When I woke up again, I was lying face down on a bed. Even the slightest movement sent searing pain across my back.

"Elise!" Kieran immediately rushed over, his eyes bloodshot with exhaustion. "You're awake? Does it still hurt?"

I looked at his anxious expression and felt suddenly disoriented. In the past, when I had a common cold, he would stay by my bedside like this, never leaving my side. He would wrap me in his warm fur and lick my forehead with his slightly rough tongue to comfort me.

However, this time, it was not a fever.

I had been whipped by his pack with his silent consent, and he had watched coldly from beginning to end.

I silently pulled my hand away, unwilling to look at him.

Kieran stiffened for a moment before speaking again to explain. "Elise, it's not that I didn't want to stop them, but in that situation, the more I resisted, the harsher the Elders' punishment would have been. Elder Lucian even considered executing you! I had to protect your life first."

"So," I said with a hoarse voice, "you also believe I hurt your pup?"

Kieran's Adam's apple bobbed once. Ultimately, he chose silence.

This moment of silence was like a dull blade, brutally cutting through my last shred of hope.

With reddened eyes, I slowly said, "I'll ask you just one question: Kieran Wolfe, in the name of the moon and our mate bond, do you believe me?"

Kieran frowned, anger creeping into his voice. "Elise, there are bruises on Tyra, and Cecelia named you herself. There's a witness and evidence. How do you expect me to believe you?

"Didn't I tell you that everything would be fine once this was all over? Why did you have to provoke Cecelia?"

My tears suddenly started falling. I thought I would not feel pain anymore, but my chest still felt like it was being viciously torn apart. I hurriedly turned my head away, not wanting him to see me looking so pathetic and weak.

"Go," I whispered so quietly it was barely audible.

"Just wait a little longer, okay?" His voice softened as he tried to approach me again. "Soon, once Cecelia gives birth to this pup, we'll definitely be able to leave. I swear I'll take you to see the southern seas that never freeze."

We would go back to how things were?

I closed my eyes, my throat tightening. I knew well that we could never go back. After all, he had Cecelia now and two pups. For their sake, he had hurt me again and again, choosing others over me time after time.

I slowly turned over to face away from him, not wanting to say another word.

Kieran looked at me, his face twisted with pain. In the end, he only reached out to brush my hair, whispering, "Sleep. I'll stay here with you..."

Before he even finished, the door was violently pushed open, and a beta stood there frantically. "Alpha! Ms. Donati has been crying and calling for you! The healer says emotional fluctuations may hurt the pup..."

Kieran frowned. He glanced at my turned back and hesitated for a moment. Then, he stood up. "Elise, I..."

I let out a self-mocking laugh and murmured, "Go."

"Wait for me. I'll go check on them, then come right back to take care of you."

Watching his retreating figure, I smiled bitterly. 'You're a liar, Kieran. You won't be coming back.'

Sure enough, he never returned that night.

I was discharged the next day, and it was pouring rain outside. I packed my belongings and stood at the hospital entrance, watching Kieran's car slowly approach.

As soon as I opened the car door, I saw Cecelia holding Tyra in the passenger seat.

"Kieran..." Cecelia saw me and immediately shrank closer to him. "I...I haven't recovered from the shock yet..."

She covered her lower abdomen, her voice trembling. "She can hurt me if she wants, but she can't hurt Tyra. Can you...give me a little more time? Please don't make me ride in the same car with her for now."

I froze as I stared at the seat that used to belong to me.

Kieran was silent for a long time, then finally pushed his door open and handed me a large umbrella. "Elise, wait here for a while. I'll take Cecelia home first and come right back to pick you up."

With that, he closed the window, and the black car sped away. I stood there motionless, watching the car carrying the family of three disappear at the end of the road. I closed my eyes, feeling like there was a huge hole in my chest that could never be filled, with cold wind rushing through it.

I waited for a long time, until the rain grew heavier and the sky turned completely dark. Kieran had promised to come back for me, but he never did.

My phone had died, and I called out to him repeatedly through our mind link. Yet, there was only blocked silence on the other end.

Seeing the sky grow darker with no sign of the storm letting up, I had no choice but to open the heavy umbrella and walk home.

The fierce wind nearly snapped the umbrella frame as I stumbled forward. Suddenly, my foot slipped and I fell hard into a muddy puddle. The umbrella cracked with a sharp sound, and rain instantly soaked through my entire body.

By the time I finally made it home in my messy state, it was already deep into the night.

