As Chloe was pulled away, her foot slipped, and she fell to the floor.

The porcelain teacup shattered, and a sharp shard pierced her palm. Wolf blood pooled on the smooth marble floor.

Through the glass walls of the conference room, Silas saw her fall. With hundreds of elite werewolves watching him, he slammed his files down, pushed open the door, strode over, and pulled Chloe into his arms.

"Who the fuck hurt her?!" His Alpha aura erupted instantly, freezing and suffocating.

The well-meaning coworker stumbled back, pale and trembling.

"I did it," I lied. "She got what she deserved."

Chloe glared at me through tear-filled eyes and cried out, "That's right, I deserve it! It's my fault for falling in love with a mated Alpha! It's my fault for letting people call me a homewrecker!"

"But Silas," she sobbed, clutching tightly to his shirt, "as long as you love me, I'll always stay by your side. No one can tear us apart."

She cried so beautifully. Even while saying something so ridiculous, she still looked brave and devoted.

Silas let out a soft chuckle, and the oppressive tension dissipated. He wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Be good. Look at you, crying like a little pup."

He really was different with her.

I lowered my eyes, too exhausted to watch anymore. "It's my birthday today," I said to Silas. "I want a hundred thousand dollars."

It was both tragic and comical. Our marriage was blessed by the Moon Goddess, yet our mind-link had been closed off for ages. I never reached out to him unless I needed money.

Silas always hated me, calling me a gold digger. Yet, in the past, whenever I asked for money, he would sign the check without hesitation.

But today was different. He looked at me, a cruel, mocking smile playing on his lips. "You want money? Fine."

"But Aria," he drawled, "bow your arrogant head and apologize to Chloe first."

He was actually trying to buy my dignity with a hundred thousand dollars, just to get an apology for Chloe.

This was the first time he had used his wealth to humiliate me, all for the sake of another woman.

I slowly clenched my fists, a faint smile ghosting my lips. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat and turned toward the elevator.

Suddenly, I didn't want the money anymore.

I found myself gripped by a morbid curiosity.

Silas, I thought, if you knew that money was just to buy me a little more time... to make my descent into death a little less agonizing, if you knew how much I suffered before I died... what kind of face would you make?

I returned alone to our cold, empty packhouse.

I curled up under a heavy blanket, shivering and drenched in sweat as waves of excruciating pain washed over me.

I swallowed a handful of human sleeping pills, lying to myself: If I fall asleep, it won't hurt anymore.

In the drug-induced haze, I had a dream.

I dreamed of when I was twenty. Back then, Silas was a rogue without a pack, dirt poor, but he loved me with all his heart.

On my birthday that year, we walked past a high-end bakery in the human city. I saw a couple sitting by the window, the girl eating a delicate strawberry cake. It looked exquisitely beautiful and mouth-wateringly delicious—and, of course, outrageously expensive.

It was snowing heavily. I remember scooping up a handful of fresh snow, molding it into shapes, and laughing as I looked up at Silas. "Look, Silas! Doesn't this look just like that cake?"

Silas clenched his jaw, his eyes blazing with fierce love and deep shame. He pulled me tightly into his arms, burying his red-rimmed eyes into my hair.

Three days later, he stood outside my door holding that exact same cake.

A whole cake cost fifty dollars. He had braved a freezing blizzard, handing out flyers in the human city for three days just to earn twenty bucks. I have no idea how he got the rest of the money.

When I saw his frostbitten, bleeding knuckles, I broke down and sobbed.

"Silas!" I cried, pounding on his chest. "Your hands are meant for fighting, for leading, for achieving greatness! Not to be ruined just to buy me some sweets!"

I told him I didn't deserve something so expensive.

Silas frowned and cupped my face. "Aria, you are the most amazing woman in this world. You deserve every beautiful thing the Moon Goddess has to offer."

I finished that cake through my tears. So many years had passed that I couldn't even remember how it tasted. All I knew was that I had never tasted anything better since.

