Chapter 2

Chloe POV:

Seraphina covered her mouth, a choked sob escaping her trembling lips as she stared at me in horror.

She knew exactly what a sleeping inner wolf meant for a female in our society. It meant permanently losing the ability to shift, losing werewolf vitality, and most fatally—permanently losing the ability to bear children.

But she still didn't want to give up just like that. Even if I had lost my inner wolf and couldn't bear children, in her eyes, I was still a hundred times better than a Rogue like Maya.

She grabbed my hands tightly and pleaded, "Chloe, please, stay for just a few more days. Maybe Kael will come to his senses."

"Just give me seven days!"

"If that bastard still refuses to turn back after seven days, I will personally escort you out of the territory and transfer twenty percent of the Pack's corporate shares to your name."

I paused. Twenty percent of their massive corporate empire's shares was an astronomical fortune. And my own family, the Silver Crest Pack, was currently facing severe financial troubles.

For the sake of my parents, and out of respect for this elder who had treated me like her own daughter for the past five years, I gave a stiff nod.

Leaving the main mansion, I drove along the winding mountain road to the summit villa—the place Kael and I once called home.

However, when I pushed the heavy doors open, a chaotic and humiliating sight greeted me.

All my personal belongings—clothes, jewelry, my favorite books, and even my intimate undergarments—were casually piled in a corner of the spacious living room like trash, completely exposed under the glaring sunlight.

The unique scent of vanilla and morning dew that once marked this territory as mine had been completely scrubbed away, replaced by a pungent, sour scent of wildflowers.

I stood there, a wave of bitter irony washing over me.

I walked up the luxurious staircase and arrived at the master bedroom.

The heavy oak doors were wide open.

The elegant silk sheets I had carefully chosen were gone, replaced by cheap, glaring pink bedding. And there, right beside the bed, stood a brand-new wooden crib.

Kael walked up, holding Maya gently by the waist.

When Maya saw me, her face stiffened. She explained cautiously, "Miss Chloe, I thought you weren't coming back..."

Kael's lips curled into a smirk, his eyes holding a degree of absolute certainty. "How could she possibly bear to give up the position of Luna?"

I looked at them quietly.

The brief sourness that had risen in my chest from seeing my room taken over vanished into thin air.

I suddenly thought to myself, the man I once loved was already completely unrecognizable. So what did this master bedroom, where I had lived for five years, even matter?

"Seraphina asked me to stay for a few days. I'll be gone once the time is up," I stated, my voice completely hollow and devoid of emotion.

Hearing my icy, indifferent tone, Kael's jaw tightened sharply, a flash of extreme irritation crossing his handsome face.

He was already used to my unreserved devotion, not this dead, empty stare.

"Suit yourself," Kael scoffed coldly, pulling Maya closer on purpose to provoke me. "But don't delude yourself into thinking you can still be my Luna. Maya is the only female I will spend the rest of my life with."

I didn't waste another breath on them.

I turned around, picked up a few pieces of my discarded luggage from the living room, and moved into a cramped, windowless guest room at the end of the hallway.

The room was damp and cold, but I didn't care. I was only staying for those shares.

Having lost my inner wolf to regulate my body temperature, the chill seeped deep into my bones. I curled up under a thin blanket and eventually fell into a heavy, exhausted sleep.

In the middle of the night, I woke up thirsty and got up to drink some water.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open by a furious Kael. His eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed my neck in a death grip, interrogating me fiercely:

"Chloe, didn't I tell you not to lay a hand on Maya?!"

"You're so jealous of her pregnancy that you actually left Wolfsbane incense in the master bedroom! Are you trying to kill her and our child?!"

I couldn't breathe, my mind going completely blank.

I struggled to explain, "It wasn't me..."

My things had already been moved out, and I never used incense anyway. How could I possibly leave something like that behind?

But the furious Kael wouldn't listen at all, his gaze terrifyingly cold.

"I'll give you one last chance to explain!"

I opened my mouth, wanting to say I didn't do it. But looking at the icy coldness in the man's eyes, my heart still ached uncontrollably.

My head was spinning, my neck throbbed with agonizing pain, and a wave of suffocation washed over me.

I suddenly felt, what was the point of explaining? He wouldn't believe it.

Just as he had already determined that I was a scheming, malicious woman.

My struggling hands slowly dropped back to my sides.

I closed my eyes, a single tear sliding down my cheek, and completely gave up the resistance.

"I have nothing to confess. Believe whatever you want," I whispered hoarsely, my heart entirely dead. "If you want to kill me, just do it. Put me out of my misery."