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