I did not know how to swim. I struggled with all my strength, but Luneth pushed me under the water.

The freezing pools water filled my lungs and stomach. I could not breathe.

Luneth was good at swimming, just two kicks from her, I was dragged down into the depths.

Just before I lost consciousness, a memory from my school days rose up in my mind.

On summer, when I was ten cycles old, Luneth kept picking on me. She shoved me into different pools and stood still, watching me struggle for breath with a dark, satisfied gaze. It sometimes brought her pleasure.

I went home and begged my father to have one of his special warriors teach me how to swim. Too bad, he ordered him to teach Luneth how to swim too.

As soon as Theros heard about it, he volunteered himself and convinced Ronan to teach us to swim.

But at the pool, he gave his attention and patience to Luneth. He only treated me indifferent and impatient.

I only stood by the pool and watched him teach Luneth over and over again.

When I opened my eyes, I was already in the healer’s den, surrounded by the murmurs of the healers.

"She's still in semi-conscious state and she needs to undergo surgery immediately, but we need someone to give approval. Any clue?"

"Where is the one who took her here? Was he not her pack?"

"The one who took her here was a stranger. He doesn't know her."

My head was dizzy and my sight was blurred, but I still forced myself to press for emergency call on my crystal communicator.

The call went through to Theros, but Luneth picked up, her voice shaking with tears. "Theros, it's ... Ayleth calling. You ... should ... pick it up."

His rough breathing sounded loud in my ears. "Ignore her. She just fell into the water. What could be so urgent?"

In the next instant, the call was cut off.

The healer hesitated, troubled and unsure how to respond.

I slowly reached for the approval parchment and signed my name with trembling hands. "It’s fine. I will bear the responsibility myself."

It was only after three days that I finally regained full consciousness.

The healer's helper stayed beside me and said, "Thank the Moon Goddess, you finally regained consciousness. You have been here for three days, yet no one from your pack has come."

My crystal communicator buzzed. It was a post Luneth had sent to me on purpose.

[Just a minor cold, yet you brewed medicine for me yourself and stayed by my side for three days.]

The picture showed Theros standing in the kitchen, carefully brewing the herbal.

I did not need to see his face to recognize him.

"I have no pack."

He was not my mate. He was my enemy.

Theros truly hated me for a full decade.

A sharp pain gripped my chest. I took a deep breath and dialed an emergency call. "Hello, I want to report an attack. Luneth Wildbriar tried to drown me."

It took only ten minutes for Theros to storm into my healing chamber.

Anger showed on his face and the smell of brewed medicine lingered around him. "Ayleth, did you call the hunt patrol?"

"Yes. I have already submitted the viewing crystal footage. The evidence is undeniable."

Theros stepped closer and gripped my chin roughly. "Ayleth, you are still as cruel as ever. She is your sister. She has just recovered and you are already trying to ruin her?"

Then, as if coming back to himself, he released me with clear disgust and took a cloth to wipe his hand clean.

Yes. He always used his so-called mysophobe to keep away from me. Even if he stayed in the same space as me for more than half an hour, he would cleanse the entire room with herbs. I could not stop myself from laughing, tears running down my face. "Theros, I have been lying here for three days with pneumonia! I nearly lost my life!"

Theros turned his face away, uneasy, but still scorned. "You look perfectly fine now. Stop acting. Luneth was ill for three days as well. She has already suffered enough."

"I have already told the hunt patrol to close the case on my way here. I am your mate. This is something I can deal with."

I spent another three nights in the healer’s den, yet Theros never came to see me or even asked about me once.

Meanwhile, Luneth sent me updates of her life with Theros every single day in different ways.

Theros even cooked for her himself, making rich and healthy dishes, saying he had to make up for the three cycles she had lost.

He took her around and watched how the land throughout the Grimmarow Wastes had changed while she was in a coma.

He also took her to the fairy tale theater and watched the fairy tales she had missed for the past three cycles.

***

There were too many to even count.

On the day I left the healer’s den, I got the full draft of the mate bond severance.

I glanced at it and confirmed it without hesitation.

I went home alone, only to find Luneth had already settled in.

She had already thrown all my belongings from the main chamber outside the door.

Luneth carried herself like the mistress of the den, giving orders to the servants. "Ayleth, sorry, you have to move to the servant chamber on the first floor. Theros said he is concerned since I have just recovered and wants me to stay here so he can look after me."

In a few nights, my bond with Theros would be fully broken and I would step my feet out of this place forever.

I had no desire to create more trouble, so I took my belongings and moved to the servant chamber.

I stayed locked inside and avoided Luneth as much as I could. I did not even step out to eat or drink.

Only when midnight came and everything outside fell silent did I leave the chamber to get a drink from the cold chest.

I never thought I would run into a scene that made my spine shiver.

Luneth had drunk too much moon-wine and lost consciousness. Theros supported her as he helped her down from the carriage.

Her hand slowly brushed against his face. "Theros, is there truly no chance for us? Do you truly reject me?"

Her hand lingered, following the lines of his face before slipping against his chest.

For three cycles as his mate, Theros never shared a night with me, not even once and saw me only as someone he opposed.

Once, in my despair, I drank too much.

I gathered the courage, changed into a revealing dark outfit, pushed him onto the bed and tried to claim his attention.

I had only touched his cheek twice when he pushed me away from the bed.

