Chapter 1

Cain gripped my waist, his red eyes churning with panic:

"Isolde, I lost control during a heat cycle. I'll have her get rid of the pup immediately."

I was the fated mate of Cain Blake, Alpha of the Nightshade Pack — the recognized Luna of the entire wolf clan.

Until the day of pup Kaden's first birthday celebration, when Ella appeared at the oak gates of the territory, her belly swollen.

Every werewolf's gaze fell on me. I had become the laughingstock of the entire Nightshade Pack.

"Alright. I believe you."

But five years later, I went to the healing center for a routine check-up.

From the private room next door, Ella's voice drifted through the wall:

"Cain, this is all your fault. If I hadn't given birth to Bailey for you, why would I be going through all this."

"I don't want the pack's resources. I want you to get rid of Isolde and officially mark me as Luna."

My hand froze on the door handle.

When I came to my senses, I submitted a mate bond dissolution request directly through the wolf clan's municipal hall communication system.

There was no need for Cain to abandon me.

I was the one letting him go first.

......

The moment the submission was confirmed, a mind-link came through on Cain's private channel.

His voice was casual, the background filled with the noise of pack affairs.

"Isolde, the pack is marking out new territory today. I won't be back to the main house tonight."

I raised my hand and touched my face.

For him, I had endured my wolf spirit's rejection and injected the pack's specially formulated anti-aging serum.

All because of one thing he had once said: "Isolde, after female werewolves pass thirty, their skin loses its warmth. I prefer the feel of an eighteen-year-old female."

I was never the type to bother with even earrings, yet again and again I had bent myself to please him.

And behind my back, he had fathered a pup with Ella.

"Alright." I replied through the mind-link. My tone was so calm it felt foreign even to myself.

Cain's consciousness paused.

He probably hadn't expected me to be so cold.

He seemed about to say something more, but I cut the link.

Then I sent him a recording of what Ella had said at the healing center through the pack's communication system, and added one line: "See you at the municipal hall."

Less than half an hour later, Cain's SUV crunched over the fallen leaves of the territory and came charging back to the main house.

Kaden's small figure came bounding over, wolf ears drooping, his voice soft and childlike: "Mama!"

I stared at Cain, all the words I wanted to say stuck in my throat.

He grinned like a scoundrel, scooping Kaden up in his arms, his wolf tail sweeping gently across the pup's back: "Kaden, how about we all go hunting in the Full Moon Forest tonight?"

"Yes, yes!" Kaden cheered, waving his little wolf claws.

I could see it clearly. He was using Kaden to threaten me.

Five years ago, when Kaden found out we were dissolving the mate bond, his wolf spirit went into violent revolt.

His small body convulsed on the ground, yet he clung desperately to the hem of my clothes: "Mama, please don't break the bond with Papa. Please."

My heart felt cut to pieces. In the end, I gave in for the sake of the pup.

This was his usual move.

But just as we were about to head out, Ella appeared.

She stood on the stone path in front of the main house, eyes rimmed red, leading by the hand a pup about the same age as Kaden — Bailey.

She knelt directly in front of me, wolf tail curled to her side, humbling herself to the ground.

"Sister, please, give Cain back to me. Today is Bailey's birthday. He needs his Alpha's presence."

Bailey burst into wails, kicking at the ground with his short little legs: "I want Papa! I want my Alpha Papa!"

Kaden, who was holding my hand, went suddenly rigid.

His wolf ears flattened. His face went white as paper.

I turned to look at Cain. A flash of struggle crossed his red eyes.

I had just reached out to grab his wrist when he turned and walked to Ella's side.

"We'll go hunting another day," he said to me, his voice laced with apology.

Something inside my mind snapped.

After that scene five years ago, Kaden could no longer hold his head up among the other pups in the pack.

There were always pups pointing at his back and jeering: "A wild pup with no father."

"The pathetic cub of a Luna who can't keep her Alpha."

Kaden had once broken down and climbed the pack's watchtower, nearly jumping off.

It was I who knelt at the base of the tower, soothing him with my wolf spirit's aura, that talked him back down.

Afterward, Cain sent the most precious wolf-fang ornaments and snow-fox furs.

But what use were all the pack's resources to me?

The entire Nightshade Pack knew those things were earned by Kaden and me at the cost of a layer of our skin.

"Cain, if you dare walk away, Kaden and I will truly cut all ties with you."

My wolf spirit let out a low growl in my chest, my red eyes locked onto him.

Cain's heart tightened.

The next second, Ella grabbed Bailey and bolted toward the road outside the territory: "What's the point of living if we're treated like this! We might as well get hit by a car and die on the road!"

Cain's eyes went wide with fury. He shoved me aside and sprinted after Ella into the traffic.

I fell onto the stone steps of the path, my forehead striking the flagstone. Blood trickled down my cheek.

Kaden cried out. He threw his small body over mine to shield me, tore off his little jacket to press against my wound, then ran after Cain and grabbed the hem of his trousers with his little wolf claws: "Papa! Mama is hurt! Take her to the healing center!"

Cain's face was full of impatience, his attention entirely on sheltering Ella in his arms.

Then Bailey suddenly let out a shriek.

Ella thrust Bailey's reddened wrist at Kaden and screamed: "Why did you pinch him! He's just a pup! What are you two trying to do! If you want to hit someone, come after me!"

She raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the cheek.

A werewolf's self-healing made the redness flare and fade quickly, leaving only a disheveled appearance.

Cain lost all reason in his protectiveness, and raised his hand to strike Kaden across the face.

"You're just like your mother! Spoiled to have no regard for anyone!"

He immediately contacted the Iron Blood Training Camp through the pack's communication system: "I have an out-of-control pup here. Come pick him up immediately."

Kaden crumpled to the ground, one cheek swollen red, wolf ears flat against his head, staring blankly at Cain.

He only murmured: "I didn't pinch him. I didn't…"

I pushed myself up and stepped in front of Kaden. "What gives you the right to hit him! What gives you the right to accuse him of something he didn't do!"

Cain's eyes held only Ella and Bailey. He wouldn't give Kaden or me even a single glance.

A black van pulled up alongside the stone path.

Several werewolves in training camp uniforms jumped out and moved to drag Kaden away without a word.

The Iron Blood Training Camp — the pack's notoriously brutal pup disciplinary facility.

The trainers there routinely beat and punished the pups. Just last year, one pup had been beaten so severely that his wolf spirit was weakened, leaving him permanently unable to shift.