By the time Seraphina regained consciousness, a whole week had passed.

When the healer saw her stirring, he hurriedly alerted Caelum in delight.

"Luna Seraphina, you finally woke up! Alpha Caelum and Liam brought in almost every healer from all the territories. To pray for your safety, Alpha Caelum even offered a rare white deer to the Moon Goddess and wished for all the blessings to go to you so that you would wake soon.

"They'll be overjoyed to hear that you're awake."

Before he had even finished speaking, Caelum and Liam hurried into the room.

Upon seeing that she was awake, they immediately pulled her into a tight embrace.

Their voices were trembling with fear and relief. "Sera, you finally woke up. Do you know how worried I was this whole week?"

Liam's eyes were red as he said in a choked voice, "Mom, I was so scared you wouldn't wake up."

Caelum seldom cried. Yet, Seraphina felt a hot tear fall onto the back of her hand. Tears welled up in Liam's eyes too.

Still, their tears stirred no emotions in her heart because all she felt was deep irony.

When disaster struck, the one they instinctively protected had been Rayna.

Seraphina would be lying if she said seeing that didn't make her heart ache. She had offered Caelum her whole heart and loved him with everything she had. She had raised Liam all by herself with complete devotion since the day he was born.

Rayna, who had only appeared a few short months ago, had erased all of that so effortlessly. Just like that, she took Seraphina's place.

Caelum and Liam grew visibly uneasy due to her silence. So, they tried to explain themselves.

Caelum said, "It was too chaotic that day. I couldn't see which one was you, so I grabbed the wrong person."

Liam added, "Mom, Dad and I will never put you in danger again. We're so sorry for what we've done."

Seraphina had just woken up, so she was still very weak. Right now, she felt exhausted and couldn't muster the energy to expose their flimsy lies.

Just one more week, and she could leave this place. She would get away from her pretentious mate and pup very soon.

Over the next few days, Caelum and Liam stayed by her bedside in the healer's quarters without leaving even for a moment. Perhaps they felt guilty about abandoning her.

However, Caelum's phone never stopped ringing. Calls came every day, yet he didn't answer any of them.

One day, his phone buzzed as a message came in. His eyes widened upon reading it, and his expression shifted.

Seconds later, he said apologetically, "Sera, something urgent happened in the pack. I need to deal with it."

Liam leaned in to glance at the screen.

A moment later, he said, "Mom, I have to go with Dad to handle this."

Seraphina noticed the subtle changes in their expressions.

Would a young pup like Liam need to be involved in any of the pack's affairs? Of course not.

Obviously, it could only be Rayna.

With a nod from her, Caelum and Liam rushed out immediately.

Seraphina got out of bed and followed them.

At the corner of the healer's quarters, she saw Rayna throw herself into Caelum's arms. She wept so pitifully that it was heartbreaking to look at her.

Nevertheless, Caelum's expression was grim as he pulled her hands off him.

He warned in a low voice, "What are you doing here? I already told you that Sera hasn't fully recovered. You must stay in your quarters for now. Don't show yourself in front of her."

At that, Rayna cried even harder. She threw herself into his arms again and clutched his waist tightly.

She wailed miserably, "I just missed you both too much. It's been ten days since I last saw you. You promised you'd spend at least two hours with me every day."

Liam panicked at her tears and quickly explained, "Rayna, Dad and I missed you too, but Mom's still recovering. We have to stay with her. Dad, hurry and comfort Rayna!"

Feeling the wetness soaking through his chest and hearing Liam's urging, Caelum sighed.

His expression softened as he comforted her. "Don't cry. When you cry, I feel sad. I'll spend the next two days with you, okay?"

Rayna's tears stopped instantly. "Really?"

After Caelum gave her his assurance, she broke into a bright smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and her eyes were brimming with tender affection.

Caelum's gaze darkened, and his Adam's apple bobbed. In the next second, he grabbed the back of her head and kissed her deeply.

Their kiss was passionate and lingering, occasionally punctuated by wet, smacking sounds. It was as if they were pouring ten days of longing into that one kiss.

Liam covered his eyes and turned away.

He teased, "Dad and Rayna are being naughty!"

Seraphina walked back to her room like an empty husk whose soul had left its body. Tears slipped silently down her face, soaking the pillow as she bit her lip to stop herself from sobbing aloud.

She reminded herself over and over again that she would be leaving soon. This would be the last time she would shed tears for Caelum and Liam.

The extended period of neglect by Caelum made Rayna feel threatened, so she revealed her true colors.

Early the next morning, Seraphina saw message after taunting message Rayna had sent the previous night through a maid upon waking up.

"Seraphina, I know you saw everything. So? How does it feel watching your mate kiss another she-wolf while your pup helps cover for him?"

"Caelum loves it when I cry. He says my tears give him a special kind of satisfaction, especially in bed."

"Every time I cry, he gets rougher in bed. My voice becomes hoarse from sobbing so much, but he still won't stop. He says he wishes he could be with me 24 hours a day. He's never treated you like that, has he?"

"Even your pup likes being with me. He says he feels relaxed around me. Once, he thought I was asleep and called me Mom."

"You're a complete failure as a Luna."

Staring at the barrage of provocations, Seraphina forced down the storm of emotions inside her and calmly took screenshots of everything.

Only three days remained before she would leave this world. This would be part of her final gift to Caelum and Liam.

That morning, she requested to be discharged from the healer's sanctuary. The healer informed Caelum, and soon she received a call from him.

His tone was apologetic as he said, "I'm busy with pack affairs right now, so I can't leave. I'll have someone take you home. I'll take care of Liam. Rest well at home."

