Luna Returned for Vengeance Chapter 01

Luna Returned for Vengeance Chapter 01

Nora’s POV

My mate had been tied up with a cross-border pack merger recently, so I returned home alone to attend my best friend Claire’s mate ceremony.

The ceremony took place in the ballroom of New York’s most luxurious hotel. Most guests were from the pack’s legal, financial and business communities. As I walked into the reception hall, I caught a blend of Alpha scents and fine champagne.

I had barely sat down when someone laughed out loud.

“Well, if it isn’t Nora! The girl who chased our campus heartthrob Ethan relentlessly back in college.”

“Did you hear Ethan was here, so you chased after him all the way here?”

Before I could even open my mouth, they were off to the races.

“She made such a big scene when she called off her mate ceremony. I thought she had more integrity.”

“Ethan is now a partner at New York’s largest pack law firm and a renowned Alpha attorney across the country. It’s no surprise she regrets her choices.”

“Too bad for her. He’s already engaged.”

Ethan Shaw sat directly across from me. He heard every word, yet he said nothing. He did not even glance in my direction. It was like I didn’t exist.

I looked at his cold, perfect profile and had to admit—I really used to love that face.

In college, my pursuit of him was known to everyone on campus. I brought him breakfast each morning, waited for him after class, and stayed up late with him in the library. He never rejected me, nor did he take the initiative.

That changed when I dragged myself to his debate final while running a high fever. After the competition, he looked at my exhausted state and said coldly, “Let’s give it a go.”

Just like that, we were together. Even after we started dating, he was still cold. But he would highlight the important parts for me before finals. When I struggled to stay awake, he would feign a stern warning. “Focus on your studies, or I’ll kiss you.”

Whenever other she-wolves handed him love letters, he would take my hand and say, “I’m already taken.”

Once I stared a little too long at the players on the lacrosse field, and he covered my eyes with his cool palm. The next day, his name appeared on the team tryout roster. Once the practice game ended, he removed his helmet, held his lacrosse stick, and gazed at me across the stands.

“From now on, you can only look at me.”

Back then, I really thought he loved me.

Then, right before graduation, Sophie Lang, Ethan’s childhood friend and next-door sister, enrolled in our university. She and Ethan were extremely close, and I felt like an outsider in their company.

I did lose my temper more than once. Yet Ethan would frown slightly and speak with irritation.

“Nora, you’re being annoying.”

Still, I didn’t give up. I kept telling myself to hold on a little longer, and things would work out. I kept holding on all the way until the eve of our mate ceremony.

My mother was struck and killed on the spot by an out-of-control Porsche. Sophie was behind the wheel.

When I arrived at the police station, I saw her clutching Ethan’s sleeve, trembling with tears. “Alpha, I didn’t mean to… I was distraught knowing you were going to hold your mate ceremony, so I drank too much…”

Ethan stood beside her and comforted her in a low voice.

“Don’t fear. I’m with you.”

At that moment, cold dread washed over me. My wolf let out a faint mournful whimper deep inside my chest.

That same night, I called off the mate ceremony and ended my relationship with Ethan. He made no attempt to persuade me to stay.

After a long pause, he spoke in a low tone. “Sophie is my sister. I cannot leave her to fend for herself.”

When the case went to trial, Ethan defended Sophie in person. The Lang family held great influence within the New York Pack. Ethan was also the most skilled Alpha attorney for pack liability cases. They managed to reclassify the drunk-driving fatal crash as an ordinary traffic accident. In the end, Sophie got nothing more than probation.

When the verdict came down, Sophie threw herself into Ethan’s arms and sobbed. And I sat on the other side of the room, watching the woman who killed my mother be held and protected by him.

My father and I refused to accept the ruling and filed an appeal. Yet before we received a result, he passed away from exhaustion and prolonged suffering. I had offended the Lang family, so the New York Pack targeted me relentlessly. I could not find work or rent a place to live. A few hired rogues dragged me into an alley, took humiliating photos of me, and nearly killed me.

To stay alive, I was forced to give up temporarily and leave the country.

“Nora!”

Claire’s voice pulled me back from my memories. Dressed in an ivory mate ceremony gown, she walked over with her groom to offer toasts. Her bridesmaids continued to adjust her gown’s train behind her.

“Why are you here by yourself? Where’s your mate?”

A hush fell over the crowd for a moment, followed by an uproar.

“Nora’s married?”

“She dated Ethan—who else would even want her?”

“Claire, don’t bother lying to make her feel better. It’s embarrassing.”

Claire flushed with anger and lifted her wine glass to splash the wine at them. “How can you speak like this?”

I stopped her and gently touched my glass to hers. “Happy mate ceremony, sweetheart.”

This was her special day, and I did not want her mate ceremony to be remembered as a farce.

After the mate ceremony, I left right away. A black Maybach came to a stop at the hotel entrance. The steward stepped out, opened the car door for me and bowed respectfully.

“Madam, my lord has sent me to fetch you.”

Behind me, people started whispering.

“Wait… really?”

“Did Nora actually marry into a top Alpha family?”

“Probably hired help. And that car’s definitely a rental.”

We were not of the same standing, so there was no need for explanations. I prepared to step into the car.

“Nora.”

Ethan’s voice stopped me. I turned around. He was standing on the steps, looking down at me with that same arrogant expression.

“There’s no need for this,” he said. “It’s cheap.”

I looked at him for a few seconds. And suddenly, I realized: the old Nora who kept swallowing her pride for him really was pretty cheap.

I let out a scoff and climbed into the car. The window rolled up slowly. I chose to shut him out.

That night, I received a call from my mate. He told me he planned to transfer all his assets to my name.

I blinked. “That’s not necessary.”

He fell silent for two seconds. His voice softened suddenly, like a large wolf pup feeling wronged.

“What do you mean? Do you look down on me? Are you going to sever our mate bond?”

I didn’t even know what to say.

He wouldn’t let it go, so finally I promised I’d look into the legal transfer as soon as possible.

The next day, I visited the law firm. While the receptionist verified my appointment, I lifted my head idly.

I was slightly nearsighted. I could only make out a tall, well-dressed man walking from the end of the corridor. When he got closer, I realized it was Ethan.

I turned to leave. But he was already right in front of me. He gazed at me, his tone calm yet laced with disdain.

“Nora, you are twenty-eight, not eighteen. Was it necessary to follow me to my workplace?”