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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.
04:54Surely you needn't truly demean yourself like a common servant.
04:57She took my hand, then suddenly went sti-
05:00It was an old wolf-fong bracelet,
05:02weathered with age and simple in its make.
05:04A flash of greed lit her eyes, followed by admiration.
05:08Alpha.
05:09She said, turning to Kieran with a soft, coaxing smile.
05:12I like this necklace very much.
05:14D.I.T. has such a strange charm about it.
05:16May I have it as my birthday gift?
05:22Instinctively, I looked at Kieran.
05:24He was lazily turning his wine cup in one hand, utterly unmoved,
05:28as though it were nothing more than a worthless trinket.
05:30But that necklace, had once been Kieran's pledge to me.
05:34Every wolf-fong on it had been taken by his own hand,
05:37from vicious beasts he had hunted himself.
05:39The healer had treated them afterwards,
05:41and even now they carried that strange fragrance which never seemed to fade.
05:45It was said that, if one wore such wolf-fangs for long enough,
05:48they could soothe an agitated wolf soul, ease pain, and even prolong life.
05:53I had been frail since childhood.
05:55My wolf-soul was unstable, and I was forever ill.
05:58When he first gave it to me, he had stood beneath the moon and sworn,
06:02with all the solemnity of a bow, that he wanted me to live safely and well all my life,
06:06free from sickness and suffering.
06:08Now, everything had changed beyond recognition.
06:12If the Luna likes it, how could I refuse?
06:15My hand trembled as I removed the wolf-fong bracelet,
06:18from my wrist, where I had worn it for ten years,
06:21and placed it in Bella's hand.
06:23As my fingertips brushed over the smooth warm fangs,
06:26it felt as though a blade were twisting in my heart.
06:29I lowered my gaze and said nothing.
06:31Though from somewhere above I thought,
06:33I heard the sharp crack of something striking stone,
06:35as if a wine cup had been knocked over.
06:38Bella toyed with the bracelet for a moment,
06:40smiled in satisfaction,
06:42and casually fastened it round her own pale wrist.
06:45Oh, that reminds me.
06:46It was as though some delightful thought had just occurred to her,
06:49though there was nothing but malice glittering in her eyes.
06:52I seem to remember that Alera was once one of the finest dancers among the wolves.
06:57Why not take this chance to perform for everyone?
07:02The hall fell silent for half a beat.
07:05Then laughter broke out everywhere.
07:07I stood where I was, numb,
07:09enduring the malicious, eager stares cast at me from every corner of the feast.
07:13Among them were commanders of the Black River Pack,
07:15men who had slaughtered my people.
07:17There were also the Blood Moon traders,
07:20who had secretly joined hands with the enemy,
07:22and opened the gates to welcome the man.
07:24I wanted to refuse,
07:26but refusal had long since ceased to be a choice I possessed.
07:29One drunken wolf commander suddenly lurched to his feet,
07:32a bowl of freshly ladled broth in his hand,
07:35still boiling from the bronze cauldron.
07:37Without warning, he flung it straight at me.
07:39The scalding liquid splashed over my arm and shoulder.
07:42At once the skin blistered and peeled away,
07:45angry red and raw.
07:46What are you standing there for?
07:47You're the daughter of a defeated alpha.
07:49Do you still think you can put on airs?
07:51You're lucky we left you alive at all.
07:53Don't be ungrateful.
07:55Pain hit me with savage force.
07:58Yet I felt less like a living creature,
08:00than a puppet already hollowed out.
08:02It was as though my soul had gone elsewhere,
08:04leaving my body behind.
08:06I did not even cry out.
08:08Quietly, I rose onto my toes.
08:10Before all of them,
08:11I wolf kind had always been wild and unrestrained by nature.
08:15Before long,
08:16the drunken brutes were no longer satisfied.
08:19They began shouting and whistling.
08:21Take it off.
08:22Strip that filthy rag off.
08:24Let's see whether the once noble princess is still as supple as she used to be.
08:28In terror,
08:29I looked towards the high seat.
08:31Kieran's gaze rested on me from afar,
08:33cold and unreadable.
08:35He did nothing.
08:36That silence was permission.
08:38Whatever warmth was left in my heart died then.
08:41I bit my lip and,
08:42with shaking hands,
08:43began to untie my sash.
08:45The hot broth had caused the cloth to stick to my burned flesh.
08:49When I pulled it away,
08:50it tore the skin with it,
08:52leaving raw patches streaked with blood.
08:54Scarlet spread across the ruined fabric of my dance clothes.
08:57One layer.
08:58Then another.
09:01And in this great hall,
09:03once filled with some of the happiest memories of my life,
09:06once the place where my father had held council,
09:08I stripped away the last of my dignity.
09:11In the end I could no longer stop the tears.
09:13Only after the feast had ended and the crowd dispersed was I finally allowed to stop.
