#fullmovie #engsub #tvseries #trending2026 #dramaseries #romancemovies #fullhd #Alpha's Regret: Blood Moon | New Movie 2026
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00:00He was my fated mate, and the butcher of my entire pack. He forced me to destroy his child. He
00:05made me wait upon the woman he truly cherished. I endured every humiliation and silence, counting down the days until
00:12the poison in my body finally claimed my life. And yet, when he learned the truth, his hair turned white
00:17in a single night, and he fell to his knees before me, begging for forgiveness. Too late. Kieran.mywolf's soul,
00:25had already scattered.
00:27I was the daughter of the alpha of the blood moon pack. To bring an end to the endless bloodshed
00:32between our two packs, I had gone willingly to the alpha known across the north as the warlord of the
00:37north, Kieran, my fated mate. On the night of our mating rite, beneath the full moon, that savage alpha did
00:44more than mark me. He lost himself completely, taking and taking as though he meant to tear me apart, for
00:50three whole days, until I collapsed from exhaustion.
00:53My human form no longer able to endure it. I had once been foolish enough to believe Kieran loved me,
00:59or at the very least that he had yielded to the pull of the mating bond. The moon goddess had
01:03woven between us. But later, it was that same Kieran who personally led.
01:08The wolf host of the black river pack to breach our territory. He forced me to remain in wolf form,
01:14and pinned me beneath his foot so that I had no choice but to watch.
01:17My father, our revered alpha, was torn apart by the frenzied pack until his body lay in pieces.
01:24My brother, heir to our bloodline, had his throat ripped out by Kieran's own jaws.
01:28Those black river brutes even, disgraced my mother, before leaving her to collapse in a pool of blood.
01:35Then Kieran shifted into his human form, and looked down at me from above.
01:39In those molten gold wolf eyes, there was not the slightest trace of feeling.
01:43Alara, did you truly think that a wretched mating bond would be enough to win my heart?
01:47Do you have any idea how many of my people your blood moon packs slaughtered?
01:52And you thought sending me one woman would wipe out a hatred written in blood?
01:57In the end, Kieran devoured every pack in his path, and rose as the supreme wolf king.
02:02At his side stood his cherished chosen mate, Bella.
02:09As for me, I was imprisoned in the slave pens at the edge of the territory.
02:13My name was stripped from me.
02:15I survived like some lowly rogue, clinging to life without dignity.
02:19Each time I tried to kill myself, he would dig up the bones of one of my kin from the
02:23wolf's graveyard,
02:24and grind them to dust before my eyes.
02:26Without my command, you are not allowed to die.
02:29Your life belongs to me.
02:31So I stopped fighting.
02:32After all, there were only three days left until the wolf's bane draft I had swallowed years ago.
02:38To save him finally took effect and killed me.
02:40Today was the birthday feast of the new Luna, Bella.
02:44For once, Kieran had given orders that I was to be allowed out of the gloomy old stone keep.
02:50Dragging my heavy shackles behind me,
02:52I made my way step by step into the dazzling pack house.
02:55My eyes reddened as I looked towards the woman seated high above, wearing the moonstone crown.
03:00That crown had once been my mother's most treasured possession.
03:03It was the symbol of every blood moon Luna who had come before her.
03:07Impudent slave, how dare you stand before the alpha king and Luda without kneeling?
03:11A broad-shouldered beta guard drove a brutal kick into the back of my knee.
03:15I hit the stone floor with a sickening crack.
03:17Pain shot through me so sharply that my vision blurred.
03:20I did not resist.
03:21Obediently, I pressed my forehead to the ground
03:24and performed the bow reserved for the very lowest of wolf slaves.
03:28Kieran sat high upon a throne draped in fur and did not tell me to rise.
03:32His voice cut through the noise of the hall and
03:35came crashing down upon me, cold and expressionless.
03:39Elara, you are half an hour late.
03:42Was that a deliberate slight against Bella?
03:48I would never dare.
03:49I knocked my forehead hard against the floor again until blood began to beat at my brow.
03:54I offered no excuse.
03:55My legs had been injured during earlier torments and had never properly healed.
04:00I only lowered my head further.
04:02I did not explain that one of my legs had once been badly mangled in an iron trap
04:06and that every step from the slave pens to this hall had left a trail of blood behind me.
04:10A flicker of mockery crossed Kieran's face.
04:13You have at last learnt obedience like a well-trained dog.
04:17The last time I had failed to obey,
04:20he had thrown me into the fighting pit and made me battle several maddened bears,
04:24bleeding away nearly half the blood in my body.
04:27And when I was on the brink of death, he had calmly ordered a healer
04:31to keep me alive by force with rare herbs.
04:34Do get up, sister.
04:36A honeyed voice drifted down.
04:38Bella descended gracefully from the dais and bent to help me to my feet herself.
04:42She wore a perfect smile.
04:44Her words sounded warm enough,
04:46yet every syllable drove like a blade into the rawest part of my heart.
04:49You were once the noble daughter of an alpha,
04:52even if your pack has fallen.
04:53Surely you needn't truly demean yourself like a common servant.
04:57She took my hand, then suddenly went still.
05:00Her gaze had fixed upon the necklace at my throat.
05:03It was an old wolf-fung bracelet,
05:05weathered with age and simple in its make.
05:07A flash of greed lit her eyes, followed by admiration.
05:11Alpha, she said,
05:13turning to Kieran with a soft, coaxing smile.
05:15I like this necklace very much.
05:17D.I.T. has such a strange charm about it.
05:20May I have it as my birthday gift?
