- 7 hours ago
Divorced by the Alpha, Crowned as Queen
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Short filmTranscript
00:00you want him to think you're dead perform a soul-severing ritual on me you want him to think
00:05you're dead yes the full moon glared down at the birthing altar a contraction ripped through me so
00:15hard my spine arched off the stone dominic squeezed my hand almost there selena my mate
00:22my alpha bound to me by the human goddess herself the pack priest walked in carrying a silver tray
00:27i offered my arm for the pain relief the needle pierced my skin but it wasn't medicine the
00:32pungent scent hit my nose wolf's vein i looked at dominic he wasn't surprised he was checking his
00:38watch vivian's water just broke delay her for two hours our true heir needs to be born first he
00:45turned and walked away didn't look back i tried to scream i wanted my wolf to tear free and lunge
00:51after him but the wolf's vein was already working my wolf was dragged under my voice died in my throat
00:57and my pup halfway into the world stopped moving frozen inside me by her own father's command
01:02two pack guards dragged me down into the dungeon beneath the temple a place for rogues war prisoners
01:08and wolves sentenced to death now it held the alpha's fated mate and his unborn child
01:15a single rune lamp flickered on the wall straw on the floor no bed i slid down the freezing stone
01:21wall
01:21hands clutching my belly she was still kicking faint frantic mommy's here mommy's here three months ago
01:29dominic's older brother marcus died in a territorial dispute
01:40his mate vivian was carrying a boy a pure blood alpha air the only pup you could inherit
01:45mine was a girl girls couldn't inherit the moment the ultrasound confirmed it the entire blackwood
01:53pack abandoned us both heels clicked down the corridor cassandra blackwood dominic's sister the
01:58pack beta
02:04she stood outside the iron bars twirling a silver dagger the blade dragged along the bars metal
02:09screeching celine don't blame my brother vivian is carrying marcus's post-morious son a pure blood
02:17alpha air the only pup in our generation who can inherit the alpha title it doesn't matter how early
02:23you give birth you're carrying a girl girls can't inherit you know that a contraction slammed into me
02:29the wolfsbane pushed the labor down my body fought back two forces tore me apart from the inside
02:35get the priest the baby is coming please the wolfbane will last another three hours vivian has already
02:45been taken to the birthing altar you'll stay here and wait if she starts howling gag her don't let the
02:52noise reach upstairs don't scare viviana
03:01i looked down my dress was soaked in blood all i could see was dominic's face when he turned away
03:07his eyes held no guilt just cold calculation i dragged myself to the cell door then i punched the
03:12cell door hard again and again until my skin split open somebody help i'm in labor save my baby
03:20shut up if it dies that's its fate a girl with no inheritance rights her death won't affect the pack
03:27my blood-stained hands slid off the cell door i collapsed into a pool of my own blood this wasn't
03:33fate someone was murdering my child just as my vision began to blur the heavy door crashed open
03:40she's dr holden the pack doctor the moment he saw me all the colors drained from his face
03:46luna what are you doing here domic said you were resting in the moonstone lounge fully dilated
03:52water broke you're losing too much blood the wolf of spain is still suppressing your healing
03:58guards the luna is hemorrhaging only echoes answered no one came he tried his comm stone
04:05nothing the dungeon's warding runes blocked all signals gritting his teeth he scooped me up and ran
04:11an aging beta carrying a bleeding woman up three flights of stone stairs every jolt sending agony
04:17through my pelvis he burst onto the ground floor ran for the medical wing kicked open the door and
04:23froze he kicked open the door and froze everything was gone stripped bare every moonstone crystal
04:30runestone potion gone how i checked inventory this afternoon cassandra strolled down the hall
04:38two omega attendants followed behind her we moved to the third floor vivian c-section is high risk
04:44she needs the best resources her gaze drifted to me drenched in blood half dead in dr holden's arms
04:50she smiled i knew that smile six months ago she'd worn it downtown linking her arm through mine
04:56selena you're the best luna i've ever met you're more like a real sister to me the antique moonstone
05:02necklace i gave her still rested against her collarbone it glowed softly in the dim hallway
05:07and made her smile look monstrous dr holden laid me on a bare stone cot he tore open every cabinet
05:14and drawer empty not a single herb i'm sorry luna i have nothing relax once vivian is done the supplies
05:22will be returned what's the rush her gaze dropped to my belly besides you were nothing but a breeding
05:30machine from the beginning and you couldn't even produce the right product dr holden stepped in
05:36front of me this is murder cassandra two lives a smile vanished mothers and pups die in childbirth