I slept for a long time. Half-awake, I heard my phone ring. I picked it up, and through the speaker, I heard his deep, raspy voice.

"Aria?"

I smiled, lost in the illusions of the past. "Silas... it's snowing so hard. I want to eat cake."

Before he could answer, I rolled over and let the darkness swallow me once more.

In the middle of the night, a fierce pang of hunger jolted me awake.

I walked to the kitchen, only to freeze in my tracks. Silas was home.

He had bought Chloe a massive villa. They lived there together; she cooked for him, spoiled him, and waited for him to come home. Silas was living an enviable life.

He hadn't stepped foot in our house for months.

He was leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window, a cigarette dangling from his lips, watching me with dark, unfathomable eyes.

I kept my head down, trying to walk past him, but he grabbed my wrist. He frowned and asked softly, "How did you get so thin?"

His tone was so gentle, as if he still loved me.

Startled, I violently yanked my hand away. "Silas, what the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy?"

He stared at his empty palm, the warmth in his eyes freezing over instantly.

I walked to the dining table and stopped dead. Sitting right in the center was an exquisite strawberry cake, its candles unlit.

The phone call hadn't been a dream.

I said I wanted cake, and the great Alpha of the Silvercrown Pack actually went out and bought one. What was this? An olive branch?

But I was dying. I didn't need cake anymore. And I didn't need Silas anymore, either.

I grabbed the box and dumped the entire cake straight into the trash can.

Silas's jaw twitched. Moving with lightning speed across the room, he grabbed my shoulders and slammed me hard against the wall.

"Are you fucking playing with me, Aria?!" he snarled, his fangs elongating.

I smiled, looking him dead in the eye. "Yeah, Silas. I was messing with you. So what?"

"I say I want cake, and you run out to get it like an obedient little dog. Why are you still so pathetic?"

I deliberately twisted the knife deep into his pride. I watched the color drain from his face, instantly replaced by a terrifying, beastly fury.

His wolf was waking up.

He crushed his cigarette against the wall, dragged me into the bedroom, and threw me onto the mattress.

He was out of his mind. Like a wild animal, he ripped the collar of my nightgown.

I fought back fiercely, my fists pounding against his rock-hard chest. "Silas, you bastard! Don't touch me! You disgust me!"

He pinned my legs and trapped me beneath him. Burying his face in my neck, he bit down hard—not the intimate nip of pack mates, but a savage bite that brought tears to my eyes.

"Can't you just be gentle, Aria?" he growled low against my skin. "Do you know how many years I've waited just for you to really look at me? Do you know how happy I was when you called to ask me for a cake?"

"And then you treat me like a joke?" He raised his head, his eyes flashing with the wrath of his wolf, the amber glow reflecting his inner rage.

I fought back my tears and glared at him.

In the dimly lit room, neither of us spoke. Neither was willing to surrender.

Silas lowered his head, his lips hovering mere inches from mine—when his phone rang.

It was Chloe.

Silas stiffened, but he still answered it.

I could hear her crying through the receiver. "Silas... did you abandon me for Aria? You said you loved me... I'm at a neutral territory bar right now, and some men are following me... I'm so scared. Please come save me..."

Silas didn't answer her. He just stared down at me, a cruel smile touching the corners of his mouth.

"Beg me, Aria," he commanded softly. "Beg me to stay. Just say the word, and I won't leave."

He had forgotten. A long time ago, I had swallowed my pride, fallen to my knees at his feet, and begged. "Silas, can we please just talk? Can we stop torturing each other? Could you just be gentle with me?"

That day, Silas looked at me with eyes as cold as ice and said, "You don't deserve it, Aria."

Those words had festered in my chest for years, brewing into a rich, malicious torment.

Today, I could finally say them back.

I grabbed his collar, pulled him close, and whispered, "You don't deserve it, Silas."

He went completely rigid.

Then, he covered his eyes with one hand and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Fuck!"

He brought the phone back to his ear. "Stay there. I'm coming to get you."

He stood up without looking back, walked out, and slammed the door behind him.