09:17I collapsed onto the floor,
09:19naked,
09:20my body covered in nothing but wounds and blood.
09:23Kieran came towards me reeking of wine.
09:25He crouched before me,
09:27and brushed the tears from my face,
09:28with icy fingertips,
09:30wiping away one that had not yet dried.
09:32The gesture might have looked gentle to anyone watching,
09:35but there was no mercy at all in his voice.
09:37Alara,
09:38are you trying to win my pity?
09:40Where is your wolf?
09:41Why doesn't it come out and bite me?
09:43It's tired.
09:44But the moment the words left my lips,
09:46the old sickness inside me flared up again.
09:49The wolf's pain poison that had lurked for years began its work once more.
09:53A violent cough tore through me.
09:55Then another.
09:56Blood burst from my mouth in a sudden spray,
09:59and it felt as though I were coughing up my very lungs and entrails.
10:02Kieran turned aside at once,
10:04as though he had seen something revolting.
10:06The mockery on his face deepened.
10:08I've watched you put on this sickly act for 10 years.
10:12Haven't you tired of it yet?
10:14I used to think he simply despised weakness,
10:17but he hated women like me,
10:18frail by nature and always in need of protection.
10:21But over the years I had seen with my own eyes,
10:24how meticulously he cared for Bella.
10:26If Bella frowned even slightly,
10:28the entire team of healers would already be kneeling outside her door,
10:32waiting to be summoned.
10:33The poison gnawed at my insides.
10:35My whole body shook,
10:37and cold sweat poured from my brow.
10:39Just before darkness swallowed me,
10:41I thought I saw a flash of panic in Kieran's eyes.
10:44He seized me by the hair,
10:46forcing my head up,
10:47and through clenched teeth he said,
10:49Elera,
10:49I will not let you die so easily.
10:52You will live,
10:53and pay for your sins.
10:54You will pay for the crimes your father committed.
10:59But Kieran,
11:00I cannot atone any longer.
11:02In two more days,
11:03once the poison reaches my heart,
11:05I will die.
11:06When I woke the following day,
11:08I found myself lying in a soft bed.
11:10The burns on my body had already been carefully treated.
11:13Clean white bandages wrapped my wounds,
11:15carrying the faint fragrance of herbs.
11:17Through the haze in my mind,
11:18I slowly realized that this was not a cold old stone keep.
11:21This was,
11:22the Alpha's chamber.
11:23Everything around me was heartbreakingly familiar.
11:26Beyond the great floor-to-ceiling windows lay the forest I knew so well,
11:30the very place where my father had once taken me hunting.
11:37You're awake.
11:38Kieran approached without expression,
11:40seized my chin,
11:41and poured a tube of bitter medicine into my mouth.
11:44His grip was hard enough to make my eyes sting with tears when I choked.
11:47Elera,
11:48don't look at me like that.
11:50Kieran gave a cold laugh.
11:52Even if your hands are clean,
11:53as long as that man's blood runs through your veins,
11:56you are not innocent.
11:58On the day my pack fell,
11:59he gave the order to kill every wolf who carried the blood moon royal line.
12:03Even the pup growing in my womb,
12:04his own flesh and blood,
12:06was not spared.
12:07He ordered the healer to force that child for me.
12:10Only I was left alive.
12:12I could never understand it.
12:14Was it love or hate?
12:18It must have been hate.
12:22That was why,
12:23afterwards,
12:24he made me soak night after night in baths filled with silver.
12:27He wanted to strip me of any chance of burying children ever again.
12:30He would not allow me to give him an heir.
12:33He found my bloodline unclean.
12:35Numbly.
12:36I wiped the medicine from the corner of my mouth.
12:39I had just opened my lips to beg him to send me back to the old stone keep
12:42when a jubilant voice rang from outside.
12:45Alpha!
12:46The Luna is with child!
12:49Kieran froze,
12:50then turned sharply,
12:52his voice breaking with excitement.
12:54Is it true?
12:55Bella is pregnant?
12:56I saw that kind of wild joy on his face.
12:59The joy of a man about to become a father.
13:01I sat there on the bed,
13:03dazed,
13:04watching him.
13:05Watching a look I had never once received from him light up his features.
13:08Perhaps the poison had begun to flare again.
13:11Because my hand rose instinctively to my chest.
13:14It hurt.
13:16So much.
13:17I had thought that when the poison finally took me.
13:20It would not matter if I died quietly and alone in the old stone keep.
13:26But Kieran would not let me have even that.
13:29He turned back to me.
13:30And at the sight of my pain,
13:32something grim and satisfied flickered in his eyes.
13:34Now that you're awake,
13:36stop lying there pretending to be half dead.
13:38From today onwards,
13:40you will attend Bella,
13:41and care for her during the pregnancy.
13:43You are a slave.
13:45Serving the future alpha heir is an honor you should be grateful for.
13:49He had always known exactly where to strike to hurt me most.
