Chapter 2

I clenched my clothes tighter. Once upon a time, Logan was the person who loved me most, aside from my parents.

He was my father's most trusted Beta deputy.

Since I was ten years old, he had always stood silently behind me.

He said: "My duty is to protect Ella."

When I was a child with a fever of 104 degrees and the pack doctor was helpless,

he carried me thirty kilometers through a rainstorm to find the best physician, staying by my bedside all night.

When our territory was attacked by a bear pack, he shielded me with his body,

letting bear claws tear open his back, blood soaking through his clothes. He endured the pain without a sound, still gently comforting my terrified self.

On my coming-of-age ceremony, my father gave us his blessing. He placed the black wolf fang necklace symbolizing Blake Pack's authority around Logan's neck.

"If you ever change your heart, I won't hesitate to take her away. My daughter has never lacked for people to love her."

Logan clenched his fists and solemnly promised he would never change. He said: "I want to make you the happiest person in the world."

Our relationship was the envy of the entire Northern Wolf Alliance.

One year after our marriage, my father died accidentally during a hunt, and Logan took over all Blake Pack affairs.

Pack business was overwhelming. He collapsed into the hospital several times from exhaustion after taking office.

I felt so sorry for him that I learned to cook, hoping to ease some of his fatigue.

And every time he returned from a hunt, he would bring me a bouquet of my favorite lilies, saying these were flowers filled with love.

He would watch the stars with me and hold me as I fell asleep.

When exactly did everything change?

I think it was probably after he completely transformed into the unquestionable Alpha of Blake Pack.

He began having endless social obligations, spending every day at the Blackstone Club.

When he came home, he reeked of pungent, unfamiliar perfume.

Facing my questioning, he smiled and explained: "It rubbed off from people the cooperating pack leaders brought. Don't overthink it."

He used one clumsy excuse after another, wearing down my unreserved trust time and again.

Until he completely controlled Blake Pack's power and subdued all the elders who opposed him—then he stopped bothering to pretend.

And I foolishly remained immersed in the prison of love he wove for me.

The first time I caught him cheating was at the full moon hunt victory banquet.

At the feast, he was nowhere to be seen for a long time. Pack members had already started gossiping, so I had no choice but to check his location and discovered he was at the pack headquarters.

All along the way, I grumbled about him not taking care of his health. When I pushed open the office door, I was still holding a cake I'd made myself.

But on his desk sat the remains of a candlelit dinner, and clothing was scattered all over the floor.

When I kicked open the door, Logan's face showed not a trace of panic.

He gently covered the person beneath him with a blanket, casually wrapped a towel around himself, and when he looked up at me, his eyes were as cold and indifferent as a block of ice.

"Close the door. If you have no shame, she still does."

His composure made me look like a pathetic clown.

I rushed forward like a madwoman to drag out the mistress, but Logan slapped me so hard I saw stars.

In the chaos, I saw clearly the woman on the bed—

it was the omega nurse who had changed his bandages the last time he'd collapsed into the hospital.

The little nurse was terrified, tears streaming down her face:

"Luna Ella, don't misunderstand. I only came to deliver healing herbs. We had some drinks, and in our confusion..."

Logan pressed his lips together, his cold eyes fixed on me: "Ella, I'm warning you, don't lay a finger on her."

So his lilies filled with love were nothing more than casual compensation after his wild revelries outside.