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00:03Perform a soul-severing ritual on me.
00:05You want him to think you're dead?
00:07Yes.
00:11The full moon glared down at the birthing altar.
00:14A contraction ripped through me so hard my spine arched off the stone.
00:18Dominic squeezed my hand.
00:21Almost there, Selina.
00:22My mate, my alpha, bound to me by the human goddess herself.
00:26The pack priest walked in carrying a silver tray.
00:29I offered my arm for the pain relief.
00:31The needle pierced my skin.
00:32But it wasn't medicine.
00:34The pungent scent hit my nose.
00:36Wolfsbane.
00:37I looked at Dominic.
00:38He wasn't surprised.
00:39He was checking his watch.
00:41Vivian's water just broke.
00:43Delay her for two hours.
00:45Our true heir needs to be born first.
00:47He turned and walked away.
00:48Didn't look back.
00:49I tried to scream.
00:51I wanted my wolf to tear free and lunge after him.
00:54But the wolfsbane was already working.
00:56My wolf was dragged under.
00:57My voice died in my throat.
00:59And my pup halfway into the world stopped moving.
01:02Frozen inside me by her own father's command.
01:04Two pack guards dragged me down into the dungeon beneath the temple.
01:08A place for rogues, war prisoners, and wolves sentenced to death.
01:12Now it held the alpha's fated mate and his unborn child.
01:16A single rune lamp flickered on the wall.
01:19Straw on the floor.
01:20No bed.
01:21I slid down the freezing stone wall, hands clutching my belly.
01:24She was still kicking, faint, frantic.
01:28Mummy's here.
01:29Mummy's here.
01:30Three months ago, Dominic's older brother, Marcus, died in a territorial dispute.
01:42His mate Vivienne was carrying a boy.
01:44A purer blood alpha heir.
01:46The only pup you could inherit.
01:48Mine was a girl.
01:50Girls couldn't inherit.
01:52The moment the ultrasound confirmed it, the entire Blackwood pack abandoned us both.
01:57Heels flicked down the corridor.
01:58Cassandra Blackwood.
01:59Dominic's sister.
02:00The pack beta.
02:06She stood outside the iron bars, twirling a silver dagger.
02:10The blade dragged along the bars, metal screeching.
02:12Selene, don't blame my brother.
02:15Vivienne is carrying Marcus's post-morious son.
02:18A pure-blood alpha heir.
02:20The only pup in our generation who can inherit the alpha title.
02:24It doesn't matter how early you give birth.
02:26You're carrying a girl.
02:28Girls can't inherit.
02:29You know that.
02:30A contraction slammed into me.
02:32The wolfbane pushed the labor down.
02:34My body fought back.
02:35Two forces tore me apart from the inside.
02:38Get the priest.
02:40The baby is coming.
02:41Please.
02:43The wolfbane will last another three hours.
02:47Vivienne has already been taken to the birthing altar.
02:50You'll stay here and wait.
02:52If she starts howling, gag her.
02:54Don't let the noise reach upstairs.
02:56Don't scare Vivienne.
03:04I looked down.
03:06My dress was soaked in blood.
03:07All I could see was Dominic's face.
03:09When he turned away, his eyes held no guilt.
03:11Just cold calculation.
03:12I dragged myself to the cell door.
03:15Then I punched the cell door hard.
03:16Again and again.
03:17Until my skin split open.
03:19Somebody!
03:20Help!
03:21I'm in labor!
03:22Save my baby!
03:23Shut up.
03:24If it dies, that's its fate.
03:26A girl with no inheritance rights.
03:27Her death won't affect the pack.
03:30My blood-stained hands slid off the cell door.
03:33I collapsed into a pool of my own blood.
03:36This wasn't fate.
03:37Someone was murdering my child.
03:39Just as my vision began to blur, the heavy door crashed open.
03:44Dr. Holden, the pack doctor.
03:46The moment he saw me, all the colors drained from his face.
03:49Luna?
03:50What are you doing here?
03:52Dominic said you were resting in the Moonstone Lounge.
03:54Fully dilated.
03:56Water broke.
03:57You're losing too much blood.
03:58The wolf of Spain is still suppressing your healing.
04:02Guards!
04:02The Luna is hemorrhaging!
04:05Only echoes answered.
04:06No one came.
04:07He tried his comm stone.
04:09Nothing.
04:09The dungeon's warding runes blocked all signals.
04:12Gritting his teeth, he scooped me up and ran.
04:15An aging beta carrying a bleeding woman up three flights of stone stairs.
04:19Every jolt sending agony through my pelvis.
04:22He burst onto the ground floor.
04:24Ran for the medical wing.
04:25Kicked open the door.
04:26And froze.
04:28He kicked open the door and froze.
04:30Everything was gone.
04:32Stripped bare.
04:33Every Moonstone crystal, runestone, potion, gone.
04:36How?
04:37I checked inventory this afternoon.
04:40Cassandra strolled down the hall.
04:41Two Omega attendants followed behind her.
04:44We move to the third floor.
04:46Vivian's C-section is high risk.
04:48She needs the best resources.
04:50Her gaze drifted to me, drenched in blood, half-dead in Dr. Holden's arms.
04:54She smiled.
04:55I knew that smile.
04:56Six months ago, she'd worn it downtown, linking her arm through mine.
05:00Selina, you're the best Luna I've ever met.
05:03You're more like a real sister to me.
05:04The antique Moonstone necklace I gave her still rested against her collarbone.
05:09It glowed softly in the dim hallway and made her smile look monstrous.
05:13Dr. Holden laid me on a bare stone cot.
05:16He tore open every cabinet and drawer.
05:18Empty.
05:19Not a single herb.
05:20I'm sorry, Luna.
05:22I have nothing.
05:24Relax.
05:25Once Vivian is done, the supplies will be returned.
05:28What's the rush?
05:29Her gaze dropped to my belly.
05:31Besides, you were nothing but a breeding machine from the beginning.
05:36And you couldn't even produce the right product.
05:39Dr. Holden stepped in front of me.
05:40This is murder, Cassandra.
05:42Two lives.
05:43Her smile vanished.
05:45Mothers and pups die in childbirth every day.
05:47Dystedia, hemorrhage, healing failure, perfectly natural causes of death.
05:52No one will say a damn thing.
05:54And this is Blackwood family business!
05:56You're a contract beta doctor!
05:58Know your place!
05:59She snapped at the gods.
06:01Drag him to the third floor.
06:02Vivian needs him.
06:04I'll handle her.
06:05Two guards grabbed Dr. Holden.
06:07He thrashed against them, screaming over his shoulder.
06:09Luna!
06:10Press your stomach!
06:11Shard the wolf hard!
06:12Fight the wolf bond!
06:14The baby still has a heartbeat!
06:16You can still save her!
06:18Cassandra slammed the door, then pulled out a comm.