13:53He wanted me to stand there and watch another woman carry his child,
13:57and our own baby,
13:58an unborn little wolf.
14:00Still lay buried beneath a cairn field beyond a ridge.
14:03Nameless and forgotten.
14:05Bella smiled at me with practiced gentleness.
14:09You were once the pack princess.
14:11Since Alpha has sent you to attend me,
14:14I cannot very well have you scrubbing floors.
14:16You may clear the weeds from the garden instead.
14:20I knelt on the ground and looked at the garden.
14:22Thick with thorny brambles.
14:24The other maids rolled their eyes at me openly.
14:27Their voices full of contempt.
14:28She ought to be grateful she was allowed to live at all.
14:32Only our Luna is kind enough to show her mercy.
14:35A princess?
14:36She isn't fit to stand beside even the lowest rogue alpha cast her aside long ago.
14:43The brambles were faintly poisonous.
14:45And as my skin brushed against them,
14:47a rash fell onto the flower petals below.
14:50When I reached up and touched my face,
14:52my fingertips came away scarlet.
14:55Ah!
14:56Blood!
14:58Bella had just stepped out and caught sight of me,
15:01my face smeared in blood like something monstrous.
15:04She shrieked on the spot and staggered backwards as though overcome with fright.
15:08What happened?
15:10Kieran rushed over at once and caught Bella in his arms.
15:13The moment he saw me covered in blood,
15:15looking like some vengeful spirit,
15:17he strode over without a word and struck me across the face.
15:21The blow was so hard it sent me sprawling to the ground.
15:24Clutching my chest,
15:26I began coughing violently,
15:27each breath bringing up flecks of blood.
15:30Bella cannot bear the smell of blood right now.
15:33Did you do this on purpose to upset her?
15:35His gaze was sharp as ice.
15:38Because your child is dead,
15:39is that it?
15:40So now you want revenge on someone else's?
15:43Elada,
15:44have you forgotten what happens when you disobey me?
15:46How could I ever forget?
15:48Fighting the itching beneath my skin,
15:50the suffocating pressure in my chest,
15:52and the agony in my lungs that felt like a thousand insects eating me alive.
15:56I forced myself upright and crawled forwards before bowing low in submission.
16:01It was my fault.
16:03It was my fault.
16:04Please,
16:05show mercy.
16:07Alpha.
16:08Enduring the pain,
16:09I knelt there and lowered my head,
16:11bearing my neck in surrender.
16:13I have nothing left.
16:15Please,
16:16do not torment me any further.
16:18Kieran crouched down and tilted up my chin.
16:21A faint smile touched his lips,
16:24cruel and amused.
16:25Who told you that you have nothing left?
16:28Isn't there still one buried beneath the cairn field beyond the ridge?
16:34I clutched desperately at his boots,
16:37my eyes burning red.
16:38Please,
16:39Kieran.
16:39I'm begging you.
16:41Don't do this.
16:42You can't.
16:44I could not even remember how long it had been since I had last called him by name.
16:48Kieran lowered his gaze to me.
16:51Something unreadable shifting in his eyes.
16:54I could not make sense of it.
16:57I only thought he was hesitating,
16:59so I kept knocking my head against the ground and begging.
17:02Again,
17:03and again,
17:04and again,
17:05until the skin split open and blood stained the earth beneath me.
17:10Blood ran from my nose.
17:12Blood spilled from my mouth when I coughed.
17:14Even my tears had become streaked with red.
17:18Only then did Kieran seem to realize that over the past two days,
17:22I had been bleeding far too much.
17:24Frowning,
17:25he turned to the others and asked,
17:27What heavy work was she doing in the courtyard to end up like this?
17:31One of them immediately answered,
17:34Alpha the Luna showed Miss Alara kindness.
17:36She was only asked to do light work,
17:38just clearing weeds.
17:40At once Kieran let go of me and gave a series of cold laughs.
17:43Alara,
17:44so,
17:45this is another performance,
17:47is it?
17:47You've had this wretched illness for years.
17:49Since it clearly won't kill you,
17:51you may as well endure it properly.
17:53I watched him step over me and walk back inside without so much as a backward glance.
17:58Very softly,
17:59I let out a breath.
18:01Then I curled in on myself and lay motionless until the night air turned cold.
18:05Lamplight glowed from inside the room.
18:08And Bella's sweet voice drifted faintly through the door.
18:11Honey,
18:12no.
18:13I'm pregnant.
18:14Oh,
18:15stop.
18:15If you want me that badly,
18:16you must promise to be gentle.
18:19Their shadows moved behind the curtains,
18:20and I watched them in silence.
18:23Suddenly,
18:23I thought of that night with Kieran.
18:26There had been no vows.
18:28No blessings.
18:29Only raw possession.
18:30The wind seemed to pass straight through the hollow space inside my chest.
18:35Dawn was almost here.
18:37This was the final day.