As I stood dripping wet in the entryway, I heard Cecelia's tearful voice coming from the living room.

Her voice was soft and trembling. "Kieran, I know you only have Elise in your heart... But this really is a special situation. M…my milk ducts are blocked, and it hurts so much, and Tyra keeps crying for milk."

She sobbed. "The usual methods don't work, and the healer said...perhaps the pup's father has to...help. Just think of it as for Tyra's sake, please help me. Don't worry. Elise will never know..."

I froze at the doorway, and it felt like all the blood in my body had run cold. In the living room, I could not see his expression, only his tense back.

After a long silence, I watched Kieran's left hand slowly rise, his fingertips parting Cecelia's clothing as his right hand slid over her pale skin. Then, right before my eyes, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against that softness.

I was struck motionless, like lightning had hit me directly.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, each second feeling like a knife stabbing into my eyes and carving into my soul. I watched helplessly as Kieran leaned down. I watched as his lips touched Cecelia's chest, and I certainly watched as he sucked gently, over and over again.

Cecelia let out a satisfied moan, threading her fingers through his hair. "This side needs attention, too."

Kieran frowned slightly. "But that side isn't blocked, is it?"

Cecelia did not answer with words. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed his face against her. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head again.

I could not watch anymore and bolted into the rain. The storm poured down on me, but I felt no cold.

My mind was filled with memories of our first time together, how careful Kieran had been, how he had treasured me, and how he had whispered in my ear with that husky voice, "Elise, you're my first, and you'll be my last..."

Now, those same lips were on another woman.

My heart ached, and it hurt worse than the lashes. I bent over and crouched in the rain until my legs went numb, waiting until the mansion's lights finally went out before stumbling back like a lost soul and collapsing in an empty room.

The fever hit hard and fast in the middle of the night.

Half-conscious, I heard Kieran's deep, gentle voice from the master bedroom. He was humming an old werewolf lullaby, one used to soothe their young.

Of course, he was doing prenatal bonding with the pup in Cecelia's belly, using a method reserved only for the closest of kin.

Just like he had once promised me, saying, "When we have our pup, I'll sing our ancestors' songs to help him sleep every night..."

I did not know how long had passed before I heard someone calling me.

"Elise? Elise?"

I struggled to open my eyes and saw Kieran sitting by the bed with a bowl of medicine. "How did you get this sick..."

He touched my forehead with the same gentle care as before. However, when he got close, all I could see was what I had witnessed in that bedroom.

I turned away, refusing his touch.

"Elise, I'll leave the medicine and water here." He paused, his voice strained. "Cecelia is sick and carrying my pup, plus she has Tyra to care for, so she'll be staying in our house for now. The master bedroom will be theirs for the time being...

"You'll stay in this room for the next few days and shouldn't leave, in case they catch something from you. I'll have the door locked from the outside, and Brad will bring you food and medicine."

Without waiting for my response, Kieran practically fled the room to go care for Cecelia and Tyra.

The lock clicked shut, and my tears fell instantly.

How ridiculous.

I had once been the treasure he held in the palm of his hand, but now I had become nothing but a danger that needed to be locked away.

...

Maybe it was Cecelia's doing, but over the next few days, no one brought me water or food on schedule. My fever would not break, leaving me dizzy and lightheaded, while I constantly heard laughter and joy from outside.

Kieran and Cecelia were watching old movies together, the same ones he used to watch with me countless times.

They shared candlelit dinners in the living room, just like the surprises he used to cook for me every month.

They were even discussing names for their future child, just like he used to hold me and whisper gently, "Elise, when we have children, we'll name the boy Logan and the girl Connie, okay?"

Now I heard him saying that if it were a male, they would name him Fenrir; if female, Seraphina.

I curled up on the bed, biting the blanket hard, refusing to let myself cry out loud.

After three full days of fever, I finally recovered.

The day I walked out of my room happened to be Tyra's official pack recognition ceremony: the Moonlight Ritual. The ceremony was held at the pack's sacred ground, a moonlit grove surrounded by ancient oak trees.

A bonfire blazed bright while the scent of roasted venison filled the air, and the werewolves drank honey mead as the atmosphere grew festive.

Lucian and several Elders beamed with joy as they held the swaddled Tyra while she received blessings from the pack members. Exquisite jewelry and precious toys were piled high like a small mountain.

"Kieran, this is for Cecelia." Lucian smiled as he handed over a wooden box. Inside was a ring set with an enormous milky-white gem that seemed to pulse with moonlight.