That night, he made me kneel in a tub of cleansing liquid and write lines from a rigid moral code a hundred times.

To this day, the scars from those cleansing liquid burns had not faded.

I thought it was just his so-called mysophobia that made him avoid contact.

In fact, he just refused to let me touch him. These facts proved one thing, he never loved me.

"Luneth, don't go any further."

Theros breathed heavily as he tried to hold back Luneth’s restless move.

Her cheeks burned red, her eyes soft as she called his name, "Theros."

His control broke. He lifted her and rushed into the main chamber.

I could no longer watched them. I returned to my chamber, tears streaming down my face as I clutched the knitted blanket.

Then, a sudden burst of light shone in from outside.

I rushed to pull open the curtains and noticed several male-wolves outside, spying in with viewing lenses.

"So, is she the eldest daughter of Alpha Wildbriar? She is quite an exceptional she-wolf."

"Hey, you've been watching her too long, now give the viewing lenses to me."

"Her sister, Luneth, wasn't a liar. She seems still untouched."

The crude and vulgar voices of these male-wolves reached my ears.

So, Luneth had sent those male-wolves to spy on me. I was about to go upstairs and contront her when low moans came from the main chamber.

"You, the only one I allow to touch me, Luneth, no one else."

My heart went completely numb. I pulled the curtains shut and hid myself beneath the blanket.

The next morning, Theros knocked on my door and called me to join breakfast.

Luneth sat in the dining chamber, dressed in an off-shoulder top, revealing the hickeys on her skin.

"Ayleth, nothing happened between Luneth and me last night, don't get me wrong. I slept in the guest chamber upstairs."

It no longer mattered to me.

"She just needs time. Once she adjusts to the changes of the past three cycles, she'll leave."

With those words, Theros rose from his seat and and went out to deal with urgent pack business.

Once he stepped out, Luneth pushed me hard onto the dining table. "Sister, I heard you are still untouched. I want to check it myself."

I struck Luneth with a strong kick.

She stumbled back in pain. No longer waste the chance, I caught her hair and gave her hard slaps in the face twice.

"Perfect. Now, it's time to deal with you for hiring someone to spy on me and took picture of me last night."

Luneth glanced at me with a grim expression, held her cheek and laughed. "So what? I just hired someone to take pictures of you. You know, you might be traded for a high price, Ayleth. I have been in a coma for three cycles and I just...."

A loud slap rang through the living chamber.

"Luneth, since you've been in a coma for three cycles, you seem to have forgotten the rules of the pack. Then, I will remind you how to behave today."

Her eyes burned with anger. She cried out and summoned the servants. "Are you just watching her bully me? Pin her down!"

I glanced at the servants coldly. "I am the Luna of this pack, Theros's mate. You should remember your place."

The servants froze, looking at me, then back at Luneth.

Luneth only smiled with pride and pulled her collar down to reveal the mark on her skin. "I spent the night with the Alpha. Now do you see who matters more to him?"

The servants rushed over, no longer doubt and pinned me to the ground.

Luneth stood over me and lifted her hand, but she did not strike.

Instead, a cold feeling spread beneath me as she raised the edge of my night robe and took several images.

She, then, ordered the servants to tie me to a chair, forcing me into different poses for her to capture.

If I fought back, a servant would slap me in the face.

Many slaps landed one after another. My body was bruised and my vision slowly blurred.

But it had only begun. Luneth watched me in pain, her face showing cruel delight.

"Only 50 so far. We need 100. Tie her to the post and force her to follow the poses from the pictures. Hurry up."

Just as the post done, they moved me to the bed.

The bed done, they dragged me to the moonlit flower bushes behind the pack den.

In the end, I lost track of how many places they forced me through.

As evening fell across the pack lands, Luneth completed her 100 shots and at last ordered them to release me.

I watched as she finished choosing the images and was about to send them.

I rushed forward, grabbing her and we fell into a fierce struggle. I would never let those images spread across the pack lands.

In the fight, the moon-scented candle on the table was knocked to the floor and the fine fur carpet caught fire at once.

Dark smoke filled the air and the den was soon burning on all sides.

I covered my mouth and nose, trying to crawl out, but a heavy beam fell and pinned me down.

Just then, Theros ran inside. He saw Luneth near the doorway and pulled her tightly into his arms.

I felt the flames burn my skin, pain spreading through my body as I cried out with all my strength. "Theros … please, save me.…"

Theros glanced at me with cold eyes, then turned away and walked out of the fire, carrying Luneth in his arms without a single look back.

I stared at his back as it disappeared into the smoke, my mind growing weak until darkness took me.

***

At the healer’s den.

It felt like my mind was waking, yet my eyes were too heavy to open.

The voices of the pack healers surrounded me.

"Alpha Grimvale, both of them require skin graft treatment, but only one healer can perform it now. Who do you choose to save first?"

The Alpha gave no response.

I struggled hard and at last forced my eyes open.

"Alpha Grimvale, your Luna suffers serious burns over fifty percent of her back. If she doesn't get the treatment soon, the burns on her back will scar her for life. So, I suggest you to save your Luna, Ayleth, first."

Luneth’s voice trembled. "Theros, my hand is burned, 3 centimeters long. It hurts. If it leaves a scar, how will I play the moon harp again?"

Theros drew in a deep breath. "Save Luneth first. I will find another way for my mate."

Tears slipped from my barely opened eyes and they slowly closed again. The last light within them faded.