Royce returned with the medicine just in time to see Jason Smith, in his wolf form, charging toward him.

Jason nearly knocked him over. He stumbled back and cursed.

But Jason couldn't hear anything anymore. He stood in front of my corpse, his eyes brimming with tears. He reached out to touch my hand but flinched back from the icy coldness.

He finally broke down and cried as he spoke to me, "Diana, why are you lying here all alone? Why didn't you become my Luna back then? I would never have let you suffer like this!"

Tears were probably contagious. I'd been surprisingly calm since my death, but seeing Jason cry made my own eyes burn.

Jason was the Alpha of the Stormclaw Pack. If he got here this fast, he must have taken care of a lot of trouble along the way.

Too bad he was still too late.

I was an orphan, taken in by the former Alpha of Stormclaw Pack, Jason's father, George Smith, who made me Jason's sister in name.

Jason hadn't liked me at first. He used to call me Mud Princess and Stray Dog. We fought all the time. But later, he started to care about me. Every time someone mocked me, he was the first to bare his fangs and claws at them.

I left Stormclaw Pack because of Royce.

George had taken me in to use me as a bargaining chip, a gift to win favor with other packs.

I knew Jason loved me, but I also knew George would never allow us to be together. Leaving him was the better choice.

Jason understood this, too, which explained why he covered for me when I escaped Stormclaw Pack.

"Run! Run faster!" The wind carried his voice to my ears. That day, I thought I was running toward freedom.

But in the end, I still had to rely on Jason to collect my corpse.

He carried my body outside and happened to bump into Royce.

Julia had whined that the medicine was too bitter and wanted some honey, and Royce was about to head to a distant pack to trade for it.

He hadn't even bothered when I had only asked him to bring me something to eat on his way back.

"Move. Get out of my way!" Jason's voice was sharp and hostile. Seeing Royce's face now made his blood boil with hatred—there was no way he'd show even a shred of politeness.

Royce glanced at the corpse in his arms with an unreadable expression. Instead of getting angry, he simply stepped aside.

But just as they were about to pass each other, Royce's eyes landed on my arm.

"Wait a minute!" He frowned and asked suspiciously, "Who is that in your arms?"

I watched Jason anxiously, unsure how he would answer.

On one hand, I didn't want him to say my name. Disappearing from Royce's world just like this would be fine. But on the other hand, I wanted him to tell him. I wanted to see how Royce would react to my death.

Jason gave Royce a cold glance and said, "This is my Luna."

Both Royce and I froze.

Royce knew Jason loved me. He had even enjoyed flaunting our relationship in front of Jason until Jason eventually stopped coming to see me.

Royce asked, "Why didn't I know you had a Luna? Who is she? Since when were you together?"

Jason had no desire to waste words on him. "What does it have to do with you?"

Royce's temper flared. He sneered. "And here I thought you loved Diana so deeply. Turns out you've already moved on. So much for your so-called love."

Jason took a deep breath, his gaze turning icy. "Oh, please. Is there any Alpha in this world who loves his Luna more than you do?"

With that, he turned and left.

I knew Jason had said that for me. Royce knew the truth of his own feelings, after all.

Floating in the air, I watched the shame and rage twist Royce's face. For the first time, he looked a little ugly to me.

I placed a hand over my chest. It felt like I didn't love him quite as much anymore.

After a month of recovery in the infirmary, it was Royce who came to pick Julia up.

Julia's friends and family crowded the room, their eyes widening with excitement the moment Royce arrived.

"It's the Alpha of Ashenfang Pack!"

"He must really care about Julia if he's here this early."

"When will Julia become his Luna? I can't wait!"

Julia blushed while telling them to stop talking. Then she glanced at Royce and whispered, "Royce already has a Luna. Don't say that, or she'll get mad at me again."

A werewolf scoffed. "Julia, you're too kind. If it weren't for her getting in the way, you would've been our Luna long ago. Royce loves you the most. She's the intruder.

"She's been targeting you for so long. Why hasn't she given up yet? She's petty and unfit to be Luna!"

