I turned away before they could see the emptiness settling inside me.

Each step felt distant, like I was walking outside my own body as I slipped out onto the balcony, breathing in the cold night air.

"Oops is that you sister?" Amelia's voice called out mockingly from behind me.

"If I didn't know better, I would have assumed that was a servant's uniform." Her heels clicked against the marble tiles as she approached me with a smirk, her diamond bracelet catching the light while she scanned my dress from top to bottom.

“Oh my, your have so many scratches on your neck….don’t tell me that day you were really kidnapped and tormented by rogues?”

Her eyes widened like a perfect opera actress as a delicate hand rose to her lips, feigning shock, while her eyes glittered with quiet mockery

“Sister, if they raped you, lets go for a chekup immediately…who knows which dirty thug might have planted his seed in your belly, its better to abort it now-”

“Watch your mouth!” At my dead set eyes glaring at her sharply, Amelia’s eyes gleamed, and she took a leisurely step closer, voice dropping like a blade.

“Angry already? Then maybe this grand news will lighten your mood sister.

Tomorrow on your own freaking wedding anniversary, Dominic is going to marry me. In a week, I will legally become your children’s mother.” She tilted her head slightly, watching me as if savoring the moment.

“If you want, I can definitely make you my maid of honor.” She laughed.

For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything before I lowered my gaze, my fingers trembling faintly at my sides before stilling completely.

“After everything you gave them… how does it feel to be discarded like a common whore?”

“The whore was never me.” I said almost too calm to be breaking from within “If you want Dominic you can have him…. afterall since you treasure my leftovers so much, I will once again throw it your way."

“Leftover?” The haughty smile on Amelia’s lips was wiped out instantly. "Dominic and I were always meant to be!”

“You were nothing but a warm body while I was gone but tomorrow everything is going to change.”

She stepped closer, her composure slipping just enough to show the venom beneath.

"Tommorow Dominic will fuck me in your marital bed." She lifted her chin, triumphant. "On your own loving anniversary we will spend our honemoon in the same bed you made your children."

The words that could have killed me once, now faded into nothing but a dull ringing in my ears.

"That night you were screaming to be rescued from rogues….Dominic was inside me. Sister, it was so damn hot as he grabbed my hair and made me do wild things… god." She grinned.

"He said you were too much of a prude to try such stuff, too vanilla for his liking. That touching your like big breasts he almost thought that it was an animal’s udders…it almost made him puke.”

Something inside me snapped as my wolf surged wildly almost seeing red.

"Mommy!"

The word came from behind me. Small, sweet, desperate.

I spun around.

Alec and Leo stood at the balcony entrance, their faces flushed as tears gathered in their eyes.

My heart lurched with a fragile, desperate hope. My precious children…did they finally came to protect me?

My arms opened instinctively. "My babies-"

But they ran past me straight to Amelia.

They clutched her legs, burying their faces in her white gown. I staggered back, my arms still open as they stood infront of Amelia protectively.

“You are bad! We hate mommy!! Auntie loves us the most!”

My heart splintered as Leo shouted. “She even taught us a special language… we were going to use it to wish you on your birthday-”

His voice faltered for a second before hardening.

“But you don’t deserve it!”

Alec stepped forward clearly annoyed. His voice was clear and rehearsed. as he repeated the words he was taught.

[A slut like Elara will never enter daddy’s heart. She must leave."]

Leo recited next, his small face serious. like he was doing just that for the sake of Amelia.

[After mommy is gone, auntie will make sure we are raised like bastards. Not as heirs. Just the illegitimate children of a lowly prostitute.]

The words melted into my ears like red hot iron.

My entire being froze like I was thrown in an ice cellar.

The language Alec and Leo spoke was foreign. They didn't know what they were saying. They glared up at me as if giving ‘proof’ of how Amelia cared for them and taught them things I couldn’t.

My pupils shook violently as something inside me snapped beyond control.

My hand moved before I could stop it.

A sharp slap cracked across Amelia's face. She staggered back, hand pressed to her reddening cheek, eyes wide with feigned shock.

"I am the Luna of Blood Moon Pack" I said, my voice low and steady. "If anyone here is a mistress, it's you."

Silence.

For a single heartbeat no one moved.

Then Amelia's knees buckled. She crumpled to the ground like a marionette with cut strings, her hand rising slowly to her mouth, fingers trembling as if she couldn't process what had just happened.

"Luna…?" she whispered, faint and fragile, like a practiced actress delivering her finest performance.