18:39Kieran,
18:39I am going to die.
18:41The bloodline you loathe so much will soon be wiped from this world completely.
18:46Congratulations.
18:49The door was suddenly flung open.
18:52Alpha sent you here to attend Bella,
18:54and this is how you idle away your time.
18:56Someone had just come with a message.
18:58Kieran was apparently about to inspect the territory.
19:02And I was ordered to get inside at once and wait on the luna.
19:06When I carried the water in,
19:08Bella looked radiant.
19:09Her cheeks flushed with health.
19:11The moment we were alone.
19:12The look she gave me lost all pretense.
19:15It was naked provocation.
19:17Our eyes met.
19:19Silently,
19:20I shaped two words with my lips.
19:22Traitor.
19:23Bella was not offended in the slightest.
19:26She merely smiled and took in my wretched state from head to toe.
19:30Alara,
19:31you're exactly the same as ever.
19:33The moment you touch these poisonous brambles,
19:36your skin flares up.
19:37She had once been my closest friend.
19:40Her father had served as my father's beta second.
19:43And yet when the pack fell,
19:45it was their family who opened the gates first.
19:48Bella lifted the wolf bone bracelet again
19:51and showed it off before my eyes.
19:53It doesn't feel very pleasant,
19:54does it?
19:55Having poison eat its way into your heart?
19:58You probably still don't know why
20:0010 years ago
20:01after you saved Kieran in the dark forest
20:03because he thought it was me who saved him.
20:06I told him I had sucked the poison from his wound
20:09with my own mouth.
20:10Bella finished speaking and waited,
20:13clearly hoping to savor the shock
20:14and pain on my face.
20:16But my expression did not change in the slightest.
20:20What stood between Kieran and me was a sea of blood.
20:23What could one act of saving his life possibly outweigh?
20:26A bitter smile touched my lips.
20:29If I'd known,
20:30I should have left him to die in the hands of those rogues.
20:33A cold laugh sounded behind me.
20:36I turned instinctively.
20:38Kieran's hand was already around my throat,
20:41his gaze glacial.
20:42Elara,
20:43do you hate me that much?
20:44Do you think I truly cannot bear to kill you?
20:47That hand,
20:48the same hand that had once caressed every inch of my body,
20:51closed hard around my neck.
20:53I could not speak.
20:54I could barely breathe.
20:57But from the dead stillness in my eyes,
20:59Kieran understood.
21:00If he had the nerve,
21:02then he should go on and strangle me to death.
21:08Kieran's brow tightened,
21:10and he flung me aside with brutal force.
21:12Death is too easy for you,
21:14Elara.
21:14I want you alive.
21:16I want you to suffer for the rest of your life.
21:19Then he brought me that medicine again.
21:21I took the bowl and,
21:22without waiting to be told,
21:24drank it down in front of him in a single swallow.
21:26Something dark and unreadable passed through Kieran's eyes.
21:29Elara,
21:30so long as you remain this obedient,
21:32I might consider.
21:34He paused,
21:35then turned his head slightly.
21:36I might consider allowing a headstone for that dead pup.
21:39My lashes trembled.
21:41That child had been his as well.
21:43And yet even a headstone was something he would grant only reluctantly.
21:47Today you will kneel in the courtyard and reflect on your conduct.
21:50That is your punishment for frightening Bella.
21:53Around mid-afternoon,
21:55a low growl suddenly echoed from outside.
21:57At Bella's birthday feast the day before,
21:59someone had given her an untrained black panther as a pet.
22:02Wild beasts loved the smell of blood.
22:05My heart dropped.
22:06I had only just looked up when a sweet dark shape launched straight at me.
22:10By the time Bella came running over in a show of alarm,
22:13pretending she meant to stop it,
22:14several chunks of flesh had already been torn from my body.
22:17She called the beast back and put on a guilty expression.
22:20Kieran only just began teaching me how to tame it.
22:24I'm still not used to the methods yet.
22:27That's why it hurt Alera.
22:29I feel dreadful.
22:31Luna, why should you apologize to a servant?
22:33Someone said at once,
22:35even if the beast had devoured her whole,
22:37Alpha would never blame you.
22:38My mind was beginning to blur.
22:40The world before me was washed in blood red.
22:43I could see nothing clearly,
22:45hear nothing properly.
22:46And suddenly I thought of my father,
22:49of how he had once become a great white wolf
22:51to protect his people and fought until his final breath.
22:54Elera?
22:55Ellie?
22:56Ellie?
22:57Someone was calling my childhood name again and again beside my ear,
23:00the voice low and strained.
23:02It had been so...
23:03I saw a tall figure.
23:05I grabbed his sleeve with a blood-soaked hand and cried.
23:09Through tears,
23:10the voice fell silent.
23:12When awareness finally returned,
23:14that familiar bitter taste was in my mouth again.
23:16I opened my eyes and found Kieran's face close to mine.
