Chapter 2
A collective gasp rippled through the pack. My mother stared at me, wide–eyed in disbelief.
All eyes were fixed on me.
Luna Daisy didn’t even ask again–she simply declared, “Then it’s settled. You will be the next Luna.”
With that, she dismissed the gathering.
“You’ve lost your mind!” My mother dragged me home, slamming the door shut before shouting at me.
“What else was I supposed to do?” I shot back. “Let Alina die without justice? I have to see for myself what’s really hiding in that cursed packhouse.”
She went silent.
After a long pause, she stepped into the back room and returned with a wooden box in her arms.
“This is everything I’ve saved my entire life. Half went to your sister as dowry. The rest… it’s yours now.”
My heart sank.
For years, Alina’s name had become almost forbidden in our home, and yet I’d seen my mother, more than once, clutching
Alina’s belongings in the middle of the night, weeping in silence.
There was no faking the grief and longing in her eyes. But whenever I brought up Alina, she turned cold as ice.
Now, I tested her once more. “Do you miss her?”
She flinched. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her voice trembled.
“Of course I do. How could I not?”
“She was our firstborn. The joy of our lives.”
“Then Alina’s death-“I said.
“Enough”
Just like that, the warmth vanished from her face. She snapped the box shut and pushed it toward me.
“If you’ve chosen to be Luna, then you’re no longer my daughter. Don’t come back.”
“Harper, may you make your own way from now on
And with that, she turned and walked away, without a backward glance
I stared after her, my heart churning Her hair at the temples had gone gray I couldn’t stop myself from asking-
“If I die too… will you be sad?”
She didn’t answer. Just kept walking, leaving behind only the cold silhouette of a woman I no longer recognized.
Chapter 2
3.85%
I lowered my head, overwhelmed with emotions.
Before Alina died, I had never once doubted my mother’s love. She would’ve given her life for us without hesitation.
I remember when I fell seriously ill one year. She hiked deep into Blackpine Ridge to find a plant that only grew at the edge of a cliff–and broke her leg in the process.
She didn’t wait for help. She crawled all the way back.
By the time she reached me, her leg and side were torn open by sharp stones–blood everywhere, bones visible–but she never stopped, never cried. She just kept treating me, afraid I wouldn’t make it.
That memory still burned clear in my mind.
But now… I couldn’t understand her at all.
I wanted to chase after her, to demand an answer–but just then, Finn’s Beta stepped inside, holding a wedding dress.
“It’s time,” he said. “Come with me to the packhouse, Harper.”
I sighed and slipped into the simple white gown.
Because of Finn’s “condition,” the mating ceremony was minimal. A half–dead piano droned in the background, barely
louder than the whispers around us.
“Isn’t that Harper Lowe? Why is she marrying the Alpha? Didn’t her sister die in that packhouse?”
“Who knows? Maybe she’s after the Luna title. There’s always someone who thinks they’ll be the lucky one.”
“Poor Naomi. Such a kind soul, spent her whole life doing good–and now, she’ll have to bury both her daughters. If there’s
even a body left to bury.”
“Seriously? After everything, she still went through with it? That girl’s either cursed or out of her mind. I’m not going
anywhere near her.”
The whispers followed me like a curse.
Many pack members stayed indoors, watching me through windows, saying nothing–some with pity in their eyes, others
with curiosity, like they were waiting to see how I’d die.
The Beta led me to the packhouse, stopping short of the doors.
“This is as far as I go, he said, backing away. “I’m not allowed inside.”
“This marriage–you volunteered for it If something goes wrong don’t come blaming me. Good luck.”
With that, he turned and barked orders, sending the crowd scattering
I looked back–only to see my mother standing among them cold eyed, unreadable. There was something in her gaze i
couldn’t understand
And once again, the questions clawed at my chest
Chapter 2
304%
What secret was hidden in the pack house?
What was so terrible that my mother would rather sacrifice two daughters and her own happiness to keep it buried?
I stared at the door and a strange unease curled in my gut.
I took a deep breath.
Then stepped forward-
Into the unknown.
Chapter 2
