The moment Bruce saw the letter, he snapped, “What do you think you’re doing, Isadora?” He slammed the letter on the desk, his voice filled with an Alpha’s authority. “Do you think quitting is a game?”

Seraphina stood beside him, gently rubbing his back. “Bruce, don’t be upset. Maybe Isadora is just going through something.”

She turned to me, a flash of triumph in her eyes, though her expression was kind. “Isadora, are you in some kind of trouble? You can talk to us about it.”

Her words made me sick.

She was standing there playing the part of the perfect mate, as if she were already the true Luna of this pack.

“My decision is final,” I said evenly. “It’s all explained in the letter.”

My response only seemed to make Bruce angrier.

He stood up, towering over me.

“Isadora, I made you Beta out of pity. Don’t forget your place.” His voice was ice. “Without me, where would a wolf who doesn’t even know her own parents be?”

His words stabbed me like a knife.

My hands began to shake, but I forced myself to stay calm.

“That’s exactly why I should leave. So I won’t be a burden to you anymore.”

My coldness seemed to infuriate him. I could practically feel his Alpha aura pressing down on me.

“Fine. If you insist on leaving, I accept your resignation,” he said coldly. “But before you officially leave, you have one last duty to perform.”

My stomach tightened. I knew he wouldn’t let me go that easily.

“Tomorrow, you will accompany us to choose the gown for the Luna ceremony.” Bruce issued the order as my Alpha, his voice leaving no room for argument. “This is your final task.”

I knew he was doing it to humiliate me—to make me witness their happiness and drive one last knife into my heart.

But as his subordinate, I had to obey my Alpha’s command.

“I understand,” I said, lowering my head.

Seraphina watched it all, a flicker of jealous hatred in her eyes.

The next day, I went to the custom gown shop as ordered.

The boutique catered exclusively to werewolf nobility. Every gown was priceless.

Bruce and Seraphina were already there, discussing the ceremony gown with the head designer. When she saw me, Seraphina immediately took Bruce’s arm and walked over.

“Isadora, you’re here!” she chirped. “I’m having such a hard time choosing a gown.”

The designer showed her several gorgeous dresses, each one sparkling with precious gems that shimmered like moonlight.

“What about this one?” Seraphina asked, pointing to a silver-white gown. “I think it’s perfect for the Luna ceremony.”

“Absolutely perfect, miss,” the designer gushed. “This is one of our signature designs, made for a Luna.”

“But I’d like to see how it looks on someone,” Seraphina said, turning to me with a malicious glint in her eyes. “Isadora, could you try it on for me? I want to see the overall effect.”

I froze. The dress was custom-made for her. There was no point in me trying it on.

“I don’t think that’s necessary…” I started to refuse.

“Isadora, that is a request from my Luna,” Bruce’s voice cut in, sharp and cold. “You will cooperate.”

I had no choice but to agree.

A sales assistant led me to the fitting room. I robotically changed into the magnificent gown.

It was made for Seraphina’s measurements, and on me, it was a disaster.

The bust was too tight, the waist too narrow. I looked ridiculous and pathetic.

And a cruel realization hit me.

Bruce had never once considered my measurements.

In his mind, I was never the one who would wear the Luna gown.

When I stepped out of the fitting room, Seraphina watched my humiliation with a satisfied smile.

She stepped closer, her voice a venomous whisper only I could hear.

“See? A gown this beautiful will never be yours. Because you’re not worthy.”

The shame of the past eight years, all the little insults and humiliations, boiled over. I couldn’t take her taunting anymore.

“I don’t want this stupid dress anyway.”

I reached behind me to unzip the gown that felt like a cage, but as I did, a loud ripping sound tore through the air.

A seam in the back, which should have been strong, had split wide open.

Seraphina let out a sharp gasp, her eyes instantly filling with tears.

She looked at me with a wounded, innocent expression.

“Isadora, I just wanted you to try it on… How could you? Did you want to ruin our ceremony that badly?”