06:21Stone, Dominic's face appeared in the holographic screen.
06:23Behind him, the birthing altar blazed with light.
06:26Priests moved in and out.
06:28Nurses swarmed around Vivian.
06:30Dominic?
06:31Selina looks like she's about to deliver.
06:34Want to see?
06:35Dominic's eyes shifted to me, one glance, like I was trashed by the roadside.
06:39Stop messing around, Savina.
06:41Vivian isn't doing well.
06:43The baby's heart rate dropped twice.
06:45Cassandra moved the stone closer, making sure the screen clearly showed my dying form.
06:49But look, she's bleeding a lot.
06:51Doesn't she look like she's dying?
06:53Tell her to wait.
06:54Once Vivian is done, I'll send a priest down.
06:56Cassandra pocketed the stone.
06:57You heard him?
06:58Vivian is the priority.
07:00Marcus's son is the priority.
07:02You were nothing.
07:03I closed my eyes, stopped looking at her.
07:06My hand crept behind my back, fingers finding the tiny raised bump on my left hip.
07:10It looked like a mole.
07:12It wasn't.
07:12A blood seal rune.
07:14My father had carved it into my skin on my wedding day with his own alpha blood.
07:17His voice echoed in my head.
07:19Selina, the waters in the Blackwood family may run deeper than you know.
07:23If the day ever comes when you need help, bite your finger and let one drop of blood fall
07:27on this rune.
07:28No matter where you are, someone will reach you within 30 minutes.
07:31I had laughed and pushed his hand away.
07:33Dad, you're being dramatic.
07:35Dominic treats me so well.
07:37I'm his mate.
07:38The moon goddess chose him for me.
07:41How could he ever hurt me?
07:42My father had been silent for a long time.
07:45Then he only said one thing.
07:47The moon goddess binds the souls, Selina.
07:49But she doesn't bind the heart.
07:51I was such a fool.
07:52Blood welled on my fingertip.
07:54I let it fall on the rune.
07:5830 minutes.
07:59I looked at the blood pooling beneath me.
08:01My baby's heartbeat was still there.
08:03Hold on.
08:04Please hold on.
08:04The wolf's bane suppression broke.
08:06Every contraction that had been held back for hours hit at once.
08:10Like a damn collapsing wave.
08:11After wave.
08:12Faster.
08:13Harder.
08:13I screamed.
08:14The sound ricocheted off stone walls.
08:16An omega attendant rushed in.
08:18Checked me.
08:19And went white.
08:20Fully dilated.
08:21The head's crowning hemorrhage.
08:22We need moonstone crystals.
08:23Healing rooms.
08:24Anything.
08:25Cassandra didn't even step into the room.
08:27Then let them die.
08:28It's just a girl.
08:31Completely useless.
08:32Alive.
08:33She's a waste of space.
08:36Dead.
08:36Changes nothing.
08:37She turned and walked away.
08:39The attendant tried.
08:40But I had no blood left.
08:42No strength.
08:42No wolf.
08:43My muscles wouldn't obey me.
08:45The baby was stuck in the birth canal.
08:46I could feel her heartbeat.
08:48Getting weaker.
08:49Slower fading.
08:50My vision went black.
08:51I am sorry baby.
08:52Mommy tried.
08:53A deafening wolf howl tore through the night.
08:56The entire Blackwood territory shook.
08:58The protective wards fled violently across the walls.
09:01Then shattered.
09:02A booming blast rocked the building.
09:04Centuries of Blackwood enchantments.
09:06Destroyed in seconds.
09:08Moonlight flooded the room.
09:10In that silver light stood a massive man in tactical combat gear.
09:16He ripped off his helmet.
09:17Battle scarred face.
09:19Cold silver eyes.
09:20Eyes that had witnessed countless massacres and never flinched.
09:23But the moment they found me, they turned bloodshot.
09:26Garrett.
09:27My father's head better.
09:29The man who caught me every time I fell learning to walk.
09:31Who shifted into wolf form and slept beside my bed when I was afraid of the dark.
09:36Who stood at the very back of my wedding, silent, jaw locked, eyes red.
09:40Because he already knew.
09:41He crossed the room in one stride and dropped to one knee.
09:44The stone floor cracked under the impact.
09:46Princess.
09:49I am late.
09:50Behind him stood 12 heavily armored warriors.
09:53Silver eyes.
09:54Weapons drawn.
09:55The elite shadow fanguard.
09:56Blackwood guards lay unconscious in the hall.
09:58The Omega attendant screamed.
10:00This is Blackwood territory.
10:02Who are you?
10:03How did you get it?
10:04Garrett didn't look at her.
10:05He was already lifting me off the cot.
10:07One arm beneath my knees.
10:09The other cradling my head.
10:10As gently as if I were made of glass.
10:12Blackwood?
10:14Soon, there won't be a Blackwood.
10:17The shadow fang warriors moved with terrifying efficiency.
10:20From the moment the captain picked me up to the second,
10:22I was loaded into an armored pack ambulance waiting just outside the borders.
10:26Barely four minutes had passed.
10:28Four minutes I had bled in that dungeon for hours.
10:30Begging for help and no one came.
10:32Shadow fang shattered the territory's defenses and extracted me in four minutes.
10:37Inside the medical transport, emergency moonstone arrays flared to life.
10:41Bathing my body in pure silver light.
10:43Blood pressure critically low.
10:45Blood loss exceeds the lethal threshold by three times.
10:47Fetal distress is severe.
10:49Heart rate is under 60 and dropping.
10:51We must perform an emergency c-section right now.
10:54But her vitals can't handle surgery.
10:55Do it!
10:57The captain's roar rattled the walls of the ambulance.
10:59Every medic flinched.
11:01He gripped my hand, his knuckles white, veins bulging up his forearms.
11:05I'll take full responsibility.
11:07Cut her open!
11:08I squeezed his fingers back, using the absolute last shred of my strength.
11:13Garrett.
11:14Garrett.
11:15Save the baby.
11:17Save the baby first.
11:19Garrett, my father's headbeater.
11:21The man who had guarded me since the day I was born.
11:23When I was learning to walk and fell, he was the one who picked me up.
11:26When I was terrified of the dark, he shifted into his wolf form and slept beside my bed the
11:31entire night.
11:31On the day I got married, he stood at the very back of the crowd, completely silent, his eyes
11:36red.
11:36Now he was kneeling beside my stretcher, his combat armor stained with blackwood blood,
11:41his silver eyes completely bloodshot.
11:43Princess, don't speak.
11:45Save your strength.
11:46His voice trembled, but he gritted out every word like a blood oath.
11:50The alpha is on his way.
11:51He'll be here soon.
11:53You and the pup will be fine.
11:54I swear it on my life.
11:56Before he could finish, the moonstone array above the operating table violently flickered.
12:00The vital sign monitors erupted into a shrill, piercing, uninterrupted scream.
