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"Explain?" I laughed again, tears streaming down my face. "Explain what? How you maintained your mate bond with me while keeping another family on the side? Or explain how you treated me like a fool and lied for five whole years?" I moved closer until we were less than an arm's length apart. I could smell that familiar oakmoss scent on him, but now it only made me sick. He just stared at me blankly, unable to say a word. I raised my hand and poked his solid chest with my finger. "You want me to keep playing your devoted Luna, standing by your side, helping you secure your Alpha position so you have time to deal with your dirty personal life?" I stared into his eyes, enunciating every word. "Henry, listen carefully. Our deal is over. You tore up the contract. I don't owe you anything anymore. Your mess? Explain it to the elders yourself. From this moment on, I, Clara Grayson, have nothing to do with you or your dam* pack." I pulled my hand away , turned to leave, but Henry's arm yanked me back. "You're just going to walk away like this?" he growled, real fear showing in his eyes for the first time. "You want to destroy everything I've built? In three days, Frost Moon Pack is sending people for an inspection. This affects our partnership with them. Jax, that old fox, hates betrayal more than anything. If he finds out about this scandal, the whole deal falls apart! My ambitious brother Leo is just waiting to catch me screwing up so he can kick me off the Alpha throne! Are you really going to walk away now and burn down everything I’ve built?! " My wolf laughed mockingly in my head. "So now you suddenly remember your Alpha reputation? Now you remember the dangers lurking in your pack?" I stepped forward, enjoying the panic flashing across his face. "Tell me, Henry! When you were in bed with that woman, why didn't you think about this? When you were holding your two-year-old illegitimate daughter, did your power-hungry brother also disappear from your mind? You destroyed all of this! You're the one who proposed ending the mate bond! And now you're turning around and blaming me, angry that I won't stay and clean up your mess?" I laughed, the sound dripping with contempt. "What does any of this have to do with me?" My callousness finally provoked him. He grabbed my arm so hard I thought he'd crush my bones. "I didn't want it to be like this. Why are you forcing my hand , Clara? Why are you even accusing me?" he growled. I felt the sharp pain in my arm, but my heart was filled with cold satisfaction. "What? Want to kil* me right here, Alpha Henry?" I met his gaze with a contemptuous smile. "Go ahead. What are you waiting for? You've already kil*ed my soul. What difference does destroying this body make?" Shock flashed across his face. "I would never hurt you, Clara." "He's lying!" Lucy roared in my mind. "He's already shredded our mate bond, and now he dares say that? Bite through his throat!" "Don't waste your breath, Henry. Save your pathetic performance," I said, my eyes full of unconcealed disgust. "You make me sick to my core." I whipped around and ran like I was escaping hell itself. I moved so fast that everything around me blurred into streaks of light. The air burning into my lungs felt like kn*ves scraping my throat, but this pain was exactly what I craved right now. "Faster! Go faster!" Lucy screamed. "Leave his scent, his lies, that coward's face behind!" I don't know how long I ran until every muscle was screaming and my lungs felt like they'd explode. My legs finally betrayed me, and I collapsed to my knees in the sand. I looked up and realized fate had brought me to our beach—where we'd been happy. The memories I'd been suppressing crashed over me like a flood. Henry carrying me over his shoulder, me screaming as he ran us into the ocean. Him holding me close, whispering in that dam* tender voice that could drown you, "You're mine, always mine"... Always. That word was a joke now. I walked step by step toward the ocean, letting the icy water swallow my legs. That bone-deep cold was the only thing I could feel right now—a numbness that could cover the agony of a shattered soul. Then, through my daze, I heard Henry's voice. "Clara!" An arm like an iron vise locked around my waist, yanking me out of the water. The force nearly broke me in half. Henry dragged me onto the shore, his breathing heavy and ragged, his eyes burning with fury. "What the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to d*e?!" My wolf scoffed. D*e? For him? What a joke. I looked up at his enraged face, and a dry, hoarse laugh scraped out of my throat. "Henry, don't flatter yourself." The bewilderment on his face was obvious. His hero-saves-the-day pose crumbled, looking ridiculous. He probably expected to find some crying, heartbroken woman begging him to take her back. Instead, he got me looking at him like he was trash. "Then what were you doing?" His voice was full of confusion and suppressed rage. "If something happened to you right in front of me, how would I explain it to both packs?" I pulled free from his grip. The cold air cleared my head completely. I looked at him—this man I'd loved for over twenty years, this mate I thought I'd spend my life with. In that moment, I finally saw him clearly, like he was a stranger. He didn't love me. He simply had no capacity to love anyone. To him, everything was leverage, duty, power. And I was just the perfect tool to consolidate his position—a tool he wanted to discard but realized he still needed for now. "You want a deal, is that it?" I asked, watching his stunned expression. I spoke clearly. "Fine. I'll give you a chance to make a deal. I'll keep playing your Luna until you, the great Alpha Henry, personally deliver that dissolution document sealed by the Council of Elders to me. Until then, I'm still Crescent Moon Pack's Luna, your mate in name. That's it." He stepped forward, almost instinctively grabbing my wrist, his eyes flooding with joy. "You...you mean it?" "I never lie. But I need you to pay me ten million as compensation for playing along with your act." I jerked my wrist free and warned him, "And you'd better keep your dick in your pants. Don't let me smell that woman's scent again—not