"You dare lie to me!"

He gritted his teeth, his grip tightening.

"For years, you've been hostile to every single woman who got close to me. Private threats, public defamation. You did it all! Emily, you are so disgusting and wicked!"

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed outside.

Sophia rushed into the room, tears streaming down her face, and threw her arms around James's arm.

"James, stop! Please! Emily didn't mean to... she just cares about you too much. It doesn't matter if my reputation is ruined, as long as you two don't fight because of me..."

She gasped for air, looking as if she might faint.

James immediately let go of me, pulling her protectively into his chest. When he looked back at me, his eyes were cold as ice.

"Emily Carter, make a public statement right now. Admit that you fabricated all of this, and apologize to Sophia publicly!"