Chapter 4

I sat down and crossed my legs. "You say Damon is a good man? He's already got his arms around you—how does that make him a good man?"

"Or are the ones you sleep with and then discard the bad ones?"

"Selene!" Damon exploded. "How dare you spread more lies? I've already seen their chat records—she never did anything with your exes!"

"She only chatted with them for a bit, realized they had bad intentions, and kindly warned you about it!"

"And I haven't even called you out yet—all those exes? Just how desperate are you?!"

Lydia stood beside him, tears streaming silently down her face. "Damon, don't blame Selene. I shouldn't have meddled in her affairs."

Damon gripped her shoulder, his tone dripping with contempt. "She's nothing but a foster daughter living in your family's home. You're the one with true Alpha blood, the one fit to be my Luna."

"Bloodmoon Pack clearly doesn't respect Blackwood Pack at all, trying to marry off a woman like her to us!"

I smiled.

There it was. This was the twenty-first suitor Lydia had helped me test.

This time, I was genuinely grateful to her.

"So," I asked casually, "you want to break off the engagement?"

They both froze.

Lydia had only ever dared to impersonate me and sabotage my relationships—she'd never had the nerve to actually push for a broken engagement.

Damon recovered quickly. "Good that you know your place! A Luna of Blackwood Pack should never be some she-wolf who falls for every man she meets!"

"If you have any sense, get out now. Don't dirty our Blackwood Pack's ground!"

I let out a soft laugh and turned to leave.

"How dare you!" A roar came from the doorway.

It was my father, Alpha William Hunter.

He strode in, followed by my mother, her face pale with fury, and Alpha Blackwood and his Luna, both looking grim.

The moment Damon saw them, he immediately pointed at me in accusation. "Father! Bloodmoon Pack is trying to use a foster daughter for this alliance! When did our pack fall so low that we need to strengthen our position through marriage to a foster daughter?!"

Alpha Blackwood's face turned green. "Damon! What nonsense are you spouting?!"

He turned to my father with a forced smile. "Alpha William, the children don't know any better. Please don't hold it against them."

My mother pulled me behind her. "Selene, if you hadn't told us today, we would never have known you suffered so much…"

My father's anger burned even hotter. "Break off the engagement? Fine! When did my only daughter, Alpha William Hunter's child, become someone for you to look down on?!"

Only then did Damon realize he'd made a terrible mistake. He immediately let go of Lydia's hand. "Father, it's not like that—you've misunderstood…"

Lydia kept her head down, wishing she could disappear into the floor.

My mother yanked her up by the arm. "Lydia! How have we treated you all these years?"

"I was the one who rescued you from the rogues and raised you like my own daughter. William and I have never wronged you, yet you've been hurting our most precious daughter this entire time?"

Lydia knew she was in the wrong, but still tried to justify herself. "Without my father's sacrifice, would you even be where you are today?"

"Not only are you ungrateful, now you're all ganging up on me!"

My mother trembled with rage. "What haven't we given you? And yet you had to take what belonged to Selene…"

She caught sight of the ruined moonstone pendant, her hands shaking. "You…! That was the gift I saved for Selene!"

Lydia backed away defensively. "So what… You owe my father. This broken pendant isn't even enough to repay that debt!"

My mother took a deep breath. "Either you compensate us, or we banish you."

At the mention of banishment, Lydia panicked. "Fine, I'll pay! You're all just hypocrites! Giving me something only to take it back!"

My father turned to Alpha Blackwood, his voice cold. "Under these circumstances, this marriage is void. We'll dissolve the engagement tomorrow. Our pack will no longer proceed with the mate ceremony with Blackwood Pack's heir!"

Alpha Blackwood broke out in a cold sweat.

Recent infighting in Blackwood Pack had intensified, and he desperately needed Bloodmoon Pack's support to secure his position. He'd spent half a year begging my father for this marriage alliance.

"Selene," he said, forcing a smile, "Damon was just confused for a moment. Please forgive him. Blackwood Pack only recognizes you as our future Luna!"

My mother didn't hesitate—she stepped forward and slapped Lydia across the face. "This is all your fault!"

Then she turned to me with an apologetic smile. "Selene, it was all her mistake. I'll punish her properly—please don't be angry."

I turned my head away in disgust. "What are you talking about? Lydia was helping me—testing my mate's loyalty."

"And now the facts prove that my fiancé is an unworthy mate. Why would I still want to be with him?"

Lydia clutched her face, tears streaming down like rain. "I… I didn't do anything!"

"I only said a few words and those men came at me—how is that my fault? If anyone's to blame, it's her own bad luck!"

Even now, she was still putting on an act.

I smiled and pulled out my phone, waving it in front of her. "Are you sure all you did was say a few words?"

"My twenty 'exes'—they've given me quite a bit of information."