chapter 6

After a week of training, Mia started to see results.

Standing in the center of the training field, her back was straight, and she radiated a cold, fierce energy.

The instructor in charge of the training approached, clapping his hands and smiling. "Not bad! I finally see the warrior from six years ago again. Mia, welcome back! I look forward to seeing you shine on the battlefield once more."

Mia smiled but felt her expression dimming the next moment.

"I'm no longer that female warrior."

Six years ago, she had been injured by an enemy who used a silver dagger dipped in wolf poison to sever her tendons.

No matter how strong a werewolf's healing ability was, it couldn't withstand the dual assault of wolf poison and silver. The wounds had never fully healed, let alone return to the battlefield.

Fortunately, after treatment, she had found some relief. Although it didn't affect her daily life, she couldn't lift heavy objects or return to combat.

The instructor patted her shoulder, comforting her. "It's fine. They say one person can't carry a thousand-pound burden, but many can move mountains. Even if you can't fight on the front lines, the soldiers you train will be like a raging fire. Isn't that better than going to battle alone?"

Mia looked at the instructor, and after a moment, she revealed a relieved smile.

"You're right. I was being narrow-minded."

In the following days, Mia trained every day at the base.

Since that day she left, Yash and Yolanda hadn't returned, and she didn't care. She was too lazy to have Alice sense where they were.

After all, it was better that they weren't home. In the last few days before leaving the Midnight Pack, she hoped for some peace and quiet.

One day, when Mia returned home, the doorbell rang.

She opened the door to find a crystal repair technician standing there.

"Hello, Luna. The crystal that Alpha had us fix is ready. If it's convenient for you, we can come in and demonstrate it."

Mia frowned.

She wanted to say no, that she didn't want to deal with anything related to Yash anymore, but the technician seemed afraid she would refuse. Without waiting for her answer, he stepped inside and activated the crystal's imaging function.

It was a beautifully crafted crystal that Yash loved dearly and often kept close.

She used to joke about how he had so many crystals but favored this one the most.

At that moment, she seemed to understand why.

As the crystal's imaging function activated, it projected images onto the white wall, recordings of young Yash and Yolanda from high school to college.

There were moments of them holding hands on the playground, kissing under streetlights, swearing beneath the Moon Goddess statue, and laughing at each other with their fingers intertwined, their eyes filled with love.

It turned out that Yash's affection for Yolanda had never been about gratitude. They were childhood sweethearts, while she was merely an outsider who had stumbled into their story.

The living room fell into an eerie silence.

The technician hadn't expected that the woman hidden in Yash's crystal wasn't Luna Mia, but Yolanda.

What surprised the technician even more was that the Luna, who had loved the Alpha to the bone and gone mad with love, didn't react with the expected hysteria upon seeing these images.

It was a mistake on their part for not informing her about the contents during the repair. They were relieved that Luna didn't lash out at them.

The speakers played Yash and Yolanda's voices.

"Yash, will you love me forever?" asked Yolanda.

Yash replied firmly, "I will."

"Then you won't mate with anyone else, right?" Yolanda continued.

"I won't mate with anyone else. Even if my mate is someone else, that's just a facade. I will always love you, only you, Yolanda. From now on, my body and heart will only follow you," said Yash.

It seemed like a prophecy.

That conversation from years ago had clearly outlined their current predicament.

Mia suddenly started to laugh.

Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that this was not merely a story of gratitude stemming from a fire but a premeditated scheme...

The technicians exchanged worried glances, sensing that Luna ultimately couldn't pretend to be calm. Just as they feared she might blame them for this, Mia simply wiped away her tears with a tissue and smiled, "Thank you. You can leave now."

The technicians looked at each other, unsure.

But since she had spoken, they wouldn't linger, quickly apologizing before making their exit.

Mia stopped the projection, put the crystal back in its box, and placed it safely on the table before sitting down alone on the sofa.

No one knew that, in truth, she didn't love Yash either.