Getting home was harder than I expected.

The road felt longer than it ever had, stretching endlessly before me. Each step was slow and painful, like I had hundreds of kilos of iron chained to my legs, dragging me down.

My feet ached, but the pain in my chest hurt far more. Every breath felt heavy. My thoughts were loud, messy, and cruel, replaying everything that had happened over and over again.

I wanted to stop walking.

I wanted to sit down and disappear.

But I kept moving.

I struggled to drag my weakened body home—at least to my pillow and bed, which were already used to soaking up my tears. My life had always been a tragedy, and I had learned to expect nothing, but I couldn’t explain how or why I felt this way.

On getting home, my parents, and Sophia were already there, celebrating her bonding with the Alpha’s heir, their dream son-in-law.

“Look who we have here, my precious sister Olivia,” Sophia taunted.

“I heard you’re fated to the cursed Alpha. Congratulations, sweetie. If the Moon Goddess doesn’t want your fat self alive,” she mocked.

I just stood there, speechless and exhausted—already drained from the entire ordeal of today.

“Well, at least she got someone, even if it’s a cursed Alpha who preys on and sucks people’s blood,” my mom replied coldly.

“I heard he’s very ruthless and kills without batting an eye. Rumor has it he eats human flesh,” Sophia added.

I turned to face the people I called family—people who shared the same blood as me—and all I could see was their contempt and ridicule. Not a single trace of concern for my plight.

I looked at my father. His face was still ice-cold, expression unreadable. Was he concerned about me? Never. In his eyes, I could never be seen as human, talk more of being his daughter.

I couldn’t help it as tears flowed down my cheeks, dripping onto the chest. I had taught myself not to bother about their words, yet my heart still bled every time.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I ran to my room, went in, and slammed the door shut. I fell to the ground and wept profusely.

Maybe I should just vanish… or escape to a far place where no one could find me. The thought appeared again.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Lucy howled inside my head. “Everything is going to be fine,” she said, but I doubted it. I was already thinking of running away.

“I don’t think I can survive being mated to that ruthless Alpha,” I whispered into the empty room. “I can barely survive my own family. How am I supposed to live with him?”

My chest tightened as fear crawled up my spine.

“I wouldn’t even know how I died,” I added softly.

The thought alone made my hands shake.

I forced myself to stand and pulled out my worn-out traveling bag from under the bed. There wasn’t much to pack—just a few clothes, an old earring, and a small pearl I had once received from my late grandmother. I held the pearl for a moment, rubbing my thumb over its smooth surface, letting the memory of her gentle smile steady me.

That was all I had.

I zipped the bag shut, changed into fresh clothes, and tied my hair back into a simple ponytail. My hands moved on their own, numb and steady, as if my body had already accepted what my heart was still struggling to understand.

I took one last look around the room.

The bed where I had cried myself to sleep.

The walls that had heard my whispered prayers.

The space that had held me for eighteen years—my only place of quiet and safety.

My throat tightened.

Then I turned away.

I slipped out of the room and moved carefully through the house, each step slow and silent. I held my breath as I reached the door, terrified someone might wake and stop me.

No one did.

Outside, the night air wrapped around me as I closed the door behind me. I didn’t look back.

My wolf whispered urgently inside my mind, telling me I was making a mistake. She begged me to trust the Moon Goddess, to believe that fate had a reason.

I shut her out.

My decision was already made.

I was leaving this place—this house, this pack, this life that had only ever brought me pain.

I had no clear plan. I didn’t know the roads. I didn’t even know how far I could go. I had been kept inside most of my life, allowed out only for important pack events.

But I remembered an old map I had once seen—faded and torn—that showed a rough path leading away from the pack’s borders.

Toward the human world.

Yes… the human world.

A place where no one knew me.

A place where no one would judge me.

A place where no one would find me.

As I walked through the unknown parts of the forest, I could hear strange noises and sounds all around me. I braced myself and continued.

I began thinking about the rumors I had heard in the pack—rogues, witches, and vampires who killed and feasted on flesh and blood. Some victims were even used for black magic. Fear overwhelmed me, dread crawled up my spine, but I refused to back down. It was now or never.