Listening to them, I felt nothing but absurdity.

It was Royce who first found me, knowing we were mates. He requested to mark me and pleaded with me to be his Luna.

If I made a mistake, it was loving Royce.

And yet, the person who should have set the record straight—Royce—said nothing. He let them slander me while he busied himself packing Julia's things, trying to appear reliable.

But he had never handled anything for me. After the marking ceremony, he always claimed to love me, but his actions never showed it.

I told myself he would protect me when I was in danger. Now, I realized he wouldn't.

He was the danger.

"Alpha Royce, Julia has refused to mark with anyone all these years. You know who she's been waiting for, don't you?"

The werewolf smirked at Royce, practically begging to witness them mark each other right then and there.

Royce didn't answer. But I knew he agreed deep down. He just wouldn't say it out loud.

He took Julia back to his private quarters.

At some point, he had acquired multiple residences throughout the territory—places I had never stepped foot in. Every time we argued, he would slam the door and go there.

Yet, Julia walked in so naturally as if she belonged there.

He always bent his rules for her. She was his true love, and I should have seen it sooner.

While he was fixing the bed, Julia walked over and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She pressed her cheek against his back, clinging to him like a lover in the heat of passion.

Did they even remember that I was his Luna?

He hesitated, shifting forward slightly as if to avoid her.

But Julia tightened her arms and spoke softly in a voice laced with delicate sorrow, "Royce, I know you've always held it against me that I left back then, but I had no choice. You know my mother was sick. The old Alpha threatened me with her life, and I was forced to obey.

"Even then, I refused to mark with him. My heart has always belonged to you. Please forgive me."

With the perfect touch of tragedy, she painted herself as the most unfortunate werewolf alive—kind and brave, yet plagued by suffering.

Was that why he could never let her go?

Royce chuckled and answered calmly, "Oh? I thought you left because the neighboring Alpha was stronger than me. You never even thought to ask for my help—you just left."

Julia stiffened. But she was clever. She knew if she shifted the topic to me, he wouldn't press her any further, for his impatience with me was already obvious to everyone.

Her voice trembled just enough as she whispered, "I see. So that's what you think of me. You hate me, so you let Diana bully me.

"Even when she tried to secretly contact rogue wolves to assault me—even when she hid the medicine while I was sick, hoping I'd die—you didn't care, did you?

"If this is your way of punishing me, then congratulations! It's working. My heart hurts so much I can hardly breathe."

Lies. She told countless lies.

I spent all my time handling Luna's duties in the pack and had no way or funds to contact rogue wolves. And I didn't hand over the medicine for one simple reason—I needed the cure to survive, too. I wasn't selfless enough to die just to save her.

None of her claims had any proof. A simple investigation would have cleared my name. But Royce believed every word.

And he certainly didn't ignore Julia. The moment he heard about my so-called crimes, he immediately called for a public trial. He declared me venomous, wicked, and guilty of unforgivable sins before the entire pack consisting of Betas and Omegas.

Then, he went even further to contact the rogue wolves. He watched from high above as they dragged me into the dark, empty forest. He watched as they tore at me and humiliated me. He looked down at my undressed, battered wolf form and sneered.

He pointed at my scars and said, "These are proof of your treachery. If you ever harm Julia again, I'll make sure everyone knows what you've done."

I lay there on the ground, screaming in desperation, insisting I had never done any of it.

"Alpha Royce, why are you doing this to me?"

He ignored my words as if they were air. He didn't believe me and only wanted to punish me.

He never told Julia what he had done to me, which was why she could still play the victim.

I didn't understand his intentions. Was he trying to be some silent guardian, standing behind Julia like a noble protector?

But what I understood even less was, if he never loved me, then why did he mark me?

Julia said in a soft voice, "Can't we just leave the past behind and start over? Royce, I don't mind that you had a Luna before, just like I hope you won't mind that I once left you.

"We both know this was never a betrayal—we love each other. We were always meant to be together."

She always knew exactly how to win Royce over.