Faced with Seraphina’s accusation, I tried to explain. “I didn’t do it on purpose. The dress didn’t fit—”

But whispers were already spreading around the shop.

“Oh my god, she ripped the gown on purpose!”

“Do you know how much that costs? How could she ever pay for it?”

“That’s just evil, ruining the future Luna’s gown…”

Trapped under their accusing glares, I felt helpless.

Just then, Bruce rushed over. He saw Seraphina standing there with tears in her eyes and me in the torn gown, and his face turned to thunder.

“What happened?” he demanded, immediately going to Seraphina and pulling her into his arms.

“Bruce…” Seraphina sobbed. “I just asked Isadora to try on the gown for me to see how it looked, but she… she ripped it on purpose.”

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Bruce whirled on me.

His eyes were burning with rage. Without asking a single question, he slapped me hard across the face.

Crack!

The sharp sound echoed in the silent shop.

My cheek stung, a fiery pain spreading across my face, my ears ringing.

“Isadora! How could you do something like this?” Bruce roared, while gently stroking Seraphina’s back to comfort her. “Are you insane?”

I clutched my burning cheek, the pain in my heart far worse than the physical sting.

In eight years, he had never laid a hand on me. But today, for another woman, he hit me without a second thought.

The force of the slap knocked my purse from my shoulder, its contents spilling onto the floor.

Two small, beautifully carved wooden wolves rolled out.

He had carved them for us when we first got together, a symbol of our eternal bond.

I had treasured them for eight years, carrying them with me everywhere.

But now, when Bruce saw them, a flash of panic crossed his face.

As if desperate to erase any connection to me, he raised his foot and brought it down, crushing the small carvings into splinters.

Crunch!

The wood shattered beneath his boot.

“Isadora, you will pay for this gown,” Bruce commanded, his voice like ice. “This custom dress is worth three million dollars.”

Three million.

In eight years of working day and night for him, I had only managed to save one million.

I looked up, trying one last time to explain. “I told you, I didn’t rip it on purpose…”

“I am so disappointed in you, Isadora,” Bruce cut me off. “I know why you did this. You just wanted to be my Luna, didn’t you?”

“Well, let me tell you something. Right now, you’re acting like a jealous, crazy bitch. You can’t even compare to Seraphina. I guess trash blood will always be trash blood.”

Of course. Because of my birth, he’d always looked down on me.

That was the real reason he’d never made our relationship public.

I gave up trying to make him believe me. “I demand to see the security footage to prove my innocence.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would the daughter of a top-tier pack need to frame you?” Bruce refused without a moment’s hesitation.

He turned and wrapped Seraphina in a gentle embrace, his voice softening. “Baby, don’t cry. I’ll have them make you an even more beautiful gown to make up for this.”

“As for you,” he said, his cold gaze returning to me, “after a mistake this big, you can no longer hold any position in this pack. Your resignation is approved. Get out.”

Just like that, my choice to resign was twisted into a humiliating dismissal.

I stared at the shattered remains of the wooden wolves, and the last shred of feeling I had for him died.

I reached up and tore the wolf-fang necklace from my neck. It was the first gift he’d ever given me, a treasure I’d worn for eight years.

As Bruce watched in shock, I threw the symbol of our bond into a nearby trash can.

Clang!

The sound was deafening.

Then I turned and walked away without looking back.

Behind me, I thought I heard him call my name, but in the end, he didn’t follow.

I returned to the home we had shared for eight years and started to pack.

Every piece of clothing in the closet, every book on the shelves, every piece of jewelry on the vanity… I threw it all in the trash.

On the nightstand was a photo of us.

It was from the Full Moon Festival five years ago. Bruce was smiling, kissing my forehead, while I leaned against his chest, my eyes full of happiness.

Now I knew that happiness was just a lie.

I ripped the photo in half and threw it away.

It took me only an hour to erase eight years of my life.

Late that night, as I was getting ready for bed, I heard a key in the lock.

Bruce was back. He reeked of cheap whiskey and Seraphina's signature jasmine perfume, a nauseating mix that clung to the air.

