Chapter 7

• 【Jason POV】
• I know Lucia too well. I can hear the false sweetness dripping from every sentence she forces out.
• Whenever she tries to act cold and heartless, I can almost feel the pain twisting through her chest.
• I understand it. She’s burying all that hurt inside just to protect me.
• Having a girl like her love me… what else could I possibly regret in this life?
• I didn’t tell her immediately about the plans I’ve set in motion. I wanted to surprise her, just like I said.
• I’m going to give her the perfect wedding she once dreamed of, the one she thought she’d never have.
• After leaving the bridal shop, I wandered around the mall for a while until I headed straight into a jewelry store.
• I checked out shop after shop, looking through every display case I could find, until I finally stopped in front of a pair of pure gold rings. Their curves were flawless, and the inscriptions symbolized undying love.
• That was it. The moment I saw them, I knew.
• “That’s the one,” I said. “I’ll take it.”
• I announced it to the female werewolf behind the counter.
• “Sir, you have excellent taste. These rings are our crown jewels,” she said, her tone filled with pride. “They were crafted by two werewolves who defied the class system and vowed to stay together until death. Their legendary love story is what these rings represent. Anyone who buys them inherits that blessing. Because of that, they’re also quite expensive.”
• I glanced at Lester.
• Without waiting a second, Lester stepped forward and slid a platinum card from Black Wolf Bank across the counter. It was the most prestigious bank in the Fors Empire. Only the wealthy and highly respected carried this card, and among omegas, it was almost unheard of.
• A symbol of power.
• The sales clerk’s eyes widened. Her jaw dropped slightly, and for a moment she seemed frozen. Even after five years, the Fors Empire still clung tightly to the belief that omegas were at the bottom of society.
• Seeing one spend this kind of money stunned her.
• She swallowed and managed to say with envy, “Sir, your mate must be the luckiest werewolf alive. Congratulations to her, and best wishes to you both.”
• I pocketed the rings and left the mall with Lester. He drove us straight to the Phantom Pack base.
• “Alpha,” he reported once we arrived, “I had someone capture Rex’s lover. Using her as leverage, we forced Rex to cooperate. Our people are interrogating him now.”
• Watching the surveillance feed, I saw one of my men questioning Rex inside a dark basement.
• The place looked cold and damp, the kind of room that stripped away anyone’s pride.
• At first, Rex remained stubborn. He kept repeating that he was loyal to Mark and would never betray him.
• My subordinate didn’t waste time. He tossed a stack of photos onto the table in front of him—evidence of Mark secretly transferring Pack assets and meeting with several mistresses behind my back.
• Rex saw those photos and immediately paled. His resolve crumbled in seconds.
• He broke faster than I expected.
• “Miss Lucia tried to reach Jason many times,” he confessed, voice shaking. “She wrote him letters every few days. Over five years, she sent hundreds. She even tried arranging visits through the prison, but Mark intercepted all of them.”
• He hesitated, then added, “All the letters, along with the money and supplies she sent, are still with me. I’ll have someone bring everything right away.”
• My eyes narrowed.
• I had suspected something like this, but hearing it confirmed made my chest tighten with anger.
• Mark… you truly are ruthless.
• You wouldn’t visit me yourself, yet you didn’t allow anyone else to care about me either?
• How pathetic.
• “How did he control Miss Lucia?” I asked.
• “Mark used his influence to pressure the Frost Moon Pack,” Rex said. “He made the entire pack suffer because of her. Then he threatened her with Jason. He kept warning her that if she disobeyed, Jason would face special punishment. But if she cooperated, Jason would live comfortably in prison. He even said he’d help him get out early if she behaved.”
• My hands curled into fists. I felt my anger sinking deeper and deeper.
• So this was why Lucia severed ties with me so cruelly.
• This was the real reason behind her silence.
• Mark… impressive strategy.
• “How did the Iron Fang Pack’s alpha’s son die?” one of my men demanded.
• Rex panicked as the beating intensified. “It was Mark! Mark ordered it! He wanted to rise in power, so he had me hire gang assassins to do it!”
• He continued trembling as he revealed more. “He also transferred a large amount of Iron Fang Pack assets, bribed the elder council, and used every dirty method he could to weaken the alpha. He planned everything.”
• At that point, I had heard enough.
• There was no need to dig further.
• “Retrieve all the letters and anything Lucia sent me,” I ordered. “Keep them safe. And gather every piece of evidence we have against Mark. But don’t kill him yet.”
• I turned to Lester.
• “I’m going home. I need to have a serious conversation with my brother and my parents.”