05:25Instinctively, I looked at Kieran.
05:27He was lazily turning his wine cup in one hand,
05:30utterly unmoved,
05:31as though it were nothing more than a worthless trinket.
05:33But that necklace
05:35had once been Kieran's pledge to me.
05:37Every wolf-fung on it had been taken by his own hand.
05:40From vicious beasts he had hunted himself.
05:42The healer had treated them afterwards,
05:44and even now they carried that strange fragrance
05:46which never seemed to fade.
05:48It was said that,
05:49if one wore such wolf-fangs for long enough,
05:51they could soothe an agitated wolf soul,
05:54ease pain,
05:54and even prolong life.
05:56I had been frail since childhood.
05:58My wolf-soul was unstable,
06:00and I was forever ill.
06:01When he first gave it to me,
06:03he had stood beneath the moon and sworn,
06:05with all the solemnity of a vow,
06:07that he wanted me to live safely and well all my life,
06:09free from sickness and suffering.
06:11Now, everything had changed beyond recognition.
06:14If the luna likes it,
06:17how could I refuse?
06:18My hand trembled as I removed the wolf-fung bracelet,
06:21from my wrist,
06:22where I had worn it for 10 years,
06:24and placed it in Bella's hand.
06:26As my fingertips brushed over the smooth warm fangs,
06:29it felt as though a blade were twisting in my heart.
06:32I lowered my gaze and said nothing.
06:34Though from somewhere above I thought,
06:36I heard the sharp crack of something striking stone,
06:38as if a wine cup had been knocked over.
06:41Bella toyed with the bracelet for a moment,
06:43smiled in satisfaction,
06:45and casually fastened it round her own pale wrist.
06:48Oh, that reminds me.
06:50It was as though some delightful thought had just occurred to her,
06:52though there was nothing but malice glittering in her eyes.
06:55I seem to remember that Alera was once one of the finest dancers among the wolves.
07:00Why not take this chance to perform for everyone?
07:05The hall fell silent for half a beat.
07:08Then laughter broke out everywhere.
07:10I stood where I was, numb,
07:12and during the malicious, eager stares cast at me from every corner of the feast.
07:16Among them were commanders of the Black River Pack,
07:18men who had slaughtered my people.
07:20There were also the Blood Moon traders,
07:22who had secretly joined hands with the enemy,
07:25and opened the gates to welcome the man.
07:27I wanted to refuse,
07:29but refusal had long since ceased to be a choice I possessed.
07:32One drunken wolf commander suddenly lurched to his feet,
07:35a bowl of freshly ladled broth in his hand,
07:38still boiling from the bronze cauldron.
07:40Without warning, he flung it straight at me.
07:42The scalding liquid splashed over my arm and shoulder.
07:45At once the skin blistered and peeled away,
07:48angry red and raw.
07:49What are you standing there for?
07:50You're the daughter of a defeated alpha.
07:52Do you still think you can put on airs?
07:54You're lucky we left you alive at all.
07:56Don't be ungrateful.
07:58Pain hit me with savage force.
08:00Yet I felt less like a living creature than a puppet already hollowed out.
08:05It was as though my soul had gone elsewhere,
08:07leaving my body behind.
08:09I did not even cry out.
08:11Quietly, I rose onto my toes.
08:13Before all of them,
08:14I turned myself into a dancing girl for their amusement.
08:18Wolfkind had always been wild and unrestrained by nature.
08:21Before long,
08:22the drunken brutes were no longer satisfied.
08:25They began shouting and whistling.
08:27Take it off.
08:28Strip that filthy rag off.
08:30Let's see whether the once noble princess is still as supple as she used to be.
08:34In terror,
08:35I looked towards the high seat.
08:37Kieran's gaze rested on me from afar,
08:39cold and unreadable.
08:40He did nothing.
08:42That silence was permission.
08:44Whatever warmth was left in my heart died then.
08:47I bit my lip and,
08:48with shaking hands,
08:49began to untie my sash.
08:51The hot broth had caused the cloth to stick to my burned flesh.
08:55When I pulled it away,
08:56it tore the skin with it,
08:58leaving raw patches streaked with blood.
09:00Scarlet spread across the ruined fabric
09:02of my dance clothes.
09:03One layer.
09:04Then another.
09:07And in this great hall,
09:09once filled with some of the happiest memories of my life,
09:12once the place where my father had held council,
09:14I stripped away the last of my dignity.
09:17In the end I could no longer stop the tears.
09:19Only after the feast had ended and the crowd dispersed
09:22was I finally allowed to stop.
09:24I collapsed onto the floor,
09:25naked,
09:26my body covered in nothing but wounds and blood.
09:29Kieran came towards me reeking of wine.
09:31He crouched before me
09:32and brushed the tears from my face,
09:35with icy fingertips,
09:36wiping away one that had not yet dried.
09:38The gesture might have looked gentle to anyone watching,
09:41but there was no mercy at all in his voice.
09:43Alara,
09:44are you trying to win my pity?
09:46Where is your wolf?
09:47Why doesn't it come out and bite me?
09:49It's tired.
09:50But the moment the words left my lips,
09:52the old sickness inside me flared up again.
09:55The wolf's pain poison that had lurked for years
09:57began its work once more.
09:59A violent cough tore through me.
10:01Then another.
10:02Blood burst from my mouth in a sudden spray,
10:05and it felt as though I were coughing up my very lungs and entrails.
10:08Kieran turned aside at once,
10:10as though he had seen something revolting.
10:12The mockery on his face deepened.
10:14I've watched you put on this sickly act for 10 years.
