Chapter 2

The pack forms a massive crescent ring, their mournful howls rising and falling.

The High Elder stands at the very front, reciting the rites of Returning to the Tree for the fallen.

I kneel at the very front of the formation, pressing my hands hard against my chest, sobbing until my whole body violently shakes.

The phantom pain of being flayed and bled out from my past life is still etched into my bones. Right now, my face is ashen. To anyone watching, I am nothing but a heartbroken widow, completely drained of her soul.

A loud commotion breaks out from the back of the crowd.

Kael steps forward, heavily shielding Seraphina in the crook of his arm. He coldly interrupts the Elder's chant.

"Elder, Seraphina just found out she is pregnant. An expecting mother shouldn't be near the stench of blood and bone-fire, nor should she kneel, lest it harm the pup."

Seraphina feigns weakness, caressing her perfectly flat stomach.

She leans her weight against Kael's shoulder like she has no bones.

I lower my red-rimmed eyes, pretending I don't see the sickening display between this bitch and her dog.

But even if I don't look for trouble, Seraphina insists on bringing it right to my face.

"Luna," she speaks up with fake sympathy, looking down at me. "Since you've already lost your mate, holding onto certain things will only deepen your grief. It would be better if you handed them over to me for safekeeping."

Naked greed flashes in her eyes as her gaze locks directly onto the Moonstone pendant resting against my collarbone.

"This Moonstone, for instance. It would be perfect. You are all alone now without an Alpha's protection. You simply can't guard a relic that represents the family's legacy. Giving it to me would put it to its rightful use."

My nails dig so hard into my palms they almost draw blood.

That necklace was the last thing my mother left me before she died. It is the absolute symbol of the Luna bloodline and my family's honor.

How dare a filthy bed-warmer even open her mouth to ask for it!

Kael stands right beside her. Instead of stopping her, he chimes in without batting an eye.

"Seraphina is right. I am Kael's blood brother, and from now on, I will take care of you and your son in his place. Since my brother is gone, just hand over the estate inventory and the private vault seal. I will manage them for you, so you won't have to stress yourself over it."

In my past life, he used these exact same high-sounding words to strip me bare until I had absolutely nothing left.

I stay silent for a few seconds. Then, with a trembling hand, I reach into my pocket and pull out the heavy wolf-head seal—the one and only key that can open the financial vault.

Kael's eyes light up. He instinctively reaches his hand out to take it.

I shoot to my feet. Right in front of the entire pack, I hurl the seal fiercely into the roaring basin!

The seal smashes against the hard stone edge, instantly shattering into pieces. The shards explode directly into the blazing bone-fire.

Kael's outstretched hand freezes in mid-air. His face turns terrifyingly dark. "If you didn't want to give it, you didn't have to! What is the meaning of this?!"

My voice is hoarse, but my words are razor-sharp. "Kael is dead. There is no use keeping these dead objects. Let them be buried with him."

Without giving Kael a single chance to blow up, I pivot directly toward the Elder and the utterly stunned crowd.

"Elder, in my name as Luna of this pack, I declare that all of Kael's personal Alpha estate will be temporarily divided into the war-widow pension fund and the public pack armory. From this day forward, the Elders' Council has full control over it!"

The moment those words leave my mouth, the square erupts in a massive uproar.

In the entire history of our kind, this is the very first time a Luna has ever voluntarily surrendered her power and handed over the wealth during a funeral rite.

Kael's eyes turn bloodshot. He aggressively suppresses his towering rage. "Are you insane?! You didn't have to destroy it! What are you trying to do?!"

I instantly switch back to playing the weak victim.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I put on a look of sheer agony.

"My mate is gone. Holding onto his belongings will only make me cry blood every night. Giving his wealth back to the pack was the duty Kael valued most in life. Are you trying to spit on your own brother's dying wish?"

Before he can argue, I suddenly lift my eyes and look straight at him. My tone is light, but sharp as a knife's edge.

"But what about you? Your brother's bones haven't even gone cold, yet you show up at the bone-fire without asking a single question about the funeral rites. The very first words out of your mouth were demands for the vault seal and the Moonstone."

"Who exactly were you demanding them for?"

The moment I say that, the air changes. The gazes the pack throws at him instantly turn sour.

Kael is suddenly trapped with no way out. His face goes rigid with embarrassment. Gritting his teeth, he forces out a pathetic excuse, "I was only thinking of the greater good of this pack."

I let out a cold sneer and turn my back, ignoring him completely.

The tense, heavy night of the Bone-Fire ceremony concludes in this suffocatingly awkward atmosphere.

I hold my son's hand as we walk back home.

Once we are far away from the crowd, my boy, who has been completely silent this whole time, suddenly tugs at the hem of my coat.

His little face is scrunched up. Confusion swirls in his wide eyes as he lowers his voice to a whisper.

"Mommy... He smells exactly like Daddy. Why is everyone calling him Uncle?"