Chapter 2

Tears welled in my eyes, stinging my vision until everything blurred in a red haze. I didn't fight them. I let the tears fall, because at that moment, there was nothing else left to feel—except the raw, biting pain of betrayal. Lucas noticed and, with a false tenderness, dabbed at the corners of my eyes with a tissue. His touch was soft, but it felt as cold as the lies he had fed me for years.

"Let's head back to the pack house," he said, his voice low and soothing, the kind of tone he used when he wanted to placate me. "I'll handle all of Aunt Amara's arrangements. You don't need to worry about anything."

I nodded numbly, letting him guide me back to the mansion. The Mendoza Pack house loomed ahead, its grandeur a stark reminder of the power Lucas held as Alpha. I hated how it still made me feel small, even after everything. I had been inside this house countless times, but never had it felt so suffocating.

Once inside, Lucas disappeared to freshen up, leaving me alone in the living room. My fingers trembled as I reached for his phone, unlocked with the password I'd long suspected—Marceline's birthday. The wallpaper confirmed it: a photo of the two of them from their academy days, her golden hair gleaming under the moonlight, his arm slung casually around her shoulders.

My stomach churned as I opened his chat history. The screen was flooded with messages mocking me, each one a dagger to my already bleeding heart.

"She cried like a fool, groveling on the ground worse than a rogue," he'd written to her. "I wish you could have seen it. It was priceless."

"Can you believe she actually trusted me to save her mom? What was she thinking? I can't wait to propose to you at the marking ceremony. Do you think she'll completely fall apart?"

Each word was like a knife twisted in my chest. How had I been so blind?

My eyes scanned further, and I found more—so much more. Lucas had been planning everything, from the marking ceremony jewelry for Marceline to the endless transfers of money—each one marked as a gift that would never be reclaimed. My fingers shook violently as I scrolled down.

"This will look stunning on your wrist."

"Why haven't you replied? Should I choose something even more expensive?"

"Marceline, are you mad? I'll come over tonight, okay?"

Every week, without fail, he had transferred a million dollars to Marceline. And I had been too blind to see it. Too stupid.

I chuckled bitterly, the sound hollow in the empty room. My wolf stirred within me, a low growl of anger and pain, but I pushed it down. Now wasn't the time to let her take over.

Casually, I booked a flight to a distant pack three days later and submitted a transfer application to an overseas branch of the pack's business. When Lucas emerged from the shower, I was already in bed, pretending to be asleep. He believed it, of course. He always did.

I heard him slip into the next room, his voice soft and intimate as he spoke to Marceline. His laughter, low and filled with warmth, drifted through the walls. My chest tightened with each laugh, each shared word.

I didn't sleep that night. I couldn't. Every second that passed felt like a betrayal of the worst kind.

At dawn, Lucas finally lay beside me, his arm wrapping around my waist, his lips brushing the corner of my mouth in a fleeting kiss. I stayed still, my eyes closed, my breath even. I had perfected the art of pretending.

My phone buzzed twice, and an email notification lit up the screen. Lucas's voice followed, puzzled. "Overseas branch… You're leaving the pack?"

I quickly grabbed my phone, dismissing the notification. "No," I said, my voice calm despite the storm raging inside me. "It's just a new project that requires some coordination abroad. There's a time difference; I just got a reply, that's all."

"Didn't you say you were going to help me pick out a marking ceremony dress today?" he asked, his tone light, as if he hadn't just been whispering sweet nothings to Marceline. "Go on, get busy."

He didn't press further. He simply pulled me into his arms again, his breath warm against my ear. "Thank you for understanding, my love. I promise you, I'll give you the most extravagant marking ceremony and make you the happiest Luna in the world."

I kept my head down, silent. On my phone, I finalized the arrangements for my mother's funeral. Yesterday, he'd promised with such certainty, yet after a night's sleep, he seemed to have forgotten it all.

I didn't want to ask more. I didn't want to be entangled with him any longer. The bond between us, once a source of comfort, now felt like a chain I needed to break.

As the sun rose, casting a golden light through the windows, I made my decision. I would leave the Mendoza Pack, leave Lucas, and start anew. He could have his perfect Luna in Marceline. I was done playing his pawn.

My wolf growled in agreement, her voice a low, steady presence in my mind. *It's time,* she said. *Let's go.*

For the first time in years, I felt a flicker of hope stir within me. And it felt like freedom.