10:18Haven't you tired of it yet?
10:20I used to think he simply despised weakness,
10:23but he hated women like me,
10:24frail by nature and always in need of protection.
10:27But over the years I had seen with my own eyes
10:30how meticulously he cared for Bella.
10:32If Bella frowned even slightly,
10:34the entire team of healers would already be kneeling outside her door,
10:38waiting to be summoned.
10:39The poison gnawed at my insides.
10:41My whole body shook,
10:43and cold sweat poured from my brow.
10:45Just before darkness swallowed me,
10:47I thought I saw a flash of panic in Kieran's eyes.
10:50He seized me by the hair,
10:52forcing my head up,
10:53and through clenched teeth he said,
10:54Elera,
10:55I will not let you die so easily.
10:58You will live,
10:59and pay for your sins.
11:00You will pay for the crimes your father committed.
11:05But Kieran,
11:06I cannot atone any longer.
11:08In two more days,
11:09once the poison reaches my heart,
11:11I will die.
11:12When I woke the following day,
11:14I found myself lying in a soft bed.
11:16The burns on my body had already been carefully treated.
11:19Clean white bandages wrapped my wounds,
11:21carrying the faint fragrance of herbs.
11:23Through the haze in my mind,
11:24I slowly realized that this was not a cold old stone keep,
11:27this was,
11:28the Alpha's chamber.
11:29Everything around me was heartbreakingly familiar.
11:32Beyond the great floor to ceiling windows lay the forest I knew so well,
11:36the very place where my father had once taken me hunting.
11:43You're awake.
11:44Kieran approached without expression,
11:46seized my chin,
11:47and poured a tube of bitter medicine into my mouth.
11:50His grip was hard enough to make my eyes sting with tears when I choked.
11:53Elera,
11:54don't look at me like that.
11:56Kieran gave a cold laugh.
11:58Even if your hands are clean,
11:59as long as that man's blood runs through your veins,
12:02you are not innocent.
12:03On the day my pack fell,
12:05he gave the order to kill every wolf who carried the blood moon royal line.
12:09Even the pup growing in my womb,
12:10his own flesh and blood,
12:12was not spared.
12:13He ordered the healer to force that child for me.
12:16Only I was left alive.
12:18I could never understand it.
12:20Was it love,
12:21or hate?
12:24It must have been hate.
12:28That was why,
12:29afterwards,
12:30he made me soak night after night in baths filled with silver.
12:33He wanted to strip me of any chance of bearing children ever again.
12:36He would not allow me to give him an heir.
12:39He found my bloodline unclean.
12:41Nunnly.
12:42I wiped the medicine from the corner of my mouth.
12:44I had just opened my lips to beg him to send me back to the old stone keep
12:48when a jubilant voice rang from outside.
12:51Alpha!
12:52The Luna is with child!
12:55Kieran froze,
12:56then turned sharply,
12:58his voice breaking with excitement.
12:59Is it true?
13:01Bella is pregnant?
13:02I stared at him blankly.
13:04For the first time,
13:05I saw that kind of wild joy on his face.
13:08The joy of a man about to become a father.
13:10I sat there on the bed,
13:12dazed,
13:13watching him.
13:14Watching a look I had never once received from him light up his features.
13:17Perhaps the poison had begun to flare again.
13:20Because my hand rose instinctively to my chest.
13:23It hurt.
13:24So much.
13:26I had thought that when the poison finally took me.
13:29It would not matter if I died quietly and alone in the old stone keep.
13:35But Kieran would not let me have even that.
13:38He turned back to me.
13:39And at the sight of my pain,
13:41something grim and satisfied flickered in his eyes.
13:43Now that you're awake,
13:45stop lying there pretending to be half dead.
13:47From today onwards,
13:49you will attend Bella
13:50and care for her during the pregnancy.
13:52You are a slave.
13:54Serving the future Alpha heir is an honor you should be grateful for.
13:58He had always known exactly where to strike to hurt me most.
14:02He wanted me to stand there and watch another woman carry his child
14:06and our own baby,
14:07that unborn little wolf.
14:08Still lay buried beneath the cairn field beyond a ridge.
14:12Nameless and forgotten.
14:15Bella smiled at me with practiced gentleness.
14:18You were once the pack princess.
14:20Since Alpha has sent you to attend me,
14:23I cannot very well have you scrubbing floors.
14:25You may clear the weeds from the garden instead.
14:28I knelt on the ground and looked at the garden,
14:31thick with thorny brambles.
14:33The other maids rolled their eyes at me openly,
14:36their voices full of contempt.
14:38She ought to be grateful she was allowed to live at all.
14:41Only our Luna is kind enough to show her mercy.
14:44A princess?
14:45She isn't fit to stand beside even the lowest rogue Alpha cast her aside long ago.
14:51The brambles were faintly poisonous.
14:54And as my skin brushed against them,
14:56a rash slowly spread over my arms.
14:58I let out a rough breath.
15:01Then all at once I felt something warm trickling from my nose.
15:04A drop of bright blood fell onto the flower petals below.
15:08When I reached up and touched my face,
15:10my fingertips came away scarlet.
15:12Ah!
15:14Blood!
15:16Bella had just stepped out and caught sight of me,
15:19my face smeared in blood like something monstrous.
15:22She shrieked on the spot and staggered backwards as though overcome with fright.
15:26What happened?
15:27Kieran rushed over at once and caught Bella in his arms.
15:31The moment he saw me covered in blood,
15:33looking like some vengeful spirit.
15:35He strode over without a word and struck me across the face.
