Never Worthy of Her Shadow.

Declan frowned, his hatred for me running deep.

He and I had once been deeply in love.

In the battles against our enemies, we trusted each other completely, our teamwork seamless.

He promised me he would be loyal to me for life.

I had excitedly brought the news to the pack elders.

At the feast celebrating us as mates-to-be, I was supposed to be the only one on his mind.

But Declan's gaze never once left my sister, Dahlia.

A knot of unease tightened in my gut, and I expressed my dissatisfaction to him that night.

But when I told him, his brow furrowed with impatience, his tone dismissive.

I brushed it off, assuming he was just exhausted from the long banquet.

I let him rest, never imagining it was the beginning of my tragedy.

On the day of our bonding ceremony, I saw the corrupted mate's mark belonging to Dahlia on his chest and furiously confronted him.

However, he just looked at me with cold eyes and said, "I will not let an ambitious she-wolf be my Luna! The Luna of this pack can only be your sister, Dahlia!"

I couldn't understand.

Why was the wolf who once praised my talents now attacking me with such vicious words?

Losing control, I rushed to the center of the ceremony, demanding to know if Dahlia had said something to Declan.

In the midst of the argument, enemies armed with moon-forged silver weapons suddenly breached our defenses, slaughtering everyone.

I fought with all my might but ultimately fell into a pool of blood, watching my pack members fall one by one.

I couldn't rest, even in death.

As one of the pack's mystic architects, I had failed to defend against the enemy.

How did they break through? I died with my eyes wide open, consumed by hatred and confusion.

So when I opened my eyes again, reborn, I chose to let Declan and Dahlia be.

I did not cause any trouble for Dahlia. Instead, I led the pack members in reinforcing our defenses, cautiously investigating every possible weakness, and ultimately, we slaughtered the invaders, preventing the disaster.

Watching the two of them successfully complete their bonding ceremony, watching the pack celebrate, I had no more regrets.

I decided to leave them behind and forge my own future in the human world.

But I never imagined they would twist my choice to leave into something so contemptible.

They called me a failure in love, believing I was expelled from the pack, forced into the outside world.

"Aveline, you are no longer the Alpha's daughter. You should lose that arrogant attitude."

Declan stood before me, his arm wrapped around Dahlia's waist.

Dahlia's eyes were red and swollen as she said with a sob, "Aveline, I don't care about your past with Declan. I can accept it."

"Come back and live in the pack, even if it's as an Omega."

After speaking, Dahlia looked me up and down.

"And by the looks of it, you still haven't found a mate, have you?"

"I know it's painful that Declan chose me over you. So, to make it up to you, Declan and I will help you find a mate."

"Given your status, you're past the point of finding an Alpha mate, but I'll do my best to find you a decent Beta."

Her words sounded so sincere, making many werewolves sigh at her thoughtfulness.

I couldn't stand to watch her act any longer and turned to leave.

But as I turned to go, I bumped into the banquet's centerpiece—the Starlight Projector—sending it crashing to the floor.

A heartbeat later, Dahlia's shriek tore through the hall.

She covered her mouth, pointing at the shattered crystal on the floor, and shrieked, "Aveline! That was the ceremonial centerpiece Ultima Corbin prepared for his mate!"

"What have you done?!"