Chapter 2
ELIAS VERNAL
In the noisy bar, I threw back a large gulp of smooth whiskey. Ice cubes clinked against the glass, and when I set it down, a woman's reflection appeared on its surface.
"Hey, Elias. You're alone tonight?"
I turned to see Kathleen, the Elder's daughter. Her ample chest was practically spilling out of her low-cut top. She leaned against the bar, thrusting her chest forward and deliberately brushing against my arm. "What a coincidence. So am I."
I frowned in disgust. Her perfume was overpowering—sickeningly sweet and fake, like rotting fruit. It assaulted my sensitive nose.
Lately, word about me frequenting this bar must have gotten out.
"Chance encounters" with women had become suspiciously common.
For them, this was probably the easiest way to get close to me, compared to the heavily guarded mansion or the corporate headquarters.
For me, it just meant I needed to find a new bar.
"Mind if I sit here?" Kathleen asked.
"Suit yourself." I didn't care what she did, as long as she sat down, stopped rubbing against me, and gave me some space.
I stayed at this bar for no particular reason. I just didn't want to go home yet. Didn't want to face her.
Serenity.
My Luna. My fated mate. My... traitor?
When the last word surfaced, I couldn't help but smirk bitterly. I poured myself another drink.
Six months had passed since the battle with the hunters. Since Liv's death. Yet I still felt trapped in that moment, unable to break free.
Even now, I still couldn't figure out what had happened that night. The hunters had attacked like they had nothing to lose—strange, considering they usually avoided a powerhouse like the Vernal pack.
But even if they had attacked, it shouldn't have mattered. Our defense systems were state-of-the-art. We had the largest force of elite warriors. Patrols covered every inch of our borders. No matter where the hunters struck, they should have been detected immediately and surrounded.
But they didn't come through the borders.
They appeared in the heart of our territory like ghosts, catching us completely off guard.
They knew exactly where our defenses were weak.
They knew the locations of our armory and supply depots—as if someone had drawn them a detailed map and personally guided them in.
Naturally, we suffered devastating losses. Setting aside the warriors who died, seven pups were killed when the hunters attacked the shelter. The grieving pack demanded blood. Everyone wanted the traitor found and executed.
Serenity—who had only married into the Vernal pack a year ago—became the first target of suspicion.
And on the night of the attack, no one could account for her whereabouts.
She should have been in the forest shelter with the other vulnerable pack members, but instead she showed up at the mansion—which had nearly become a battlefield—the only one to escape the assault.
"I was worried about you, so I came to find you..."
That was her explanation during the initial interrogation.
Around the time she left the shelter, I had indeed been wounded in battle. Given our mate bond, it wasn't strange that she'd sensed it. But such a flimsy excuse couldn't convince the pack. The intelligence the hunters possessed could only have been accessed by me, my father—or her, the Luna.
And then there was that video. The one recovered from a patrol warrior's body.
It showed a hunter meeting a wolf in the forest. The wolf wore a hat and shapeless clothing that hid their figure.
They handed something to the hunter. The video was too blurry, the camera shaking badly, but I had to admit—that silhouette looked like her.
No matter how much I didn't want to believe it, she was the prime suspect.
Not to mention she had killed Liv. The woman who meant everything to me.
Before Serenity appeared, I had planned to take Liv as my mate. It was what Liv wanted, and whatever she wanted, I was willing to give her. It was the least I could do to repay her.
But Alfred, who was still Alpha then, had forcibly separated us and ordered me to marry Serenity.
Liv was heartbroken. I was consumed with guilt, unable to make it up to her.
From that moment, I swore that having failed Liv once, I would never hurt her again. I couldn't give her a marriage anymore, but I could at least ensure she lived happily for the rest of her life. I owed her that much.
And I couldn't even do that simple thing.
The moment I saw Liv fall into the sea, my hatred for Serenity reached new heights.
She had harmed pack members, and now more people believed she was the traitor.
Death was the appropriate punishment—and I knew there were pack members already planning to take matters into their own hands.
That was why I had confined her: to separate her from them while calming the pack's fury.
But in the end, I still hadn't acted against her.
Was it logic? Or was it Fenrir, my wolf, mourning through our bond?