Her eyes lifted to mine glassy, shaken, beyond broken. A masterpiece of victimhood.

Then those eyes shifted. Just past my shoulder.

"Dominic…" Her voice cracked, barely above a breath. "What… is sister saying? Did you accept her as your mate? Am I… just a mistress?"

My blood turned to ice.

I spun around.

Dominic stood at the balcony entrance. His face was stone. His eyes black with fury.

I hadn't heard him approach. Neither had I seen the guests gathering behind him, their faces a mix of shock and glee.

"Elara." His voice was low. Deadly. "What did you say to her?"

My mouth opened. "She is lying! She already knew-"

"I didn't mean to cause trouble sister!" Amelia sobbed from the ground, clutching her chest. "I swear I didn't know you became my fiancee’s luna!”

“The arranged marriage you and Mom set up for me five years ago…I won't fight it anymore sister.

Even if the groom is fifty years older than me…. I swear I will obey you!”

The atmosphere froze.

“Really? Then go ahead and marry.” The moment those words escaped my lips, Amelia’s crocodile tears paused, she had expected me to rush out crying and deny the false allegations and yet I gave her nothing.

“Enough.” Dominic's cold gaze lined with disgust pierced through me, the disbelief in his eyes gave way to profound disappointment.

“Everyone leave. The party is over.”

The guests dispersed at once, some casting pitying glances toward Amelia while others looked at me with open contempt.

When the balcony was empty, he turned to me, his voice low and deadly. “So this is what you’ve stooped to. You couldn’t win my favor… so you came after her instead!”

“Are you going to be swayed by every single sentence she says Alpha Dominic?” My cold response chilled the atmosphere.

“Amelia came to provoke me herself, even going as far as to call our children ‘illegitimate bastards’. You can simply check the surveillance stone and see what I am saying is true.”

Anticipating potential trouble, I took plenty of precautions of installing several extra surveillance stones and sure enough, they had now proven their worth.

Amelia clearly had not anticipated such a contingency, a flicker of panic flashed through her eyes.

The moment Dominic noticed this, and a look of suspicion clouded his gaze.

Just then, Alec and Leo like a pair of protective little cubs stepped forward to shield Amelia with their bodies.

Their childish voices rang out, firm and unwavering:

"No need to check the surveillance stones! Its true we were called bastards!" My heart almost sighed before the next words detonated like a bomb.

"But it wasn’t auntie who called us that, it was mom!"

My eyes widened before my entire being trembled as if shrouded with disbelief.

“Bad mommy!” Alec shouted, his face red with fury. "You hurt Auntie! It was you who told us that if we follow Auntie we will be called illegitimate!”

Leo pushed me back with his tiny hands,. "Go away! We don't want you! Auntie is good. You're bad!

We won’t let Auntie marry that old man!"

In their innocent, childish voices, they uttered the cruelest of lies.

And in doing so, they completely extinguished the last embers of love still lingering in my heart.

“Shutup!” I admonished sharply, raising my voice at the children for the first time making them cower back, stumped that the mother who always listened to their tantrums would finally snap.

“Amelia, that marriage alliance you are framing me for was surely accepted by mom, but it wasn’t for you! It was for me!”

"Enough of your lies!" Dominic snapped, cutting me off with a sharp rebuke.

"Our sons are only a few years old why would they lie? Furthermore, who in this entire pack is not aware of your fucking obsession with me since childhood. Let alone marriage, you cannot even survive a day without me!”

“You really think I can’t live without you?” I let out a faint, humorless breath, my lashes lowering for a moment before I looked at him again, as if seeing him clearly for the first time.

“Let alone fight her over you…”A soft scoff slipped past my lips.

“I would rather throw you away myself-”

Before the last word even settled

Smack.

The force snapped my head to the side, my body losing balance as I crashed onto the floor, blood trickled from the corners of my mouth resembling nothing so much as bloody tears.

For a second, I didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

Only the sharp ringing in my ears remained and the stunned silence that followed.

Dominic’s hand was still raised in the air when he looked at my wide shivering irises that trembled as his limbs froze with the gravity of what had transpired.

All my life, not once had my parents raised their hands at me. All throughout our marriage Dominic never once physically abused me and yet tonight for the sake of Amelia…he even crossed that limit.

“Elara…you…it was an accident.”

The humiliation was horrifying as the hot tears trailing my eyes presented a blurry image of my mate that fathered two of my children looking at me with a guilty expression.

Amelia innocently sobbed with her palms covering her mouth. "Oh my god, I..It was never my intention to create a rift between you...I cannot believe I caused harm to my sister."

