Chapter 2

The wind in New York City had been a bit strong these past few days.

Or perhaps it was because this abandoned building where I stood was drafty everywhere.

In the distance, I could faintly hear the sounds of punching and kicking, while someone beside me offered me a cigarette.

I pushed it away.

"Kaelan doesn't like me smoking."

"Help me investigate the girl Kaelan brought back last night."

I turned to speak to the person beside me.

He'd been with me since I first entered the Cinderclaw Pack. Because he ranked seventh, his name was Rhys.

I usually called him Rhys. Since he'd been with me so long, he would occasionally say things others wouldn't dare to say.

"Lyra, sigh..."

"You're the smartest woman I've ever met."

"So you should understand that emotions and love shouldn't exist in people like us."

He stood beside me with his hands in his pockets, looking with me at the wasteland of ruins.

"Which of us doesn't have blood on our hands?"

"He's gone legitimate now. He'd never marry someone like us with blood-stained hands."

"Sure, we took the fall for his murders, so he treats us well. But becoming his Luna? That's definitely impossible..."

Yes, the reason Kaelan trusted me so much, spoiled me like this all these years, was because I'd taken the fall for his murders.

Over the years, my hands had been stained with quite a bit of blood, so much so that sometimes late at night when I looked at myself, I seemed like a vengeful ghost.

So much so that sometimes I almost forgot my true identity.

A spy. A nail buried deep in dark soil. A long, lethal fuse.

Purchased with my thirteen years and the blood of my own people.

No one would come to this abandoned building. The sounds of fighting had ended not long ago.

I raised my head, gazing at the bright white clouds under the clear sky.

I didn't care how many women Kaelan had. I was just afraid.

Decades of meticulous preparation, failing because of one uncertain variable.

"Let's go meet this young lady who was brought back."

I turned and spoke to the person behind me.

Unlike the cries and screams that echoed through the abandoned building, Kaelan's villa was peaceful and serene.

As soon as I entered, I saw a girl with braided pigtails lying on the sofa reading a book.

When she saw me, she startled and immediately became reserved.

"You..."

The girl looked at me, her eyes evasive, then lowered her lashes.

"Are you the Luna?"

I was surprised she would address me that way and sat down beside her.

"No."

"Ah..."

The girl seemed a bit disappointed and shrank further into the corner.

"I thought only someone as beautiful and outstanding as you would be worthy of Kaelan."

The girl's eyes held a kind of worldly innocence.

I smiled bitterly to myself. Here was another girl who'd been dazzled by Kaelan's appearance.

Just as I was about to reach out and pat her head, someone suddenly stopped me.

"Lyra, Kaelan said you can't touch Elena."

The person arrived quickly, getting right in my face. If not for the respect they still had for me, they would have physically escorted me out.

"Please don't come to this villa anymore. It belongs to Elena now."

The girl was so frightened she curled into a ball again, while I raised my eyebrows.

Tsk, tsk, such a level of protection.

"Fine, I'll leave."

Kaelan had brought back plenty of women over the years, but this was the first time he'd protected one like this.

"Lyra, this is all the information we could find."

In the car, Rhys bent down to hand me the documents.

There was very little information, but even this much was probably only what Kaelan wanted me to find.

This young woman's full name was Elena. She was three years younger than Kaelan.

And she and Kaelan... grew up in the same Pack.

Before Kaelan brought her back, she worked at an orphanage. Her record was squeaky clean—they might as well have printed "delicate hothouse flower" on the paper.

"Kaelan seems... very different with her."

Rhys whispered in my ear.

Indeed. Could this Elena really be Kaelan's white moonlight, the one pure figure in his dark heart?

I bit my nail, thinking.

As far as I knew, Kaelan had very few weaknesses at this point.

He had no parents. He'd climbed up from the very bottom, entering this Pack even later than I had.

Young but ruthless—I'd watched him climb his way up, and I'd followed him all along. I'd chosen the right person, but also the wrong one.

Right because I'd become his confidant. Losing me would be like severing his own arm.

Wrong because... I hadn't anticipated his explosive growth.

By the time I realized it, it was too late.

My thoughts were interrupted by Rhys's next words. He patted my shoulder.

"Kaelan says..."

"He wants to eat food you've cooked."

If Kaelan wanted to eat, I had to cook for him.

I smiled slightly and told the driver to turn around.

To the market.