On the day I was released from prison, rain poured from the sky as I followed my husband to the cemetery to pay respects to our daughter. Rain hammered against the tombstone. Damian Blackthorne, Alpha of the Black Wolf Clan, suddenly spoke in a voice so calm it was almost cruel. “The day our daughter Elsie drowned, I was the one who had the image crystal by Moon Lake destroyed.” I froze where I stood. The next second, I turned and met my son’s eyes. There was not a trace of guilt in them. Aiden’s tone was careless, almost light. “I was the one who testified that you abused my sister. I cleared Celeste Mom of suspicion.” The torment of more than a thousand days and nights in prison was nothing compared to the agony of this truth ripping me open. A metallic sweetness surged up my throat. I grabbed Damian by the collar and screamed hysterically, “What did I ever do wrong? Why would you do this to me?” My son let out a soft laugh. “My sister is already dead. What, were we supposed to let Celeste Mom go to prison?” “You were just a useless Luna who couldn’t do anything. So what if you spent a few years in jail?” Damian pried my fingers off one by one, his voice cold. “I gave you the respected title of Luna, admired by everyone. But Celeste is pitiful. Even after giving birth to Pearl for me, she still can’t let anyone know about it, and she has to be cursed as a shameful mistress who can never be seen in public.” “So, Evelyn, as long as you stop making things difficult for Celeste and her daughter, I won’t send you back in a second time.” … I collapsed in front of my daughter’s grave, feeling as if I had fallen into an ice cellar. Damian bent down and brushed the rain-soaked hair from my face. “Evelyn, you were the one who insisted on having someone investigate Celeste.” “So I arranged for someone to teach you a lesson. I wanted you to behave.” “But I didn’t expect them to go too far and leave you disabled.” The dull sound of iron rods smashing into bone exploded in my ears all over again. That day, I had just found a clue that Celeste was the one who drowned my daughter. I was about to find Celeste and make her pay when a group of wolf guards pinned me to the ground. Again and again, they brought their rods down on my legs. In a pool of blood, I used the last of my strength to crawl, inch by inch, toward the door. “Help me…” But all that remained in the corridor was the sound of footsteps growing farther and farther away. The pain and despair from that day were still vivid in my mind. I took a deep breath and looked at the son standing before me. All I felt was strangeness. And cold. My son looked at me coldly as I collapsed in the mud and rain. “Stop acting like you’re the victim.” “Celeste Mom was about to hold her harp recital then. You were the one who insisted on making trouble for her.” “Father didn’t even want to do anything at first. You forced him.” My own flesh and blood was speaking for my enemy. The last string in my mind snapped completely. I forced myself to stand and slapped my son hard across the face. The crisp sound of the slap cut through the roar of the rain. My son covered his face, stunned. Damian suddenly reached out and shoved me away. “Evelyn Hawthorne, why are you hitting a child?” I crashed into the tombstone. Blood mixed with rainwater and streamed into my eyes, staining the whole world red. Two wolf guards lifted me up and dragged me into the car, taking me back to the Blackthorne Pack estate. Damian pushed an adoption contract in front of me. “Pearl will be adopted under your name.” Pearl Blackthorne. His daughter with Celeste. I swept everything off the coffee table, my eyes bloodshot. “Damian, you want me to acknowledge the daughter of my enemy? Dream on.” “She killed Elsie! I will never raise that bastard!” Shattered porcelain sliced across the back of my hand. Blood dripped onto the carpet. Damian frowned and pressed a handkerchief against my bleeding wound. “Evelyn, stop making a scene.” “As long as you can be a little more generous and accept Celeste and her daughter…” “You will still be the mate I love most. The position of Luna will always be yours.” Nausea churned violently in my stomach. I yanked my hand back. Damian’s face darkened. “Evelyn Hawthorne, you need to calm down.” “When you’ve thought this through, you can come out and talk to me.” He turned and left the room. The door slammed shut behind him. Silence returned. Blood continued to bead from my hand, taking with it the last trace of warmth in my heart. I immediately booked a ticket to the Southern Territory. A home like this I would never return to it again.