“Elara,” Dominic whispered unsure “Listen to me, if you apologise to Amelia, I will forget this incident and we can act like nothing happened at all.”

“No! This..I never wanted this sister.” Amelia’s eyes flashed with provocation as she sobbed before running away like she was an innocent preson who got bullied until the end.

“Amelia!” Dominic immediately called before throwing me his last words of so called ‘sympathy’.

“Elara, go home and apply some medicine. You have disappointed me alot so whatever happens after this is your fault.” Like a master commanding his slave he left me behind as he went searching for his true-love without looking back even once.

Two childish voices drifted as I barely stood, my body still reeling from the aftershocks.

"Brother, Mommy looks so miserable. Do you think what we did was a little too mean?"

"No. Dad said we only have one real mom and that is Auntie Amelia, this woman just took our real mom’s place and drove her out."

"That’s true! Besides, she loves us so much, she will forgive us soon. Come on, let’s go find Auntie Amelia..."

The voices faded into the distance as I walked back to the Alpha’s mansion, the cool evening air caressing the deep wounds on my chest as I looked at the place I gave five years of my life and slowly took off the family potrait that I had so lovingly decorated my ‘home’ with.

I packed my stuff wordlessly completely emptying the master bedroom as a single call stole the breath from my lungs:

“Elara” My mother cried on the other end “Your dad has come back to the White Luna Pack and thanks to you he has been showing signs of waking up!”

The phone call from my mother burned a hope in my chest that was once long forgone. Without waiting for the next day, I immediately summoned the elder’s council for an emergency meeting.

The Council chamber was cold.

Seven elders sat in a semicircle, their faces carved with age and tradition. They had crowned me Luna five years ago. Now I walked in alone as I placed my final command on the table.

[WHITE LUNA PACK AND BLOOD MOON PACK SEPERATION DECREE]

"I am taking all my territories back." I said. "White Luna Pack is no longer under Dominic. I will rule it myself."

The elders shot to their feet, panic flashing across their wrinkled faces.

"Luna Elara, you cannot do this!" Elder Marcus's voice cracked. "You are still our Luna. The pack needs you! If not for you many alliances would have fallen apart!"

"Amelia is a human" another elder added quickly. "She will die within decades. How can you give up a bond chosen by the Moon Goddess herself? Even if Alpha Dominic took your crown, he has not touched your Luna seal. Not once. You will have your position back soon-"

I raised my hand.

Silence.

"It's just a matter of time." I said quietly, "before he gives even that to Amelia."

The elders exchanged helpless glances.

I looked at each of them. "And a mate like Dominic…" I let the words hang. "I would rather live mateless."

No one spoke.

I casually tossed my Luna seal along with a package. "Tommorow, I am returning to my White Luna Pack. This is not a request."

I turned and walked out, behind me, the chamber erupting in frantic whispers.

The next day, the moment Dominic returned home, he instructed the servants to pack his luggage.

“Elara, I am going to formally take Amelia as my second wife. I am merely cleaning up the mess you created.”

He frowned as he looked at me.

“If you were not consumed by jealousy and made Amelia so shocked that she fell ill, I would have slowly explained everything to her and things would have gone back to how it was.

But your mother went as far to arrange a marriage for her? I will not sit idly and see her life being ruined. If there is anyone to blame then blame yourself.”

Alec and Leo slipped in the living room, their eyes darting between me and Dominic like they were watching a show.

Seeing my gaze fall upon them, Alec offered a half‑hearted apology. "Don't be sad, Mom. If you allow Auntie Amelia to live with us, we will love you more."

Leo nodded seriously, his small brows furrowed.

“Yeah. If you keep making trouble, we might even stop calling you Mommy.”

Contrary to Dominic's expectations I neither bursts in tears nor did I fell upon my knees to reconsider the decision.

Once the words that would have made me vomit blood now only spread through my veins like a dull ache.

“I understand.” I replied slowly making Dominic scowl, a trace of impatience surfacing in his eyes.

“What is this now? Is this another one of your attention‑seeking tricks-”

“No” I cut him off quietly. For a moment, even I was surprised at how steady my voice sounded.

“I think… I have already stood in the way of you and Amelia long enough.”

A faint breath left me, almost soundless.

“So this time, I won’t come between you….just that…today is also our anniversary so can you give me a little time as well?”

Those words came out as a shock making my husband of five years falter.

For a long moment, Dominic didn't speak. He just stood there, frozen, his eyes finally moving past me to the table behind.

