chapter 1

"Mrs. Reed, your 'Custom Departure' request has been activated. The selected scenario is 'accidental death during a border conflict.' All your clan markings and identity records on the Southern Lycan Continent will be erased. You will vanish without a trace."

A cold, mechanical voice issued from the communicator. Scarlett Reed smiled faintly and replied with a firm, "Understood."

"We have prepared a new identity for you on the Northern Continent. The process will commence in half a month. Before that, please ensure the dissolution of your mate bond."

After, Scarlett submitted her migration application to the Northern Continent through the clan registry system.

She received confirmation swiftly—her cross-continental residency had been approved by the Northern Migration Administration.

With matters settled, she took a cab to the restaurant where she was to meet her mate, Zane Reed.

Guided by a server, she ascended to the second floor, which Zane had reserved entirely. It was filled with moonlight roses, symbolizing lycan loyalty, save for a single window seat.

The view was impeccable, overlooking the bonfires burning in the distant wasteland.

Shortly after sitting down, a sharp pain pierced Scarlett’s heart.

Turning, her gaze was drawn to a couple beside a bonfire outside.

A woman was kneeling before a man, clearly performing oral sex. The man had one hand on her bare back, the other pressing gently against her neck.

His features were obscured, but the volcanic ruby ring on his middle finger was unmistakable.

It was cut from the same stone as the ring on Scarlett’s finger.

Her hands trembling, Scarlett opened her communicator, selected her pinned contact, and after several minutes of typing and deleting, sent only words, "Where are you?"

A reply came quickly, "Baby, I'm handling a pack border dispute. What's wrong?"

Scarlett looked out the window. The man was typing with one hand while holding the woman firmly in place with the other.

Her heart clenched. Eyes stinging, she replied, "How much longer?"

"One hour."

Another message followed, soothing in tone, "Getting impatient? It's my fault, making you wait. I brought a birthday surprise for you—forgive me, okay?"

Scarlett didn’t look at the screen again, her eyes fixed on the plains outside.

Soon, the man tossed his communicator aside, pulled the woman onto his lap, and their moving figures burned into Scarlett’s vision.

Tears blurred her sight before she took a deep breath, hardening herself against the pain—so this was Zane’s birthday surprise?

An hour and a half later, hurried footsteps echoed on the stairs.

Zane appeared, arms full of moonlight roses and gift bags.

The tear stains on Scarlett’s face had dried. She didn’t offer her usual smile, only turned to gaze at the distant bonfire.

Guilt filled Zane’s eyes. He hugged her tightly, signing anxiously,

"Scarlett, those troublesome at the border delayed me. Don’t be angry—punish me however you want, alright?"

She broke free from his embrace, the cloying pheromones of another woman lingered around her nose making her nauseous. Her eyes were dull as she asked softly, "Zane, do you still love me?"

He had long been accustomed to the residual female pheromones on his body, but he panicked at the redness in her eyes and signed hurriedly,

"Scarlett, how can you say that? Of course I love you! The whole pack knows I can’t live without you."

Faced with his fervent declaration, Scarlett felt nothing. A self-mocking smile touched her lips.

Yes, the entire pack knew Zane loved her deeply—would give up everything for her.

Before meeting Zane, she hadn’t known what love was.

Born a deaf werewolf, her parents always favored her healthy younger brother.

She ate his leftovers, wore cast-off clothes from the clan, and was denied even the coming-of-age ceremony.

But though she couldn’t hear, she could sense vibrations through moonstone with her fingertips. Through self-taught totem carving, she won the Southern Lycan Youth Skills Competition.

The prize money, meant for tuition at the Alliance Workshop, was taken by her parents to buy expensive awakening herbs for her brother.

Desperate to learn advanced carving, she knelt outside her home for a full day and night.

She hadn’t awakened her werewolf spirit, so she was physically weak. In the bitter cold, she came down with a high fever and was on the verge of death—yet her parents snarled at her to hurry up and die.

It was a passing elder priest who took pity, giving her medicine and telling her the workshop needed janitor apprentices—she could learn in her spare time.

Later, Scarlett became a renowned totem designer, carving patterns on moonstone that soothed wolf souls. Yet her parents, burdened by her brother’s failed awakening, came demanding support, claiming she owed them.

During a rival tribe’s raid, her parents pushed her toward the enemy so her brother could escape. She survived but injured her right hand, never again able to carve perfect totems.

With her value exhausted, her partners squeezed her out from the studio she had worked hard to establish, her parents stole her savings, and accused her of carving forbidden totems to stop her brother from awakening and got her banished by the pack alpha.

Her early life was mired in malice, leaving her scornful of love.

Zane was heir to the South’s largest pack—Shadow Pack. He fell for her at a skills exchange.

But she had long closed her heart, keeping her distance despite his pursuit.

Yet Zane was patient, chasing and taking care of her, taking her to seek treatment, even learning sign language.

Year after year, he pursued her for four years.

His steadfast companionship slowly softened her. In those years, everyone else abandoned her, but he remained.

Initially, the Shadow Pack elders disapproved, deeming a disabled werewolf unworthy.

Zane was willing to renounce his inheritance for her, taking her to the borderlands to build a new pack from scratch, enduring countless hardships.

When the previous alpha fell ill and the pack was in turmoil, he returned to assume leadership, bringing Scarlett back and declaring her his future Luna.

Their bonding ceremony was legendary—Zane lit every bonfire in the territory, signing his vows for all to see.

Not long after, Scarlett was captured by a rival pack. Zane went alone to rescue her, suffering a silver trap that cost him a leg and nearly his life.

Upon waking, his first act was to search for her, vowing, "If anything happens to her, I won’t live either!"

The story spread across the clans, becoming legend.

"Shadow Pack Alpha Risks Life for Love."

"Zane’s Life-and-Death Vow."

"Love Beyond Imperfection."

Yet this man who loved her so deeply began, in their third year as mates, an affair with her healer, Cecilia Spencer.

By day, he cared for her; by night, under the guise of pack business, he spent his nights with Cecilia.

Today was her 28th birthday. How obsessed must he be to choose to mess around with another woman near their meeting place?

Three months ago, Scarlett accidentally awakened her wolf soul—and regained her hearing.

Thrilled, she ran to tell Zane, only to overhear his conversation with the healer,

"Zane, mark me. I want to be truly yours. You can keep Scarlett as Luna—I don’t mind."

"Haven’t I spoiled you enough, you little vixen?" His voice was hoarse. "Scarlett isn’t like you. Don’t compare."

Her wolf soul, Amy, laughed bitterly in her mind, weak but sharp, "This is the mate you chose? You’re bonded—how could he not sense my awakening? He’s too distracted. This isn’t his first betrayal. Each one weakens me. He took advantage of my dormancy, knowing you couldn’t feel the pain. Now, even awakened, I’m weaker than an ordinary omega."

The truth laid bare, all thoughts of sharing her joy shattered.

Pain and despair consumed her. For three months, nightly agony kept her awake, yet she lacked the courage to confront him.

"Zane, do you remember what you said on our bonding day?"

Scarlett looked at him, smiling faintly, her tone solemn,

"You said, if you ever betrayed me, I should leave quietly—don’t give you a chance to apologize, because you don’t deserve forgiveness."

Now, it was time to honor that promise.

In half a month, on their anniversary of mate-bonding, she would disappear amidst a border conflict. No one would ever find her again.