Compared to her, no matter how hard I tried to calm his anger, he never paid me any attention. It was obvious where his heart lay.

And yet, I had been clinging to the scraps of tenderness he once gave me, only to finally see his true color when I was already dead.

He had saved all his kindness and warmth for Julia. That was why he was always so cruel to me.

The pain in my heart had long since gone numb.

Whatever. Julia could say whatever she wanted about me, and Royce could hate me all he wanted. I didn't care anymore.

"This isn't the time to talk about this," Royce said, gently pushing her away. "You should rest."

He left without seeing the flash of resentment in Julia's eyes.

He returned to the house we once shared, which was now shrouded in darkness.

Ever since I became Luna, no matter how late it got, I always left a light on for him—I had seen it as proof that this place was home.

But now, he frowned as he stepped inside. There was no light and no trace of me. My scent had long since faded, replaced by the stale smell of dust.

He stood still for a moment before snapping toward my room, yelling, "Diana, are you throwing a tantrum?

"Giving the antidote to Julia was your duty. If you hadn't schemed against her first, she wouldn't have been poisoned! You brought this on yourself—you deserve it!"

Even now, his voice was filled with nothing but disgust and accusations.

I hovered behind him, sneering.

Five years. I had lived with him for five years and had been his Luna for as long, and yet, he still believed the fabricated version of me in other people's mouths.

Today, he stole the herbs I found. Tomorrow, he wouldn't hesitate to take my kidney—piece by piece, until there was nothing left of me.

Fortunately, I was already dead. The endless days of waiting in despair were finally over.

He started searching the house for me. Of course, he couldn't find me. The only thing he found was the food I had prepared for him a month ago.

It had long since rotted beyond recognition, and even I couldn't remember what it was.

The only thing I remembered about that day was the sudden intrusion of warriors bursting in, gagging me, and tying me up.

That day was supposed to be our marking anniversary. Instead, it became the day I died. And, of course, it was also the day Julia was reborn, finally free of wolfsbane.

While I was being dragged away, struggling against clawed hands, Royce was probably holding Julia's hand, telling her not to be afraid.

While I was writhing in agony from the wolfsbane, Royce was warning the healers—telling them that Julia had to survive.

So, what exactly was I to him?

He called my name over and over and even closed his eyes and reached out to me through our mind link. He rarely used that connection. In fact, he rarely contacted me first unless it was for necessary pack matters.

But this time, his patience was wasted. I wasn't going to answer.

His eyes darkened—his wolf momentarily taking control, sensing something was wrong—but he quickly suppressed his unease, pressing his lips into a thin line as he wrote me a letter.

"If you see this when you return, you should know how furious I am to come home to such a filthy mess. Running away won't solve anything, Diana. If you keep playing games with me, then just wait for me to reject you."

Rejection? That would have been nice.

If I had realized sooner that he never loved me, I wouldn't have died such a miserable death.

He summoned a pack member to deliver the letter. At the same time, the messenger brought news of Julia.

"She said she left something at the infirmary. She wants you to retrieve it for her."

Royce agreed immediately. As he stepped over the threshold, he hesitated for just a moment, glancing back at the empty house. But that brief hesitation wasn't enough to change anything.

He still left. He was willing to go out in the dead of night to retrieve something for Julia, yet he hadn't even asked where I was.

At the infirmary, he ran into a healer's assistant.

The assistant used to be the head healer until Royce stripped him of his title. My death from wolfsbane had proven he hadn't been lying. He had applied to return to the infirmary, but he was nothing more than an assistant now.

When he saw Royce, his expression instantly turned cold. "Now you remember your dead Luna?" he scoffed. "Her body's already been taken. There's no need to trouble yourself with collecting it."

Royce froze. His eyes flickered wildly before locking onto the healer. "Who did you say is dead?"

The assistant rolled his eyes. "Your Luna. Diana. Of course, if you already rejected her, just pretend I never said anything.

"Her wolfsbane had reached her bones, and you still took away the antidote she risked her life to find. If you wanted a new mate, you could've just said so instead of going this far."