05:42every day dystedia hemorrhage healing failure perfectly natural causes of death no one will say
05:49a damn thing and this is blackwood family business you're a contract beta doctor know your place she
05:55snapped at the guards drag him to the third floor vivian needs him i'll handle her two guards grabbed
06:01dr holden he thrashed against them screaming over his shoulder luna press your stomach shard the wolf
06:08hard fight the wolf on the baby still has a heartbeat you can still save her cassandra slammed the door
06:15then pulled out a comb stone dominic's face appeared in the holographic screen behind him
06:20the birthing altar blazed with light priests moved in and out nurses swarmed around vivian
06:25dominic selena looks like she's about to deliver want to see dominic's eyes shifted to me one glance
06:32like i was trashed by the roadside again stop messing around savina vivian isn't doing well the baby's
06:39heart rate dropped twice cassandra moved the stone closer making sure the screen clearly showed my
06:44dying form but look she's bleeding a lot doesn't she look like she's dying tell her to wait once
06:50vivian is done i'll send a priest down cassandra pocketed the stone you heard him vivian is the
06:55priority marcus's son is the priority you were nothing i closed my eyes stopped looking at her
07:01my hand crept behind my back fingers finding the tiny raised bump on my left hip it looked like a
07:06mole
07:07it wasn't a blood seal rune my father had carved it into my skin on my wedding day with his
07:12own alpha
07:12blood his voice echoed in my head selena the waters in the blackwood family may run deeper
07:17than you know if the day ever comes when you need help bite your finger and let one drop of
07:22blood
07:22fall on this rune no matter where you are someone will reach you within 30 minutes i had laughed and
07:27pushed his hand away dad you're being dramatic dominic treats me so well i'm his mate the moon
07:34goddess chose him for me how could he ever hurt me my father had been silent for a long time
07:40then he only said one thing the moon goddess binds the souls selena but she doesn't bind the heart
07:46i was such a fool blood welled on my fingertip i let it fall on the rune
07:5330 minutes i looked at the blood pooling beneath me my baby's heartbeat was still there hold on
07:59please hold on the wolf's bane suppression broke every contraction that had been held back for hours
08:04hit at once like a damn collapsing wave after wave faster harder i screamed the sound ricocheted
08:10off stone walls an omega attendant rushed in checked me and went white fully dilated the head's crowning
08:17hemorrhage we need moonstone crystals healing rooms anything cassandra didn't even step into the room
08:21then let them die it's just a girl completely useless alive she's a waste of space
08:30dead changes nothing she turned and walked away the attendant tried but i had no blood left no
08:36strength no wolf my muscles wouldn't obey me the baby was stuck in the birth canal i could feel her
08:41heartbeat getting weaker slower fading my vision went black i am sorry baby mommy tried a deafening
08:48wolf howl tore through the night the entire blackwood territory shook the protective wards flared
08:54violently across the walls then shattered a booming blast rocked the building centuries of blackwood
09:00enchantments destroyed in seconds moonlight flooded the room in that silver light stood a massive man in
09:06tactical combat gear
09:10he ripped off his helmet battle scarred face cold silver eyes eyes that had witnessed countless massacres
09:17and never flinched but the moment they found me they turned bloodshot garrett my father's head better
09:22the man who caught me every time i fell learning to walk who shifted into wolf form and slept beside
09:28my bed when i was afraid of the dark who stood at the very back of my wedding silent jaw
09:33locked eyes
09:33red because he already knew he crossed the room in one stride and dropped to one knee the stone floor
09:39cracked under the impact princess i am late behind him stood 12 heavily armored warriors silver eyes
09:47weapons drawn the elite shadow fang guard blackwood guards lay unconscious in the hall the omega
09:53attendant screamed this is blackwood territory who are you how did you get it garrett didn't look at
09:59her he was already lifting me off the cot one arm beneath my knees the other cradling my head as
10:04gently as if i were made of glass blackwood soon there won't be a blackwood the shadow fang warriors
10:12moved with terrifying efficiency from the moment the captain picked me up to the second i was loaded
10:17into an armored pack ambulance waiting just outside the borders barely four minutes have passed four
10:22minutes i had bled in that dungeon for hours begging for help and no one came shadow fang shattered the
10:27territory's defenses and extracted me in four minutes inside the medical transport emergency moonstone
10:33rays flared to life bathing my body in pure silver light blood pressure critically low blood loss
10:39exceeds the lethal threshold by three times fetal distress is severe heart rate is under 60 and
10:44dropping we must perform an emergency c-section right now but her vitals can't handful surgery do it
