Doris' POV

"Doris! We will soon be freed from this hell!" a familiar yet reassuring voice sounded. Shana, my wolf has finally woken up again after two years.

The voice soothed me. For the past two years, my freedom has been in shackles. Locked up or even buried, I had been living the life of an adult without the liberation that comes with being one.

I stood in front of a pile of unprocessed ingredients, afraid to make any move, fearing that this, like countless dreams before, would turn into nothing but popping bubbles and disappear when daylight arrived.

But Shana's voice became clear once again, and she encouraged me, saying, "Not to worry, Doris. I really have come back, and this time I will fight alongside you! I can't wait to sink my claws into those bastards' throats!"

That soothing yet familiar voice resonated through my vague consciousness and I believed in it. However, the harsh voice that pierced through my dream pulled me back to reality.

"Get your head out of your fantasies, lubber wort."

I lifted my head and saw the magnified disgusted face of a middle-aged woman. "You lazy bum! What are you dawdling for? Do you even know what day it is today? How dare you waste time here!"

As my mother-in-law's grating voice reminded me of the embarrassment I was about to face, I tightened my grip on the kitchen knife. Never in my life had I imagined that I would be humiliated by my husband, my supposed mate, in such a soul-crushing manner.

"Prepare a dinner for me and Sofia. It's our third anniversary."

Sofia is my husband's mistress. While I had only been married to my mate for two years. But from the moment I was announced as his Luna, my husband wasted no time in openly sharing our bed with Sofia.

Meanwhile, I was relegated to the smallest room in the entire villa, smaller even than an Omega's room. For the past two years, I have lived in constant fear and terror. The wounds on my body have never healed. Any word of dissent from me would invite lashes upon my body, as my healing abilities vanished along with Shana's slumber.

I longed to throw the kitchen knife at my mother-in-law's repulsive face but now was not the time...

I had to obey her orders until I could finally reveal my identity. At this moment, I can only live as carefully as a mouse. There's no other choice. But when the time comes, when I'll reveal myself, I swear to the Moon Goddess, I'd destroy all these goddamned bastards.

As I continued to slice the chicken silently and precisely, the television above my head began to broadcast a major news announcement.

"Today's news: Alpha Doris Albert announces her imminent return to the public eye..."

I noticed that my mother-in-law, the former Luna Mara, had her gaze fixed on the masked woman on the screen. This momentarily silenced the words of humiliation she had intended for me. No one would have imagined that the terrifying Warrior Goddess on the television was now standing in a dirty kitchen, preparing a third-anniversary dinner for her husband and his mistress.

I sarcastically chuckled, and Mara's voice grew angrier once again. "Ohh, what are you laughing at? You're dreaming for the moon here! Do you think that just because you share the same name as the pack goddess, you're both the same person?"

I bit my lower lips, bowing my head down while I clenched my fist when she lifted my chin. "You're just a piece of decoration beside my son. If my son didn't save you while you were injured and found that you're his mate, you would've just been a slave to the pack." She laughed, scanned me all over, and added, "And, you dare to gloat that you share the same name as the Goddess of War? You should give up dreaming for the moon." She scoffed, rubbing her hands with a handkerchief and then throwing it back to my face.

"You imbecile! You should wake up and be aware that it's already four in the afternoon. You need to make sure all the dishes are ready before seven in the evening, or I guarantee your husband will once again lash his whip on your delicate skin!"

"That witch!" Shana seethed in my mind. I remained silent as I placed the cloth back in its place. I watched Mara's retreating figure, certain that her arrogance would come to an end on the next full moon.

The other she-wolves drifted their attention to me and snickered"Some people just don't know their places. Look at it, look at the TV." She said, pointing toward the direction as I frowned and turned toward her.

"Doris Albert. Though no one knows her background, just like yours, her background must be extraordinary. After all, she came out of nowhere at the age of eighteen and defeated the mightiest of the mightiest werewolves. When rogues hear her name, they tremble in fear and lose their stances. I heard that she was also involved in the economic field, uniting several major Packs to build a huge business empire." She scoffed, playing with my hair, and rolled her eyes. "How could you even compare to her?"