To the lavish feast I had spent hours preparing. Every dish he loved, still warm with steam rising and in between them all a large home-made cake saying ‘Happy Anniversary.’

Dominic’s face contorted to that of guilt and shame when he saw me limping while I set the dishes for him.

Unknown to him, we sat down for our last lunch together as husband and wife as our children followed suit.

“Elara…I was too angry yesterday…is your wound alright?” I hummed making him continue.

“There is no need to take what happened yesterday to heart. Even after marrying Amelia, your position as the primary wife remains unchanged. Even the Luna position will come back to you in due time-"

“I went to see the healer this morning.” My fingers traced the edge of the table absentmindedly, my tone calm as I lied to Dominic for the first and last time.

“I thought… after everything that happened, I should at least understand her condition better but…”

I lifted my gaze, meeting his eyes steadily.

“They said her body is still extremely fragile and one more shock can push my sister into coma again.”

"What are you getting at?" Dominic stiffened.

"Amelia." I let the name hang. "She will feel the bond between us and ‘It will break her heart." I threw back the words he had often used to stab my heart right at him.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. For the first time, something like uncertainty flickered across his face.

"Then what do you suggest?" he asked slowly. "You think I haven't considered that-"

“I have a solution though.” I let the silence stretch before I spoke, each word clear as glass.

"How about I reject you?"

The moment those words left my lips, Dominic’s expression darkened abruptly, as if a bolt of lightning had struck straight through him.

“Reject?-”

His voice faltered for the first time.

But I didn’t give him the chance to refuse.

“Of course… it’s only temporary.” I continued calmly, my fingers still resting against the edge of the table as if I was merely discussing something trivial.

“Once Amelia recovers from her heart condition, we can always go back to how we were right? Afterall....didn't you say werewolves live for thousands of years and we have all eternity...just the two of us?"

Dominic’s expression plummeted further, the conflict in his eyes deepening as his fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the table, as if he was trying to grasp onto something that was slipping out of his control.

For a long moment, he didn’t speak.

I didn’t wait for his answer.

Silently, I reached out and placed more of his favorite dishes onto his plate, my movements steady, practiced just as they had been for the past five years.

“Eat before it gets cold.” I said softly, as if nothing significant had just been discussed.

Alec and Leo brightened instantly, the earlier tension melting away as I served them as well, carefully separating the portions the way they liked, removing the spices Leo hated, adding extra sauce for Alec.

Everything exactly the way they preferred.

Dominic’s gaze lingered on the table.

Only then did it seem to fully register.

Every single dish was according to his taste and the children’s. Not a single one was for myself.

Even the plate in front of me held seafood- his favorite, something I had always been allergic to.

Yet, without a word, I picked up my chopsticks and took a bite. The faint sting spread across my tongue almost instantly, my throat tightening subtly, but I didn’t pause and continued nibbling on it despite the uncomfortable feeling making my skin red.

Across the table, Dominic stilled, a flicker of something unreadable crossed his eyes.

Wasn’t this how I had always been?

From the very beginning I had molded myself around him and the children, providing everything they needed.

I had loved them enough to erase myself completely.

‘Of course…I would do this’ his eyes spoke clearly as he glanced at me. ‘Of course, I would agree to the marriage if it means to keep him by my side.’

The tension in his shoulders eased, just slightly.

Only then did he believe me.

The silence stretched between us, thick and fragile, like glass about to shatter before he finally nodded.

“…It’s just temporary.” he muttered under his breath, almost as if reassuring himself more than anyone else.

I smiled faintly yet it was all hollow.

"I, Elara Quinn, reject Alpha Dominic Vale as my mate and alpha."

The words fell into the air like a quiet verdict.

For a split second everything stilled.

Then a sharp, searing pain tore through my chest, spreading like wildfire through my veins as the bond between us trembled violently.

Across from me, Dominic stiffened, his wolf howling in agony as he gritted his teeth barely able to sit straight.

“…I accept.” His voice came out lower than usual, restrained, as if forcing the words out.

After the meal, I bid the children farewell.

I hugged Alec. He didn't hug back, his body stiff, his arms at his sides.

I kissed Leo's forehead. He wiped it off when he thought I wasn't looking.

As I turned to leave, I heard their whispers.

"Mom really is stupid; she fell for our trick again."

"She loves us so of course she will always listen to us! Just thinking of us not calling her ‘mommy’ again would make her sad immediately."

My heart cracked. But this time I merely smiled before taking off my wedding ring and throwing it into the thrash before I took my suitcase and walked out of the mansion.