23:19He had been feeding me the medicine himself,
23:22mouth to mouth.
23:23The moment I realized it,
23:25I turned my face away in revulsion.
23:27Kieran froze.
23:29His fingers tightened round the medicine bowl.
23:31Elera,
23:32since you're awake,
23:33drink it yourself.
23:34Bracing myself upright,
23:36I did exactly as he said and drained the bowl to the last drop.
23:39In the very next moment,
23:41I vomited it all back up,
23:42along with black blood.
23:44Kieran's expression changed at once.
23:46He stared at me,
23:47confusion in his eyes,
23:49then panic,
23:50and then anger.
23:51Elera,
23:51what new trick is this?
23:53Outside,
23:54night had already fallen.
23:56I knew my wolf's soul was about to scatter.
23:58So I said,
24:00Kieran,
24:01I'm dying.
24:02I won't allow it.
24:03Kieran looked as though he meant to threaten me again with the bones of my family.
24:07But suddenly the words would not come,
24:09because he saw the blood pouring from all seven orifices of my face,
24:13staining the entire bed.
24:15He saw,
24:16two,
24:16the black veins creeping beneath my collar,
24:19the sign that the wolf's vein poison had sunk into the marrow of my bones.
24:22His shaking gaze returned to my face,
24:25and then he realized that my eyes could no longer focus.
24:28My wolf was dead.
24:30In that instant,
24:31he felt it.
24:32The thread that had bound our souls together,
24:35the mating bond itself,
24:36snapped cleanly in two.
24:40Kieran clutched at his chest and let out a howl like a wounded beast.
24:43The agony of having half his soul torn away made him stagger backwards.
24:47He could barely keep his footing before dropping to one knee.
24:50He could deny it all he liked.
24:52He could bury it beneath hatred for as long as he wished.
24:55But the breaking of the mating bond could not be hidden.
24:58It meant only one thing.
25:00The other half of his soul was dying.
25:02Ilara!
25:04Ilara!
25:05Ignoring the pain,
25:06he threw himself back to the bedside like a madman and slapped my face over and overed.
25:10Wake up!
25:11Do you hear me?
25:12You are not allowed to sleep.
25:14Where is your wolf?
25:15Call it out.
25:16Make it heal you.
25:17You're an alpha's daughter.
25:19Where is your healing gift?
25:20He frantically released the full force of his alpha scent,
25:23trying to force it into me,
25:25trying to wake the sleeping wolf soul within my body.
25:27But that fierce,
25:29overbearing power receiving not the slightest response.
25:32My body had become a vessel with a hole torn through it.
25:35No life could remain inside it now.
25:37What lay there was only an empty shell.
25:39Alpha,
25:40if this woman is dying,
25:41then let her die.
25:42Why make such a spectacle of it?
25:44At the doorway,
25:45the housekeeper who served Bella,
25:47having hidden in the shadows and watched long enough,
25:49could not hold her tongue any longer.
25:51She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the blood soaking the bed.
25:54You should remember that the Luna is with child.
25:57She cannot bear the sight of blood.
25:59If this disturbs the unborn heir.
26:01Shut up!
26:02Kieran spun round,
26:03his eyes red as blood itself,
26:05the unmistakable sign of a wolf on the brink of frenzy.
26:08Ilara was my name.
26:10It meant moonlight.
26:11And yet my whole life had known nothing but darkness.
26:14With a single backhanded strike,
26:17Kieran sent a visible wave of force crashing into the housekeeper.
26:20She was a werewolf too,
26:22yet she was flung away like a rag doll and smashed hard against the wall.
26:25The crack of breaking ribs rang out with dreadful clarity,
26:28and she collapsed at once, unconscious.
26:31The attendants outside dropped to their knees in terror,
26:34trembling violently.
26:35Bella, who had only just arrived,
26:38saw it happen and gave a shrill scream.
26:41One hand clutched her stomach as she crumpled to the floor.
26:44But Kieran paid no attention to anyone.
26:47He did not even spare Bella,
26:49the woman he had always doted on,
26:51a single glance.
26:52He turned back and seized my hand,
26:54which was already growing cold,
26:55holding it with the helpless desperation of a lost child.
26:58Elada, if you wake up,
27:01I'll grant you anything.
27:02I won't torment you again.
27:05I'll give you your freedom, alright?
27:07I won't kill you.
27:09I won't take revenge anymore.
27:11His voice was thick with tears,
27:13his words stumbling over one another in panic.
27:16Didn't you want that Wolf Fang bracelet?
27:18It was our token.
27:20I'll give it back to you.
27:22I'll give you everything.
27:23In a frenzy,
27:24he dragged the bracelet from inside his robes
27:26so badly as he tried to fasten it around my neck
27:29that he failed again and again to catch the clasp.
27:31Damn it.
27:32Damn it.
27:33At last, he managed it.