"Uhm, but I heard that such an outstanding person like her suddenly disappeared in the Blood Moon Pack a year ago. And, the entire Blood Moon Pack was wiped out overnight. Whose work do you think it is? Hers, the rogues, or did they have enemies?" One of the Omegas, Rena, spoke to another servant as she bumped into me again with her shoulder, causing my abdomen to hit the countertop. I let out a muffled groan, glaring at the two Omegas angrily.

This time it worked, perhaps due to Shana's return. I watched their faces turn fearful, and they dared not lay a hand on me any longer as they left the kitchen.

I continued to stare at the woman on the television. It was my interview from yesterday, a preview of what was to come. I was going to let those treacherous betrayers know that their nightmares were about to begin—

But the painful scene from two years ago pierced through my heart once again, like a dagger.

RED. It was tinted with red all over, red with my pack members' blood. It was all silent, but their whimpers rang in my ear again and again. Yet, I couldn't save them, I couldn't even unalive those bastards, and bury my pack members.

I gritted my teeth, rubbing my eyes harshly as I glared around my surroundings, clenching my jaws.

"What a foolish decision I made! Only if I didn't trust them, that would be great." I grunted, keeping my voice low enough to assure myself that no one heard it.

Anger, fear, and sadness coursed through me as my tears started to drop irresistibly, my lips trembling.

Two years ago.

Two years ago, I visited the Blood Moon Pack with my trusted subordinate, Sneck, to see my mother and younger brother. However, that evening, while taking a walk in the forest, a dagger coated with wolfsbane was thrust into my left chest. Sneck betrayed me. Poisoned, I mustered all my strength to return to the pack, only to find the Blood Moon pack marked with signs of battle.

In the chaos, I managed to save Philly and urged him to escape, but I couldn't save my mother and maternal grandfather in time. I watched in horror as my grandfather's head was cruelly severed by a sadistic werewolf, while my mother stood protectively in front of me, weakened until she was impaled by a longsword. Blood and tears fell together as I gritted my teeth and fled from there. Eventually, I collapsed on the border of the Red Moon Pack's territory.

Luckily, or unluckily, I was saved by Alpha Liddell when I was barely alive, and my wolf lost all her strength because of the serious wounds.

However, when Alpha Liddell came over, my wolf danced in joy as I smiled gloomily. The scent was bewitching, and I immediately kissed him before I growled, "Mate."

***

I heaved a sigh, slapping my cheeks. "And, that was the worst decision ever."

I accepted HIS BOND.

You ask me why?

The reason was simple.

First of all, he was my mate.

Secondly, I was seriously injured, and I had to go into hiding. What would be a better place than to hide as the Luna of Red Moon Pack?

My lips carved a nonchalant smile while I shook my head.

But Liddell turned out to be a real jerk. He treated me like garbage, loathed me, and married me only to humiliate me more, and more. Until I lose my sanity.

"How stupid of me to think that an Alpha like him would be treating me like his most precious treasure," I mumbled, clenching through my teeth.

I glanced down and breathed heavily. But I had to follow his orders, and not break the bond since I needed a hiding place, and my wolf couldn't bear the hurt of rejection bond as I was wounded seriously. So, I remained as HIS LOVELESS LUNA.

There was never a day I didn't think about taking back my pack, and unalive those betrayers by my own hands.

And, now, I am sure that I have recovered from my injuries. And, tomorrow it was the full moon when my wolf was at its strongest. "And, the day, I would break my bond with Liddell," I mumbled, smiling as I looked upward. I am not going to put up being treated like garbage any longer.

I shook my thoughts away and hurried to finish. As I was done, I took off my apron before I returned to my room.

However, as soon as I locked it, someone knocked on the door as I glared at it sharply, and opened the door.

My vision invited a black-clad werewolf, his head down when my chest thumped furiously in expectation. "Warlord, your younger brother, Sir Philly has been found."