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."