The servants’ voices drifted in from outside the door. “Alpha is so good to Miss Pearl. Tomorrow’s adoption banquet is even grander than the mating ceremony he held with Luna back then.” “But isn’t tomorrow Miss Elsie’s death anniversary? Why would Alpha choose that day?” “A young lady who wasn’t loved only deserves that kind of treatment. Don’t waste your pity on her. Just remember, tomorrow’s banquet will be broadcast live across the whole city. From now on, the Blackthorne Pack will have only one young lady.” My nails dug into my palm, cutting through flesh. Blood seeped out. On Elsie’s death anniversary, Damian was going to trample over his own daughter’s remains to throw a grand banquet for the daughter of her murderer. Not long after, the bedroom door opened. Damian placed a cup of warm milk gently by my bedside. “Evelyn, I’ve asked someone to contact the best bone-healing therapist in the Northern Territory.” “Your leg can still be treated. I’ll arrange the healing ritual for next week.” He reached out, wanting to touch my hair. I slapped his hand away. The tenderness on Damian’s face vanished. His voice turned hard. “I’m thinking of you in every possible way. I found you the best healer.” “How much longer are you going to keep making trouble?” I looked at him coldly. “Thinking of me? By having my legs beaten until they broke?” “Thinking of me? By covering for the murderer who killed our daughter?” Damian sighed, his tone helpless. “You spoiled Elsie too much. She was only a child, yet she pointed at someone and called her a slut.” “Celeste had been insulted by her, and all she did was push her once. Who knew she would fall into the lake?” “To this day, Celeste still blames herself. She is already suffering enough.” “You can’t put all the blame on her.” It felt as if my heart had been torn apart, leaving me almost unable to breathe. To protect that murderer, he was actually throwing filth on a five-year-old child. When I was eighteen, I lay on the floor covered in blood. At my feet was the corpse of my abusive father. Beside him was my mother, who had just slit her wrists and died. Damian had rushed in and pulled my trembling body into his arms. “Don’t be afraid, Evelyn. From now on, I’ll protect you with my life.” But now, the cruel face before me had turned all that love into stagnant water. “Damian, dissolve our mate bond.” “I’ll let you have your happy ending with her.” “I only ask to take Elsie’s ashes with me.” Damian fell silent. His expression grew more and more terrifying. In the end, he let out a cold laugh. “Dissolve the bond? Don’t even think about it.” “Tomorrow’s adoption banquet—you will attend as Luna.” “If you dare refuse, you will never know where Elsie’s real ashes are for the rest of your life.” He released me, then slammed the door and left. I staggered out of the room, only to stop in front of that familiar door. When I pushed it open, all I saw were princess dresses, custom gowns, and an entire wall of priceless jewelry. Elsie’s desk, her toys, her bed— all of them were gone. A giant portrait of Celeste and Pearl hung on the wall. Inside the wardrobe were the limited-edition handbags and jewel necklaces Damian had given them. This place had become Celeste and Pearl’s private dressing room. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Celeste leaned against the doorframe, swirling a glass of red wine. “When that little bitch died, she kept crying for her mommy to save her.” “I pushed her under the water again and again.” “She struggled for five whole minutes before she finally stopped breathing. Her eyes were so wide when she died.” All the blood in my body rushed straight to my head. I raised my hand and slapped her face with every ounce of strength I had. Celeste did not dodge. She only smiled with mocking contempt. Suddenly, a violent wave of dizziness hit me. My vision went black. And I collapsed heavily to the floor.
A bucket of ice water was dumped over my head. I snapped my eyes open. The wolf guards forced me into an ill-fitting gown and dragged me roughly into the banquet hall. Beneath the blinding crystal chandeliers, my miserable state was exposed to everyone. “So this is the vicious woman who abused and killed her own daughter?” “She actually has the nerve to come out alive. How disgusting.” “Alpha is truly unlucky, getting stuck with a crippled madwoman like her.” Mockery surged toward me from every direction, turning into countless slaps across my face. Celeste walked toward me, holding Pearl’s hand. She was wearing a familiar white gown, radiant and flawless. It was the first gift Damian had ever given me the year he took over the Blackthorne Pack. “Evelyn, you’ve suffered so much.” Celeste’s eyes reddened, her voice gentle. I stared at that gown, nausea churning violently in my stomach. Pearl suddenly threw herself into my arms and kicked hard at my left leg. A bone-deep pain shot through me. I cried out and shoved her away. Pearl fell to the floor with the momentum and burst into loud sobs. “What are you doing?” My son rushed over and picked Pearl up. “Did you not spend enough time in the dungeon? Now you won’t even spare Pearl?” Damian grabbed my wrist. “On such an important occasion, I will not allow you to throw another tantrum.” I struggled desperately out of his grip and limped toward the door. Celeste’s eyes were red, tears threatening to fall. “Evelyn Hawthorne, abusing Elsie was bad enough. Why won’t you even spare innocent Pearl?” “As Damian’s godsister, I know I shouldn’t