The cool night air bit at my skin as I stepped out of the prison gates, the scent of pine and damp earth filling my nostrils. The moon hung low in the sky, its pale light casting long shadows across the ground. I took a deep breath, savoring the freedom I had been denied for three long years.
“Raquel,” a familiar voice called out, sharp and commanding.
I turned to see Joshua, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, standing beside his sleek black car. His towering frame, broad shoulders, and chiseled features were as imposing as ever, his aura radiating dominance even in the stillness of the night. His dark eyes, once filled with warmth, now held a cold detachment that made my stomach churn.
He held out a coat, his voice softer than I expected. “Now that your sentence is complete, make sure to apologize to Adele. There’s still a place for you in this pack.”
His words were a slap in the face. Three years ago, he had dismissed my pleas, his alpha tone silencing me as he testified against me, sending me to prison for a crime I didn’t commit—all for the sake of Adele, his first love.
I ignored the coat and squared my shoulders, meeting his gaze head-on. “I’m not coming back. I want to dissolve our mate bond.”
Joshua let out a derisive laugh, tossing the coat at me with a mocking smirk. “Stop pretending. You’ve just spent three years in prison. Who else would want you besides me?”
His words cut deeper than I cared to admit. The brief gentleness in his voice had been an illusion, a fleeting moment of weakness.
Just then, the car door opened, and Adele stepped out, her golden hair gleaming under the moonlight. She stood beside Joshua, her delicate features twisted into a look of disdain. “Raquel, three years ago, you stabbed me out of jealousy over Alpha Joshua’s kindness to me. I’ve forgiven you now, so why are you still putting on this act?”
Her voice was sweet, but her words were laced with venom. They dragged me back to that fateful night, the night that had ruined my life.
It was supposed to be our anniversary. Joshua and I had planned a candlelit dinner at a charming Italian restaurant. I had waited for three hours, my heart sinking with each passing minute. When he didn’t show and his phone was unreachable, I rushed home, only to find Adele there.
She was Joshua’s first love, and ever since she returned from abroad, they had been in frequent contact, leading to countless arguments between us. That night, she claimed she had been drinking heavily with friends and that Joshua had rushed to the pub to bring her back, leaving to buy aspirin.
Anger and frustration boiled inside me as I told her to stay away from my mate. But she ignored me, suddenly pulling out a small knife and lunging at me. Instinctively, I fought back, finally managing to wrest the knife from her. But then, she wrenched my wrist, driving the blade into her own shoulder.
Blood stained her clothes, and I stood there, frozen, unable to comprehend why she would do such a thing.
At that moment, Joshua returned, holding a bag of medicine. He screamed in horror at the scene before him, rushing to support Adele, then turned on me with fury. “Raquel, what have you done to her?”
I opened my mouth to explain, but Adele cut in, clutching her wound and crying out in pain. “Raquel came in, saw me, and just lost it. She warned me to stay away from you, and when I tried to explain, she went crazy and attacked me with a knife. Luckily, I dodged, and it only hit my shoulder.”
I shook my head desperately, shouting my defense. “No, that’s not true. This was all Adele’s plan; she deliberately hurt herself with the knife…”
But Joshua cut me off coldly. “Enough, Raquel. Do you think I’m a fool? Who would purposely hurt themselves with a knife? This was all because you were jealous of my kindness to her and lost your mind. The evidence is clear, and yet you still refuse to admit it!”
He held Adele close, his alpha tone silencing me as he called the police and testified against me. With no way to defend myself, I was sent to prison for three years.
“Raquel, I thought these three years in prison would make you reflect on your mistakes and change, but you’re just the same, refusing to repent,” Joshua said, his voice cold and dismissive.
I looked up and saw Adele clinging to his arm, her gaze dripping with contempt. Unlike before, I didn’t make a scene. Three years in prison had worn down my spirit. Now, all I felt was a dull numbness.
Calmly, I said, “I’ll pack my things and leave.”
But when I opened the door to what used to be my room, I froze. My clothes and belongings had all disappeared, replaced entirely by Adele’s things, as if she were the rightful Luna of the pack.
Suddenly, I remembered something and rushed to the cabinet. There used to be a family photo of me with my parents there—one of the last things they had left me before their untimely death. But now, the cabinet was cluttered with Adele’s trinkets, and my photo was nowhere to be found.
I turned to them, my voice trembling with anger. “Where’s the photo of me and my parents? What have you done with it?”