12:06Cardiac arrest.
12:09The Luna's heart has stopped.
12:10Push the moonlight essence.
12:12Start the recitation, Ronan's.
12:13Fetal heart rate is plummeting.
12:1570, 50, 30.
12:18Scalpel, now!
12:19The medics shoved Garrett out of the way.
12:21He stumbled back into the corner of the ambulance, clenching his fists so hard his claws tore
12:26through his own palms, blood dripping onto the metal floor.
12:29The surgeon sliced open my abdomen with a room-carved scalpel.
12:32Silver energy flooded the incision, forcibly cauterizing the bleeding.
12:36They were draining the absolute limits of their healing stones just to keep my soul tethered
12:40to my body.
12:41Essence injected.
12:42Heartbeat is faint but back.
12:44Where is the pup?
12:45Found her!
12:46Extract!
12:47Pull her out!
12:48The umbilical cape is wrapped around her neck.
12:50Damn it!
12:51The wolfsbane choked off her oxygen in the womb for too long.
12:53She's out!
12:54She's out!
12:55They pulled a baby from my womb, but she didn't cry.
12:58In the final second, before the darkness swallowed me entirely, I forced my eyes open.
13:03My vision was a massive blur of blinding silver light.
13:07But I saw it.
13:08Through the haze, the doctor held a tiny blood-covered infant in his hands.
13:12She wasn't moving.
13:13She wasn't breathing.
13:14She didn't cry.
13:15The voices faded.
13:16Faded into an abyss of static.
13:18The last thing I heard was Garrett, a battle-hardened warrior in his forties, covered in 37 scars.
13:24A man who had ripped the throat out of hundreds of rogues, collapsing into the corner of the ambulance and
13:29silently weeping.
13:30I woke up to the harsh smell of medical bleach, mixed with the crisp, ozone scent of moonstone crystals.
13:36The princess is awake!
13:38Someone shouted in relief.
13:39Several faces crowded my vision.
13:42Familiar faces.
13:43My father's personal elite guards.
13:46Uncles who had watched me grow up.
13:48Garrett stood closest to the bed.
13:49His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek.
13:52His eyes rimmed with red.
13:54Seeing me open my eyes, his lips parted, but no words came out.
13:58He just gave me one stiff, trembling nod.
14:01Where is she?
14:03A figure standing at the foot of my bed slowly turned around.
14:06My father.
14:07My father, the current alpha of the Shadow Fang Pack.
14:10The absolute ruler of the oldest, most lethal werewolf bloodline on the North American continent.
14:14In the entire werewolf world, his name alone made other alphas bow their heads in submission.
14:20He was 54, his posture as straight as a spear.
14:23I had never seen him slouch.
14:25But right now, his hair was completely white.
14:28Overnight, he had gone totally grey.
14:30He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed.
14:32He took my hand in his.
14:33His hands were massive, calloused, scarred from decades of war.
14:37These hands had snapped the necks of his enemies and signed treaties that dictated the fates of millions of wolves.
14:42Right now, they were shaking.
14:44Selina.
14:45He choked on my name.
14:46He bowed his head.
14:47In my entire life, I had never seen this man bow his head.
14:50Not when facing the interrogations of the Seven Alpha Council.
14:54Not when executing traitors with his bare hands.
14:57Not even when he stood before my mother's grave for an entire night.
15:01But now, looking at me, he bowed his head.
15:04She's gone, isn't she?
15:07I looked at him, and I knew the answer.
15:09My father nodded.
15:11A single, scalding tear fell from his face onto the back of my hand.
15:16The hemorrhage, placental abtruction, the wolf bait in her bloodstream.
15:20She was deprived of oxygen for too long.
15:23The doctors did everything.
15:24The moonlight essence, the healing stones, the ancient bloodline resurrection rituals.
15:29We couldn't bring her back.
15:30The room fell dead silent.
15:32The only sound was the low, steady hum of the medical crystals.
15:36I closed my eyes.
15:37That tiny life that had lived inside me for nine months.
15:40The pup that kicked my ribs.
15:42The pup that made me run to the bathroom three times a night.
15:45The little wolf who would instantly calm down the second I rubbed my belly and whispered,
15:49Mommy's here, gone.
15:51Where is Dominic?
15:53My father lifted his head and wiped his face.
15:55Who?
15:56At the Blackwood Pack.
15:57By Vivian's side.
15:58She gave birth.
15:59A boy.
16:00Pure blood alpha lineage.
16:02The entire Blackwood Pack is throwing a massive celebration for their new heir.
16:06They held the moonlight recognition ceremony.
16:08The old alpha hosted it himself, right before he died.
16:11Not a single person thought of you.
16:13Not a single person asked if you were dead or alive.
16:16I laughed.
16:17My chest heaved as a broken hysterical laugh tore out of my throat.
16:21The mate bond was still pulsing faintly in my chest.
16:24I could feel Dominic's heartbeat.
16:27Steady, joyful, untroubled.
16:29He was smiling.
16:31He was celebrating.
16:32His fated mate had nearly bled to death in a dungeon.
16:35And his daughter was a corpse.
16:36And he was celebrating.
16:38Good.
16:39That's good.
16:40My father tightened his grip on my hand.
16:42Selina, come home with me.
16:45Blackwood Pack doesn't deserve you.
16:50Dad, I need you to do something for me.
16:53Anything.
16:55Perform a soul-severing ritual on me.
16:57My father froze.
16:59The soul-severing ritual.
17:00One of the darkest, most ancient forbidden arts of the Shadowfang bloodline.
17:04It artificially severed a mate bond.
17:06Forcing the other party to experience the exact physical sensation of their mate dying.
17:11The stopping of the heart.
17:12The shredding of the soul.
17:13The permanent snapping of the bond.
17:15To the person on the receiving end.
17:17It felt exactly like their mate had perished.
17:19You want him to think you're dead?
17:21Yes.
17:22The soul-severing ritual took place on the obsidian altar.
17:25Deep within the Shadowfang's ancestral lands.
17:28Midnight.
17:28A new moon.
17:29Pitch black.
17:30It was the only time we could deceive the moon goddess's gaze.
17:34I lay on the cold stone.
17:36Surrounded by four of our oldest priests.
17:38Their chanting was deep.
17:39Gutural.
17:40Vibrating with the ancient, lost tongue of the first dwarves.
17:43My chest sounded violent.
17:45It was dominant's heart beat.
17:47Eating inside me.
17:48Clear across a thousand miles.
17:50The high priest pressed his palm against my sternum.
17:53The runes flared blinding white.
17:55And then.
17:56An invisible silver spike was viciously ripped out of my heart.
17:59The mate bond is a tether woven into the soul.
18:01Severing it felt like two deeply intertwined trees being violently ripped apart by their roots.
18:06I clamped my teeth together refusing to scream.