I didn't know. I told myself I hadn't avenged Liv because something still felt off, and I wouldn't act rashly. That wasn't entirely a lie. The sudden rumors within the pack, the blurry video, Serenity's repeated denials—my instincts told me things were too 'convenient.'
But the investigation had yielded nothing. Where had we gone wrong?
"Don't you think the AC in here is too cold, Elias?" Kathleen's voice cut through my thoughts. She squirmed on her stool, deliberately hiking up her skirt. I looked away in disgust.
Why did these women think such cheap tricks would work on me?
None of them could compare to Serenity.
I had to admit the pull of a fated mate. I could never quite refuse her. Even when I was supposed to hate her, my mind kept returning to her tender care during our time together, her thoughtfulness, her beautiful smile.
More than once, I had wondered: was the warmth she showed me real? Or just a carefully crafted performance to lower my guard?
When had she started betraying me?
The alcohol burned my throat but couldn't untangle the mess of questions in my head.
"Why won't you talk to me, Elias?" Kathleen's hand landed on my thigh. She leaned in as if to whisper something, but her lips angled strangely.
Staged.
I saw through it immediately. From a distance, this angle would look like a passionate kiss.
Behind me, I heard the faint click of a camera. I scanned the room and spotted the paparazzo in a booth.
Damn. Those photos would get out. Serenity might even see them—
At that thought, my breath caught for a moment.
"Why don't we go upstairs? I have a hotel room." Kathleen pressed her luck, draping herself across me with bedroom eyes.
"Get lost."
I used an Alpha command. Dominance washed over her like a tide. Her face went white, and she slid off the stool, falling to her knees. She trembled violently.
"I—I—"
"I said get lost!"
She scrambled away, along with her hired photographer.
My mood was ruined. I threw down some cash and walked out of that place reeking of alcohol and cheap perfume. The night wind was cold, but it couldn't clear my head. I had come here to drink away my troubles, only to leave more frustrated than before.
I walked to the parking garage and found my car. After the paparazzi incident, my first instinct was to go home to Serenity. But when I opened the door and saw the bouquet of white roses on the passenger seat—the ones I'd bought for Liv—I froze.
Today was Liv's birthday.
Six months. She had been in that cold ocean for six months.
And all this time, even knowing who killed her, I still hadn't avenged her. Sometimes when I came home and found Serenity asleep on the couch waiting for me, I couldn't help but drape a blanket over her to keep her warm. Then I'd catch myself, hate that I'd done it, and flee in guilt.
I could never forget Serenity kneeling at my feet, crying, swearing she'd never touched Liv. Her tears were so clear, so pure. Watching them roll down her face had made my own heart ache.
"Believe me, Elias. I'm innocent."
Because she said that, I believed her. Even though I'd arrived at the cliff just in time to see her push Liv into the sea.
And what was the result?
The team I sent out never recovered Liv's body, but they did find her phone. It contained the last message she ever received—an invitation to meet at the cliffs. From Serenity.
She had lied to me.
It was premeditated.
She had exploited the trust of our mate bond to betray me.
And that led to another terrifying thought: if she could deceive me about Liv, had she lied about being the traitor too?
My chest tightened. I started the car and headed for the hilltop cemetery. I could drive this route with my eyes closed. I came here every month.
Just then, my phone rang.
I glanced at the screen: Serenity Vernal.
I hesitated, then gripped the steering wheel and answered.
The moment the call connected, I heard her soft intake of breath. She seemed to steel herself before speaking, her voice trembling. "Where are you, Elias?"
Something about her careful tone made me uneasy.
I remembered when we'd first met—she'd been like this all the time, nervous and wounded.
The daughter of an Alpha, yet she'd nearly drowned in a fountain.
But when I pulled her from the water, her pale face and wet golden hair caught the sunlight, and she looked as ethereal as an Undine.
No one else had ever seen her beauty the way I did. Werewolf society only cared about bloodline strength. Their treatment of Serenity was unjust.
That had always pained me.
That was why I could never let go of my worry for her, why I kept getting tangled up with her.
Now I wondered if she'd been playing me from the very beginning.
"Where I am is none of your business." I brushed her off curtly. "Did you need something? I'm busy today. Can't chat."
"There's something important I need to tell you. Can you come home tonight?" Serenity asked.