He stumbled towards me, looking for comfort like he always did. “Isadora… my head hurts…”

I pushed him away coldly. “Stay away from me.”

Bruce froze, surprised by my rejection. For the past eight years, no matter when he came home or in what state, I had always taken care of him.

“Isadora, are you still mad about what happened today?” He sank onto the edge of the bed, swaying. “I… I didn’t want to do that to you, but Seraphina, she…”

“Enough,” I cut him off. “Sleep in the guest room. Don’t bother me.”

The next morning, Bruce knocked on my door, holding a glass of warm milk.

He hadn’t yet noticed that the apartment was nearly empty.

“Isadora, I’m sorry,” he said, his face full of apology. “I shouldn’t have treated you like that at the shop yesterday. You know I only did it to calm Seraphina down. I never really expected you to pay for the gown.”

He reached for my hand like he used to, but I pulled away. I didn’t take the milk.

He stiffened, a flicker of unease in his eyes.

Then, he suddenly pulled me into a hard embrace, as if trying to prove something.

“Isadora, three days. Just three more days and this will all be over.”

“You still love me, right?”

I remained silent.

Seeing my silence, Bruce forced a smile. “Tonight, let’s go to the Moon Altar, just like we used to. We haven’t had a date, just the two of us, in a long time.”

The Moon Altar.

The place that was so special to us.

Eight years ago, we made our vows there and buried a stone engraved with our names, a testament to our eternal love.

This time, I nodded. “Okay.”

Bruce let out a visible sigh of relief.

He had no idea my only reason for going was to dig up that stone and end our past for good.

But that evening, a text from Bruce arrived:

“Isadora, I’m sorry. Urgent pack business came up. We’ll have to cancel our date. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

The same old excuse.

Just as I was about to put my phone down, a new post popped up on Wolfgram.

It was from Seraphina.

The picture was an ultrasound, clearly showing a tiny life developing inside her. The caption read: “My little baby, Mommy can’t wait to meet you. And your daddy says everything he has will be yours one day.”

And the very first ‘like’ on the post was from Bruce.

My pup had died alone and unnoticed, while theirs was being celebrated by the world.

So his “urgent pack business” was taking Seraphina to her OB-GYN appointment.

I turned off my phone and took a deep, shaky breath.

That night, I went to the Moon Altar alone.

But as I approached, I saw two familiar figures in the distance.

Bruce and Seraphina were sitting in our spot, nestled closely together.

I hid behind a cluster of trees and listened to their conversation.

“Bruce, this place is so beautiful,” Seraphina’s sickly sweet voice carried on the wind. “No wonder you come here every year.”

“Yeah,” Bruce replied gently. “It’s a very special place to me.”

Then I watched as Bruce walked to the spot where we had supposedly buried our stone eight years ago.

He carefully dug up a stone and wiped the dirt off with a handkerchief.

“This is our promise stone,” Bruce said, his voice full of emotion. “It has our names carved on it. When you left eight years ago, I buried it here. I’ve come back every year to watch over it.”

I squinted, and I could just make out the engraving: “Bruce & Seraphina.”

So… this place was never mine to begin with.

“What about Isadora?” Seraphina asked, her voice tinged with jealousy. “You were with her for eight years, weren’t you?”

Bruce quickly pulled her into a hug, his voice both tender and cruel. “You know she was just a placeholder for you. Why would I ever truly love a low-born she-wolf?”

“As for the stone I had with her…” He waved his hand dismissively. “I tossed that piece of garbage out ages ago.”

Hearing those words again, my heart was too numb to feel any more pain.

The token I had cherished for so long had been thrown away like garbage.

My trip here was pointless.

I wiped away the tears I hadn’t realized were falling and turned to leave.

Back at the apartment, I immediately took out my phone and booked a flight to the Silvermoon Pack.

There was nothing left for me here. It was time to go.

And in three days, at my return ceremony, I was going to give Bruce and Seraphina a “gift” they would never forget.