Chapter 2

I walked into the bathroom and pulled down my collar.

My werewolf healing should have closed the punctures instantly. Instead, the edges of the silver-pierced skin were rotting and turning black, oozing blood as thick as tar.

I grabbed the first-aid kit and scrubbed the rotting flesh. Once it was bandaged, I dialed an underground human medical broker.

"I need a full diagnostic panel for Silver-blood necrosis immediately. Plus the best blood dialysis machine on the black market. Put me down for top-tier clearance."

The broker paused. "A Silver dialysis machine is a bottomless money pit. Are you sure about this? How are you footing the bill?"

"Bill it to the Luna Seal," I said, staring at my pale reflection in the mirror.

I was still the legitimate Luna. The Seal gave me equal financial clearance to the Alpha.

I had barely hung up when violent pounding rattled my bedroom door.

Immediately, Roman's oppressive Alpha aura choked the air, bleeding straight through the wood.

"Nova, open the door. We need to talk."

I tossed the bloody gauze into the trash and pulled the door open.

Roman immediately launched into his reprimand:

"Could you for once care about the bigger picture? Canceling our anniversary—do you really think this petty emotional blackmail works? Do you have any idea how humiliated Chloe feels right now?"

"You terrified her. She already lacks a sense of security. Tomorrow, you're going to apologize to her, and we'll drop this whole thing."

Lacks a sense of security.

Chloe's father was an abusive alcoholic. Whenever Roman looked at this fragile orphan, he saw the battered, beaten boy he used to be under his own father's fists.

That was why he took her in under the guise of adoption, spoiling her with absolutely zero boundaries. Anytime Chloe and I had the slightest friction, he automatically assumed I was being malicious to a "pitiful child."

"I've already treated the wound. I'm not going to argue with you over her 'prank' anymore," I said, my voice dead calm. "Since she's so frightened, you should go back to her. Don't keep her waiting."

Roman froze. He had clearly braced himself for my usual hysteria, only to punch a wall of indifference. His clenched jaw loosened. For once, he didn't know what to say.

Before he could snap out of it, I turned and walked back into the bathroom.

By the time I came back out, the lingering scent of his winter pine was completely gone.

My phone screen lit up with a rapid succession of notifications.

I tapped the screen, and Chloe's voice echoed in the quiet bedroom:

"Nova, don't be mad... Roman only yelled at you because he was scared you'd hurt me..."

Then the second voice note played: "Honestly, if you're so uncomfortable, you should just leave. That way, he won't be stuck in the middle, feeling so awkward."

Finally, a text message: [You looked so scary bleeding tonight. But he still chose to come comfort me first.]

Every word dripped with pure, gloating triumph.

I stared at the screen, feeling absolutely nothing. I didn't storm out to confront her like I used to. I just blocked her number.

Outside the window, a violent rainstorm began to fall.

Heavy drops battered the glass, dragging my memories back to a similar rainy night, years ago.

Back then, Roman wasn't a high and mighty Alpha. He was just a withdrawn, timid boy who spent his days getting beaten half to death by his father, the former Alpha.

It was raining just as hard the night I dragged him out of a muddy alley and hid him in my basement.

Covered in blood, that boy who always flinched at shadows was defenseless for the first time. His ragged wolf ears lay flat against his head, his wolf spirit shivering in sheer exhaustion.

I used moon-herb salve, slowly rubbing away the horrific black-and-purple bruises covering his back.

Like a dying stray, he pressed his forehead into my shoulder and gripped my shirt like it was his only lifeline.

"Nova," he had whispered, his voice shaking. "You're the only one who protects me."

After that, my basement became his only sanctuary.

Whenever he was beaten, he would run away and hide by my side.

For countless nights, we huddled together on that broken couch in the corner. We listened to the rain, shared cheap food, and kept each other warm.

During those dark days, that deeply guarded werewolf boy slowly learned to trust that someone was genuinely looking out for him, and he became completely devoted to me.

Years passed. The old Alpha died, and Roman inherited the Pack to become the leader.

But my father didn't trust a new Alpha with an unstable foundation. He immediately arranged an alliance, demanding I marry into a stronger neighboring Pack.

Defying my father's absolute fury, I rejected the arranged marriage. I walked toward Roman without hesitation, choosing him as my Mate.

In front of the Moon Goddess's altar, Roman gripped my hands tightly. His eyes were red, his voice shaking.

He swore under the moonlight:

"I will never fail you, Nova. You will be my one and only Luna."

His only Luna.

My gaze dropped to the framed photo on the table.

The boy who loved me, and the Alpha who just condescendingly humiliated me for another woman, slowly blurred into one.

The Alpha who swore to protect me for a lifetime had changed a long time ago, the moment he met Chloe.