The cool night air bit at my skin as I stepped out of the prison gates, the scent of pine and damp earth filling my nostrils. The moon hung low in the sky, its pale light casting long shadows across the ground. I took a deep breath, savoring the freedom I had been denied for three long years.

“Raquel,” a familiar voice called out, sharp and commanding.

I turned to see Joshua, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, standing beside his sleek black car. His towering frame, broad shoulders, and chiseled features were as imposing as ever, his aura radiating dominance even in the stillness of the night. His dark eyes, once filled with warmth, now held a cold detachment that made my stomach churn.

He held out a coat, his voice softer than I expected. “Now that your sentence is complete, make sure to apologize to Adele. There’s still a place for you in this pack.”

His words were a slap in the face. Three years ago, he had dismissed my pleas, his alpha tone silencing me as he testified against me, sending me to prison for a crime I didn’t commit—all for the sake of Adele, his first love.

I ignored the coat and squared my shoulders, meeting his gaze head-on. “I’m not coming back. I want to dissolve our mate bond.”

Joshua let out a derisive laugh, tossing the coat at me with a mocking smirk. “Stop pretending. You’ve just spent three years in prison. Who else would want you besides me?”

His words cut deeper than I cared to admit. The brief gentleness in his voice had been an illusion, a fleeting moment of weakness.

Just then, the car door opened, and Adele stepped out, her golden hair gleaming under the moonlight. She stood beside Joshua, her delicate features twisted into a look of disdain. “Raquel, three years ago, you stabbed me out of jealousy over Alpha Joshua’s kindness to me. I’ve forgiven you now, so why are you still putting on this act?”

Her voice was sweet, but her words were laced with venom. They dragged me back to that fateful night, the night that had ruined my life.

It was supposed to be our anniversary. Joshua and I had planned a candlelit dinner at a charming Italian restaurant. I had waited for three hours, my heart sinking with each passing minute. When he didn’t show and his phone was unreachable, I rushed home, only to find Adele there.

She was Joshua’s first love, and ever since she returned from abroad, they had been in frequent contact, leading to countless arguments between us. That night, she claimed she had been drinking heavily with friends and that Joshua had rushed to the pub to bring her back, leaving to buy aspirin.

Anger and frustration boiled inside me as I told her to stay away from my mate. But she ignored me, suddenly pulling out a small knife and lunging at me. Instinctively, I fought back, finally managing to wrest the knife from her. But then, she wrenched my wrist, driving the blade into her own shoulder.

Blood stained her clothes, and I stood there, frozen, unable to comprehend why she would do such a thing.

At that moment, Joshua returned, holding a bag of medicine. He screamed in horror at the scene before him, rushing to support Adele, then turned on me with fury. “Raquel, what have you done to her?”

I opened my mouth to explain, but Adele cut in, clutching her wound and crying out in pain. “Raquel came in, saw me, and just lost it. She warned me to stay away from you, and when I tried to explain, she went crazy and attacked me with a knife. Luckily, I dodged, and it only hit my shoulder.”

I shook my head desperately, shouting my defense. “No, that’s not true. This was all Adele’s plan; she deliberately hurt herself with the knife…”

But Joshua cut me off coldly. “Enough, Raquel. Do you think I’m a fool? Who would purposely hurt themselves with a knife? This was all because you were jealous of my kindness to her and lost your mind. The evidence is clear, and yet you still refuse to admit it!”

He held Adele close, his alpha tone silencing me as he called the police and testified against me. With no way to defend myself, I was sent to prison for three years.

“Raquel, I thought these three years in prison would make you reflect on your mistakes and change, but you’re just the same, refusing to repent,” Joshua said, his voice cold and dismissive.

I looked up and saw Adele clinging to his arm, her gaze dripping with contempt. Unlike before, I didn’t make a scene. Three years in prison had worn down my spirit. Now, all I felt was a dull numbness.

Calmly, I said, “I’ll pack my things and leave.”

But when I opened the door to what used to be my room, I froze. My clothes and belongings had all disappeared, replaced entirely by Adele’s things, as if she were the rightful Luna of the pack.