15:39The blow was so hard it sent me sprawling to the ground.
15:42Clutching my chest,
15:43I began coughing violently,
15:46each breath bringing up flecks of blood.
15:48Bella cannot bear the smell of blood right now.
15:51Did you do this on purpose to upset her?
15:53His gaze was sharp as ice.
15:55Because your child is dead,
15:57is that it?
15:58So now you want revenge on someone else's?
16:01Elada,
16:01have you forgotten what happens when you disobey me?
16:04How could I ever forget?
16:06Fighting the itching beneath my skin,
16:08the suffocating pressure in my chest,
16:10and the agony in my lungs that felt like a thousand insects eating me alive.
16:14I forced myself upright and crawled forwards before bowing low in submission.
16:18It was my fault.
16:21It was my fault.
16:22Please,
16:23show mercy.
16:25Alpha.
16:26Enduring the pain,
16:27I knelt there and lowered my head,
16:29baring my neck in surrender.
16:31I have nothing left.
16:33Please,
16:34do not torment me any further.
16:36Kieran crouched down and tilted up my chin.
16:39A faint smile touched his lips,
16:42cruel and amused.
16:43Who told you that you have nothing left?
16:46Isn't there still one buried beneath the cairn field beyond the ridge?
16:52I clutched desperately at his boots,
16:55my eyes burning red.
16:56Please,
16:57Kieran.
16:57I'm begging you.
16:59Don't do this.
17:00You can't.
17:02I could not even remember how long it had been since I had last called him by name.
17:06Kieran lowered his gaze to me.
17:09Something unreadable shifting in his eyes.
17:12I could not make sense of it.
17:14I only thought he was hesitating,
17:17so I kept knocking my head against the ground and begging.
17:20Again,
17:21and again,
17:22and again,
17:23until the skin split open and blood stained the earth beneath me.
17:28Blood ran from my nose.
17:30Blood spilled from my mouth when I coughed.
17:32Even my tears had become streaked with red.
17:36Only then did Kieran seem to realize that over the past two days,
17:40I had been bleeding far too much.
17:42Frowning,
17:43he turned to the others and asked,
17:45What heavy work was she doing in the courtyard to end up like this?
17:49One of them immediately answered,
17:52Alpha the Luna showed Miss Alara kindness.
17:54She was only asked to do light work, just clearing weeds.
17:58At once Kieran let go of me and gave a series of cold laughs.
18:01Alara,
18:02so,
18:03this is another performance,
18:05is it?
18:05You've had this wretched illness for years.
18:07Since it clearly won't kill you,
18:09you may as well endure it properly.
18:11I watched him step over me and walk back inside without so much as a backward glance.
18:16Very softly,
18:17I let out a breath.
18:19Then I curled in on myself and lay motionless until the night air turned cold.
18:23Lamplight glowed from inside the room.
18:26And Bella's sweet voice drifted faintly through the door.
18:29Honey,
18:30no.
18:31I'm pregnant.
18:32Oh,
18:33stop.
18:33If you want me that badly,
18:34you must promise to be gentle.
18:37Their shadows moved behind the curtains and I watched them in silence.
18:41Suddenly,
18:41I thought of that night with Kieran.
18:44There had been no vows.
18:46No blessings.
18:47Only raw possession.
18:49The wind seemed to pass straight through the hollow space inside my chest.
18:53Dawn was almost here.
18:55This was the final day.
18:57Kieran,
18:57I am going to die.
18:59The bloodline you loathe so much will soon be wiped from this world completely.
19:04Congratulations.
19:07The door was suddenly flung open.
19:10Alpha sent you here to attend Bella,
19:12and this is how you idle away your time.
19:14Someone had just come with a message.
19:17Kieran was apparently about to inspect the territory.
19:20And I was ordered to get inside at once and wait on the Luna.
19:24When I carried the water in,
19:26Bella looked radiant.
19:27Her cheeks flushed with health.
19:29The moment we were alone,
19:30the look she gave me lost all pretense.
19:33It was naked provocation.
19:35Our eyes met.
19:37Silently,
19:38I shaped two words with my lips.
19:40Traitor.
19:41Bella was not offended in the slightest.
19:44She merely smiled and took in my wretched state from head to toe.
19:48Alara,
19:49you're exactly the same as ever.
19:50The moment you touch these poisonous brambles,
19:54your skin flares up.
19:55She had once been my closest friend.
19:58Her father had served as my father's beta second.
20:01And yet when the pack fell,
20:03it was their family who opened the gates first.
20:07Bella lifted the wolf bone bracelet again
20:09and showed it off before my eyes.
20:11It doesn't feel very pleasant, does it?
20:13Having poison eat its way into your heart?
20:16You probably still don't know why,
20:18ten years ago after you saved Kieran in the dark forest,
20:21he became so distant when he returned.
20:24Because he thought it was me who saved him.
20:27I told him I had sucked the poison from his wound with my own mouth.
20:31Bella finished speaking and waited,
20:34clearly hoping to savor the shock and pain on my face.
20:37But my expression did not change in the slightest.
20:41What stood between Kieran and me was a sea of blood.
20:44What could one act of saving his life possibly outweigh?
20:47A bitter smile touched my lips.
20:50If I'd known,
20:51I should have left him to die in the hands of those rogues.
20:54A cold laugh sounded behind me.
20:57I turned instinctively.
20:59Kieran's hand was already around my throat,
21:02his gaze glacial.
21:03Alara,
21:04do you hate me that much?
21:05Do you think I truly cannot bear to kill you?