10:50the captain's roar rattled the walls of the ambulance every medic flinched he gripped my hand his
10:55knuckles white veins bulging up his forearms i'll take full responsibility cut her open i squeezed
11:02his fingers back using the absolute last shred of my strength
11:07garrett
11:09garrett save the baby save the baby first garrett my father's head beater the man who had guarded
11:15me since the day i was born when i was learning to walk and fell he was the one who
11:19picked me up
11:20when i was terrified of the dark he shifted into his wolf form and slept beside my bed the entire
11:24night
11:25on the day i got married he stood at the very back of the crowd completely silent his eyes red
11:30now he was kneeling beside my stretcher his combat armor stained with blackwood blood
11:34his silver eyes completely bloodshot princess don't speak save your strength his voice trembled but he
11:41gritted out every word like a blood oath the alpha is on his way he'll be here soon you and
11:47the pup
11:47will be fine i swear it on my life before he could finish the moonstone array above the operating table
11:52violently flickered the vital sign monitors erupted into a shrill piercing uninterrupted scream
12:02the luna's heart has stopped push the moonlight essence start the recitation romans
12:07fetal heart rate is plummeting 70 50 30 scalpel now the medics shoved garrett out of the way
12:14he stumbled back into the corner of the ambulance clenching his fists so hard his claws tore through
12:19his own palms blood dripping onto the metal floor the surgeon sliced open my abdomen with a room
12:24carved scalpel silver energy flooded the incision forcibly cauterizing the bleeding they were draining
12:29the absolute limits of their healing stones just to keep my soul tethered to my body essence injected
12:35heartbeat is faint but back where's the pup founder extract pull her out the umbilical
12:41cate is wrapped around her neck damn it the wolfsbane choked off her oxygen in the womb for too long
12:46she's out she's out they pulled a baby from my womb but she didn't cry in the final second before
12:53the darkness swallowed me entirely i forced my eyes open my vision was a massive blur of blinding silver
12:59light but i saw it through the haze the doctor held a tiny blood covered infant in his hands
13:04she wasn't moving she wasn't breathing she didn't cry the voices faded faded into an abyss of static the
13:11last thing i heard was garrett a battle-hardened warrior in his 40s covered in 37 scars a man who
13:17had ripped the throats out of hundreds of rogues collapsing into the corner of the ambulance and
13:22silently weeping i woke up to the harsh smell of medical bleach mixed with the crisp ozone scent of
13:27moonstone crystals the princess is awake someone shouted in relief several faces crowded my vision
13:34familiar faces my father's personal elite guards uncles who had watched me grow up garrett stood
13:41closest to the bed his jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek his eyes rimmed with
13:46red
13:46seeing me open my eyes his lips parted but no words came out he just gave me one stiff trembling
13:52nod
13:53where is she a figure standing at the foot of my bed slowly turned around my father voices my father
14:00the current alpha of the shadow fang pack the absolute ruler of the oldest most lethal werewolf
14:05bloodline on the north american continent in the entire werewolf world his name alone made other
14:10alphas bow their heads in submission he was 54 his posture as straight as a spear i had never seen
14:17him
14:17slouch but right now his hair was completely white overnight he had gone totally gray he walked over
14:23and sat on the edge of my bed he took my hand in his his hands were massive calloused scarred
14:28from decades
14:28of war these hands had snapped the necks of his enemies and signed treaties that dictated the fates
14:33of millions of wolves right now they were shaking selena he choked on my name he bowed his head in
14:39my
14:39entire life i had never seen this man bow his head not when facing the interrogations of the seven alpha
14:45council not when executing traitors with his bare hands not even when he stood before my mother's grave for
14:52an entire night but now looking at me he bowed his head she's gone isn't she i looked at him
14:59and i
15:00knew the answer my father nodded my a single scolding tear fell from his face onto the back of my
15:06hand
15:08the hemorrhage placental abtruction the wolf bait in her bloodstream
15:12she was deprived of oxygen for too long the doctors did everything the moonlight essence the
15:18healing stones the ancient bloodline resurrection rituals we couldn't bring her back the room fell
15:23dead silent the only sound was the low steady hum of the medical crystals i closed my eyes that tiny
15:30life that had lived inside me for nine months the pup that kicked my ribs the pup that made me
15:34run to
15:35the bathroom three times a night the little wolf who would instantly calm down the second i rubbed my
15:40belly and whispered mommy's here gone where is dominic my father lifted his head and wiped his face
15:46who at the blackwood pack by vivian's side she gave birth a boy pure blood alpha lineage the entire