Suddenly, I remembered something and rushed to the cabinet. There used to be a family photo of me with my parents there—one of the last things they had left me before their untimely death. But now, the cabinet was cluttered with Adele’s trinkets, and my photo was nowhere to be found.

I turned to them, my voice trembling with anger. “Where’s the photo of me and my parents? What have you done with it?”

Joshua’s amber eyes bore into me, his Alpha aura radiating impatience. “Why are you always making a fuss, Raquel? It’s just a photo. We’ll find it later. Who are you trying to impress the moment you walk through the door?”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. He knew exactly what that photo meant to me—it was the last remaining piece of my parents, lost in a fire when I was just a pup. Yet here he stood, indifferent, even as another she-wolf had taken my place in our home, in our pack.

Adele Patterson, the Gamma warrior, approached with a sickeningly sweet smile. Her scent, a mix of jasmine and something sharp, felt invasive. “I’m sorry, Luna,” she said, her tone dripping with mock sincerity. “A few years ago, I had some health issues, and since I didn’t have family or friends nearby, Alpha Joshua let me move in temporarily. I accidentally caused some chaos with all my belongings.”

“But now that you’re back,” she added, her eyes glinting with a challenge masked as regret, “I’ll move out immediately.”

Joshua’s face flushed, his Alpha composure slipping for a moment. “Adele, you’ve been through a lot. It took years for you to recover. I can’t let you live alone without someone to look after you.” He turned to me, his voice firm, as if expecting me to bow to his decision. “We have a guest room. Raquel can stay there. Make yourself comfortable here.”

The words stung, sharp and final. He didn’t even glance my way, didn’t consider my feelings. I was his mate—his *former* mate—yet he spoke as if I were nothing more than a pack member he could shuffle around.

I let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow in the grand hall of the Silver Moon Pack’s mansion. The pack hierarchy had always been strict, but this—this was a cruelty I hadn’t expected. Joshua was entirely focused on Adele’s needs, blind to the fact that I had once been his Luna, his equal.

I didn’t want to argue further. The sooner I found that photo, the sooner I could leave this place behind. But after searching every corner of the room, it was nowhere to be found. As I knelt to check under the bed, Joshua grabbed my arm, his grip firm, his Alpha tone commanding.

“It’s late, and Adele needs her rest. Hurry up and get out; the guest room’s empty. You can tidy it up and settle in,” he said, dismissing my earlier insistence that I would leave.

Perhaps he thought I’d never follow through, that my words were just the angry outbursts of a scorned mate. I discreetly pulled my hand back, feeling a suffocating heaviness in my chest. Joshua was blind to how his words were centered around Adele, leaving no room for me.

Without another word, I quietly gathered the few belongings I had brought from my imprisonment and headed to the room he’d indicated. The so-called guest room was anything but; it was a storage room with a bed surrounded by piles of clutter, including my belongings thoughtlessly tossed in. It hadn’t been cleaned in ages. I lay on the bed with a bitter smile and soon fell into a deep, unintentional sleep.

In the middle of the night, strange noises woke me. The sound was coming from Adele’s room. I crept out of bed, the floor cold beneath my feet, and approached her door, slightly ajar. Through the gap, I witnessed a scene I dreaded—Joshua and Adele entwined together.

Though I’d long suspected their relationship, seeing it with my own eyes was a crushing blow. My wolf stirred in the back of my mind, a low growl of pain and betrayal. I stood there, fists clenched, feeling my blood boil and my mind go blank.

Adele was sitting on Joshua’s lap, her voice sultry and teasing. “Joshua, now that Raquel is back, does it mean we can’t be like this anymore?”

“Of course not,” he replied, his voice thick with desire. “She’s nothing. How can she compare to you? I’ve come to rely on you over these years.” They kissed passionately, their bond—whatever it was—obvious in their closeness.

I couldn’t bear to witness any more. I turned and fled, the humiliation and pain clawing at my chest. My wolf whimpered softly, a sound only I could hear, as I retreated to the cold, unwelcoming room that was now my prison.