18:09In my mind's eye, I saw glowing golden threads.
18:12The physical manifestation of our bond snapping one by one.
18:15Turning into ash.
18:16When the final thread broke.
18:18My chest went completely hollow.
18:19A terrifying, absolute emptiness.
18:22Like someone had reached into my ribcage and carved out my heart.
18:25Leaving nothing but a gaping void.
18:27The ritual was complete.
18:29From this second onward.
18:30In Dominic's mind and soul.
18:32I was dead.
18:32Meanwhile.
18:33A thousand miles away.
18:34In the heart of Blackwood territory.
18:36Dominic stood proudly at the main altar.
18:39Accepting the congratulatory toasts from his pack members.
18:41Without warning.
18:43It felt as if an invisible claw had just plunged into his chest and ripped it open.
18:48The bond snapped.
18:49He crashed to his knees.
18:50His hands desperately clawed at his own chest.
18:53His nails digging so deep into his own flesh that blood poured out over his shirt.
18:57A primal guttural roar of pure agony exploded from his throat.
19:02Cassandra shoved through the panicked crowd.
19:05Brother!
19:06What's wrong?
19:07Dominic convulsed on the marble floor.
19:09His claws scraping sickeningly against the stone.
19:12Selina.
19:13She's dead.
19:14The bond just broke.
19:16She's dead.
19:18Cassandra's face drained of color for a split second.
19:20But only a second.
19:21Brother!
19:22Calm down!
19:23She was always going to-
19:25Get the fuck away from me!
19:26Dominic backhanded her so hard she went backward.
19:29Crashing violently into the altar pillars.
19:31He scrambled to his feet.
19:33Stumbling and sprinting wildly out of the temple.
19:36The dungeon was empty.
19:37There was nothing left but a massive coagulated pool of blood.
19:41And a soaked pile of straw.
19:42And the rapidly fading scent of Selene lingering in the damp air.
19:46Dominic stood frozen in the center of the blood pool.
19:48He stood there for a very, very long time.
19:51Long enough for Cassandra to finally creep into the room and gingerly touch his arm.
19:56Brother.
19:59You locked her in here?
20:02I just told her to wait.
20:05Wait for what?
20:07Wait to die?
20:09Those were two lives!
20:11My mate!
20:12My pup!
20:13Cassandra took a step back.
20:14But she was having a girl!
20:16She was useless to the pack!
20:19The sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the dungeon.
20:22Cassandra's head whipped to the side.
20:24A bright red handprint instantly welling up on her cheek.
20:27She clutched her face.
20:29Staring at Dominic in total disbelief.
20:31Dominic glared at her.
20:32If I had been by her side, she wouldn't have died!
20:35If you hadn't taken all the medical supplies, she wouldn't have died!
20:40If I hadn't ordered them to inject her with Wolf Bay!
20:43He couldn't finish the sentence.
20:45Because the subject of that sentence was Prusinduan.
20:48From start to finish.
20:49He made every single decision.
20:51Cassandra was just the executioner.
20:53The person who murdered Selene and their child was him.
20:55I spent the next few weeks recovering in the Shadowfang estate.
20:58My body healed agonizingly slowly.
21:01The Wolfsbane residue severely crippled my cellular regeneration.
21:04And the pack doctor estimated it would take three months to completely purge it from my system.
21:08But I wasn't in a hurry.
21:10I had all the time in the world.
21:11My father ate with me and walked with me every day.
21:14Treating me exactly like he did when I was a little girl.
21:17He never brought up the blackwoods.
21:18But I knew his intelligence network never stopped spinning.
21:22Shadowfang's eyes and ears were buried in every major pack in North America.
21:26That was the terrifying power of an ancient bloodline.
21:29Every meeting.
21:30Every decision.
21:31Every hushed conversation the blackwoods had was transcribed and placed on my desk.
21:36Dominic had brought my corpse, a flawlessly forged illusion,
21:39created by the soul-severing ritual back to the blackwood manor.
21:42He didn't place the casket in the main hall.
21:45It was shoved into a side morning room.
21:47Vivienne and her son had already moved into the Alpha's master suite.
21:51They were surrounded by wet nurses, guards, and priests around the clock.
21:56Elder Blackwood had issued his final decree before his stroke.
22:00Keep the funeral brief and simple.
22:02Do not bring bad luck to the newborn heir.
22:05Find a random day to bury her coffin in the family cemetery.
22:09She was a lunar, so make the grave look decent.
22:12He dressed it up in polite words, but the translation was clear.
22:17Dispose of the dead woman, quickly.
22:19The living heir is the only future this pack has.
22:22Dominic didn't argue.
22:24He sat in the morning room, guarding the casket.
22:26Three days and three nights.
22:28No food, no water.
22:30Cassandra tried to talk to him,
22:33but he threw her out.
22:35Vivienne eventually walked in, cradling the baby.
22:39Dominic, my condolences.
22:42Selina is with the moon goddess now.
22:45She wouldn't want to see you like this.
22:48Do you know what she was thinking about?
22:50Dominic slowly lifted his head and stared at her.
22:53Right before she died.
22:57She was wondering why her Alpha wasn't with her.
23:01Why everyone was waiting for your baby to be born,
23:04and no one gave a single damn if she lived or died.
23:07Dominic, what is that supposed to mean?
23:09I practically died on that table too?
23:11Yes.
23:12You went through a lot.
23:14Dominic interrupted, his voice dead.
23:16But she died.
23:17Two corpses.
23:23Just because the pup in her stummy didn't have a dick,
23:25they deserved to die?
23:27As she turned to leave,
23:28she threw one last sentence over her shoulder.
23:30Don't forget Dominic.
23:32My son is the one continuing the Blackwood bloodline now.
23:36Dead people are useless.
23:38The absolute decimation of the Blackwood pack
23:41began in the second week.
23:42First, their territorial alliances collapsed.
23:45The Silvercrest pack.
23:47Allies with the Blackwoods for three generations
23:50abruptly terminated their treaties.
23:53When Dominic's engine invoiced to negotiate,
23:56the gates were slammed in their faces.
23:58An anonymous dossier was submitted to the Seven Alpha Council.
24:01It detailed the Blackwood pack's use of Wolfsbane on their Luna,
24:05her illegal imprisonment,
24:06and the deliberate denial of medical care during labor.
24:09Every single accusation was a heavy felony under pack law.
24:13The council dispatched inquisitors to occupy Blackwood territory
24:16for a month.
24:18Panics swept through their subordinate packs,
24:21and one by one they defected,
24:23seeking asylum with rival Alpha families.
24:26Next, their resources were completely severed.
24:29The Blackwoods had monopolized the Moonstone mines for generations.
24:33Suddenly, the neighboring pack upstream dammed the mystical rivers.
24:37Without the spiritual water nourishing the land,
24:40the Moonstone yield plummeted to zero.
