•Chapter 2•

Ashley

I repeated my words without hesitation. "I want us to break up. Please. Reject me."

My voice trembled, and sounded raw even to my own ears. The pain in my heart was pouring out of me like a flood.Jace's expression darkened. His jaw tightened, fingers twitching at his sides like he was holding himself from doing something dangerous.

"No." His voice was low, a growl laced with finality. "Don’t even think about it."

The Alpha Command slammed into me like invisible chains, locking my body in place. I couldn't even get a full breath out because of how heavy the words were.

"I already told the elders about our mate bonding ceremony and have prepared to invite all the neighboring packs. Soon, you'll be the pack’s Luna. No one else can take that place." His voice left no room for argument.

His grip on my wrists tightened, his warmth searing against my skin."I know I wasn’t enough before, I know I haven't always been here, where I belong," he murmured, almost desperate. "But I want only you."

The protest died on my lips as I slowly shook my head. Oh, how I wanted to believe him. How I wanted to think for a split moment that his words were true.

For so long, I'd waited—waited for him to finally see me. I had convinced myself we were holding out for Luna Elena to return and witness our union.

Luna Elena was the woman who had saved my life, raised me, treated me like family. Jace and she were all I had—the only ones who had ever respected me.

And Jace… he had never betrayed me because I never felt it under our bonding. Not in the way that mattered.

He just always had to choose between me and Carina. He had never taken my hand in his and called me his one and only. It was always about Carina.

But could it be that he was finally opening up to me? The thought floated through my mind as my fingers brushed against his chest.

Maybe, just maybe . . .

RING!

The shrill sound shattered the fragile moment, and Jace tensed reflexively as the phone kept vibrating in his pocket.

I didn’t need to look. I already knew who it was and my heart sank, broken once again. Carina.

She was the only person Jace would never ignore. Unfortunately, Carina wasn't like us who could mind-link other wolves, as she was wolf-less. To make up for this, Jace carried a phone everywhere so that she could reach him at all times.

I took a deep breath and I braced myself, waiting for him to pull away.

But . . . He didn’t.

For the first time ever, he just allowed the phone to keep on ringing. Then, without even checking the screen, he silenced it, leaned in close, and pressed his lips to mine.

I thought I had a stronger will, but there and then I knew that deep down I didn't have the guts to stand firm in what I wanted. Tears burned my eyes as I kissed him back.

For the first time, it felt like he had chosen me.

—

Days passed, but I was still healing. Without Amy, my wolf, my wounds lingered longer than before.

Jace, who had started to pay more attention to me, one day asked me to help Carina with her lab and experiments.

Strangely, I didn’t resist. If being near her meant being close to him, then it was something I was willing to do.

Carina and I weren’t strangers. We had grown up together under Luna Elena’s care. As the former Beta’s daughter, she was seen as delicate and pampered from childhood, while I was the orphan—the stray, the Luna took in.

But we’re not very close, because like most of the wolves in the pack, she ignores me most of the time, even bullies me. She’s Jace’s beloved sister, so I’m willing to put up with her and take care of her.

She had wanted to be a healer like Luna, and even left the pack for three years to study medicine and alchemy. But it never looked serious to me, because there were so many things she still didn't know. Not to mention her lack of professionalism and skill like Luna had.

That afternoon, Carina called me up to the laboratory where Luna Elena had often spent her days before going missing. She needed help with a procedure.

"Ashley, dear, help me with something, will you?" Carina turned to me, holding up aglass bottle. It contained Silver Salt—a corrosive substance strong enough to melt flesh.

Maybe it was because I had been trained to always be alert, but I immediately noticed the glass bottle wobbling, I sprung into action, already walking quickly towards her.

"Watch out—!" I called out to her, panicking.

She struggled with the cork, shaking the bottle. In her struggle, the bottle of Silver Salt dropped out of her hand and rolled across the table.

I lunged, catching it just in time, ready to sigh in relief when—

White-hot pain exploded through my palm.

A few grains of Silver Salt had spilled onto my scars, causing my old battle wounds to open. Blood pooled from my tanned skin, before dripping onto the wooden floor.

I sucked in a sharp breath, fighting the urge to double over in pain as I watched the salt burn deep into my skin. “You should be more careful,” I said, straightening myself.

Then, I heard it. A laugh.

Carina wasn't looking at me with gratitude. No, not at all. Instead, she was smirking.

"Goddess, you're so nice that it actually sickens me," she sneered, tilting her head. "You're still as clumsy as ever. How did you even become a warrior with those two left feet?"

Something twisted in my stomach.

"What?"

"You really think you’ve won, don’t you?" Her voice turned mocking, her smile venomous. "Crawling into Jace’s bed while I was gone and now you're going to be Luna soon. I bet you're living on the clouds."

My body went rigid. This wasn’t the Carina I knew.

"I just have something to tell you.” She stepped close, looking at my bleeding arm like it was just a normal occurrence. “You're really nothing but a shield, Ashley," she whispered. "A placeholder. Doomed to never get what you truly want. Not even the one you love."

She lifted her hand, showing me something. There was a bracelet dangling between her fingers.

Luna Elena’s heirloom. An Alpha family treasure, passed down to every Luna of the pack.

It was the only thing that had been left behind after the Luna's disappearance.

My blood ran cold. Jace hadn't considered giving me. But obviously he didn't mind giving it to her. My fists clenched. Yet another proof of how little he regarded me.

"Want it?" Carina taunted, letting the delicate chain dangle carelessly. "I could give it to you. As charity."

She let go of the bracelet, watching it fall to the ground.

Without paying thought to it, I reached out, aiming to catch the precious item.

The moment my fingers brushed the bracelet, Carina gasped loudly and dramatically.

Then she stumbled back, clutching her wrist as if I had done something to it. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Just at that very moment, as though it had been perfectly timed and planned, the door to the lab burst open, and Jace entered..

He didn't even spare me a glance, but immediately just turned to her, drawn by her sniffing and pained gasps.

"Carina!" He was at her side in an instant, gripping her arm. "Are you okay?" He checked her bodies for injuries, making sure to ignore myself and my bleeding arm.

"Jace, don’t blame Ashley," she whispered, voice trembling. "She didn’t mean to hurt me. She just… got too excited when I showed her the bracelet. I shouldn’t have teased her. It’s my fault."

My stomach twisted.

It was an act. A perfect, rehearsed act.

And Jace fell for it. Again.

His eyes turned to me, hard. "Ashley, how could you?" Disbelief laced his voice. "Why would you fight over something so petty? You know Carina isn’t in good health."

I stared at him blankly, unable to even fully grasp the situation around us.

Then down at my arm—blood dripping onto the floor, a fresh wound burned open by Silver Salt. The sting of the Silver Salt burned through my hand, but that pain was nothing compared to the ache in my chest as I watched Jace rush past me like I was invisible.

All he cared about was her perfectly fine wrist.

A hollow laugh bubbled in my throat, carving its way out.