15:54blackwood pack is throwing a massive celebration for their new heir they held the moonlight recognition
15:59ceremony the old alpha hosted it himself right before he died not a single person thought of you
16:04not a single person asked if you were dead or alive i laughed my chest heaved as a broken hysterical
16:11laugh tore out of my throat the mate bond was still pulsing faintly in my chest i could feel
16:17dominic's heartbeat steady joyful untroubled he was smiling he was celebrating his fated mate had
16:24nearly bled to death in a dungeon and his daughter was a corpse and he was celebrating
16:29good that's good my father tightened his grip on my hand selena come home with me blackwood pack
16:37doesn't deserve you
16:41dad i need you to do something for me anything perform a soul-severing ritual on me my father
16:49froze the soul-severing ritual one of the darkest most ancient forbidden arts of the shadowfang bloodline
16:55it artificially severed a mate bond forcing the other party to experience the exact physical
17:00sensation of their mate dying the stopping of the heart the shredding of the soul the permanent
17:04snapping of the bond to the person on the receiving end it felt exactly like their mate had perished
17:10you want him to think you're dead yes the soul-severing ritual took place on the obsidian altar deep
17:16within the shadowfang's ancestral lands midnight a new moon pitch black it was the only time we could
17:23deceive the moon goddess's gaze i lay on the cold stone surrounded by four of our oldest priests
17:28their chanting was deep guttural vibrating with the ancient lost tongue of the first wolves my chest
17:34surrounded violently it was dominic's heart beat eating inside me clear across a thousand miles
17:40the high priest pressed his palm against my sternum the runes fled blinding white and then an invisible
17:47silver spike was viciously ripped out of my heart the mate bond is a tether woven into the soul
17:51severing it felt like two deeply intertwined trees being violently ripped apart by their roots
17:56i clamped my teeth together refusing to scream in my mind's eye i saw glowing golden threads
18:02the physical manifestation of our bonds snapping one by one turning into ash when the final thread broke
18:07my chest went completely hollow a terrifying absolute emptiness like someone had reached into my ribcage and
18:14carved out my heart leaving nothing but a gaping void the ritual was complete from this second onward
18:20in dominic's mind and soul and he's dead meanwhile a thousand miles away in the heart of blackwood
18:26territory dominic stood proudly at the main altar accepting the congratulatory toasts from his pack
18:31members without warning it felt as if an invisible claw had just plunged into his chest and ripped it
18:37open the bond snapped he crashed to his knees his hands desperately clawed at his own chest his nails
18:43digging so deep into his own flesh that blood poured out over his shirt a primal guttural roar of pure
18:49agony exploded from his throat cassandra shoved through the panicked crowd
18:55brother what's wrong dominic convulsed on the marble floor his claw scraping sickeningly against
19:01the stone selena she's dead the bond just broke she's dead cassandra's face drained of color for a
19:09split second but only a second brother calm down she was always going to get the fuck away from me
19:15dominic backhanded her so hard she came backward crashing violently into the altar pillars he scrambled
19:21to his feet stumbling and sprinting wildly out of the temple the dungeon was empty there was nothing
19:28left but a massive coagulated pool of blood and a soaked pile of straw and the rapidly fading scent of
19:33selene lingering in the damp hair dominic stood frozen in the center of the blood pool he stood
19:39there for a very very long time long enough for cassandra to finally creep into the room and gingerly
19:44touch his arm brother
19:49you locked her in here i just told her to wait wait for what wait to die those were two
19:59lives
19:59my mate my pup cassandra took a step back but she was having a girl she was useless to the
20:07pack
20:07the sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the dungeon cassandra's head whipped to the side
20:13a bright red handprint instantly welling up on her cheek she clutched her face staring at dominic in
20:19total disbelief dominic glared at her if i had been by her side she wouldn't have died if you hadn't
20:25taken all the medical supplies she wouldn't have died if i hadn't ordered them to inject her with wolf
20:31faith he couldn't finish the sentence because the subject of that sentence was pre-syndrome from start
20:37to finish he made every single decision cassandra was just the executioner the person who murdered
20:43selene and their child was him i spent the next few weeks recovering in the shadowfang estate
20:47my body healed agonizingly slowly the wolfsbane residue severely crippled my cellular regeneration
20:53and the pack doctor estimated it would take three months to completely purge it from my system
20:57but i wasn't in a hurry i had all the time in the world my father ate with me and
21:02walked with me every
21:02day treating me exactly like he did when i was a little girl he never brought up the blackwoods but