24:43Moonstone crystals were the Blackwood pack's entire economy.
24:46When production halted, their trade routes snapped,
24:49and their finances instantly went bankrupt.
24:52In less than a month,
24:54the Blackwoods devolved from a top-three powerhouse
24:57on the East Coast into an isolated,
24:59quarantined,
25:01bankrupt,
25:02starving pack.
25:03Elder Blackwood was so enraged
25:05that his inner wolf went rogue.
25:07During a forced shift,
25:08his blood vessels ruptured.
25:09He suffered a massive stroke and collapsed.
25:12This time, there was no saving him.
25:15Save the pack,
25:16the air,
25:17the bloodline.
25:19And then he died.
25:25Almost no one attended his funeral.
25:27Those who did only showed up to sneer.
25:30Dominic stood by the coffin like a stone statue,
25:33completely expressionless.
25:34When the last guest left,
25:36he turned to Vivienne.
25:38Take the kid and leave the Blackwood territory.
25:40Vivienne shrieked.
25:42What did you just say?
25:44I'll give you a safe house outside our borders
25:46and enough cash to live comfortably
25:48for the rest of your lives.
25:50Get out.
25:51I'm your sister-in-law.
25:53This boy carries Marcus's blood.
25:55The elder named him the sole heir.
25:57Heir to what?
25:58Dominic chuckled.
25:59A dark mocking sound.
26:00A pack that's being liquidated by the council?
26:03A territory that's about to be butchered
26:05and divided among our rivals?
26:07Vivienne glared at him,
26:08then let out a sharp, cold laugh.
26:11Don't bullshit me, Dominic.
26:13Look, you're not doing this out of guilt for Selina.
26:16You're just terrified.
26:17Terrified of what?
26:19Of those black wolves that stormed the dungeon that night.
26:22You're terrified of whatever monstrous fact is backing you, Selina.
26:25You know they're coming back.
26:27You're kicking me out so you can wash your hands of us
26:30and save your own skin.
26:32She adjusted the baby in her arms
26:33and sneered as she walked to the door.
26:35She paused to spit out one final insult.
26:38You weren't so scared when you ordered the price
26:41to inject wolf bark into her veins.
26:43Dominic stood alone in the empty morning hall.
26:45He didn't say a word
26:47because she was absolutely right.
26:49I sat in the study of the Shadowfang estate,
26:51flipping through the latest intelligence reports.
26:54My father walked in holding a cup of tea.
26:56The council has ruled to strip the Blackhoods
26:59of two-thirds of their territory.
27:02The core sector they have left
27:03won't survive six months.
27:05I closed the file
27:07faster than I predicted.
27:09My father sat down,
27:11staying quiet for a moment.
27:13Selina,
27:14is it enough?
27:15I looked up.
27:17I don't pity you,
27:18my father clarified.
27:19I just don't want you trapped in this darkness.
27:21Vengeance is a double-edged blade.
27:23Hold it too long
27:24and it'll slice your own hand.
27:25I stood up and walked to the window.
27:26Beyond the glass stretched
27:27the vast jagged mountains
27:29of the Shadowfang ancestral lands.
27:31The moonlight spilled over the pine forests,
27:33turning the world into an ocean of silver.
27:35I stepped out of the darkness
27:37the second my daughter died.
27:39Right now,
27:40I'm just collecting a debt.
27:42My father looked at me,
27:43his eyes full of complex sorrow.
27:45You've changed.
27:47You used to smile so much.
27:48Now,
27:49even your smiles look hollow.
27:51I didn't turn around.
27:52Some people take a lifetime to grow up.
27:55Some people just need one betrayal.
27:57My father didn't argue.
27:58He set the teacup down
27:59and quietly left the room.
28:01My phone buzzed.
28:03Arsham Uzi,
28:03it was Dominic.
28:04More accurately,
28:05it was him calling
28:06the old Kahn's and frequency
28:08of dead Selene.
28:09Shadowfang's techs and witches
28:11had kept the line open
28:12and routed it to my secure device.
28:14I didn't say a word.
28:15His rasky, broken voice
28:17bled through the speaker.
28:18Selene,
28:19I know you can't hear me,
28:22but I don't know who else
28:23to talk to anymore.
28:24He sounded like he had been
28:25swallowing glass.
28:26The background was dead silent.
28:27He was probably sitting
28:28in the morning hall again.
28:29The pack is finished.
28:30The territory is gone.
28:31Our allies ran
28:32and the council report
28:32drops next week.
28:33They're probably going to
28:34strip my alpha title.
28:35My father is dead.
28:37Vivienne left.
28:39Cass hates me.
28:40It's just me left.
28:41I'm the only one left
28:42in the whole territory.
28:44A long,
28:45suffocating silence.
28:46I keep thinking,
28:48if I hadn't let them inject you
28:49with Wolf Fane that night,
28:51would you still be alive?
28:52If I had just left you
28:53half of the Moonstone crystals,
28:54would your wolf have healed you?
28:55If I wasn't so damn greedy,
28:56wanting the perfect air,
28:57wanting the alpha seat,
28:58wanting absolute control
29:00over everything,
29:01would you still be here?
29:03Would you still be rubbing
29:04your belly,
29:05laughing and telling
29:06she was kicking again?
29:08Another silence.
29:09Then,
29:10a microscopic,
29:11muffled sob.
29:13But there are no ifs.
29:14You're dead.
29:15Our pup is dead.
29:17And I did it.
29:19I could live
29:20a thousand lifetimes
29:21and never pay off
29:22and never pay off this debt.
29:23The line clicked dead.
29:25I sat in the moonlight,
29:27gripping the phone.
29:28Outside,
29:29the wind tore through
29:30the pine trees,
29:31rustling the branches.
29:32After a very long time,
29:34I put the phone down
29:35on the desk.
29:36The black screen
29:37reflected my face.
29:38Totally blank.
29:40Not a single tear.
29:41Three months later,
29:42my body was entirely healed.
29:44The wolf bay
29:45was purged from my veins.
29:46My cellular regeneration
29:47was operating
29:48at maximum capacity
29:49and my wolf
29:50had finally woken up.
29:51She was quieter
29:52than before,
29:53but vastly more lethal.
29:55My father was waiting
29:56for me in the study.
29:58On the mahogany desk
29:59lay a single document,
30:00the official transfer
30:01of the Shadowfang Alpha title.
30:03Are you ready?
30:04I'm ready.
30:05He nodded,
30:07sliding the papers
30:07towards me.
30:08Sign this
30:09and you are the next
30:10Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack,
30:12the apex predator
30:13of the seven ancient
30:14bloodlines
30:15of North America.
30:16Are you absolutely certain?
30:18Once you walk this path,
30:19there is no turning back.
30:21I picked up the pen
30:21and signed my name
30:22without a fraction
30:23of hesitation.
