Chapter 1

I barely escaped with my life to bring back the Lunar Herb from the abyss.

When I returned, I found my husband, the Alpha of our pack, getting intimate with my older sister.

My own son and daughter had been keeping their secret for three hundred years.

My parents rushed to the scene, but only to demand that I step down and give my position as the Alpha's mate to my sister.

I left that house alone and wandered for a century before settling in the Forbidden Shadowlands.

Even the ancient dragons and fierce beasts there followed me around, calling me Mother.

When Silas finally found me, I was already the Sovereign of the Shadowlands, ruling over all spirits.

He looked at me and said, "If you would just be obedient, you wouldn't have to live such a miserable life out here."

Silas bound me and dragged me back home to watch his grand wedding to my sister.

My biological children threw silver daggers at me, telling me to get lost and not to stain their mother's eyes with my presence.

I turned to leave without a word, but that was the moment they finally began to regret everything.

1.

At the bottom of the Shadowlands, the Alpha husband I hadn't seen in a century kicked the hand that held my trowel.

The precious flower seeds I was holding flew out of my grasp and scattered into the dirt.

"Seraphina, is this how you live now that you've left me?"

His eyes were full of nothing but pure disdain.

He was waiting for me to crawl on my knees and beg him to take me back to the Moon-Crest Pack.

I didn't give him the satisfaction of a response.

Instead, I looked at the ruined seeds with a heavy heart.

If the children found out about this, especially Vesper with her short temper, she would probably tear Silas apart.

Elowen, who was standing beside him, reached out to grab me.

"Seraphina, just come back with us. Even if you aren't the Alpha's mate anymore, we will still give you a place to eat and sleep."

"Isn't that better than begging for scraps in this godforsaken hellhole?"

I looked at her with a confused expression.

"I am Silas's lawfully wedded mate. Why would I need you to give me scraps?"

Elowen froze, a flash of guilt crossing her face for just a second.

She was the foster daughter my mother took in, and my mother loved her like her own blood.

I had even stepped aside to let her take the title of the eldest daughter of our bloodline.

But during our Awakening Ceremony, she used a dark ritual to steal my Wolf Spirit, leaving me powerless.

While I was married to Silas, she seduced him behind my back and stayed in his bed for three centuries.

Even the twins I nearly died giving birth to helped her hide it from me all those years.

Thinking about those two ungrateful brats who threatened to kill themselves if I didn't let their "Aunt Elowen" stay, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

"Elowen, you have my husband now, and you're raising my kids to call you Mother. What else do you want? Why come here to bother me?"

Silas's face turned bright red with rage.

"Don't act like you're too good for us! Elowen was the one I was supposed to marry in the first place! She only let you have the spot because she pitied a weak, spiritless loser like you…"

I didn't want to hear another word, so I picked up my trowel and started walking toward my cabin.

Suddenly, a massive force yanked me back from behind.

I looked down to see the Silver Bind sinking deep into my skin, burning me.

Before I lost consciousness, I heard Silas's cold, arrogant voice.

"Fine, if you want to be a beggar here, go ahead. But I won't let you embarrass our children any longer!"

"Besides, Elowen and I are having our wedding, and I need my ex-mate there to witness it."

He didn't see the slight smirk on my face as I closed my eyes.

They had no idea that my two adopted children in the Shadowlands were famous for being the most vengeful creatures in existence.