Chapter 1

Three years ago, the day I pushed open the door to our chamber, Kael was holding Layla in his arms.

Layla was pressed against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.

Kael bent down, smoothing her collar back into place, his movements far too practiced for a first time.

By the bed lay the full-moon ceremonial robe I had prepared for him.

Kael saw me. His arms stiffened for an instant, but he didn't let go.

"Aurelia, listen to me."

I didn't give him the chance. That night, I picked up our son, Milo, and left the wolf den where I had lived for five years.

I tore off my pack emblem, burned the communication talisman, and covered both our scents with concealment herbs.

But when I woke at a wilderness waystation, my arms were empty.

The stationmaster told me that Milo had slipped away while I was asleep, running off on his own to find his father.

I was about to go after him when my mother Morgaine's talisman lit up.

"There was an avalanche on Dusk Moon Ridge last night. Kael and Layla followed your trail up the mountain and were buried in the snow. The pack searched all night and found nothing."

"Where's Milo?"

Morgaine went quiet for a moment before telling me a band of black wolf marauders had spotted Milo on the mountain path.

By the time the pack reached the spot, all that remained in the snow was blood and torn scraps of clothing.

Three people. Gone in a single night.

Pain seared through my palm.

The mark of the fated mate faded rapidly, and the Moon God's cold verdict rose before my eyes.

【Bloodline cub deceased. Fated Mate duty has failed. Contract permanently sealed.】

When the pack dragged me back to the den, everyone was already waiting.

They said it was I who had killed them.

The elder stripped my pack status in front of everyone. Morgaine stood at the very front of the crowd and said nothing in my defense—only told me to leave, and never again bring shame to the Alpha bloodline's name.

I didn't defend myself either.

If I hadn't taken Milo and left that night, he wouldn't have died.

I sealed my wolf blood and stayed on Dusk Moon Ridge in human form.

At the mountain's peak stood an ancient stone that honored the Moon God. Every day I crawled up from the foot of the mountain to pray for the three people I had killed.

Winter snow tore my knees raw. Summer moonlight scorched my back. When wild wolves occasionally crossed into my path, I couldn't shift—I had only flesh and blood to defend myself.

Three years passed. The old wounds on my body layered one on top of another.

I thought I'd spend the rest of my life this way, until the day of the full-moon rite, when I went down the mountain to bring offerings.

Just as I reached the old oak tree, a small gray-white wolf cub burst out of the grass and slammed into my leg.

It tumbled, rolled over, and quickly scrambled back up—revealing a young, human face.

Those eyes. The white fur at the tips of his ears. The small mole above his right brow.

I remembered them more clearly than my own face.

"Milo..."

The child didn't respond. He brushed the grass off his clothes and eyed me warily.

I didn't dare move closer.

Maybe the Moon God, seeing how long I'd atoned, had granted me an illusion. If I reached out, this child would vanish again.

Behind the tree, Morgaine's voice suddenly rang out.

"Thank goodness we arranged that avalanche. If she knew you two were still alive, with her temper, no one would have any peace."

I turned.

Kael was standing on the other side of the old oak.

The man buried under the mountain snow three years ago now stood there, dressed neatly, without a single scar.

"These past years have been hard on you. Every time she sends someone to ask, you've had to keep the lie going for us."

"As long as you and Layla can live well, this trouble is nothing."

So the marauders, the avalanche, the bodies never found—all of it had been a story they'd prepared just for me.

The mark on my palm, dormant for three years, suddenly burned hot. Light rose from beneath the skin once more.

【Bloodline cub detected alive. Fated Mate contract response restored. Dissolve contract?】

Before I could answer, the pack elder approached with Layla at his side.

He took out a moonlight bracelet and placed it in Kael's hands.

"This token is only passed to the mate the Alpha has chosen. Since the pack is gathered here today, allow me to bear witness."

"From this day forward, you are the Luna recognized by this pack."

Kael personally fastened the bracelet onto Layla's wrist.

The two of them exchanged a smile.

Morgaine immediately called everyone to gather beneath the tree, wanting to capture a family portrait for the full-moon rite.

Milo ran up to me and held out a memory crystal.

"Can you take our picture?"

I took the crystal and aimed it at the four people beneath the old oak.

Kael stood beside Layla, with Milo sheltered between them. Morgaine and the elder flanked them on either side, as if no one had ever been missing at all.

I activated the imaging spell.

The moment the image was captured, Milo didn't run back right away. He took my hand and pulled me in front of everyone.

"This lady is really pretty. Can I play with her?"

I crouched down to meet his eyes.

"I'm not your aunt. I'm your mother. Look at me carefully."

Milo froze, then shook his head hard and stepped back.

"That's not possible."

Kael pulled Milo behind him and raised a red scroll.

"Milo's mother can only be Layla. They've already completed the recognition ceremony."

The boy's brow furrowed, his voice full of suspicion.

"Why are you here to steal our family? Don't you have your own pack?"

I looked at the lunar seal at the end of the scroll. The recognition date was the night of the Blood Moon, three years ago.

That night, I struck my forehead against the stone steps again and again, praying only that the Moon God grant them peace in their next life.

On that very same night, Kael and Layla had completed their bonding.

The ceremony Kael and I once held had never been recognized by the wolf pack's law at all.

The moment he marked my palm as his mate, the one he had truly chosen was already Layla.

I curled my fingers, sealing the light in my palm.

"Moon God. Dissolve the contract."

The mark burned deep into my flesh, and a new verdict surfaced.

【Dissolution request accepted. In twenty-four hours, the host will be released from this pack through the death of the Fated Mate.】

Layla's eyes suddenly welled with tears.

"Aurelia, don't blame Kael. Everything that happened was something I agreed to. If you're angry, take it out on me."

Kael immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her.

"You show up right on the day of the full-moon rite—what exactly are you trying to do?"

His voice was thick with barely contained fury.

"Milo has already accepted Layla, and he'll inherit my position. Coming back now—are you trying to use your bloodline claim to take him away?"

Morgaine walked up to me, her face showing nothing but impatience.

"Milo forgot your scent long ago. Kael and Layla have taken good care of him."

She gestured toward the base of the mountain.

"They're living a peaceful life as a family. I'm asking you—please, stop disturbing them."