21:08i
21:08knew his intelligence network never stopped spinning shadowfang's eyes and ears were buried
21:13in every major pack in north america that was the terrifying power of an ancient bloodline
21:17every meeting every decision every hushed conversation the blackwoods had was transcribed
21:23and placed on my desk dominic had brought my corpse a flawlessly forged illusion created by the
21:29soul severing ritual back to the blackwood manor he didn't place the casket in the main hall
21:33it was shoved into a side morning room vivienne and her son had already moved into the alpha's
21:39master suite they were surrounded by wet nurses guards and priests around the clock elder blackwood
21:46had issued his final decree before his stroke keep the funeral brief and simple do not bring bad luck
21:52to the newborn heir find a random day to bury her coffin in the family cemetery she was a luna
21:58so make
21:59the grave look decent he dressed it up in polite words but the translation was clear
22:05dispose of the dead woman quickly the living heir is the only future this pack has dominic didn't argue
22:12he sat in the morning room guarding the casket three days and three nights no food no water cassandra
22:19tried to talk to him but he threw her out vivienne eventually walked in cradling the baby dominic
22:27dominic my condolences selena is with the moon goddess now she wouldn't want to see you like
22:35this do you know what she was thinking about dominic slowly lifted his head and stared at her right
22:41before she died
22:45she was wondering why her alpha wasn't with her
22:49why everyone was waiting for your baby to be born and no one gave a single damn if she lived
22:54or died
22:54dominic what is that supposed to mean i practically died on that table too
22:59yes you went through a lot dominic interrupted his voice dead but she died two corpses
23:10just because the pup in her stummy didn't have a dick they deserved to die
23:14as she turned to leave she threw one last sentence over her shoulder
23:17don't forget dominic my son is the one continuing the blackwood bloodline now
23:23dead people are useless vivienne the absolute decimation of the blackwood pack began in the
23:29second week first their territorial alliances collapsed the silver crest pack allies with the
23:36blackwoods for three generations abruptly terminated their treaties when dominic sent iron boys to
23:42negotiate the gates were slammed in their faces an anonymous dossier was submitted to the seven alpha
23:48council it detailed the blackwood packs use of wolfsbane on their luna her illegal imprisonment
23:54and the deliberate denial of medical care during labor every single accusation was a heavy felony
23:59under pack law the council dispatched inquisitors to occupy blackwood territory for a month
24:05panic swept through their subordinate packs and one by one they defected seeking asylum with
24:11rival alpha families next their resources were completely severed the blackwoods had monopolized
24:18the moonstone mines for generations suddenly the neighboring pack upstream dammed the mystical rivers
24:24without the spiritual water nourishing the land the moonstone yield plummeted to zero
24:29moonstone crystals were the blackwood packs entire economy when production halted their trade routes snapped
24:36and their finances instantly went bankrupt in less than a month the blackwoods devolved from a top
24:42three powerhouse on the east coast into an isolated quarantined bankrupt starving pack elder blackwood was so
24:51enraged that his inner wolf went rogue during a forced shift his blood vessels ruptured he suffered a
24:57massive stroke and collapsed this time there was no saving him save the pack the air the bloodline
25:05and then he died
25:11almost no one attended his funeral those who did only showed up to sneer dominic stood by the coffin like
25:18a
25:18stone statue completely expressionless when the last guest left he turned to vivienne take the kid and
25:25leave the blackwood territory vivienne shrieked what did you just say i'll give you a safe house
25:32outside our borders and enough cash to live comfortably for the rest of your lives get out
25:37i'm your sister-in-law this boy carries marcus's blood the elder named him the sole heir heir to what
25:44dominic chuckled a dark mocking sound a pack that's being liquidated by the council
25:49a territory that's about to be butchered and divided among our rivals
25:53vivienne glared at him then let out a sharp cold love don't bullshit me dominic you're not doing this
26:00out of guilt for selena you're just terrified terrified of what of those black wolves that
26:06stormed the dungeon that night you're terrified of whatever monstrous fact was backing you selena
26:11you know they're coming back you're kicking me out so you can wash your hands of us and save your
26:17own
26:17skin she adjusted the baby in her arms and sneered as she walked to the door she paused to spit
26:22out
26:22one final insult you weren't so scared when you ordered the price to inject wolf bark into her
26:28veins dominic stood alone in the empty mourning hall he didn't say a word because she was absolutely
26:34right i sat in the study of the shadowfang estate flipping through the latest intelligence reports