27:36The faint, familiar fragrance drifted to me,
27:38the scent he had once sought out specially to ease my pain.
27:41But it was all too late.
27:43Just then,
27:44the captain of the guard came in,
27:46pale-faced and stiff with fear.
27:47Alpha,
27:48there is a rogue seer at the gates asking to see you.
27:51He says he sensed the presence of an ancient blood curse.
27:54He says he knows how she might be saved.
27:57Kieran looked as though he had seized hold
27:59of the last thing keeping him from drowning.
28:01He snapped up his head and roared.
28:03Bring him in.
28:04Now,
28:05if she dies,
28:06every one of you will be buried with her.
28:09The seer wore a tattered cloak
28:11and carried the smell of herbs and damp earth about him.
28:14Leaning on a staff,
28:16he made his way slowly into the Alpha's chamber.
28:18When he saw the blood-soaked figure on the bed,
28:21he showed no surprise at all.
28:22He did not even step closer to take my pulse.
28:25He merely stood three paces away,
28:28looked once,
28:28and sighed.
28:29So it is exactly as I thought.
28:32By then Kieran no longer cared who the man was.
28:34He strode forwards,
28:36grabbed the seer by the collar,
28:38and snarled.
28:39You can save her,
28:40can't you?
28:41Then do it.
28:42The seer looked calmly at the frenzied wolf king
28:45and spoke in an even voice.
28:46Alpha,
28:47she is in this state
28:48because the poison inside her has turned
28:51taking into herself
28:52the liquid silver poison
28:53that was meant for another.
28:55Kieran's face froze.
28:57His grip loosened.
28:58What do you mean?
28:59The seer pushed his hand away
29:01and pointed to the black veins
29:02spreading across my chest.
29:04These markings do not appear in a day or two.
29:07Ten years ago,
29:08at the edge of the dark forest,
29:11was someone struck by the hunter's
29:13specially prepared liquid silver poison.
29:16Kieran's pupils contracted violently.
29:19That memory was the nightmare.
29:21He had never escaped.
29:23Ten years ago,
29:24young and reckless,
29:25he had stumbled into a hunter's trap.
29:27Poisoned and close to death,
29:29he had been left with one foot
29:30already beyond the threshold.
29:32There is no cure for that poison.
29:34The seer continued.
29:36The only way to survive
29:38is to use the flesh and blood
29:41of the one dearest to you
29:43as the vessel
29:43and by means of a forbidden dark rite
29:46called a blood oath,
29:48transfer the poison into another body.
29:51This girl was struck by that very curse.
29:54All these years,
29:56she has been feeding the poison
29:57that once lived in your body
29:59with her own life force
30:00and her wolf soul.
30:03In truth,
30:03she need not have suffered quite so much.
30:06She might even have lived
30:07a few years longer.
30:09But.
30:10The seer let his gaze drift
30:12round the room.
30:13Looking at the rich tonics
30:14that had not yet been cleared away,
30:16he gave a mirthless laugh.
30:17Take powerful strengthening tonics.
30:20And for punishment,
30:21have you even made her
30:22soak in silver baths?
30:24The color drained
30:25from Kieran's face
30:26in an instant.
30:27He staggered backwards
30:28as though struck by lightning,
30:30colliding with the cabinet behind him.
30:31The seer gave a weary sigh.
30:33Those rich medicines
30:35are the finest catalyst
30:36the poison could ask for.
30:38And the silver baths
30:40only hastened
30:41the collapse of her wolf soul.
30:43You could say that
30:44with your own hands,
30:45little by little,
30:47you pushed her towards death.
30:49Every bowl of medicine
30:50you forced down her throat
30:52was another step
30:53towards killing her.
30:54Kieran stood there listening,
30:56his head bowed,
30:57his whole body shaking.
30:58No wonder.
31:00No wonder she had
31:01so often gone pale
31:02over the years,
31:03clutching at her chest
31:04and whispering that it hurt.
31:05And more than once,
31:06he had called her weak.
31:08More than once,
31:09he had sneered
31:10that she was putting on an act.
31:12He had forced bowl after bowl
31:13of those self-important tonics
31:15down her throat
31:15and made her soak
31:16in silver baths
31:17as punishment.
31:18All the while,
31:20she had been enduring agony
31:21as though 10,000 insects
31:22were chewing through her heart.
31:24All the while,
31:25she had been trading
31:26her life for his.
31:27By the time he came back
31:28to himself,
31:29his nails had already
31:30cut deep into his palms,
31:32blood running freely.
31:33With his head still lowered,
31:35Kieran spoke in a voice
31:36so hoarse
31:37it scarcely sounded human,
31:38as though each word
31:39had been dragged
31:40from the bottom of his throat.
31:41Are you saying
31:42that the person
31:43who saved me
31:44in the dark forest
31:44was her?
31:46Of course.
31:47The seer gave
31:47a contemptuous laugh
31:49and turned a scornful glance
31:50towards Bella,
31:51who was trembling
31:51in the doorway.