21:08That hand,
21:09the same hand that had once caressed every inch of my body,
21:12closed hard around my neck.
21:14I could not speak.
21:15I could barely breathe.
21:18But from the dead stillness in my eyes,
21:20Kieran understood.
21:21If he had the nerve,
21:23then he should go on and strangle me to death.
21:29Kieran's brow tightened,
21:31and he flung me aside with brutal force.
21:33Death is too easy for you, Alara.
21:35I want you alive.
21:36I want you to suffer for the rest of your life.
21:39Then he brought me that medicine again.
21:42I took the bowl and,
21:43without waiting to be told,
21:45drank it down in front of him in a single swallow.
21:47Something dark and unreadable passed through Kieran's eyes.
21:50Alara,
21:51so long as you remain this obedient,
21:53I might consider.
21:55He paused,
21:56then turned his head slightly.
21:57I might consider allowing a headstone for that dead pup.
22:00My lashes trembled.
22:02That child had been his as well.
22:04And yet even a headstone was something he would grant only reluctantly.
22:08Today you will kneel in the courtyard and reflect on your conduct.
22:11That is your punishment for frightening Bella.
22:14Around mid-afternoon,
22:15a low growl suddenly echoed from outside.
22:18At Bella's birthday feast the day before,
22:20someone had given her an untrained Black Panther as a pet.
22:23Wild beasts loved the smell of blood.
22:26My heart dropped.
22:27I had only just looked up when a sleek dark shape launched straight at me.
22:31By the time Bella came running over in a show of alarm,
22:34pretending she meant to stop it,
22:35several chunks of flesh had already been torn from my body.
22:38She called the beast back and put on a guilty expression.
22:41Kieran only just began teaching me how to tame it.
22:45I'm still not used to the methods yet.
22:48That's why it hurt Alara.
22:50I feel dreadful.
22:52Luna,
22:52why should you apologize to a servant?
22:54Someone said at once,
22:56Even if the beast had devoured her whole,
22:58Alpha would never blame you.
22:59My mind was beginning to blur.
23:01The world before me was washed in blood red.
23:04I could see nothing clearly,
23:06hear nothing properly.
23:07And suddenly I thought of my father,
23:10of how he had once become a great white wolf to protect his people
23:13and fought until his final breath.
23:15Elera?
23:16Ellie.
23:17Ellie.
23:18Someone was calling my childhood name again and again beside my ear,
23:21the voice low and strained.
23:23It had been so very long since I had heard that name.
23:26In the blur,
23:27I saw a tall figure.
23:29I grabbed his sleeve with a blood-soaked hand and cried.
23:33Through tears,
23:34the voice fell silent.
23:36When awareness finally returned,
23:38that familiar bitter taste was in my mouth again.
23:40I opened my eyes and found Kieran's face close to mine.
23:43He had been feeding me the medicine himself,
23:46mouth to mouth.
23:47The moment I realized it,
23:49I turned my face away in revulsion.
23:51Kieran froze.
23:53His fingers tightened round the medicine bowl.
23:55Elera,
23:56since you're awake,
23:57drink it yourself.
23:58Bracing myself upright,
24:00I did exactly as he said and drained the bowl to the last drop.
24:03In the very next moment,
24:05I vomited it all back up,
24:06along with black blood.
24:08Kieran's expression changed at once.
24:10He stared at me,
24:11confusion in his eyes,
24:13then panic,
24:14and then anger.
24:15Elera,
24:15what new trick is this?
24:17Outside,
24:18night had already fallen.
24:19I knew my wolf's soul was about to scatter.
24:22So I said,
24:24Kieran,
24:24I'm dying.
24:26I won't allow it.
24:27Kieran looked as though he meant to threaten me again with the bones of my family.
24:31But suddenly the words would not come.
24:33Because he saw the blood pouring from all seven orifices of my face,
24:37staining the entire bed.
24:39He saw,
24:40too,
24:40the black veins creeping beneath my collar,
24:42the sign that the wolf's bane poison had sunk into the marrow of my bones.
24:46His shaking gaze returned to my face,
24:49and then he realized that my eyes could no longer focus.
24:52My wolf was dead.
24:54In that instant,
24:55he felt it.
24:56The thread that had bound our souls together,
24:59the mating bond itself,
25:00snapped cleanly in two.
25:04Kieran clutched at his chest and let out a howl like a wounded beast.
25:07The agony of having half his soul torn away made him stagger backwards.
25:11He could barely keep his footing before dropping to one knee.
25:14He could deny it all he liked.
25:16He could bury it beneath hatred for as long as he wished.
25:19But the breaking of the mating bond could not be hidden.
25:22It meant only one thing.
25:24The other half of his soul was dying.
25:27Ilara!
25:27Ilara!
25:29Ignoring the pain,
25:30he threw himself back to the bedside like a madman and slapped my face over and over.
25:34Wake up!
25:35Do you hear me?
25:36You are not allowed to sleep.
25:38Where is your wolf?
25:39Call it out.
25:40Make it heal you.
25:41You're an alpha's daughter.
25:43Where is your healing gift?
25:44He frantically released the full force of his alpha scent,
25:47trying to force it into me,
25:49trying to wake the sleeping wolf soul within my body.
25:51But that fierce,
25:53overbearing power poured into me and vanished like a stone sinking into the sea,
25:57receiving not the slightest response.
25:59My body had become a vessel with a hole torn through it.
26:02No life could remain inside it now.
26:04What lay there was only an empty shell.
26:06Alpha,
26:07if this woman is dying,
26:08then let her die.
