<b>Chapter 1 The Broken Bond</b>


    <span>Leslie-Crimson Moon’s POV (Crimson Moon Pack – Bloodrock Estate)


    “The results are in. Your heart is a perfect match for Liana’s. You have half an hour to get to our Pack’s hospital and undergo the transnt surgery.”


    Hearing that cold,manding voice from the other end of the line—my husband, Kirby-Crimson Moon, heir to the Crimson Moon Pack—was like falling into a frozen abyss. My blood felt like it had turned to ice. Even my Lycan Spirit, Asphodel, wentpletely still in shock, its low growl abruptly cut off.


    “Hello? Leslie, did you hear me?!” Kirby’s voice rose,ced with the distinct pressure of an Alpha’s authority—and a barely perceptible trace of impatience. That impatience pierced right through the tough shell I thought I had built.


    I took a deep breath, forcing down the lump in my throat and suppressing Asphodel’s furious roar.


    My Lycan Spirit—my proud Alpha Lycan Spirit—was thrashing wildly inside me, trying to seize control of my body, to shred the bastard on the other end of the line who dared treat his mate this way.


    “Kirby,” I said, my voice trembling slightly as I tried to hold on to a facade of calm, “I’m your Luna. Your mate.”


    A bond forged under the gaze of the Moon Goddess—our souls and scents bound inextricably. How could he demand I cut out my own heart for another werewolf, an Omega who had just shown up out of nowhere? How could he so easily ce my life and dignity beneath hers?


    “I know.” Kirby’s voice was hard as iron,pletely unmoved. “Liana and I may not be rted by blood, but she’s the only sister of the warrior who gave his life to save me. I won’t just sit by and let her die. Leslie, you’re my mate. We’re connected by a bond. Even without a heart, you won’t die. My wolf will help keep you alive. In time, your heart will grow back. You’ll be weak for a while, sure, but with proper care, you’ll recover.” His tone was disturbingly casual, like he was asking me to give up a lock of hair. “What you’re losing is temporary health. What she’s losing is her life and soul. Leslie, don’t be so selfish.”


    Selfish? I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.


    Asphodel let out a howl of rage and pain inside me.


    Selfish? He dared call me selfish? The Alpha who once swore under the moonlight to protect me forever? The man who made my Lycan Spirit tremble and submit the moment we met—now used me of selfishness for not handing over my heart to save another Omega?


    Before I could respond, Kirby ended the call. The busy tone echoed in my ears like a cruelugh.


    In the kitchen, the soup pot continued to bubble—a venison broth I had carefully prepared to nourish an Alpha Lycan Spirit. Mch, his second-inmand, had once mentioned offhandedly how Kirby was stressed about Liana’s condition and hadn’t been eating well.


    I had worried about him. I just wanted to do something to help.


    What a joke.


    I, Leslie, am not the Omega he thought I was—nor the one I pretended to be. I’m the only daughter of the Lycan King, my bloodline carrying the purest, most powerful Alpha strength.


    My Lycan Spirit, Asphodel, could make most Alphas kneel.


    I hid my identity and yed the role of a docile, harmless mate in the Crimson Moon Pack because of that damnable, irresistible bond—and because I was tired of being the Crown Princess, tired of the endless responsibilities. I craved a simple love.


    I thought that as my fated mate, he would at least cherish and respect me.


    Reality pped me awake.


    For the past three years in Crimson Moon Pack, I lived like a low-ranking wolf. Kirby was always busy with Pack affairs—we barely saw each other. His domineering mother, Belle, the current Luna, had never epted me. To her, I was just some nobody who married her son to steal status and power.


    She fired most of the servants and dumped all the household chores on me, iming it was to save money for the family. I, an Alpha mate in name, lived like a servant.


    I endured it all—because I loved him, because of our bond.


    Until a month ago, when Kirby brought home that Omega named Liana and dered, “This is Liana-Crimson Moon. From now on, she’s my sister.”


    A sister, with no blood rtion?


    Belle adored her, often sighing right in front of me that she wished Liana had been the one to end up with Kirby. And Kirby himself? He doted on her, staying by her side at the Pack hospital whenever she was sick—something he never did for me, his actual mate.


    And now he wanted me to give up my life to save her.


    The fury and humiliation in my chest were suffocating. My phone buzzed again—it was a transfer notification.


    Kirby had just sent me a million alliance credits. The note read: Surgery in 30 minutes. Don’t bete.


    Of course. Every time he wanted me to do something I didn’t want to, he tried to shut me up with money. He really believed that money could buy anything. My heart? My loyalty? My silence?


    I closed the message and opened the previous one.


    It was a photo—Kirby and Liana asleep together in her hospital bed. Kirby looked exhausted, sleeping soundly, while Liana smiled smugly with her head on his shoulder.


    Her hospital gown was askew, exposing most of her shoulder. Even through the screen, I could smell the seductive pheromones unique to Omegas—brazen and territorial.


    Under the photo was a caption: <i>Slept with Kirby tonight. You worthless excuse of a woman should know when to get the hell out of Crimson M</i><i>oon Pack!</i>


    Liana.


    That photo. That message. It shattered thest sliver of hope I had left.


    Screw Crimson Moon Pack. Screw Kirby.


    <i>I’m done.</i>


    I took a deep breath, pushed down the rage and Asphodel’s murderous instincts, and dialed a long-forgotten number—one that carried an unmistakable mark of supreme authority.


    The call connected. A voice, stern and familiar, answered. I couldn’t hold back the tears in my throat.


    “Father… I made a mistake…”


    There was silence on the other end, then a long, heavy sigh, filled with pain and affection.


    “If you know it was a mistake, thene home. Whatever you’ve suffered, we’ll talk about it after. No one is allowed to hurt my daughter.”


    When the call ended, it was like the strength drained from my body—but I felt lighter than I had in years.


    Three years of endurance and pretending… finally over.


    Kirby. Crimson Moon Pack.


    You’ll soon find out exactly what it is you’ve lost.