She knew they were with Rayna. So, she just said a perfunctory "okay" and hung up.

Three days before her departure from this world, Seraphina returned to their mansion. She instructed the maids to gather all her belongings and burn them.

A maid asked in confusion, "Luna Seraphina, are you replacing them with new ones?"

She nodded and answered, "Yes."

They didn't know that not only the belongings would be replaced, but the lady of the house as well.

Two days before departure, Seraphina opened the secret chamber that only she, Caelum, and Liam could enter.

Various hunting trophies accumulated over the last ten years hung densely on the walls. There were also the family tapestries made each year since Liam's birth.

Over ten years, the people captured in those tapestries went from being youthful to looking mature and serious. In the beginning, there were only two people. Then, it became three.

But now, one face would disappear.

Seraphina retrieved a ceremonial dagger and spent the entire day cutting her own likeness out of every tapestry, leaving only Caelum and Liam behind.

Then, she retrieved the bloodstone from their mate-bonding ceremony that Caelum had solemnly locked in the safe five years ago. Upon opening the stone, she was surprised to find the vow he had written for the ceremony tucked inside.

He had written, "Sera, you are my entire world. Thanks to you, my world is filled with light again. I will love you and protect you forever. I believe we will grow old together. We'll love each other for the rest of our lives."

Seraphina read each line slowly.

The piece of paper held 19-year-old Caelum's deep, youthful devotion.

When she reached the end, she smiled in silence as moisture pooled in the corners of her eyes.

She placed the vow back beside the bloodstone and carried both, along with the pieces of tapestry she had cut, into the garden. There, she lit them all on fire.

Wordlessly, she watched as the tapestries and the bloodstone turned into a handful of ash.

One day before departure, Seraphina printed out the screenshots of Rayna's messages and the photos she sent over the past few days.

There were photos of Caelum shirtless and holding Rayna, whose neck was covered in kiss marks. In some photos, Liam leaned against Rayna, gazing at her with admiration, as she read him a bedtime story. Some even showed the three of them wearing matching cartoon headbands at an amusement park.

Seraphina thought her heart would break all over again. But when she looked at the photos, all she felt was calm.

She placed every printed photo into a folder. Then, she removed the ring symbolizing her status as Luna and put it inside as well.

On the day she was set to leave, it happened to be the seventh anniversary of her becoming Caelum's mate.

Caelum and Liam, whom she hadn't seen in days, returned early that morning.

Caelum was holding a heart-shaped cake. "Sera, the pack affairs have kept me busy lately. I'm sorry about that. Today is our mate-bonding anniversary. Liam and I won't go anywhere. We'll spend the whole day with you."

Liam raised his little fist and vowed, "Mom, I swear Dad has been busy with pack work every day. And I never forgot my duty to help you keep an eye on him!"

Seraphina looked impassively at the two of them as they enthusiastically made all those fake promises.

She asked softly, "Are you tired?"

They were running back and forth between her and Rayna while pretending to be the devoted mate and pup in front of her. Weren't they exhausted?

Caelum and Liam answered in unison, "We're not tired at all!"

Liam held her hand. His eyes were sparkling. "It's something I'm doing for you. I could never be tired, Mom."

Caelum gently pinched her cheek with affection. "Sera, no matter how busy or exhausting pack affairs are, the moment I see you, all my fatigue disappears. Besides, today is our anniversary. We celebrate it every year. No matter how busy I am, I'll still come back."

Seraphina simply smiled and said nothing more.

Caelum set down the cake and immediately went to the kitchen. He had given all the maids the day off and planned to personally cook several of her favorite dishes for their anniversary.

Liam refused to be outdone. He pulled over a small stool. Then, he began to cut some fruit to make juice.

They busied themselves the whole morning. By the time all the dishes were finally placed on the table, it was already afternoon.

Caelum lit the candle shaped like a seven. He held her hand with eyes filled to the brim with love.

He said appreciatively, "Sera, if you hadn't stayed by my side back then…"

Liam clapped enthusiastically beside them. "Wow! This is so romantic, Mom and Dad!"

Then, Caelum's shrill ringtone shattered the warm atmosphere.

Seraphina retracted her hand and handed him the phone. The name Rayna flashed repeatedly on the screen.

Caelum smiled and said he wouldn't answer anyone's calls today, but Seraphina still insisted on giving it to him. When he saw the name, he hesitated for a brief second before finally picking up.

"Sera, it's my assistant. I'm worried there's a pack emergency. Give me a moment," he said.

With that, he stepped aside to take the call. And when he returned, he wore the familiar and predictable apologetic expression.

"Sera, I'm sorry. Something urgent happened in the pack. I have to go," Caelum said.

Liam didn't know what the caller had said, but he had seen Rayna's name on the screen. So, he jumped off his chair and ran to Caelum.

"Mom, I want to go too! I can help you supervise Dad so he finishes faster and comes home sooner!" Liam made up an excuse.

As she looked at the pair who were secretly eager to leave, Seraphina nodded lightly.

"Go on, then."

Caelum let out a silent breath of relief. He picked Liam up, and the two kissed her on each cheek.

"Wait for us to come back," he said.

"See you soon, Mom!" Liam chirped.

They hurried out the door and didn't even notice Seraphina's odd silence.

Caelum and Liam had no idea that this would be the last time the three of them would ever be together.

Once Seraphina saw that Caelum's car was out of sight from the window, she threw the burnt-out candle and the cake into the trash. She then went to the bedroom, picked up the prepared folder, and stepped out of the mansion.