It was the Tear of the Moon Goddess.

He said, "She has given the Wolfe family a healthy bloodline."

Kieran slipped the ring onto Cecelia's finger and whispered gently, "You've done so well."

Cecelia blushed and leaned into his arms, and the family of three looked blissfully happy.

The guests circled Tyra, praising her endlessly.

"Tyra's cry is so strong. She'll definitely be a powerful warrior!"

Another said, "Her eyes are like Cecelia's, with the color of moonlight!"

"What a union of powerful bloodlines. Long live the Alpha Kieran and Ms. Donati!"

I stood in the corner watching it all. My nails dug deep into my palms, but I felt no pain.

Cecelia suddenly walked toward me with a wine glass, her smile sweet. "Ms. George, let's take a photo together under the moonlight?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you."

"Don't be shy." Cecelia grabbed my hand without waiting for an answer, forcibly dragging me in front of the camera.

Then, she lowered her voice and taunted me, saying, "Look how good Kieran is to me now. Every night he stays with me, wrapping me in his Alpha aura until I sleep."

I closed my eyes wearily, not wanting to listen or argue, just wishing it to end quickly.

The moment the shutter clicked and the camera captured the image, the massive totem pole behind us, a symbol of the pack's history, gave a sharp crack.

"Watch out!"

As the totem pole collapsed, Kieran rushed over and grabbed me. The huge wooden column crashed to the ground, scraping past my back and raising a cloud of dust.

Meanwhile, Cecelia was struck by splintered wood and the impact force of the collapse. She screamed as she fell, with a shocking pool of bright red blood spreading beneath her.

"Cecelia!" Kieran released me and rushed to her like a madman.

...

Outside the operating room, Kieran paced anxiously. Watching his restless state, I remembered how he had kept watch by my bedside all night when I was injured while gathering herbs in the mountains.

"Alpha Kieran!" The healer suddenly burst through the curtain. "Ms. Donati is hemorrhaging badly! The blood bank doesn't have her blood type. We need an immediate donation!"

"Take mine!" Kieran immediately said.

The healer exclaimed urgently, "That won't work! You're Type A, and Ms. George is Type O. Given her weakened state after the injury, she might not be able to handle the violent energy in an alpha's blood. It has to be human blood."

After hearing this, Kieran's gaze snapped to me. At that moment, I felt like I had been struck by lightning.

I stepped back abruptly, my voice trembling. "I won't do it."

My blood, the one thing they saw as special in this body they deemed a lowly human's, was now supposed to be used as a tool to save his heir?

"Elise!" Kieran grabbed my wrist, his eyes sharp. "This isn't the time for your tantrum! She's carrying the pack's heir! If something happens, we'll never be able to leave. Do you understand?"

My heart clenched painfully. I wondered if he was afraid we could not leave or that something would happen to their pup.

"What if I refuse?" I asked softly.

Kieran's face darkened. "I saved you, and that was what caused Cecelia's injury. You owe her this. Is giving a little blood really so hard?"

He looked at me with disappointment. "Elise, how did you end up like this?"

My heart stabbed with pain.

Had I changed?

He was the one who had pursued me relentlessly, saying I was his only possible mate.

He was the one who promised to recognize only me for life, who stood in the rain begging me to trust that he could handle everything.

Now he was saying I had changed?

My voice shook as I replied, "So, you regret saving me? If you could do it over, you'd save Cecelia and your pup first, wouldn't you?"

Kieran froze. "What are you talking about?!"

"Something's wrong! Ms. Donati is in critical condition!" the healer urged anxiously. "Any more delay and we'll lose both mother and pup! Alpha, make a decision quickly!"

Kieran's eyes hardened. Without further hesitation, he ordered the guards at the door, "Take her to the donor room!"

I was forced into the chair as a specialized needle pierced my vein, and my blood flowed out, drop by drop.

Throughout it all, Kieran never once looked back at me.

When they had drawn 400cc, the healer hesitated. "Alpha, Ms. George is too weak. If we draw more, I'm afraid..."

"Continue," Kieran said without turning around.

When they reached 600cc, my vision started going black. In my delirium, I seemed to see Kieran from when we first met, standing outside the herb shop, smiling at me.

"I'm Kieran Wolfe, and I'll be back tomorrow."

In the final moment, I completely lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, Kieran was sitting by the hospital bed. I thought he would coax me gently like before, begging for my forgiveness. Yet, when I opened my eyes, I met his cold gaze instead.

"Did you ruin the totem pole?"