Lies and Funerals Under the Moon Chapter 5

His usually pristine suit was stained with dried blood and completely disheveled.

His voice was cold as ice.

"Katrina is alive, but she lost a lot of blood. She's still unconscious."

"Are you satisfied now that it's come to this?"

Kate looked up at his deep brows, seeing the crimson determination in his eyes.

Under the blanket, her hand clenched into a fist. Kate forced a cold smile and enunciated every word.

"I'll be satisfied when she's dead!"

Liam’s pupils shrank. "Kate, how did you become so vicious?"

Kate laughed softly. "Isn't this all thanks to you and Katrina?"

Liam closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them again, his gaze was resolute.

"Kate, I wronged you. But I... I really can't let Katrina go."

"I will use the rest of my life to make it up to you, but I can't abandon her."

"I've already agreed with her. My Luna will always be you. She won't take your position."

"From now on, I will love both of you. I will fulfill my duties as Alpha to you, and I will take care of her."

His tone wasn't a negotiation. It was a notification.

Katrina had gambled and won.

Kate had guessed this result the moment he ran out of the room.

But hearing Liam say it out loud caused a pain in her heart that words couldn't describe.

She trembled. "Are you so sure I won't break the bond with you?"

Liam smiled, a faint hint of contempt in it.

"You didn't break it before, did you?"

Kate felt like she was choking.

So, three months ago, when she kept lowering her bottom line, he saw it as permission to do whatever he wanted.

Kate’s eyes grew wet. "Liam, you really are... a bully."

Liam stepped closer, bending down to look at her pale face. His tone softened.

He reached out and gently stroked her cheek.

"Kate, I still love you. But a wolf's life is long. You have to allow me a moment of wandering."

Kate looked at the familiar face, finding it strangely terrifying.

Liam’s phone rang.

It was the special ringtone. He answered immediately.

Katrina’s weak voice came through the speaker. "Liam, where are you? I'm alone in the room. I'm scared."

Liam started walking out as he soothed her. "I'm coming back right now."

Kate raised her hand and scrubbed the spot on her face he had touched.

She rubbed until the skin was red and swollen, tears falling continuously.

He can wander all he wants. It has nothing to do with me anymore.

Not long after Liam left, Katrina’s happy, coquettish voice drifted down the hall.

Kate covered her ears, trying not to listen.

But the sound was like a sharp sword, piercing her ears.

She slept fitfully, waking up from nightmares where Liam still loved her.

It made her current loneliness seem even more ridiculous and pathetic.

When she woke up again, a notification popped up on her phone.

She clicked it. It was Katrina’s alternate social media account.

She had posted several photos.

The first was their hands clasped together.

The second was a side profile of Liam peeling an apple for her, his eyes gentle.

The third was her leaning into Liam’s chest, looking up to kiss him.

The fourth...

Caption: [True love never admits defeat. I, a crazy gambler, finally won the most precious prize of my life. From now on, you are mine!]

Below, Liam commented from his private account almost instantly:

[Yes, I am yours.]

Kate stared at that sentence. Surprisingly, a feeling of dust settling—of liberation—rose in her heart.

When Liam first "returned," they pretended everything was fine.

But she had become paranoid. Calling him dozens of times a day. Checking the car surveillance constantly.

She would secretly smell his clothes while he showered, hunting for the scent of another female.

She would check his phone for messages from Katrina.

Every time he called her "Kate," she wondered if he was thinking of the other woman.

Now, she could finally let herself off the hook.

Kate tapped the screen, unfollowing and blocking both Liam and Katrina’s accounts.

She uninstalled the tracking app and the car recorder app.

Four months after Liam returned to the family, she finally... detoxed him.