My Alpha husband thought I was boring, so he wanted to take my sister as his lover. I let him.Because my first love was coming to take me away, too. * By my tenth year as Luna of the Ravencroft Pack, I was finally tired of it all. I stopped checking which border cabin Cassian Ravencroft had gone to at night, or whose bed he had ended up in. I stopped wondering whether he loved me at all. Even when the healer brought me a vial of moonvine contraceptive, I drank it without so much as frowning. Cassian returned to the Ravencroft main house after nightfall. He stood beside the bed and called my name in a low voice. “Honey, I didn’t come home these past few days because Sable was hurt.” “She chased a pack of rogues who crossed the territory line to poach in our valley. One of them cut her with a silver blade.” “If I hadn’t gone after her, she would have kept pushing herself.” I lifted the blanket and moved farther into the bed. “It’s fine. Get some sleep. You have elders to meet tomorrow.” Cassian seemed to pause. “You’re really not going to make a scene??” I nodded. Everyone had someone they could never quite forget. As it happened, mine had returned too. … Cassian stood by the bed for a long time without moving. “I’m the Alpha of Ravencroft. I can’t exactly let her get hurt on my territory and do nothing.” At last, I opened my eyes and smiled faintly. “You’ve always been merciful.” My gaze dropped to the smear of red on his cuff. It was Sable’s favorite shade of lipstick. Years ago, when the Ashcroft Pack had to send one of its daughters to marry into Ravencroft, my half sister Sable knelt in front of me. “Lenora, I don’t want to be trapped in the Alpha’s house.” “I still want to ride my motorcycle through the mountain roads. I want to chase rogues. I want to hunt in the northern forests. I want to be myself.” “Will you become the Luna in my place?” I agreed. Later, I became the Luna of the Ravencroft Pack. And she remained free, untamed Sable. But after the bond ceremony, Cassian went to see her almost every night in the private cabin at the edge of the territory. There, they lived like real lovers, wild and free. And I was left inside the heavily guarded Ravencroft main house. Cassian reached out as if to touch me. I turned my face away. His hand froze in midair. After a moment, he took a paper bag from his coat pocket. Inside was a caramel candy shaped like a wolf pup, already a little melted. “I saw it on the way back.” “The medicine is bitter.” “Have something sweet.” I looked at the misshapen candy wolf, unsure what expression I was supposed to make. Once, when I said I liked the sweets sold at the town fair, he told me street food was dirty. “The Luna of Ravencroft shouldn’t be greedy like a little pup.” And now, he had remembered to buy me candy. I didn’t take it. “Thank you, Cassian.” Cassian frowned. “Lenora, I brought this to you myself. Don’t look at me like I’ve wronged you.” “Is this still about Sable?” Of course I had been upset. On the night of our bonding ceremony, Sable sent someone to the estate, saying she was going alone to take down a nest of rogues who had betrayed Ravencroft. Cassian had just taken off his suit jacket. The moment he heard her name, he stood. I asked him, “Does it have to be tonight?” He said, “You know what she’s like. She’s never been afraid of anything.” “If no one stops her, she really will shift and charge into that abandoned warehouse district tonight.” He came back at dawn. There was a shallow scratch on his neck. He said Sable had refused to come back, that she had scratched him by accident while struggling, and that he had spent the entire night calming her down. I cried. I fought. Eventually, I stopped asking. Cassian seemed ready to explain further when a guard’s voice came from outside the door. “Alpha, someone from Miss Ashcroft’s side is here.” “She shook off the patrol team and left word that she was heading to Moon Harbor tonight to settle things with the rogues who crossed the border and stole our prey.” Cassian’s expression changed. I closed my eyes again. “Go.” He didn’t move. I added, “If she really storms into Moon Harbor, you’ll blame me tomorrow for keeping you here.” Cassian’s voice darkened. “Lenora, do you have to turn everything into a jab?” I said nothing. A dull pain tugged low in my abdomen. I frowned and held it back. Even if I told him, he wouldn’t care. In the end, Cassian still left. Before he went, he threw one sentence behind him. “Get some rest. Stop using your health to punish me.” The door closed. Then the window sounded with three soft taps. An old silver ring was pushed through the crack. A tiny wolf-head crest was engraved on the inside of the band. V. In that instant, heat rushed into my eyes and my heart began to pound. Valehart. Beneath the ring was a note. There was only one line on it. “Lenora, if the Ravencroft Pack won’t protect you, I will.” Three years ago, the man I loved most—Ronan Valehart—died in a firefight on the northern smuggling route. They never found his body. The appearance of this ring meant one thing. He was alive. With trembling hands, I tucked the ring beneath my pillow.