30:24The second the ink dried,
30:25a terrifying surge
30:26of raw power
30:27exploded from the floorboards,
30:28rocketing up my spine
30:29and flooding
30:30every cell in my body.
30:31The Shadowfang bloodline
30:32was acknowledging me.
30:34The earth of our ancestral lands
30:35was answering me.
30:36Outside the window,
30:37massive,
30:38thousand-year-old pine trees
30:39violently trembled
30:40in unison,
30:41emitting a low,
30:41groaning hum,
30:42as if bowing
30:43to their new Alpha.
30:44My father looked at me.
30:45His eyes slightly red,
30:46but he smiled.
30:47You look just like your mother.
30:49From that day on,
30:50I officially took over
30:51the Shadowfang Empire.
30:52To the outside world,
30:53I was the new Alpha,
30:54operating under the alias
30:56Silver.
30:56No one knew Silver
30:57was Selina.
30:58No one knew the discarded,
31:00murdered Luna
31:00of the Blackwood Pack
31:01was actually the reigning queen
31:03of North America's
31:04deadliest werewolf syndicate.
31:06I stopped paying attention
31:07to the Blackie's collapse.
31:08I didn't need to anymore.
31:11Dominic had liquidated
31:12the last scraps
31:13of their territory
31:14and formally disbanded
31:15the pack.
31:16A dynasty that had ruled
31:18for five generations
31:19completely ceased
31:20to exist in three months.
31:24He lived alone
31:26in the crumbling
31:26Bedford Luna.
31:28The council allowed him
31:29to keep the house
31:30as a final sliver of mercy
31:31for a former Alpha.
31:34He only did two things
31:36every day.
31:37Drink
31:38and sit in front
31:40of my gravestone.
31:41Sometimes he talked.
31:43Sometimes he just stared.
31:46Garrett's intelligence
31:47reports noted
31:48that he had lost
31:49nearly 30 pounds.
31:51His hair was mostly white
31:52and his mental state
31:54was completely shattered.
31:55The backlash
31:56of the severed mate bond
31:57was slowly rotten him
31:58from the inside out.
32:00Insomnia,
32:01auditory hallucinations,
32:03the inability to shift
32:05into his wolf form,
32:06uncontrollable violent
32:08outbursts
32:08that took symptoms
32:09of an Alpha
32:10whose mate had been
32:11ripped from his soul.
32:12A mild case could survive
32:14for a few years.
32:15A severe case
32:16wouldn't last a year.
32:18Dominic was the most
32:19severe case possible
32:20because our bond
32:21didn't break through
32:22natural death.
32:23It was violently amputated
32:24via dark magic.
32:26The room was infinitely deeper.
32:28The rot was infinitely faster.
32:30Princess,
32:31should we intervene?
32:33At this rate of decay,
32:34he has six months
32:35max.
32:37No intervention.
32:40This is his debt to pay.
32:43Month six,
32:44a freezing late autumn night.
32:46I had just finished
32:47signing off
32:48on the day's operations
32:49and stood by the study window,
32:51staring out
32:52at the mountain ridges.
32:54Princess,
32:57he went to your grave again.
32:59He goes every day.
33:02Tonight is different.
33:05He brought a silver dagger.
33:07A silver dagger?
33:08To Ewolf,
33:09that wasn't a weapon.
33:11It was an execution tool.
33:13If silver pierced the heart,
33:15the healing factor
33:16was instantly neutralized.
33:18Death was absolute.
33:19It was the only foolproof
33:20method of suicide
33:21for our kind.
33:24What is he doing?
33:25Sitting in front of the headstone,
33:27holding the blade.
33:28He hasn't moved yet.
33:30It looks like he's hesitating.
33:33Or waiting for something.
33:34I looked up at the sky.
33:37Tonight was a full moon.
33:38Exactly nine months ago,
33:40under a full moon,
33:41I lay on the birthing altar
33:42while he casually ordered them
33:44to pump Wolfsbane into my veins.
33:46Nine months.
33:47The exact time it took
33:49to carry a child to term.
33:51Get the car ready.
33:56Princess?
33:57I'm going to see him.
33:59One last time.
34:01And then,
34:02this is completely finished.
34:03The cemetery at midnight.
34:05The Blackwood family graveyard
34:07was situated on a sloping hill
34:09at the edge of the Old Territory.
34:11Surrounded by pines,
34:12the moonlight bled
34:13through the branches,
34:15scattering silver shards
34:16across the grass.
34:18I stood deep in the shadows,
34:20watching Dominic.
34:21He was sitting in front
34:22of my gravestone.
34:23He was so emaciated,
34:25he barely looked human.
34:27His cheekbones jutted sharply
34:28against his gaunt face.
34:30His eye sockets
34:31were sunken hollows.
34:32He wasn't even forty,
34:34but he looked like an old man.
34:36He gripped the silver dagger,
34:38the blade glinting
34:38with a lethal icy white glare.
34:40The doctor says
34:42my wolf is dying.
34:45The bond rot
34:46has hit the terminal stage.
34:51I can't shift anymore.
34:54My healing is gone.
34:57I'm no better than a human now.
34:59No.
35:01I'm worse than a human.
35:04Humans don't have nightmares
35:06every single night
35:07of their mates
35:08screaming their name
35:09in a pool of blood.
35:10He raised the dagger,
35:11staring at his own pathetic reflection
35:13in the polished silver.
35:14I thought about
35:16a lot of ways to die.
35:17But a wolf
35:18should die by silver.
35:20The most dignified thing
35:21I'll ever do
35:22is die like a werewolf.
35:23He pressed the tip
35:24against his chest,
35:25right over his heart.
35:27Savine,
35:28I'm coming.
35:30Let me be a dog
35:31in my next life.
35:33You can kick me,
35:34you can curse me.
35:35Just please,
35:36don't let me.
35:37He squeezed his eyes shut,
35:39his hands shaking
35:40as he prepared
35:40to thrust the blade.
35:41I kicked a pebble.
35:43The sharp clack
35:43echoed loudly
35:44in the dead silent graveyard.
35:46Dominic's eyes snapped open.
35:47The tip of the blade
35:48had just pierced his skin,
35:50a thin line of blood
35:51trickling down his shirt.
35:53Who's there?
35:54He scrambled up,
35:55turning toward the sound.
35:56The moonlight shifted,
35:58illuminating my face.
35:59He saw me.
36:00The silver dagger
36:01slipped from his trembling fingers
36:03burying itself into the dirt.
36:05You.
36:06His lips quivered uncontrollably.
36:09He looked like a man
36:10whose sanity had just snapped.
36:12It's me.
36:14I'm not dead.
36:16Surprised?
36:17He stood absolutely paralyzed,
36:19bolted to the earth.
36:20His eyes flooded with tears.
36:22He lunged forward,
36:23trying to pull me into his arms.
