Blair’s POV
The sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose as I opened my eyes. It burned all the way to my scalp.
“Luna! You’re finally awake!” Lexie threw herself to my bedside, eyes swollen, gripping my cold fingers like they were her lifeline. Her hands were rough–but somehow, they carried a warmth I’d almost forgotten.
“I…” My throat felt torn to shreds. I could barely speak. “How… did I survive?”
Tears spilled from her eyes again. “A kind–hearted healer. He was just visiting our pack and happened to see the snake
that bit you. He went to the infirmary, realized you were poisoned, and… he couldn’t just stand by.”
“He risked being punished and injected you with antivenom in secret. He said… if it had been ten minutes later, you
wouldn’t have made it.”
My heart gave a jolt.
“I begged Alpha Lysander to believe you’d been bitten,” Lexie choked out, her voice trembling. “He said you were faking it.
Alpha Orion refused to even see me. And Alpha Zayden… he said you deserved it.”
I clenched the blanket, nails digging into my palm–yet I felt no pain.
“Alpha Christian was the worst!” she nearly sobbed. “I got on my knees and begged him to come check on you. He said…
said you were just being dramatic again. Said I was helping you put on a show.”
Lexie held my hand like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. “Luna, you were always so good to them. Last winter,
Alpha Lysander came home drunk after a late–night pack summit–you boiled him a bitter tonic in the freezing kitchen and
caught a cold yourself.”
“When Alpha Orion got into gambling trouble, you secretly sold your grandmother’s heirloom to pay off his debts. When
Zayden had a fever for three days straight, you stayed by his side until you passed out.”
She couldn’t continue, tears choking her voice. “And Alpha Christian… the coffee beans he likes, the brand of ties he
wears–things even his mother can’t remember. You remembered everything. And now, they’re all fawning over Carrie.
That sister who bullied you your whole life, the one who ran from her wedding like a coward–now she’s the adored
Luna?!”
I didn’t say a word.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, soaking the pillow beneath me. They burned like acid, each drop cutting deeper than
the last.
But none of that compared to the pain in my chest.
It didn’t matter. It would all be over soon.
I’d already signed the paperwork for the island. A place far from the mainland.
No betrayal. No lies. No them.
Two days later, I returned “home.”
The moment I pushed open the door, I was ambushed by a blast of birthday music–piercing, clawing at my eardrums,
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tangled with laughter and the clink of champagne glasses.
Under the crystal chandelier, Carrie stood by the cake in a flowing gown, her smile radiant. My three brothers and
Christian surrounded her.
The scene was so familiar, it made my stomach turn.
I stood there at the entrance. The air hung heavy and still.
“I thought she was supposed to be dying?” Lysander shot me a cold, cutting glare from behind his glasses.
Orion took a sip of wine, brows furrowed. “She doesn’t have long to live. Can’t you cut her some slack?”
Zayden snorted. “Same old drama. Can’t she come up with a new act?”
Christian walked toward me, that ever–so–gentle façade still in place. “I know you’re upset about my past with Carrie,” he
said. “But you have to understand–my Luna, my wife now, is you.”
Luna? Wife?
A loud crack exploded in my head.
I stood by his side through ruin and disaster. Through every storm and sleepless night. I gave him everything.
And now–the one who sealed the mate bond with him, the one who was marked by him… was Carrie.
So this… this is what they called a “fated mate“?
I stared at him, laughing coldly. Even the way my lips curved felt like someone else’s. My heart had been torn apart–but I wasn’t afraid anymore. My blood was boiling. My wolf was awakening.
Then Carrie’s voice rang out, bright and sweet. “Christian, Lysander, Orion, Zayden–come cut the cake with me!”
The big screen lit up. It started off with well–wishes from guests. But just as everyone began to wonder what came next-
the screen abruptly changed.
Nude photos of Carrie with a young Omega flashed before the entire pack.
“A birthday gift for you.”
The blood–red words burned into her soul–my answer, carved in flame.
“Turn it off! Now!” Lysander roared.
Orion ripped the power cord from the wall. Zayden tore through the crowd like a madman, snatching guests‘ phones.
Carrie stumbled back, pale as a corpse. “You already stole their love… Why are you humiliating me too?!”
Then she collapsed to the floor, sobbing like her world had ended. Christian rushed to scoop her up, his face full of panic.
“Call the healer! Now!”
Before he carried her off, he looked back at me. That look… As if he didn’t know who I was.
Lysander grabbed my arm, voice like rolling thunder. “Blair, look at what you’ve done!”
I gasped, trying to hold it together. “It wasn’t me… I didn’t do it…”
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“Still lying?” Orion sneered. “In the Bloodstone Pack, mistakes are punished.”
Punished?
I froze.
When I was twelve, Carrie pushed me down the stairs–it was my fault for being clumsy.
At eighteen, she ruined my birthday cake–they said she was just joking.
That winter, she locked me outside on the balcony–I almost froze to death. They said she was just in a bad mood.
And now–they wanted to punish me?
Chapter 3