26:09Why make such a spectacle of it?
26:11At the doorway,
26:12the housekeeper who served Bella,
26:14having hidden in the shadows and watched long enough,
26:16could not hold her tongue any longer.
26:18She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the blood soaking the bed.
26:21You should remember that the Luna is with child.
26:24She cannot bear the sight of blood.
26:26If this disturbs the unborn heir.
26:28Shut up!
26:29Kieran spun round,
26:30his eyes red as blood itself,
26:32the unmistakable sign of a wolf on the brink of frenzy.
26:35Elera was my name.
26:37It meant moonlight.
26:38And yet my whole life had known nothing but darkness.
26:41With a single backhanded strike,
26:44Kieran sent a visible wave of force crashing into the housekeeper.
26:47She was a werewolf too,
26:48yet she was flung away like a rag doll and smashed hard against the wall.
26:52The crack of breaking ribs rang out with dreadful clarity,
26:55and she collapsed at once, unconscious.
26:58The attendants outside dropped to their knees in terror, trembling violently.
27:03Bella, who had only just arrived,
27:05saw it happen and gave a shrill scream.
27:08One hand clutched her stomach as she crumpled to the floor.
27:11But Kieran paid no attention to anyone.
27:14He did not even spare Bella,
27:16the woman he had always doted on,
27:18a single glance.
27:19He turned back and seized my hand,
27:21which was already growing cold,
27:22holding it with the helpless desperation of a lost child.
27:25Elada, if you wake up,
27:28I'll grant you anything.
27:29I won't torment you again.
27:32I'll give you your freedom, alright?
27:34I won't kill you.
27:36I won't take revenge anymore.
27:38His voice was thick with tears,
27:40his words stumbling over one another in panic.
27:43Didn't you want that Wolf Fang bracelet?
27:45It was our token.
27:47I'll give it back to you.
27:49I'll give you everything.
27:50In a frenzy,
27:51he dragged the bracelet from inside his robes,
27:53the one he had taken back from Bella.
27:56His hand shook so badly as he tried to fasten it around my neck
27:59that he failed again and again to catch the clasp.
28:01Damn it.
28:02Damn it.
28:03At last, he managed it.
28:05The faint, familiar fragrance drifted to me,
28:08the scent he had once sought out specially to ease my pain.
28:11But it was all too late.
28:13Just then,
28:14the captain of the guard came in,
28:16pale-faced and stiff with fear.
28:17Alpha,
28:18there is a rogue seer at the gates asking to see you.
28:21He says he sensed the presence of an ancient blood curse.
28:25He says he knows how she might be saved.
28:27Kieran looked as though he had seized hold of the last thing keeping him from drowning.
28:31He snapped up his card and roared.
28:33Bring him in.
28:34Now,
28:35if she dies,
28:36every one of you will be buried with her.
28:39The seer wore a tattered cloak
28:41and carried the smell of herbs and damp earth about him.
28:44Leaning on a staff,
28:46he made his way slowly into the Alpha's chamber.
28:48When he saw the blood-soaked figure on the bed,
28:51he showed no surprise at all.
28:52He did not even step closer to take my pulse.
28:55He merely stood three paces away,
28:57looked once,
28:58and sighed.
28:59So it is exactly as I thought.
29:02By then Kieran no longer cared who the man was.
29:04He strode forwards,
29:06grabbed the seer by the collar,
29:08and snarled.
29:09You can save her,
29:10can't you?
29:11Then do it.
29:12The seer looked calmly at the frenzied wolf king
29:15and spoke in an even voice.
29:16Alpha,
29:17she is in this state
29:18because the poison inside her
29:20has turned back upon her.
29:22She saved someone
29:23by taking into herself
29:25the liquid silver poison
29:26that was meant for another.
29:28Kieran's face froze.
29:30His grip loosened.
29:31What do you mean?
29:32The seer pushed his hand away
29:34and pointed to the black veins
29:35spreading across my chest.
29:37These markings do not appear in a day or two.
29:40Ten years ago,
29:41at the edge of the dark forest,
29:44was someone struck by the hunter's
29:46specially prepared liquid silver poison.
29:50Kieran's pupils contracted violently.
29:52That memory was the nightmare.
29:54He had never escaped.
29:56Ten years ago,
29:57young and reckless,
29:58he had stumbled into a hunter's trap.
30:00Poisoned and close to death,
30:02he had been left with one foot
30:03already beyond the threshold.
30:05There is no cure for that poison.
30:07The seer continued.
30:08The only way to survive
30:11is to use the flesh and blood
30:14of the one dearest to you
30:15as the vessel,
30:17and by means of a forbidden dark rite
30:19called a blood oath,
30:22transfer the poison into another body.
30:24This girl was struck by that very curse.
30:27All these years,
30:29she has been feeding the poison
30:30that once lived in your body
30:32with her own life force
30:33and her wolf soul.
30:36In truth,
30:36she need not have suffered
30:38quite so much.
30:39She might even have lived
30:40a few years longer.
30:42But.
30:43The seer let his gaze drift
30:45round the room.
30:46Looking at the rich tonics
30:47that had not yet been cleared away,
30:49he gave a mirthless laugh.
30:52Have you often been making her
30:54take powerful strengthening tonics?
30:56And for punishment,
30:57have you even made her
30:58soak in silver baths?
31:00The color drained from Kieran's face
31:02in an instant.
31:02He staggered backwards
31:04as though struck by lightning,
31:05colliding with the cabinet behind him.
31:07The seer gave a weary sigh.