36:25Garrett instantly
36:26stepped in front of me,
36:27planting a massive hand
36:28on Dominic's chest
36:29and giving him a slight shove.
36:31Dominic staggered backward
36:33like a dead leaf,
36:34nearly tripping over his own feet.
36:36Six months ago,
36:37he was an alpha now.
36:38He couldn't even withstand
36:39a casual push from a beater.
36:42Saliva,
36:43you're alive.
36:44I knew it.
36:46The bond broke,
36:47but I could still feel it.
36:48He tried to sidestep Garrett,
36:49but three more shadowfang guards
36:51instantly materialized
36:52from the tree line,
36:54boxing him in.
36:55Only then did he realize
36:56who I had brought.
36:57Four warriors in pitch black tactical armor,
36:59all with silver irises,
37:01all wearing the shadowfang crest
37:02on their chests.
37:03His expression shifted,
37:04from hysterical joy to confusion
37:06to a slow, creeping,
37:07terrifying realization.
37:08Who are they?
37:10My men.
37:11Dominic stared at me.
37:13He looked at me from head to toe,
37:14and my own eyes were faintly glowing silver
37:15in the dark,
37:16the absolute mark of an awakened
37:17ancient bloodline alpha.
37:18I look nothing like the submissive,
37:20fragile omega wife you remember.
37:21Who the hell are you?
37:22He choked out,
37:22his whole body shaking.
37:23Let me reintroduce myself.
37:25I stared down at him,
37:26my tone as polite and detached
37:27as if I was speaking to a stranger.
37:29Selene Ashfield,
37:30direct bloodline heir
37:32to the shadowfang pack,
37:33current reigning alpha queen.
37:34The apex predator
37:35of the seven ancient bloodlines.
37:37Dominic whispered,
37:39his mind breaking,
37:40as if responding to my presence.
37:41The moonlight suddenly intensified,
37:43blazing down on us.
37:44Behind me,
37:44my four elite guards
37:45simultaneously dropped to one knee,
37:47lowering their heads
37:48in absolute submission.
37:49Dominic stumbled backward,
37:50one step,
37:51two steps,
37:51until his spine slammed
37:52against my gravestone.
37:53Impossible.
37:54You said you were rogue,
37:55an orphan,
37:56no pack,
37:56no family.
37:57I lied.
37:58My father forbade me
37:59from marrying you.
38:00He said a blackbird
38:00wasn't worthy of wiping dirt
38:01off the shadow fox boots.
38:03I didn't listen.
38:04I threw a tantrum
38:04and forced his hand.
38:05Looking back,
38:06every single word he said
38:07was right.
38:08No,
38:08no,
38:09no.
38:10So everything that happened
38:11to the blackwoods
38:12over the past six months,
38:13the territory loss,
38:14the allies betraying us,
38:16the council sanctions?
38:16My father orchestrated it.
38:18I simply chose not to stop him.
38:20Why didn't you tell me
38:21who you were?
38:22His voice suddenly skyrocketed,
38:24cracking like tearing fabric.
38:25If you had told me
38:26you were the shadow fox heir,
38:28I would what?
38:29I cut him off smoothly.
38:30You would have treated me better?
38:32You wouldn't have pumped
38:33wolf bean into my veins?
38:35You wouldn't have locked me
38:37in a dungeon to bleed out?
38:39Think very carefully
38:40before you answer that, Dominic.
38:41From the very beginning,
38:42all you wanted
38:43was an easily manipulated,
38:44powerless mate
38:45with zero backing.
38:47Someone you could sacrifice
38:48whenever it became convenient.
38:50If you had known
38:51I was the shadow feign heir,
38:53you would have been too terrified
38:54to even look in my direction.
38:56You probably would have found
38:57a way to magically sever the bond
38:59before I even got pregnant,
39:01just so you could trade me out
39:02for a more obedient lunar.
39:03He couldn't say a word
39:06because it was the absolute truth.
39:08He knew it.
39:09I knew it.
39:10The silence stretched on
39:11for an eternity,
39:12long enough for the moon
39:13to drift from the treetops
39:14to the dead center of the sky.
39:16Finally, Dominic laughed,
39:17a very quiet, hollow laugh.
39:19The sound of a man
39:20completely accepting
39:22his own destruction.
39:23So from start to finish
39:24I was just the loser?
39:26This was never about
39:27winning or losing.
39:28It's about the two lives you owe
39:29and you can't afford to pay.
39:31He looked at me.
39:32His eyes slowly shifted
39:33from agonizing torment
39:34to a strange, vacant peace.
39:36The kind of peace
39:37a man only finds
39:38when he has absolutely
39:39nothing left to lose.
39:42Can I ask you
39:43one last question?
39:44Ask.
39:47Did you...
39:49even for a single second
39:51actually love me?
39:53The moonlight was quiet.
39:54The pine forest was quiet.
39:55I looked at his skeletal,
39:57decaying face.
39:58I couldn't even recognize
39:59the man he used to be.
40:00I thought back to the library
40:02on campus years ago.
40:03You read a lot, huh?
40:04He had helped me pick up
40:05my dropped books
40:06flashing a bright, warm smile.
40:08You read a lot, huh?
40:09He had laughed.
40:11The sunlight hitting his face
40:13had felt so safe,
40:14so clean.
40:16I loved you.
40:17Tears finally spilled
40:18over Dominic's eyelids,
40:20tracking down
40:20his hollow cheeks.
40:23That's enough.
40:25I turned around
40:25and started walking away.
40:27After three steps,
40:28I stopped.
40:29I didn't look back.
40:30Garrett,
40:32come investigate
40:32his silver dagger.
40:34Yes, Alpha.
40:35I kept walking
40:36into the dark.
40:36I didn't stop again
40:37behind me.
40:39Dominic's voice
40:39drifted through
40:40the freezing wind
40:41so faint it sounded
40:42like a ghost.
40:43I'm sorry, Selene.
40:44I didn't turn my head.
40:46Three months later,
40:47Dominic died alone
40:47on the floor
40:48of the Blackwood Manor.
40:49It was the mate Bond rot.
40:51Garrett had taken his dagger,
40:52but he couldn't confiscate
40:53the festering wound
40:54carved into Dominic's soul.
40:56The severed Bond
40:57was a bleeding gash
40:58that could never be closed,
41:00devouring his life force
41:01day by day.
41:02First,
41:03his wolf died completely.
41:05A werewolf without a wolf
41:06was just a hollow shell,
41:07like a tree stripped
41:08of its roots.
41:10Then,
41:10his immune system collapsed,
41:12his senses deteriorated,
41:13and his muscles atrophied.
41:15Finally,
41:16total organ failure.
41:17According to the last
41:19few rogue omegas
41:20who had squatted
41:20in the manor,
41:21it was a full moon
41:22the night he died.
41:23The moonlight spilled
41:24through the skylight,
41:25painting the floorboard silver.
