Chapter 4

I stood still for a long time, until my legs went numb, before slowly making my way up to the second floor. I entered a rarely used storage room.

Kane and I had known each other since we were children—twenty-two years of memories, if you didn’t count the two years after Serena returned. He had given me so many things over the years.

There was the first wolf fang he found and gave me when we were three. Then the little wooden wolf he carved himself when we were ten.

And at eighteen, he knelt beneath the moonlight and placed an engagement ring on my finger.

It was a silver ring engraved with our family crest. He had said, “When the bonding ceremony comes, I’ll replace it with a proper moonstone.”

There was also a thick photo album.

After my mother died, during those darkest days, Kane took me across the world to help me heal.

From the northern glaciers to the southern forests, we traveled together. At each place, we took a photo.

While arranging the pictures, he promised, “Ilya, I’ll take you to every corner of this world.”

Then Serena came back.

He said, “Serena’s not well. She’s never been far from home. I want to take her to see the places you’ve seen.”

And just like that, all those corners of the world that once belonged only to us… now bore the shadow of someone else.

I wiped my tears.

Then I went downstairs, picked up the box filled with memories, and walked to the open field behind the house.

When the flames rose, I threw the items in one by one.

The album curled and blackened. The silver engagement ring glinted one last time in the firelight before turning dull completely.

At the very end, I picked up the "Tear of the Deep Sea" necklace.

The deep blue gem shimmered in the firelight like a frozen teardrop.

Kane, you never understood. I never wanted a necklace.

I wanted you.

I almost threw it in too—but in the end, I didn’t.

Instead, I contacted Lia. I sold the valuable pieces of jewelry and donated the money to those in need.

On the day of the New Moon Speech, Moonlight Square was packed with people.

I stood at the edge of the crowd, watching Serena step onto the stage wearing the moon-white gown I had originally prepared for myself.

Yesterday, Kane had sent someone to collect it, saying the size fit her perfectly.

Step by step, she climbed the platform.

Around her neck was a brand-new pearl necklace—a “welcome-back gift” from my father just last night.

And mine?

My neck was bare.

The one from my mother was shattered. The one from Kane had been sold.

Serena unfolded her speech and cleared her throat.

Her voice, amplified by rune magic, echoed across the square:

“Respected elders, beloved clansmen. Today, as I stand here, my heart is filled with both reverence and responsibility…”

Not a single word was hers.

It was the opening I had revised over three sleepless nights.

Below the platform, the clansmen looked up and listened intently, nodding along.

The elders exchanged approving glances. The younger wolves looked up with admiration.

Kane sat in the front row, his back straight. Serena’s image reflected in his golden eyes.

There was a faint smile on his lips.

It was once the smile I had longed to see—his smile of approval, meant for me.

“Miss Serena speaks so eloquently!”

“No wonder she’s of the old Alpha’s bloodline. Even with a human mother, her insight rivals that of full-blood wolves!”

“I heard she only returned less than a month ago? She’s adjusted so quickly!”

The whispers floated past my ears.

I clenched my hand tight inside my sleeve.

The speech lasted twenty minutes.

Serena laid out a clear plan for the pack’s development over the next three years.

The numbers she cited? I had gathered them from seventy-three households.

The ancient texts she quoted? I had spent more than a dozen nights poring over them in the academy archives.

Finally, she raised her arm, voice stirring:

“Let us swear under the moonlight to move forward together, to protect our home, and to carry on the glory of our wolf tribe!”

Thunderous applause erupted.

Serena stood in the center of the light, smiling as she basked in the attention of the crowd.

Kane was the first to rise and applaud. The rest of the square followed.

I stood frozen, watching that roaring sea of people, and suddenly felt a chill seep into my bones.

My speech.

My data.

My honor.

And my man—

All had become her stepping stones.