Chapter 1

1.

My wolf died the day Enzo chose that woman over our unborn pup.

I voluntarily severed the bonds of our partnership―a searing pain that cut deep into my soul. Yet I chose to endure this physical torment rather than continue obsessively tracking every thought of his like a madman.

Now, even when he stumbles home at dawn, reeking of another woman's perfume, my wolf no longer roars. She just curls up in the back of my mind, silently licking her wounds, slowly dying. Just like my love for him.

During a turf war, a silver-laced bullet grazed me. The poison kept the wound from closing.

The pack doctor stood by my bed, his brow furrowed. "Luna, the silver is spreading too fast. You have to call your Alpha through the bond. You need his strength, his scent, or your healing factor can't fight the toxin."

I stared at the pale light on the ceiling, my voice as hoarse as if I'd swallowed sand. "No."

A young nurse changing my dressing flinched, looking at me with awe. "You're... Luna Elena, right? The Alpha is right next door in the VIP suite... with that human girl, Mia. Should I get him?"

I forced a cold smile. "Don't bother."

Half an hour later, the door to my room was slammed open.

The moment Enzo stepped inside, a suffocating Alpha aura flooded the room―the scent of a top predator, mixed with blood and the chill of the forest. He had just returned from dealing with intruders at the border, his killing intent still fresh.

The young nurse whimpered, her legs giving out. She instinctively bared her neck in submission and shrank into a corner. It was the absolute obedience of a low-ranking wolf to their Alpha.

But not me.

"You were hurt. Why didn't you call me?" Enzo stalked toward me, his amber eyes burning with fury. "Is the mate bond just for show? Or do you find this whole 'suffering in silence' act amusing?"

I looked away, toward the withered autumn leaves outside the window. Besides the smell of the forest, he carried the sickeningly sweet scent of gardenias―Mia's scent.

"It's a scratch. No need to make a big deal out of it."

He froze. My calmness, as if I were speaking to a stranger, threw him off. That indifference made him inexplicably furious.

Just as he was about to explode, his Beta's hushed voice came from the hallway.

"The Alpha is really something else, so devoted to that human girl, Mia. She just twisted her ankle, and he used his own energy to soothe her. Carried her all the way back from the forest, like he was afraid her precious feet would touch a speck of dirt."

Enzo's back went rigid. He turned his head to look at me, waiting. Waiting for me to act like I used to―like a jealous harpy, screaming and questioning him about another woman's scent.

But I didn't even blink. I just closed my eyes and leaned back against the pillow.

The silence in his bulletproof Cadillac was deafening all the way back to the estate. As the car drove into the Manhattan night, he finally broke. "Don't listen to those assholes. Mia is just a fragile human. It triggered my protective instincts―it's an Alpha thing, you should understand."

"Hm," I said, my eyes fixed on the glittering neon lights outside.

"'Hm'?" That single syllable lit his fuse. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel. "Elena! What the hell do you want from me? I got rid of all the other women! What more do you want? You want me to get on my knees and beg?"

I didn't turn to look at him. "I don't want anything. Let's just go back to the estate."

That same cold, robotic answer.

Suddenly, the screech of tires tore through the night. A nearby theater was letting out, and a crowd flooded the street. A girl looked up, startled. The moment the Manhattan lights hit her face, the air in the car seemed to vanish.

It was Mia.

Enzo slammed on the brakes, his eyes glued to her. The December wind in New York was brutal. The girl was only wearing a thin performance dress, shivering as she hugged her arms. Her nose was red from the cold, her eyes helpless and lost―like a stray kitten.

Enzo's knuckles turned white as he gripped the door handle. The wolf inside him was roaring, urging him to rush out and protect that fragile creature.

In the past, the scent of this woman would have driven my wolf insane. But now? Nothing.

I pushed the car door open, letting the cold wind rush in. "Go on. Your little pet needs you. A fragile human girl can't handle this weather. I'll get back on my own."

Before he could answer, I turned and walked away.

"Elena!"

He caught up and grabbed my wrist, his grip tight enough to crush bone. "It's over between her and me! Why won't you believe me?"

I stopped and looked back at him, my eyes as calm as if I were looking at a stranger. "I do believe you. It's not easy for a fragile human girl in New York. As the Alpha of this territory, it's only natural for you to show some humanitarian concern. I understand."

Enzo stared into my face, trying to find a crack in my composure―anger, hurt, jealousy, even hate. But he found nothing.

In that moment, for the first time, I saw true panic in his eyes.

How possessive was I before? If he had any scent on him that wasn't mine, I'd grill him all night, tear his entire closet to shreds with my claws. Now, I had finally become the "perfect Luna" he always wanted―quiet, understanding, and tolerant. But he looked like a boulder was crushing his chest, leaving him unable to breathe.

I pried his fingers off me, one by one, and disappeared into the crowd.

At the corner of Fifth Avenue, I stopped and looked back one last time. Next to that black steel beast of a car, Enzo had already taken off his expensive cashmere coat and draped it over Mia's shivering shoulders. He cupped her frozen face in his hands and kissed her deeply. As if he were kissing a priceless treasure he had just recovered.

I wasn't surprised. My wolf didn't even roar. She just buried her head deeper, refusing to watch the sickening scene.

I would no longer scream like I did the first time I caught him, like some maniac from the slums of Brooklyn. "Enzo! Do you have a goddamn heart? I was eighteen when I let you put your mark on me! I fought by your side from nothing to the Alpha's throne! And now you tell me you're tired of a warrior who can stand with you, that you need a fragile woman to satisfy your damn protective instincts?"

That time, he wiped the blood from the scratch I'd given him and sneered, "You want my heart? You're too strong, Elena! You're as strong as a man! Don't forget, I was the one who dragged you out of that hellhole foster system! I've taken care of you for all these years. You should be fucking grateful!"

Those words, sharper than claws and deadlier than silver, had pierced my heart.

The satellite phone in my pocket vibrated, pulling me from the memory. An encrypted line. A deep, authoritative voice spoke. "Lady Elena, the blood tests are confirmed. You are the last heir of the Royal Bloodline. The High Council is waiting for you to come home."

I pulled the sleeve of my coat down, covering the jagged old scar on my wrist. "Ten days. In ten days, the ceremony to dissolve my mate bond with Enzo will be final."

The line was silent for a moment, then the voice returned, tinged with a new respect. "You have suffered all these years in the Blackwood pack. Even with your inheritance and title, you don't have to leave New York―"

"No." I looked at the distant lights of the Met museum and cut him off. "I don't love him anymore. I just want to leave."