31:52That woman called Bella
31:53was hiding up a tree
31:55frightened enough
31:56to wet herself.
31:57By the time this girl
31:58carried you out
31:59of the poisoned mist,
32:00that one had only
32:01just found the courage
32:02to climb down
32:03and steal the credit.
32:05Kieran spun round at once.
32:06His gaze slashed
32:07across the room
32:08like that of a maddened beast
32:09and landed on Bella.
32:11Bella had gone
32:11completely white.
32:13She was shaking so hard
32:14she could scarcely
32:15stay upright.
32:16No.
32:17No, that's not true.
32:19Honey.
32:21Please, let me explain.
32:23A blur shot
32:24through the room.
32:25No one saw him move.
32:27In the next instant,
32:28Kieran's hand
32:29was locked round
32:29Bella's throat,
32:30lifting her clear
32:31off the ground.
32:32Her legs kicked
32:33wildly in the air.
32:35Both hands clawed
32:36desperately at his iron grip,
32:37but it was useless.
32:39You lied to me
32:39for ten years.
32:40His voice was
32:41terrifyingly calm
32:42and for that reason
32:43all the more dreadful.
32:45You stole everything
32:46that should have
32:46belonged to Alara.
32:47The credit was hers.
32:49The token was hers.
32:50The honor was hers.
32:51And she...
32:53His voice shook.
32:54She suffered
32:54in the slave pens
32:55in my place
32:56while I tormented her
32:57until living
32:58became worse than death.
32:59Bella struggled frantically,
33:01her face swelling dark
33:02with lack of air.
33:03With immense difficulty,
33:05she forced out
33:06a few broken words.
33:07I...
33:08I'm pregnant.
33:09Your child.
33:10You're an alpha.
33:10You can't kill a pup.
33:12She tried to use
33:12the child in her belly
33:13as her final shield,
33:14but Kieran's fingers
33:16did not loosen
33:17in the slightest.
33:18If anything,
33:19they tightened further.
33:20There was nothing
33:21in his eyes now
33:22but pure destruction.
33:24My child?
33:24A shattered laugh
33:25escaped him
33:26and tears slid down
33:27his face.
33:28My child.
33:29The one who was
33:30truly mine.
33:31The child I should have
33:33had with my fated mate
33:34is already dead.
33:36I killed it
33:37with my own hands.
33:38It lies buried
33:39beneath the cairnfield
33:40beyond the ridge.
33:41And this thing
33:42in your belly
33:42dares to call itself
33:43my child.
33:44His gaze flickered
33:45to the woman
33:45lying on the bed,
33:46bloodied and lifeless,
33:48and the pain in his chest
33:49became so sharp
33:50he could scarcely breathe.
33:51If Alara cannot live,
33:53then all of you
33:53can die with her.
33:54There came a sharp crack.
33:56Bella's neck snapped.
33:57Her head lolled
33:58at a grotesque angle.
34:00Kieran flung her aside
34:01with one careless movement,
34:02as though he were
34:03throwing away rubbish.
34:05The luna he had once
34:06cherished like a treasure
34:07hit the floor
34:08like a broken doll.
34:09The hall fell
34:10into a deathly silence.
34:11Every attendant
34:12and guard
34:13had dropped
34:13to their knees,
34:14not one of them
34:15daring to breathe
34:16too loudly.
34:17Kieran did not
34:17even glance
34:18at Bella's corpse.
34:19He turned,
34:20then all at once
34:21his knees gave way
34:22beneath him,
34:22and he fell
34:23before the seer.
34:24The wolf king,
34:25who had once
34:26seemed above all others,
34:27was now humbled
34:28into the dust.
34:29Save her.
34:30He begged.
34:31Please,
34:32save her.
34:35The seer shook his head,
34:37pity in his eyes.
34:38It is too late.
34:40The mating bond
34:41has already broken.
34:42Her wolf soul
34:43has scattered.
34:44Her body
34:45is ruined.
34:47Kieran seemed
34:47to lose his mind.
34:49With a savage movement,
34:50he drove his own claws
34:52into his chest.
34:53Blood burst forth.
34:54Without even flinching,
34:56he dug out blood
34:57from over his own heart.
34:58Golden alpha blood
34:59dripped life instead.
35:01He stared at the seer,
35:02his gaze steady
35:03and absolute.
35:04The ancient blood oath
35:05can be reversed,
35:06can't it?
35:07If poison could be
35:08transferred before,
35:09then life force
35:10can be transferred now.
35:12The seer looked
35:12at the mad wolf king,
35:14looked at the terrible wound
35:15yawning in his chest,
35:16and at last
35:16let out a long sigh.
35:20It can be attempted,
35:22but this is forbidden,
35:24even among forbidden odds.
35:26You must understand
35:28the price.
35:29You will lose
35:29all the power
35:30of an alpha.