41:27He lay on the exact spot
41:28in the morning hall
41:29where my fake casket
41:30had once been placed.
41:32He was clutching
41:32something in his hand.
41:34A red hair tie.
41:35Mine when I was pregnant.
41:37My hair was always
41:38in my face,
41:38so I constantly
41:39tied it back
41:40with a dark red ribbon.
41:42The night I went into labor,
41:43it must have slipped off
41:45and fallen into
41:45the bloody straw
41:46in the dungeon.
41:47I don't know when
41:48he went back
41:48to dig it out of the filth,
41:50but he had held onto it
41:51ever since.
41:52He held it until
41:53his last breath.
41:54The omegas said
41:55he died very quietly,
41:56no thrashing,
41:57no expressions of pain.
41:58The corners of his mouth
41:59were even slightly turned up,
42:01like he was smiling,
42:02or like he had finally,
42:03finally been allowed
42:04to exhale.
42:05When the news reached
42:06Shadowfang,
42:07I was in the middle
42:08of signing a massive
42:09territorial integration treaty.
42:11Onse the ink dried,
42:13Shadowfang would
42:14officially annex
42:14the resource networks
42:15of the three remaining
42:16ancient packs
42:17on the east coast,
42:19cementing us
42:19as the absolute
42:20supreme power
42:21on the council.
42:22Garrett knocked
42:23and stepped into
42:23the office.
42:24He stood silently
42:26in front of my desk,
42:27hesitating.
42:28I didn't look up
42:29from the paperwork.
42:30Speak.
42:31Dominic Blackwood
42:32was confirmed
42:32dead this morning.
42:34Mate bond backlash.
42:36Organ failure.
42:38My pen paused
42:39for a fraction
42:39of a second.
42:40Understood.
42:41I closed the file
42:42and handed it
42:42to my assistant.
42:43Dispatch this treaty.
42:44Today,
42:45I want the signatures
42:45of the other two
42:46alphas on my desk
42:47before next week.
42:49The assistant bowed
42:50and quickly left the room.
42:52Garrett and I
42:53were the only ones left.
42:54He stood there
42:55in silence
42:55for a long time.
42:57Alpha Queen,
42:58there's one more thing.
42:59Spit it out.
43:01While clearing out
43:02his belongings,
43:03the scavengers
43:04found a letter.
43:05It was explicitly
43:05addressed to you.
43:06He pulled a weathered
43:08envelope from his jacket
43:09and placed it
43:10on the edge of my desk.
43:11The envelope
43:12was incredibly frayed
43:13and worn around
43:14the edges,
43:15like it had been
43:15picked up,
43:16squeezed,
43:16and put back down
43:17thousands of times.
43:19Only one word
43:19was written on it.
43:21Celine.
43:22I stared at the envelope.
43:23I didn't move a muscle.
43:25Leave it there.
43:26Garrett nodded,
43:27turning to walk out.
43:28At the door,
43:29he paused.
43:30Alpha Queen.
43:32What?
43:33When he passed,
43:34he was holding
43:35your hair tie.
43:37I picked up
43:38the next dossier
43:39and flipped it open.
43:40I said,
43:41I understand.
43:43Garrett quietly
43:43closed the door.
43:44The room fell dead,
43:46silent.
43:46Outside the window,
43:47the jagged peaks
43:48of the Shadowfang Mountains
43:50rolled endlessly
43:51into the horizon.
43:52The pine forests
43:53swayed in the wind
43:54like a silent,
43:55violent ocean.
43:56The moonstone
43:57chandelier overhead
43:58cast a soft silver glow
44:00over my desk,
44:01over the envelope
44:02Celine.
44:03I stared at my name
44:04for a long,
44:05long time.
44:06Then,
44:07I casually tossed it
44:08into the roaring fireplace.
44:10I watched the paper
44:11curl,
44:12turn black,
44:13and dissolve
44:14into a wisp
44:14of white smoke.
44:16Time kept moving
44:17forward.
44:18Under my rule,
44:19Shadowfang
44:19grew terrifyingly
44:20powerful.
44:21The territorial
44:22alliances held strong,
44:24our council seats
44:25doubled,
44:25and the influence
44:26of the ancient
44:27bloodlines
44:28suffocated
44:29every corner
44:29of North America.
44:30My father
44:31formally retired.
44:33He spent his days
44:34planting trees
44:35in the mountains
44:35behind the estate,
44:37training hunting eagles
44:38and occasionally
44:38shifting into his
44:39massive wolf form
44:40to take slow,
44:41lazy walks
44:42through the pines.
44:43He lived like
44:44a completely normal,
44:45peaceful old man,
44:46but sometimes,
44:48during dinner,
44:48he would abruptly
44:49go quiet.
44:50He would just stare
44:51at me
44:51for a long time.
44:52The moon
44:53is very bright
44:54tonight.
44:55I knew exactly
44:56what he was
44:56trying to say.
44:57It was a full moon.
44:59If my daughter
45:00had lived,
45:01she would be
45:01one year old,
45:02then two,
45:03then three.
45:05She would be
45:05walking.
45:07She would be
45:07calling me mommy.
45:09And on nights
45:10with a full moon,
45:11she would feel
45:12her inner wolf
45:13stirring for the
45:13very first time.
45:15She would run
45:16up to me,
45:17grabbing my fingers,
45:19vibrating with excitement.
45:20Mommy!
45:21Mommy!
45:23My wolf is moving!
45:25I never let myself
45:26think about those things.
45:28I absolutely
45:29forbade myself
45:30from going there.
45:32But the body
45:33remembers.
45:33Every single
45:34full moon,
45:35my inner wolf
45:36would let out
45:37a low,
45:37mournful whimper
45:38deep inside my chest.
45:41A mother wolf
45:42crying for the pup
45:43she failed to protect.
45:44That kind of pain
45:45isn't cured by time.
45:46It was exactly
45:47like my father said.
45:48Some wounds
45:49are forever.
45:52Outside my window,
45:54the moon hung
45:55heavy and bright.
45:57The forest
45:58was dead silent.
45:59The moonlight
46:00washed over my hands.
46:02Over my left ring
46:03finger.
46:04It was completely
46:05bare.
46:06Once,
46:07I had worn
46:08the lunar ring
46:08of the blackwood pack
46:09there.
46:10A silver band
46:11encrusted with
46:12moonstone.
46:14Dominic had
46:15personally slid it
46:16onto my finger
46:17during our mate
46:17binding ceremony.
46:20On the night
46:21of the soul-severing
46:22ritual,
46:23the ring
46:23had shattered
46:24entirely
46:25on its own.
46:26I had gathered
46:26the shards
46:27and tossed them
46:28into the sacred lake
46:29of the Shadowfang
46:30ancestral lands.
46:31They sank to the bottom
46:32never to be recovered.
46:33the shards were
46:33the shards were
46:33littered.
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