interfere in your family matters, but I truly cannot stand by and watch this anymore!” “Pearl is still so young! How can your heart be this cruel?” Her pitiful appearance immediately drew sighs of sympathy from the guests around us. Suddenly, the giant screen lit up. Several crystal-image media outlets bought off by the Blackthorne Pack surrounded me. “Ms. Evelyn, according to our investigation, your father committed domestic violence many times, and your mother brutally murdered him.” “Did you inherit your father’s violent tendencies? Is that why you killed your own daughter so cruelly?” The image crystals flashed wildly. Those accusing voices were shoved right into my face. I froze in place, their words piercing into my mind like a swarm of needles. Only after a long while did I come back to myself. Then I screamed until my voice tore. “I was framed!” “Celeste isn’t some godsister at all! She is my mate’s mistress! She destroyed our marriage!” “Pearl is the illegitimate daughter she had with Damian! They were the ones who killed my daughter!” The entire hall fell into dead silence. Celeste’s face turned deathly pale. Her body swayed hard, nearly collapsing. Damian quickly reached out and caught her firmly in his arms. Holding Celeste protectively, Damian let out a sigh. “I apologize, everyone. My Luna was traumatized in the dungeon. Her mental state has never been stable.” Then he turned his head and leaned close to my ear. “Apologize to Celeste. Clarify that she is not my mistress. Say you were jealous and slandered her.” I gritted my teeth and stared at him. “Never.” Damian opened his communication crystal. A prewritten message appeared before my eyes. Destroy the ashes. My whole body trembled. A chill rushed from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my skull. “Damian, are you insane? That is your biological daughter!” “You won’t do this. You wouldn’t!” Damian looked at me coldly. Then, without the slightest hesitation, his finger pressed the send mark. “No!” I dropped to my knees with a thud, tears bursting from my eyes. “I’m sorry. I was jealous of Celeste. I slandered her!”
“So she’s just a jealous madwoman. She even envies his godsister.” “Someone mentally ill should be locked up. Why did she come out just to embarrass herself?” I lowered my head and let the mockery from every direction smash into my face. Celeste held Pearl’s hand, smiling brightly amid wave after wave of praise. The banquet finally ended. Damian shoved a wooden box into my hands, his tone softening. “Evelyn, I know you’ve suffered.” “I promise I won’t let Celeste appear in front of you again.” “Pearl will be registered under your name. In a way, you’ll have both a son and a daughter.” I clutched the wooden box tightly, my nails digging into the wood. “Fine.” The moment Damian left, I hugged the urn and ran toward the back door. But as soon as I reached the alley, a sharp pain struck the back of my head. Then I blacked out. The sting on my face woke me. In the basement of the Blackthorne Pack, Celeste withdrew her hand and sneered as she threw the urn onto the ground. The lid burst open. Ashes scattered all over the floor. Celeste took out a white porcelain jar. “Did you really think Damian would return the ashes to you?” “Give them back!” I lunged forward, only to be pinned hard to the ground by the wolf guards. Celeste crouched down and seized my chin viciously. “Damian said he only married you back then because your family was ruined and you looked pitiful, like some stray dog.” “The daughter of a murderer like you—how could you ever deserve to be Luna?” Carrying the white porcelain jar, Celeste walked toward the trash can in the backyard. I crawled after her like a madwoman, dragging my crippled leg across the ground until it left a trail of blood. “No! Celeste, I’m begging you!” Martha happened to pass by with gardening tools. I grabbed the hem of her pants and begged for help. “Martha! Help me!” Martha stopped, then stepped back coldly. “Luna, Alpha has given his orders. From now on, everything in the Pack, big or small, is under Miss Celeste’s authority.” “If you refuse to behave, she may deal with you however she sees fit.” I froze in place. A bone-deep cold pierced through my heart inch by inch. Celeste waved her hand. Several rogue wolves immediately surrounded me. “Serve Luna well.” “And record every second of her filthy little state.” A foul stench closed in. Several large hands suddenly tore my clothes apart. I grabbed a pair of pruning shears from the ground and pressed them hard against my throat. The sharp tip pierced my skin. Blood surged out instantly. “Get away from me! Or I’ll die right in front of you!” The smile on Celeste’s face only deepened. She held the porcelain urn above the trash can and loosened her fingers one by one. “Evelyn Hawthorne, go ahead. Try dying.” “You don’t want to see this little bastard mixed in with all this garbage, do you?” The ashes slipped down in a soft stream, falling straight into the foul-smelling trash. I lunged forward like a madwoman to snatch them back, but someone kicked me away viciously. I crashed heavily to the ground. All I could do was watch helplessly as the last piece of my daughter was swallowed completely by filth. It felt as if my heart had been dug out alive. The pain was so extreme that I went numb. Just then, the backyard door was pushed open. I turned my head numbly. And met Damian’s face— instantly drained of all color.
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