Sterling found me on the edge of the Rogue territory, my body covered in the scars left by the Silver Moon Pack's brutal punishment—thirty-two lashes that had stripped me raw. He carried me back to the Silver Moon Pack, his hands gentle as they brushed over the wounds. "Cleo," he murmured, his voice soft but firm. "You are not what they say you are. You are not your mother."

Everyone whispered about my mother, Jasmine Jordan, the Omega who had dared to catch the Lycan King's eye. They called her a traitor, a disgrace. But Sterling didn’t see me that way. He gave me a place in his pack, treated me with respect, and told me, "You are the purest soul I’ve ever known."

It was easy to fall for him after that. So easy that when he was poisoned with a potent aphrodisiac during a rogue attack, I didn’t hesitate to offer myself to him. His lips were desperate against mine, his hands trembling as he held me close. I thought it was love.

But when he woke, the look in his eyes shattered me. He slapped me—hard—and his voice was cold, sharp. "Cleo, how could you be so reckless? So... like your mother?"

His words cut deeper than any lash ever could. And then his mate, Saige, came for me. She shoved me into the freezing waters of the Moonless Creek, her laughter ringing in my ears as I struggled to stay afloat. Sterling watched from the shore, his expression unreadable. "You brought this on yourself," he said, his voice devoid of any warmth.

That was the moment I knew. I was nothing to him.

---

“Cleo, are you sure about this? The Blood Moon Cavern is a death sentence. The rogues there will tear you apart. Why not accept the offer to join the Red Pack as a subordinate? At least you’d have some protection.”

I looked up at Jenesis Berry, the former Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, Sterling’s mother. Her tone was soft, almost maternal, but I wasn’t fooled. She had always been calculating, always looking out for her own interests.

I shivered, still soaked from the creek, my body trembling with cold and exhaustion. “Luna Jenesis,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “The Red Pack’s Alpha is mated to the Lycan Queen’s daughter. You know as well as I do that she would never let me live. Not after what my mother did.”

Her eyes flickered with something—guilt?—but she quickly masked it, sighing dramatically. “Your mother’s actions brought this on herself. What else can you expect?”

My mother, Jasmine, the Omega who had dared to love the Lycan King. She had been executed for it, her body left to rot as a warning to others. I had been there, a child, forced to watch as the Lycan Queen, Kenna, had her torn apart. “This is what happens to those who forget their place,” Kenna had sneered, her voice dripping with venom.

I had been lucky to survive, though barely. Sterling had found me, bleeding and broken, and taken me in. He had been my savior, my protector. But now, he was just another person who had betrayed me.

---

When Sterling first brought me to the Silver Moon Pack, I had been terrified, cowering in the corners, hoarding scraps of food. “For my mother,” I would whisper, clutching the bread tightly. “She hasn’t eaten yet.”

The pack members laughed, but Sterling didn’t. He knelt beside me, his voice gentle. “Cleo, your mother is gone. But you’re not alone. I’ll take care of you. No one will hurt you again.”

He gave me clean clothes, taught me to stand tall, and held me when the storms came, his scent—warm and woodsy—comforting me in the darkness. I clung to him, desperate for the safety he offered.

But it was all a lie. The same man who had held me so tenderly was the one who now looked at me with disgust. “Cleo,” he said, his voice shaking with anger. “Why would you do this? Why would you lower yourself like this?”

I had no answer. Only the bitter realization that I had been a fool to believe in him.

Before my departure, Elisa helped me pack my belongings.

She sniffled, muttering under her breath, “You’re leaving, and the Alpha isn’t even going to say goodbye?”

I stared blankly at the silver pendant in my hand and forced a weak smile. “He’s long since hated me. There’s no need to tell him I’m leaving.”

Even if he knew, at most he’d sneer a few words, not a shred of pity would he spare.

“After what happened, he stopped seeing me as family.”

Elisa paused, about to console me, when the door suddenly swung open.

Sterling walked in, his face icy, carrying the chill of the storm outside.

Seeing him after so long, my eyes burned, and my knees buckled, dropping me to the floor.

He glanced at me coldly, his expression full of unmistakable disgust. “Cleo, you accused Saige of pushing you into the lake. Now, here you are, perfectly fine, while she’s tormented by nightmares, unable to sleep. How can you be so cruel?”

“Why don’t you kneel outside her room until she finally finds peace?”

I raised my head slowly, my heart sinking like a stone.

How could I have been so naive to think he’d come to say goodbye?

Elisa stepped forward, shielding me, her voice urgent. “Alpha, Cleo just came out of the lake. She’s already weak—how can she endure the cold night air?”