The next morning, Sable came to the Ravencroft estate. The moment she stepped into the main hall, she wrinkled her nose. “Lenora, this place is still so stuffy.” She looked around, then laughed. “If I had to live here for three days, I’d probably forget how to run in wolf form.” I leaned back on the sofa and said nothing. Cassian had come with her. He hadn’t even changed out of his black suit jacket. Clearly, the moment his pack meeting ended, he had personally gone to the gate to receive her. Sable strode over to me. “Oh my God, why do you look so awful?” As soon as she said it, she patted her mouth as if she had only just realized. “Look at me. I’ve spent too much time outside. I’m too blunt.” “You’ve been Luna for so many years, Lenora. All those rules, all those worries—of course your complexion would suffer.” “I took medicine,” I said. “That tends to happen.” Cassian’s face shifted. Sable blinked. “You mean the moonvine contraceptive?” “I was only joking the other day. I said if Lenora had a pup, Cassian would never come out to patrol with me again.” “I didn’t expect him to actually send the healer with it.” Her eyes lowered, and her voice softened. “Lenora, you’re not mad at me, are you?” I shook my head. “What would I be mad about?” She tugged at Cassian’s sleeve. “See? Lenora won’t even talk to me properly now.” “She used to climb walls with me and teach me to ride. If anyone bullied me, she’d be the first one to charge out.” She laughed with open, careless brightness. “After becoming the Luna of Ravencroft, she’s like a different person.” Cassian frowned. “Lenora isn’t well. Stop provoking her.” That was what he said, but his tone softened when he looked at Sable. Sable tilted her face up toward him. “Sometimes I wish you weren’t Ravencroft’s Alpha.” The hall suddenly went quiet. Then she laughed again. “Then I could steal you away to the Silver Coast. Red Canyon. The northern snowfields.” “No elders. No meetings. No pack politics.” Cassian smiled too. “Sable, you’re still as wild as ever.” I lowered my eyes. I used to be an excellent rider too. In wolf form, I could track prey for dozens of miles. I was the one who taught Sable to ride for the first time. I was the one who took her out to learn how to identify traces left behind by rogues. But later, everyone praised her for being bright and free. They only called me dull and boring. I had never liked this estate with its locked gates and high walls either. A sharp cramp suddenly pulled low in my abdomen. The teacup in my hand slipped and shattered on the floor. Only then did Cassian snap back to himself. “Lenora, what’s wrong?” He reached out to support me. I avoided him. “It’s nothing.” His expression darkened. “Who told you to drink it?” I looked up at him. “You sent the healer with it. Was I supposed to refuse?” Cassian froze. Sable hurriedly tugged at him. “Don’t be angry at Lenora. She’s been stuck in the estate too long. Of course she overthinks.” “I’m not like that. When something upsets me, I just shift and fight it out.” Cassian stared at me, his voice hoarse. “Lenora, you could have made a scene.” “When I told you to drink moonvine before, you threw the bottle straight at the wall.” “When I had the healer prescribe calming draughts, you said they were bitter and refused to touch them.” “You were supposed to fight me on it.” I had almost forgotten that I used to be that alive. Cassian gave a cold laugh. “You agreed to become the Luna of Ravencroft.” “You enjoyed the status of the Alpha’s house and the respect of the pack, and now you act as though I’m the one who wronged you.” “A few days ago, Sable and I went to the pup shelter in the southern territory. She saw orphaned pups shivering in the cold and took off her leather jacket on the spot.” “She even said if she had the silverware and jewels in this estate, she would have sold them for food and medicine already.” “And you? You sit here in the estate and complain about your life.” For a second, guilt flashed across Sable’s face. After all, I had paid for the construction of that shelter. I simply had not appeared in person. I only nodded. “Of course.” Cassian abruptly stood. “I don’t want to look at you when you’re like this.” He took Sable and left. The moment the door closed, a violent pain tore through my abdomen. Blood slid down the hem of my skirt. Maeve burst into tears and ran to call the healer. The healer arrived quickly. After examining me, his face went white. “Luna, you’ve lost too much blood. The pup… the pup couldn’t be saved.” I nodded. “I know.” Maeve sobbed, “Should I ask the Alpha to come?” I shook my head. “No need.” Ten years. This was my first pup. And the last thread tying me to the Ravencroft estate. Now it was gone. Good.