35:31Your wolf soul
35:33will shatter.
35:34You will become
35:35a broken man,
35:36perhaps even die
35:37on the spot.
35:38And even if she wakes,
35:40she may remember
35:41nothing else.
35:42Kieran did not hesitate
35:43for so much
35:44as a heartbeat.
35:45Do it.
35:46The seer drew
35:47an intricate blood circle
35:48in the center
35:49of the alpha's chamber.
35:51Kieran gathered me
35:51into his arms
35:52and sat at the heart of it.
35:54As the chant began,
35:55a red light flooded the room.
35:57Kieran poured
35:57all that he was into me.
35:59His life force,
36:01the very source
36:01of his alpha power,
36:03all of it passed
36:04through his blood
36:04into my body without end.
36:06The color drained
36:07visibly from his face.
36:08His black hair
36:09turned white strand by strand.
36:11At my ear he whispered,
36:13his voice growing
36:13weaker and weaker,
36:15yet softer than
36:15it had ever been.
36:16Ellie, I'm sorry.
36:19If I were given
36:20another chance,
36:21I would know you
36:22at once in the dark forest.
36:24I would never lead
36:25an army to destroy
36:26your pack.
36:27I would come with gifts
36:28and ask for your hand
36:29properly.
36:30I would never let
36:31you suffer at all.
36:33I would place
36:34the finest things
36:34in the world before you.
36:37Live on.
36:38Live for our child too.
36:41Live well.
36:42I did not know
36:44how much time
36:44had passed,
36:45but at some point
36:46I felt warmth,
36:47deep and powerful,
36:48entering my body,
36:49mending my ruined organs,
36:51awakening every
36:52sleeping part of me.
36:53It was the life force
36:54I had lost so long ago.
36:57And at the same time,
36:59I could feel
37:00another soul
37:00fading fast.
37:02That warmth
37:03was him
37:03burning himself away.
37:07I tried desperately
37:08to open my eyes.
37:10I tried to reach for him.
37:12I wanted to tell him
37:13to stop.
37:15Kieran.
37:17By the time
37:18I finally forced
37:19my eyes open,
37:20the light
37:21had already faded.
37:22And all I saw
37:23was Kieran collapsed
37:24beside the bed.
37:26His hair
37:26was completely white.
37:28His skin
37:29had lost all luster
37:30and was lined with age.
37:32The man who had once
37:34stood tall and untouchable.
37:36The wolf king
37:37before whom
37:37all others bowed.
37:38Now lay there
37:39like an old man
37:40at the end of his days.
37:41Utterly still.
37:43He was dead.
37:44He had traded
37:45his life for mine.
37:47And the broken
37:48mating bond.
37:49Restored for a moment
37:50by the forbidden right.
37:52Had rejoined
37:53only to lead
37:53into emptiness.
37:55I gathered
37:56his cold body
37:57into my arms.
37:58And in that
37:59vast hollow hall
38:00I let out a long.
38:01Desolate howl.
38:10It was the cry
38:11of a lone wolf
38:12who had lost her mate.
38:14The most hopeless
38:15sound in the world.
38:17Afterwards
38:17I did not
38:19take command
38:19of the pack.
38:20When Kieran died
38:21the Black River
38:23pack descended
38:23into chaos.
38:25But I did not care.
38:26I dismissed
38:27every servant.
38:32Then I burned
38:33that splendid
38:34filthy palace
38:35to the ground.
38:36Taking Kieran's
38:37remains with me.
38:38I returned
38:39to the old
38:39blood moonlands.
38:41I buried him
38:42beside our unborn
38:43child beneath
38:43the great oak
38:44where we had first
38:45met ten years before.
38:47Once,
38:48it had been
38:48the happiest
38:49place we knew.
38:51On the gravestone
38:52I wrote none
38:53of his titles.
38:54Not wolf king.
38:56Not conqueror.
38:58Only a single line.
39:00Here lies Kieran,
39:02my mate,
39:02my love,
39:03my regret.
39:05Alone,
39:06with the recovered
39:07wolf fawn bracelet
39:08at my throat.
39:09I turned my steps
39:10towards the vast
39:11snows of the north.
39:14They say there
39:15is an ancient legend
39:16in the far north.
39:18That if one can find
39:19the moon goddess's
39:20lost tear,
39:21one may open
39:22the gate of time
39:22and turn the years
39:23backwards.
39:25I do not know
39:26whether it is true.
39:28Perhaps it is
39:29nothing more than
39:30an empty hope
39:30offered to those
39:31left behind.
39:32But I have a long
39:33life ahead of me
39:34in which to search.
39:36So long as I do
39:37not die.
39:38This long atonement
39:40and this long search
39:42will never end.
39:44Through the wind
39:45and snow,
39:46a solitary
39:47silver wolf
39:48walked on,
39:49step by step,
39:51into the heart
39:51of the storm.
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