even a trace. Otherwise, I can't promise my wolf won't tear out your throat while you sleep." "No problem," Henry agreed readily and wrote out a check. We had a contract marriage. Henry falling for someone else wasn't surprising. I'd been willing to part ways amicably, leave with dignity. But he shouldn't have been sleeping with that woman while making me pretend to be his Luna to protect his reputation and position. I felt worthless. And I felt bad for Emily too. The reason I chose to stay in his pack and play this charade wasn't for the money. I wanted to expose his true face when he felt most secure. But Henry thought I couldn't let go of him. He was smug about it. Henry wanted to drive me back, but I refused. "I'll take the train myself," I said, my voice cold as Sicily's winter wind. "I don't want to spend another second with you." I caught a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, but it didn't matter anymore. I didn't give him another chance to speak. I turned and walked away. The train flew along the tracks. The scenery outside the window rushed past, blurring into meaningless patches of color. My heart felt just like that chaotic view—a mess of emotions. Everything from the past was truly gone. That boy who used to laugh behind me, that mate who'd made eternal vows before the Moon Goddess—they both d*ed today. On the train, I tore up that check. Right then, I got another text from that unknown number. It said: [Clara! I miss you so much.] I frowned, sick of this harassment. I deleted the message and blocked the number. When I got back from Sicily, I ran into two young she-wolves coming out of the break room. They were whispering and giggling, excitedly discussing a new wolf who'd arrived at the pack. "His muscles should be illegal. I heard he's from Frost Moon Pack, here for the inspection." When they saw me, their laughter d*ed immediately. They straightened up, bowed their heads respectfully, and quietly murmured, "Luna." I nodded coldly. Luna. That title sounded like a sarcastic label stuck on me now. But soon, I'd tear it off myself. "The Frost Moon Pack's inspection isn't supposed to be for another three days, is it?" I asked. One of the she-wolves explained, "The Frost Moon representative said if he came at the scheduled time, we'd have everything prepared and there'd be nothing to inspect." I had to smile. That was so typical of Frost Moon Pack's style. When I pushed open the door to the council hall, Sara rushed over, holding a coffee cup. She was my right hand in handling pack affairs and one of my few friends in Crescent Moon Pack. Sara leaned close to my ear with barely contained excitement. "Oh my God, Clara, did you see him? That man from Frost Moon Pack...he's like walking testosterone!" She gave me a knowing look and then disappeared into the break room. Judging by the way she was practically drooling, I could already picture what this man looked like—probably just another textbook case of masculine perfection, broad shoulders, narrow waist, radiating raw power... I was so done with it all. Sara rushed back over, looking me up and down with concern before whispering, "Henry really wore you out last night, huh?" Oh, Sara got that right. He wore me out all right. He'd hollowed out my soul, leaving nothing but an empty shell. Thinking about Henry made nausea surge up my throat. I almost threw up on the spot. I forced the bitter taste down, my voice hollow and strange even to my own ears. "It's nothing. Just didn't sleep well." The gossipy excitement on Sara's face vanished instantly, replaced by genuine worry. "Are you sure? You look...terrible." I shook my head. "I'm fine." Right as I looked up, I saw the man Sara had called "walking testosterone." He was leaning lazily against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. His well-tailored suit outlined perfect muscle definition. His hair was dark gold, falling casually over his forehead, above a pair of smiling green eyes—like forest lakes, clear and dangerous. When he saw me, his face broke into a smile that was almost too bright. He greeted me with easy familiarity. "Hey, Clara, long time no see." I froze. The man in front of me was no longer the awkward boy from my memories. His features were sharper now, his jawline hard, his body tall and imposing, radiating an unmistakable Alpha presence. When he smiled, he was like the midday sun—dazzling enough to blind you. But I knew there was a cunning wolf hiding behind that sunshine. By calling out to me like that, he'd turned everyone's attention on me like spotlights, full of curiosity and speculation. They couldn't imagine I actually knew someone from Frost Moon Pack. Under their curious stares, he sighed dramatically, his voice dripping with mock hurt. "Ah, looks like my Clara doesn't remember me anymore." Of course I remembered him. Ryan. I just never imagined Ryan would reappear in my life, especially not at this moment when my world had just collapsed. I'd met him when he was a fifteen-year-old boy—three years younger than me. His father had sent him to Moon Lake Pack for training. He'd declared in front of everyone that someday he'd become Frost Moon Pack's Alpha and make me his Luna. Everyone treated it as a joke—except Henry. Henry hadn't given him a pleasant look for an entire week after that. Now, that kid had grown up. He stood there, confident as the sun itself. And I had just crawled out of hell with a shattered soul. The irony was almost perfect. "Ryan, long time no see," I said with a smile. When he saw me hesitate before saying his name, his sunny smile froze for a second, but quickly recovered. "Wow, you had to think that long just to remember my name? Clara, you're really breaking my heart." He dramatically placed a hand over his chest where solid muscle pushed against his tight shirt, impossible to ignore. He stepped forward, too close. A clean, crisp cedar scent wrapped around me, making me want to sink into it. An uncontrollable feeling gripped my heart, making me instinctively want to back away. But my wolf, Lucy, was excited. She said she felt a de*dly attraction. That was... The bond of fated mates! "Good to see you again." Ryan lowered his voice, those eyes gleaming. "We should find time to really 'catch up.'"