31:10Those rich medicines
31:11are the finest catalyst
31:12the poison could ask for.
31:14And the silver baths
31:16only hastened the collapse
31:18of her wolf soul.
31:19You could say that
31:20with your own hands,
31:21little by little,
31:23you pushed her towards death.
31:25Every bowl of medicine
31:26you forced down her throat
31:28was another step
31:29towards killing her.
31:30Kieran stood there listening,
31:31his head bowed,
31:33his whole body shaking.
31:34No wonder.
31:36No wonder she had so often
31:37gone pale over the years,
31:39clutching at her chest
31:40and whispering that it hurt.
31:41And more than once,
31:42he had called her weak.
31:44More than once,
31:45he had sneered that she was
31:46putting on an act.
31:48He had forced bowl after bowl
31:49of those self-important tonics
31:51down her throat,
31:52and made her soak in silver baths
31:53as punishment.
31:54All the while,
31:55she had been enduring agony
31:57as though 10,000 insects
31:58were chewing through her heart.
32:00All the while,
32:01she had been trading
32:02her life for his.
32:03By the time he came back
32:04to himself,
32:05his nails had already
32:06cut deep into his palms,
32:08blood running freely.
32:09With his head still lowered,
32:11Kieran spoke in a voice
32:12so hoarse
32:13it scarcely sounded human,
32:14as though each word
32:15had been dragged
32:16from the bottom of his throat.
32:17Are you saying
32:18that the person
32:19who saved me
32:20in the dark forest
32:20was her?
32:22Of course.
32:23The seer gave a contemptuous laugh
32:24and turned a scornful glance
32:26towards Bella,
32:27who was trembling
32:27in the doorway.
32:28That woman called Bella
32:29was hiding up a tree
32:31frightened enough
32:32to wet herself.
32:33By the time this girl
32:34carried you out
32:35of the poisoned mist,
32:36that one had only
32:37just found the courage
32:38to climb down
32:39and steal the credit.
32:41Kieran spun round at once.
32:42His gaze slashed
32:43across the room
32:44like that of a maddened beast
32:45and landed on Bella.
32:47Bella had gone
32:47completely white.
32:49She was shaking so hard
32:50she could scarcely
32:51stay upright.
32:52No.
32:53No, that's not true.
32:55Honey.
32:57Please, let me explain.
32:59A blur shot
33:00through the room.
33:01No one saw him move.
33:03In the next instant
33:04Kieran's hand
33:05was locked round
33:05Bella's throat,
33:06lifting her clear
33:07off the ground.
33:08Her legs kicked
33:09wildly in the air.
33:10Both hands clawed
33:12desperately at his iron grip,
33:13but it was useless.
33:15You lied to me
33:15for ten years.
33:16His voice
33:17was terrifyingly calm
33:18and for that reason
33:19all the more dreadful.
33:21You stole everything
33:22that should have
33:22belonged to Alara.
33:23The credit was hers.
33:25The token was hers.
33:26The honor was hers.
33:28And she...
33:29His voice shook.
33:30She suffered
33:30in the slave pens
33:31in my place
33:32while I tormented her
33:33until living
33:34became worse than death.
33:35Bella struggled frantically,
33:37her face swelling dark
33:38with lack of air.
33:39With immense difficulty,
33:41she forced out
33:42a few broken words.
33:47She tried to use the child
33:49in her belly
33:49as her final shield,
33:50but Kieran's fingers
33:52did not loosen
33:53in the slightest.
33:54If anything,
33:55they tightened further.
33:56There was nothing
33:57in his eyes now
33:58but pure destruction.
34:00My child?
34:00A shattered laugh
34:01escaped him
34:02and tears slid down
34:03his face.
34:04My child?
34:05The one who was truly mine?
34:07The child I should have had
34:09with my fated mate
34:10is already dead.
34:12I killed it
34:13with my own hands.
34:14It lies buried
34:15beneath the cairn field
34:16beyond the ridge.
34:17And this thing in your belly
34:18dares to call itself
34:19my child.
34:20His gaze flickered
34:21to the woman lying on the bed,
34:22bloodied and lifeless,
34:24and the pain in his chest
34:25became so sharp
34:26he could scarcely breathe.
34:27If Alara cannot live,
34:28then all of you
34:29can die with her.
34:30There came a sharp crack.
34:32Bella's neck snapped.
34:33Her head lulled
34:34at a grotesque angle.
34:36Ciaran flung her aside
34:37with one careless movement,
34:38as though he were
34:39throwing away rubbish.
34:41The luna he had once
34:42cherished like a treasure
34:43hit the floor
34:44like a broken doll.
34:45The hall fell
34:46into a deathly silence.
34:47Every attendant
34:48and guard
34:49had dropped
34:49to their knees,
34:50not one of them
34:51daring to breathe
34:52too loudly.
34:53Ciaran did not even
34:54glance at Bella's corpse.
34:55He turned,
34:56then all at once
34:57his knees gave way
34:58beneath him,
34:58and he fell
34:59before the seer,
35:00the wolf king,
35:01who had once
35:02seemed above all others,
35:03was now humbled
35:04into the dust.
35:05Save her.
35:06He begged.
35:07Please.
35:08Save her.
35:11The seer shook his head,
35:13pity in his eyes.
35:14It is too late.
35:16The mating bond
35:17has already broken.
35:18Her wolf soul
35:19has scattered.
35:20Her body
35:21is ruined.
35:23Ciaran seemed
35:23to lose his mind
35:24with a savage movement.
35:26He drove his own claws
35:27into his chest.
35:29Blood burst forth.