“Besides, Alpha, do you know she’s leaving tomorrow…”

“Elisa,” I interrupted her, offering a bitter smile. “It’s fine. I’m the one who wronged Saige, falsely accusing her.”

Earlier that day, Sterling’s mate, Saige, had confronted me by the lake, hurling insults at me.

“Cleo, Sterling’s kindness saved you, letting you live here for years. Instead of being grateful, you tried to seduce him, just like your disgraceful mother!”

“You’re shameless, and you deserve to die!”

She was referring to the scandal that had spread through the packs—that the lowly girl Sterling had saved had drugged him, throwing herself at him.

It wasn’t me who drugged Sterling, but when he kissed me in his haze, I lost control of my feelings, believing that after years of companionship, he might care for me too.

But when he woke, he slapped me, furious, calling me shameless, and the next day, he announced his mate bond with Saige.

I knew I was guilty, unable to defend myself, but Saige should never have insulted my mother.

I tried to argue, but Saige pushed me into the freezing lake.

Sterling passed by, and I desperately called for help, but he held Saige close, watching me struggle, coldly saying, “Desperate.”

Now, Sterling’s gaze lingered on my frail figure, seeing me drenched, and for a moment, a flicker of something like pity crossed his face.

But when he noticed the pendant clutched tightly in my hand, his expression hardened, and he grabbed my wrist with bruising force. “Cleo, are you still delusional?”

The pain brought tears to my eyes, and I shook my head frantically. “Alpha, I was foolish before, harboring impossible thoughts. From now on, I won’t.”

He scoffed and released my hand.

My wrist ached, and the silver pendant fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

I stared at it, tears streaming down my face.

This pendant, once crafted by Sterling himself, was a gift he’d spent weeks shaping for me.

Because I’d admired the silver necklace Saige wore, a gift from her mother.

Back then, Sterling had gently tied the pendant around my neck, his hands rough from the work. “Cleo, whatever others have, I’ll make sure you have too. You don’t need to envy anyone.”

He was the Alpha, capable of commanding anything with a word, yet he’d chosen to craft it by hand, like a human artisan, and placed it around my neck.

For the first time in my life, I’d felt truly cherished.

I thought it was love.

But when Sterling had pushed me away in horror, gripping my throat and demanding to know who’d put me up to it, I realized it had all been in my head.

He stormed out, and I stumbled back to my room, my dress ruined, exposed and humiliated.

After the scandal, Sterling loathed me. With his mate bond to Saige imminent, there was no place for me in the Silver Moon Pack.

Sterling’s mother, Jenesis, gave me two choices: become the mate of a lower-ranking Alpha, or guard the Blood Moon Cavern, a place no wolf dared to enter.

The Blood Moon Cavern was a forbidden territory, surrounded by rogues, a place where the condemned were sent. A lowly Omega like me would never survive.

But the Alpha’s mate was Kenna’s daughter, my half-sister, who despised me and would never let me live in peace.

I had no choice but to choose the Blood Moon Cavern.

I wanted to tell Sterling, but Saige pushed me into the lake, and he watched, indifferent, thinking it was just another ploy to win his sympathy.

The self-respect Sterling had spent years building for me shattered under the scornful gazes of the pack.

Now, the pendant, the last remnant of my hope, lay broken on the floor.

“If this thing made you think such foolish thoughts, it’s better destroyed,” Sterling growled, kicking the shattered pieces aside.

That night, I knelt outside Saige’s room, my body still damp from the lake, shivering in the cold.

Her room was brightly lit, and I could hear her whining, “Sterling, the medicine’s too bitter. I can’t drink it!”

Sterling’s voice was soft, comforting, “Saige, it’s for your own good. You’re sick, you need to take it.”

Saige pouted, “Then you have to hold me while I drink it.”

Sterling chuckled, “Alright, I’ll hold you.”

Their laughter pierced through the walls, and my knees, numb from kneeling, began to ache.

I touched my chest, feeling the emptiness where my heart should be.

There was a time when he’d comforted me the same way, when I’d refused to take medicine after a nightmare.

The cold wind cut through my thin clothes, nearly knocking me over.

The thirty-two silver spikes buried in my bones, remnants of past punishments, flared up in the cold, sending waves of agony through me.

Sterling had tried countless times to remove them, but they remained, a constant reminder of my pain.

Now, curled up on the floor, pale and shivering, he seemed to have forgotten entirely that I couldn’t handle the cold.

Saige’s attendant glanced at me disdainfully. “Cleo, you’re so good at playing the victim, trying to win sympathy. Too bad Sterling’s too busy with Saige to care about your act.”

I lowered my gaze, my nails digging into my palms.

At least, I was leaving soon.