<b>Chapter 4 Suspicion</b>


    <span>Liana’s POV (Crimson Moon Pack Hospital)


    The sound of Kirby hanging up echoed from the phone, and for a moment, the hospital room was suffocatingly silent.


    I could smell the anger of an Alpha lingering in the air—that cold, overwhelming presence that belonged to Kirby. It made me tremble with fear and… excitement.


    That bitch Leslie actually refused him. She dared to defy an Alpha’smand. She refused to give me her heart.


    Perfect. Absolutely perfect.


    I almostughed out loud but forced myself to hold it in.


    I had gone to great lengths to fake the breakdown of my Lycan Spirit, even harming my own body with forbidden medicine to simte a crisis that could only be resolved through a heart transnt—all for this moment.


    I wanted to trap Leslie, force her into a corner.


    If she agreed, even better. An insignificant Omega sacrificing herself for a noble, soon-to-be Luna like me—well, that was an honor for her.


    Even if she survived thanks to the mate bond and Kirby’s Alpha power, she’d be severely weakened, unable topete with me for Kirby’s attention.


    But now, she had refused. This was a golden opportunity handed right to me. She was being so “selfish,” so “cold”—choosing her own survival over the sister of the Pack’s hero, the woman Kirby treated like blood.


    Kirby would surely hate her even more now.


    That useless woman with nothing but a pretty face—how could she be worthy of a powerful Alpha? Only I knew how to admire him, how to depend on him, how to make him feel needed and worshiped.


    I sensed Kirby’s gaze fall on me—evaluating, and… suspicious? No. I couldn’t let him doubt me.


    I quickly summoned every ounce of acting skill I had. I made myself look even weaker, eyes brimming with tears, my voice barely above a whisper, as if I might stop breathing any moment.


    “Kirby… am I… going to die? The doctor… he just said… my Lycan Spirit…”


    I stopped at just the right moment and looked toward the doctor beside me, signaling him silently.


    That Beta doctor immediately caught on. He put on a conflicted, urgent expression and turned to Kirby.


    “Alpha sir, Miss Liana’s condition is… unusual. Just moments ago, her condition was critical, but now… her Lycan Spirit’s fluctuations seem… more stable. Could it be… a mistake in my diagnosis?”


    “It’s not the doctor’s fault,” I chimed in softly, my voice like flowing water. “Sometimes they exaggerate things a little to make sure we take it seriously… Kirby, don’t be mad at him.”


    I saw Kirby’s tightly furrowed brow begin to loosen. He stepped up to my bedside. His voice was still cold, but the anger had faded slightly. In its ce was something that almost resembled… guilt?


    Perfect. That idiot Leslie had no idea that her refusal was pushing Kirby closer and closer to me. Once I’vepletely reced her and be the future Luna of Crimson Moon Pack, she’ll find out exactly what happens when you cross me.


    Kirby’s POV (Crimson Moon Pack Hospital)


    I stood outside the hospital room, the blend of Omega pheromones and antiseptic thick in the air, making my head throb. The call with Leslie had left me seething. She didn’t just defy me—her Alpha, her mate—she had the audacity to threaten to break the bond.


    Who does she think she is?


    Inside me, Lance snarled in fury—not over Liana’s condition, but over Leslie’s tant defiance and challenge to my authority.


    The doctor’s report just now was strange. Liana’s Lycan Spirit suddenly stabilized? Right after Leslie refused? The timing was too coincidental. Even Lance had picked up something off—there was a whiff of deception in the air, something hidden.


    But… so what?


    Compared to the possibility of Liana faking something, Leslie’s betrayal and escape enraged me far more. She’s my mate. Her life, her heart—they are bound to me through the sacred mate bond.


    I believe my Alpha power is strong enough to sustain her life even after she loses her heart. It will grow back. Yes, it will be painful, but she won’t die. And to save the sister of the Pack’s greatest hero, how is that not a worthy price?


    But she would rather cling to her so-called “health” and “freedom,” abandoning the Pack’s debt and disobeying my order? And now she’s vanished without a trace?


    Selfish. So incredibly selfish.


    I forced myself to shove aside the doubt about Liana’s condition. The priority now was to find Leslie—and remind her who’s in control.


    “Mch!” I contacted my second-inmand through the internalms, my voice sharp as a de. “What’s the status on the tracking team?”


    “Alpha sir…” Mch’s voice was hesitant. “We’ve lost all trace of Ms. Leslie. Her scent trail is gone, and there’s no footage of her in any Pack surveince feed. It’s as if she… vanished into thin air.”


    “Vanished?” I scowled. “An Omega evading Crimson Moon Pack’s entire trackingwork?”


    “The finance department also reports,” Mch continued, “that Ms. Leslie’s Pack ounts have been frozen as ordered. But their audit shows that over the past three years, she’s never used any of the credit points or resources you allocated to her. We have no idea where her daily expenses came from.”


    She never touched the Pack’s resources? And now she’s disappeared?


    <i>Impossible.</i>


    The mix of rage and confusion twisted in my gut.


    What the hell was Leslie hiding? Did she really think she could run?


    “Expand the search! Mobilize every scout and informant! I don’t care if you have to tear California apart—find her!” I growled, my Alpha pressure so intense that my phone trembled in my hand.


    I will not let my mate defy me like this. When I find her, she’ll pay dearly for what she’s done.