35:30Without even flinching,
35:32he dug out blood
35:32from over his own heart.
35:34Golden alpha blood
35:35dripped onto the stone floor.
35:38Take my life
35:39instead.
35:40He stared at the seer,
35:41his gaze steady
35:42and absolute.
35:43The ancient blood oath
35:44can be reversed,
35:45can't it?
35:46If poison could be
35:47transferred before,
35:48then life force
35:49can be transferred now.
35:50The seer looked
35:51at the mad wolf king,
35:53looked at the terrible wound
35:54yawning in his chest,
35:55and at last
35:55let out a long sigh.
35:59It can be attempted,
36:01but this is forbidden,
36:03even among forbidden odds.
36:05You must understand
36:07the price.
36:07You will lose
36:09all the power
36:09of an alpha.
36:10Your wolf soul
36:12will shatter.
36:13You will become
36:14a broken man,
36:15perhaps even die
36:16on the spot.
36:17And even if she wakes,
36:19she may remember
36:20a mess.
36:21Ciaran did not hesitate
36:22for so much
36:23as a heartbeat.
36:24Do it.
36:25The seer drew
36:26an intricate blood circle
36:27in the center
36:28of the alpha's chamber.
36:30Ciaran gathered me
36:30into his arms
36:31and sat at the heart of it.
36:33As the chant began,
36:34a red light flooded the room.
36:36Ciaran poured
36:36all that he was into me.
36:38His life force,
36:39the very source
36:40of his alpha power,
36:42all of it passed
36:43through his blood
36:43into my body without end.
36:45The color drained
36:46visibly from his face.
36:47His black hair
36:48turned white strand by strand.
36:50At my ear he whispered,
36:52his voice growing
36:52weaker and weaker,
36:53yet softer than it
36:54had ever been.
36:55Ellie, I'm sorry.
36:58If I were given
36:59another chance,
37:00I would know you
37:01at once in the dark forest.
37:03I would never lead
37:04an army to destroy
37:05your pack.
37:06I would come with gifts
37:07and ask for your hand
37:08properly.
37:09I would never let you
37:10suffer at all.
37:12I would place
37:12the finest things
37:13in the world before you.
37:16Live on.
37:17Live for our child too.
37:20Live well.
37:22I did not know
37:23how much time had passed,
37:24but at some point
37:25I felt warmth,
37:26deep and powerful,
37:27entering my body,
37:28mending my ruined organs,
37:30awakening every sleeping
37:31part of me.
37:32It was the life force
37:33I had lost so long ago.
37:36And at the same time,
37:38I could feel another soul
37:39fading fast.
37:41That warmth was him,
37:43burning himself away.
37:46I tried desperately
37:47to open my eyes.
37:49I tried to reach for him.
37:51I wanted to tell him
37:52to stop.
37:56By the time I finally
37:57forced my eyes open,
37:59the light had already faded.
38:01And all I saw was
38:02Kieran collapsed
38:03beside the bed.
38:05His hair was
38:06completely white.
38:07His skin had lost
38:09all luster
38:09and was lined with age.
38:11The man who had once
38:13stood tall and untouchable.
38:14The wolf king
38:16before whom
38:16all others bowed.
38:17Now lay there
38:18like an old man
38:19at the end of his days.
38:20Utterly still.
38:22He was dead.
38:23He had traded
38:24his life for mine.
38:26And the broken
38:26mating bond.
38:28Restored for a moment
38:29by the forbidden right.
38:31Had rejoined
38:32only to lead
38:32into emptiness.
38:34I gathered
38:35his cold body
38:36into my arms.
38:37And in that
38:38vast hollow hall
38:38I let out a long.
38:40Desolate howl.
38:49It was the cry
38:50of a lone wolf
38:51who had lost her mate.
38:53The most hopeless
38:54sound in the world.
38:56Afterwards,
38:57I did not take
38:58command of the pack.
38:59When Kieran died,
39:01the Black River pack
39:02descended into chaos.
39:03But I did not care.
39:05I dismissed
39:06every servant.
39:11Then I burned
39:12that splendid
39:13filthy palace
39:14to the ground.
39:15Taking Kieran's
39:16remains with me.
39:17I returned
39:18to the old
39:18blood moonlands.
39:20I buried him
39:21beside our unborn
39:22child beneath
39:22the great oak
39:23where we had first
39:24met ten years before.
39:26Once,
39:27it had been
39:27the happiest
39:28place we knew.
39:30On the gravestone
39:31I wrote none
39:32of his titles.
39:33Not wolf king.
39:35Not conqueror.
39:37Only a single line.
39:39Here lies Kieran,
39:41my mate,
39:41my love,
39:42my regret.
39:44Alone,
39:45with the recovered
39:46wolf fun bracelet
39:47at my throat.
39:48I turned my steps
39:49towards the vast
39:50snows of the north.
39:53They say there is
39:54an ancient legend
39:55in the far north.
39:57That if one can find
39:58the moon goddess's
39:59lost tear,
40:00one may open
40:01the gate of time
40:01and turn the years
40:02backwards.
40:03I do not know
40:05whether it is true.
40:07Perhaps it is
40:08nothing more than
40:08an empty hope
40:09offered to those
40:10left behind.
40:11But I have a long
40:12life ahead of me
40:13in which to search.
40:15So long as I do
40:16not die.
40:17This long atonement
40:19and this long search
40:21will never end.
40:23Through the wind
40:24and snow,
40:25a solitary
40:26silver wolf
40:27walked on,
40:28step by step,
40:30into the heart
40:30of the storm.
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