Third Person's POV On the other side of the estate, Magnus led Aysel to a quiet, secluded terrace where the scent of moonflowers drifted softly through the night air. The distant noise of the manor faded behind thick stone and shadow-veined vines. He opened the long velvet-lined case on the table. Inside lay the cello that Raya loved most-the instrument that had followed her through countless performances, beneath banquet chandeliers and moonlit pack ceremonies alike. It was said that when she came of age, her family had spared no expense to have it custom-made for her. The Raya family had never rivaled the wealth of the Sanchez bloodline, but Raya had grown up wrapped in genuine love. Back when Magnus was still a captive cub within his own bloodline, still trapped under Ulric Sanchez's roof, he had watched Raya again and again through cracked doorways: Watched her gently dust the strings with reverent care. Watched her, on her rare lucid days, sit by the tall window and play for him as moonlight spilled across her shoulders. The sound had always been aching-like a wounded wolf's cry beneath a bleeding moon. It weighed on the soul. After Raya's death, the cello vanished. Magnus had searched for it. He had long believed it destroyed. His fingers brushed lightly over the strings now. Then he turned and smiled at Aysel, who was leaning on the low table, chin propped in her hands, watching him unveil the gift with quiet amusement. Magnus reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his gaze softened with scattered warmth. "Where did you find it?" he asked. Aysel blinked at him with deliberate innocence-and delivered her answer like a blade. "Stole it from Ivy." In truth, the cello had been hidden away in Ulric Sanchez's private study.During one of Ivy and Ulric's explosive arguments, Aysel had overheard Ivy shriek through clenched teeth: "Don't think I don't know what you've been hiding in that study you never let me enter! You're not protecting privacy-you're protecting your obsession with a dead woman!" Aysel had thought most of Ivy's words were pure nonsense. But that accusation? That one struck true. Raya was already dead. What use was Ulric's hollow grief now? Her maternal grandparents had also been indirectly ruined by his fixation. If he had let Raya go back then-if he had simply released his grip-she might have rebuilt her life. Even divorced, she would still have had parents who loved her, a well-behaved son, and a career worth fighting for. But Ulric had been greedy. Never satisfied with what he had. And in clinging to her, he had dragged the entire Raya bloodline into ruin. If Aysel were in Raya's place, knowing that Ulric still cradled her belongings in secret mourning, she wouldn't feel touched. She would feel nauseated. And now that Ivy had completely torn ties with Ulric, Aysel also feared she might do something reckless. Raya's relics were unsafe with either of them. Giving this cello to Magnus was the only proper ending. He was the ruling Alpha of the Shadowbane Pack-someone who could not afford madness. Aysel could afford it just fine. So earlier, she had distracted Magnus with a few sweet kisses, slipped away under the excuse of rest- And turned back for her real mission.Just in time. Because when Aysel stormed in, Ivy-wrapped in bandages like a cocoon, still reeling from a concussion-was hoarsely ordering servants to split the cello apart. When Aysel seized it mid-destruction, Ivy nearly twisted her mouth crooked in rage. Yet Aysel felt not a single ounce of guilt. She lifted her chin proudly and declared without shame: "Yes, I'm vicious. I'm domineering. I'm rude. If you're unhappy-go cry about it." Go complain? To whom exactly? To Magnus Sanchez? That was precisely where Aysel's arrogance came from. Even if she shattered an entire relic vault, Magnus would only smile mildly and say: "My Aysel is young. She has a temper. The older generation should indulge her." Enough to send Ivy coughing blood all over again. What about Bastien Sanchez? Aysel had already turned the Sanchez estate upside down more than once-yet Bastien had never stopped her from becoming Magnus's future Luna. In this house, the balance of power had already shifted. Ivy was already injured and lightheaded. After being verbally crushed by Aysel's utterly shameless confidence, her chest tightened violently. She truly spat blood this time. And collapsed. When the steward rushed in and saw the scene, his soul nearly left his body. If the second Luna truly died here, Bastien himself wouldn't be far behind from rage alone. Panic-stricken, he called for emergency transport at once-and had Ulric sent away as well. The steward rubbed his numb scalp in dread.The mate chosen by the Alpha Magnus had far too much combat power. For the safety of the second branch of the bloodline- It was best that husband and wife stayed far, far away from the Shadowbane estate.