As I walked deeper into the forest, the noises in the bushes grew louder and seemed to be approaching fast. I thought I heard footsteps—or maybe it was just fear playing tricks on my head.

I quickened my steps, almost running, and then suddenly I saw it—a black shadow moved. Immediately I knew I was in danger. I tried running with all my strength, but it wasn’t enough.

Within seconds, I was surrounded… not by one, but three rogues.

“Why stop?” one of them laughed loudly. “I’m enjoying the chase.”

Another voice joined in, rough and cruel. “I like playing with my prey before I eat them.”

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs as my legs burned. I could hear them behind me—too close. Too fast.

“I’ll go first,” a third voice said eagerly. “I want a taste before you all ruin her.”

He laughed darkly. “We agreed last time—first catch gets first bite. And even though she’s fat and ugly…” he paused, inhaling deeply, “… I can still smell it. Virgin. Fresh.”

He licked his lips loudly.

My stomach twisted violently.

“Please,” I cried, my voice breaking as tears streamed down my face. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll give you everything I have. My bag—my money—anything. Just let me go.”

My feet stumbled, but fear forced me forward.

“Well, well,” one of them mocked. “What do we have here?”

“An ugly damsel in distress,” another said, bursting into laughter.

Their laughter echoed in my ears, cruel and sharp, tearing into what little courage I had left.

Was this really how my life would end?

Why is my life full of misfortune?

No. I wouldn’t allow them to humiliate me. I would rather die than let them have their way with me.

With newfound determination, I stood up and grabbed a stick beside me.

“Don’t come any closer!” I shouted.

“Hahaha,” they laughed. “Looks like we have a fiery kitten. Well, that makes it more interesting.”

One of them moved toward me. I stepped back, and with sudden force, I swung the stick at him, hitting him between his legs.

His scream snapped the others out of their fun. One lunged at me, knocking the stick away. A stinging slap sent me crashing to the ground.

“Enough with the games. You two hold her down while I go first. After that, you can follow. We don’t want to draw attention here,” their leader commanded while loosening his belt.

The other two pinned me down, their claws digging into my arms. Blood began to drip. There was no way I could escape their hold.

Was this my demise—to be assaulted and killed by rogues?

Maybe in my next life I will be born with luck and good fortune, I whispered softly as I closed my eyes, resigned to my fate.

Then suddenly, a voice thundered:

“Let her go. And don’t dare touch her.”

My eyes were blurry with tears, but I knew that voice.

A thunderous roar ripped through the forest, so loud it shook the ground beneath my feet.

The air changed instantly.

Before I could even turn fully, a massive black wolf appeared between me and the rogues. He was enormous—larger than any wolf I had ever seen. His fur was dark as night, streaked with deep crimson like dried blood, and his claws gleamed gold under the moonlight, sharp and deadly.

Power rolled off him in crushing waves.

I barely had time to breathe.

There was a blur of movement—too fast for my eyes to follow.

Something wet hit the ground.

A body collapsed.

Headless.

My breath caught painfully in my throat as I realized it was the leader—the one who had been seconds away from hurting me. His body twitched once… then lay still.

The other two rogues screamed in terror.

They turned and ran.

They didn’t get far.

Shadows flashed. A low snarl cut through the air. Then—two heavy thuds.

Both bodies hit the ground, lifeless and broken, the forest falling silent once more.

It was over.

Just like that.

I stood frozen, unable to move, unable to speak. My mind struggled to catch up with what my eyes had just seen. Everything had happened too fast. I hadn’t even seen how he killed them.

Only that he had.

The massive wolf turned slowly.

His burning gaze locked onto me.

Those eyes—filled with fury, wrath, and something darker—pinned me in place.

My knees weakened as he stepped closer, each movement powerful and controlled.

“Why did you disobey me?” he growled, his voice deep and terrifying, vibrating through my bones.

Fear and relief crashed into me at once.

Inside my head, Lucy screamed—MATE!