On the third day after the miscarriage, Cassian came to the estate. Several attendants followed behind him, carrying trays of jewelry, gowns, and a saddle. I recognized some of them. The black pearl brooch had been pinned on me by the old Luna of Ravencroft herself on the day I married into the pack. The dark red cashmere shawl had been draped over my shoulders by Cassian on my birthday. And the saddle had once belonged to my favorite chestnut horse. Before I married into Ravencroft, I used to ride her along the forest roads near Moonridge for hours. Later, Cassian said the Luna of Ravencroft ought to be dignified and should not always be thinking about leaving the territory alone. Soon after, the stable keys were no longer given to me. Cassian glanced at me. His tone was unusually gentle. “Sable is moving into the estate in a few days. Give these things to her first.” I nodded. “Fine.” “She’s used to being free outside. A lot of things here won’t suit her.” “Fine.” “She likes that horse.” “Fine.” He stared at me for a long time, then suddenly laughed. “And Sable has agreed. She’s willing to officially remain by my side as one of my mates.” I nodded. “Congratulations.” Cassian seemed to be waiting for me to lose my temper. Waiting for me to demand answers. Waiting for me to sweep every tray in front of me onto the floor. But I only said calmly, “Then soon, the entire North will know how important she is to you.” The amusement in his eyes faded. At last, he said only, “Take care of yourself.” After he left, two attendants whispered in the corridor. “Miss Ashcroft really is something. For her, the Alpha doesn’t even care about the old pack rules anymore.” “I heard he’s holding a grand mate celebration for her at the private estate in Moonridge. After that day, who would still dare call her a secret lover?” The other attendant lowered her voice. “Come to think of it, Luna used to love going out too.” “But after the bond ceremony, the Alpha kept saying she didn’t act like the Luna of Ravencroft and wouldn’t let her go anywhere.” She paused. “Now Miss Ashcroft does the same things, and he thinks it’s charming.” I lay with my eyes open, staring at the ceiling. The celebration would be at Moonridge. Not at the Ravencroft estate. That meant that on that day, I would finally have a chance to leave. I called Maeve over. “On the day of the celebration, prepare clothes I can move in.” Maeve’s eyes reddened. “Is Luna finally going to fight for herself?” I nodded. “Yes.” Let them think that. I did not want Cassian to turn back to me. I wanted to vanish from this estate that day. And from Cassian’s world. A maid was rechecking the measurements for my dress when Cassian walked in. He came to my side and suddenly reached out to smooth my sleeve. “This color suits you.” Footsteps sounded outside the door. Sable stood at the entrance. Her gaze swept across the room before settling back on me. She smiled. “The Ravencroft estate really is lovely. Cassian said I can choose my own room.” She laughed lightly. “I don’t really like the other rooms.” “Only Lenora’s feels comfortable enough.” The maid’s expression changed slightly. Sable seemed to realize only then that she had spoken out of turn. She turned to Cassian. “I didn’t mean to take anything from Lenora.” “Forget I said anything. I can sleep in the stables if that makes everyone happier.” Cassian was silent for a moment before looking at me. “Lenora, Sable won’t be staying at the estate often. Why don’t you…” I smiled faintly. “Fine.” “She can have the room.” Both of them froze. I lowered my head and finished straightening my sleeve. “After the celebration, I’ll move out.” I was leaving anyway. This room no longer mattered.
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