Chapter 3

Moonlight flowers were arranged all over the altar.

Ragnar and Nina walked toward the elder who would preside over the ceremony.

A sudden gust of wind lifted Nina’s veil, revealing her face.

Most of the guests did not react. They looked completely unfazed, with some even smiling as though Ragnar and Nina were the perfect match.

That was not surprising, however. After all, none of them knew about me.

Ragnar had marked me, but he had never introduced me to the pack.

However, my father knew the truth. Furious, he stood up and interrupted the ceremony. “Where's my daughter? You marked her, and now, you’re kissing another she-wolf during the mate bond ceremony? Aren’t you afraid the Moon Goddess will curse you both?”

The guests could not help but look at Ragnar and Nina with thinly veiled mockery. To werewolves, mate marks were sacred, and the Moon Goddess' arrangements were inviolable.

What Ragnar and Nina were doing was disgraceful in the eyes of the pack.

Nina looked absolutely devastated. “It’s not like that! Selena refuses to come. I’m only stepping in because someone has to carry out the ceremony.”

Hearing that, my father exploded. “Stop pretending! You’re a shameless homewrecker. You know exactly how many dirty tricks you've pulled to frame my daughter. What did you do to her that she can't even show up to her own mate bond ceremony?!”

Nina burst into tears. Ragnar, who could never stand to see her cry, lost his temper as expected.

His gaze darkened as he stared at my father. “You saved my life once, so I’ve been holding back from revealing all the disgusting things Selena has done. But if you insult Nina again, I won’t keep quiet.

“Your daughter, whom I've already marked, went off and cheated with a Rogue. Selena is disgraceful and unworthy of being this pack’s Luna. I’ve already severed our mate bond.

“She’s too ashamed to face everyone, so Nina, out of the kindness of her heart, is stepping in to take her place.”

I could not help but let out a bitter laugh when I heard that.

All this was just to make Nina seem innocent. Ragnar would rather lie to the Moon Goddess and the entire pack than admit the truth.

With just one careless sentence, he convinced everyone that I had cheated on him.

How was my father—no, my entire family—supposed to survive in the pack after that?

My father was once the most respected warrior of our pack. He had won countless battles for us.

Now, everyone looked at him with a trace of contempt in their eyes.

He removed his warrior medal, limped over to Ragnar, and bowed deeply. “My honorable Alpha, I beg you to take back your words. My daughter would never betray her mate. I request a full investigation by the werewolf tribunal.”

He believed I was good.

However, Ragnar did not grant his request. Instead, he ordered the guards to drag my father out.

Still, my father roared in defiance, “You’re framing my daughter! The Alpha is abusing his power to persecute one of his own! Ragnar, my daughter loved you more than life itself. She would never betray you!”

The guards continued to drag him away, but he kept shouting to defend me. The guards were annoyed, so they threw him into the river. Each time he cried out for justice, they would shove his head underwater again.

Even as he drowned, he still called out, “Ragnar… I lost my wolf to save you… All I ask… is that you clear… my daughter's name…"

Even as he was drowning, his final thoughts were still about proving my innocence.

I went mad trying to save him, but I could not touch him. My soul passed right through his body.

It felt like my very soul was shattering. Why was I still in pain even after death?

I screamed, but no one could hear me. All I could hear was Ragnar's and Nina’s laughter.

I looked up, only to see them smiling while saying their vows. Then, they kissed in front of the guests.

Everyone clapped and cheered.

I was dead. My father was dead.

I screamed and sobbed, but everyone else was smiling.

I sank to the bottom of the river, wanting only to follow my father. However, something invisible kept pulling me back to Ragnar. All I could do was follow Ragnar in utter despair, watching as he brought Nina back to what used to be our home.

It was like a curse from the Moon Goddess herself. This was the price I had to pay for loving Ragnar!

Even in death, I could not rest.

Even in death, I was still bound to him and still suffering because of him.

Nina acted like the lady of the house, moving into the home Ragnar and I had once shared. She threw all my belongings into the trash.

Then, she looked at Ragnar with a coy smile. “It’s been such a long day. Do you want to have a shower together?”

Ragnar shook his head. “Even though Selena cheated, she’s still technically my mate. I can’t get too close to another she-wolf. Thank you for everything today.”

Just then, the Beta knocked and entered. “Alpha, Selena’s corpse is badly decomposed. The warden wants to know what to do with the body.”

For a split second, Ragnar looked startled, but his unease quickly faded and was replaced by growing impatience. “The bodies of werewolves don’t rot that fast. Don’t tell me you and the warden are both falling for Selena’s little drama again?

“She’s clearly faking it. I’ll go see for myself and expose her lies!”

However, when they were near the prison, Ragnar’s expression darkened. He smelled it—it was my scent, tainted by the stench of death.

He tried to reach me through the mind-link, but there was no response.

It was just silence, and it was the kind that only came with death.

He did not even dare to take a deep breath.