26:39my father walked in holding a cup of tea the council has ruled to strip the black hoods of two
26:45thirds of their territory the core sector they have left won't survive six months i closed the file
26:53faster than i predicted my father sat down staying quiet for a moment selena
27:00is it enough i looked up i don't pity my father clarified i just don't want you trapped in this
27:06darkness vengeance is a double-edged blade hold it too long and it'll slice your own hand i stood
27:10up and walked to the window beyond the glass stretched the vast jagged mountains of the shadowfang
27:15ancestral lands the moonlight spilled over the pine forests turning the world into an ocean of silver
27:20i stepped out of the darkness the second my daughter died right now i'm just collecting a debt
27:27my father looked at me his eyes full of complex sorrow you've changed you used to smile so much now
27:34even your smiles look hollow i didn't turn around some people take a lifetime to grow up some people
27:40just need one betrayal my father didn't argue he set the teacup down and quietly left the room
27:46my phone buzzed our shawuzzi it was dominic more accurately it was him calling the old comms and
27:52frequency dead selene shadowfang's text and witches had kept the line open and routed it to my secure
27:58device i didn't say a word i said his rasky broken voice bled through the speaker selena i know you
28:05can't hear me but i don't know who else to talk to anymore he sounded like he had been swallowing
28:10glass the background was dead silent he was probably sitting in the morning hall again the pack is
28:14finished the territory is gone our allies ran and the council report drops next week they're probably
28:19going to strip my alpha title my father is dead viviane left cas hates me it's just me left i'm
28:26the only one left in the whole territory a long suffocating silence i keep thinking if i hadn't
28:33let them inject you with wolf vein that night would you still be alive if i had just left you
28:37half of
28:38the moonstone crystals would your wolf have healed if i wasn't so damn greedy wanting the perfect air
28:42wanting the alpha seat wanting absolute control over everything would you still be here would you
28:48still be rubbing your belly laughing and telling she was kicking again another silence then a
28:55microscopic muffled sob but there are no ifs you're dead our pup is dead and i did it i could
29:03live a
29:04thousand lifetimes and never pay off this debt the line clicked dead i sat in the moonlight gripping the
29:11phone outside the wind tore through the pine trees rustling the branches after a very long time
29:18i put the phone down on the desk the black screen reflected my face totally blank not a single tear
29:25three months later my body was entirely healed the wolf bay was purged from my veins my cellular
29:31regeneration was operating at maximum capacity and my wolf had finally woken up she was quieter than
29:37before but vastly more lethal my father was waiting for me in the study on the mahogany desk lay a
29:43single document the official transfer of the shadow fan alpha title are you ready i'm ready he nodded
29:50sliding the papers towards me sign this and you are the next alpha of the shadow fang pack the apex
29:57predator of the seven ancient bloodlines of north america are you absolutely certain once you walk this
30:03path there is no turning back i picked up the pen and signed my name without a fraction of hesitation
30:07the second the ink dried a terrifying surge of raw power exploded from the floorboards
30:12rocketing up my spine and flooding every cell in my body the shadow fang bloodline was acknowledging me
30:17the earth of our ancestral lands was answering me outside the window massive thousand-year-old pine
30:22trees violently trembled in unison emitting a low groaning hum as if bowing to their new alpha
30:27my father looked at me his eyes slightly red but he smiled you look just like your mother from that
30:33day on i officially took over the shadow fang empire to the outside world i was the new alpha
30:37operating under the alias silver no one knew silver was selena no one knew the discarded
30:43murdered luna of the blackwood pack was actually the reigning queen of north america's deadliest
30:47werewolf syndicate i stopped paying attention to the black keys collapse i didn't need to anymore
30:53three dominic had liquidated the last scraps of their territory and formally disbanded the pack
31:00a dynasty that had ruled for five generations completely ceased to exist in three months
31:08he lived alone in the crumbling blackwood the council allowed him to keep the house as a
31:13final sliver of mercy for a former alpha
31:17he only did two things every day drink and sit in front of my gravestone sometimes he talked sometimes
31:26he just stared garrett's intelligence reports noted that he had lost nearly 30 pounds his hair was
31:35mostly white and his mental state was completely shattered the backlash of the severed mate bond was
31:40slowly rotting him from the inside out insomnia auditory hallucinations the inability to shift
31:47into his wolf form uncontrollable violent outbursts he took symptoms of an alpha whose mate had been
31:53ripped on his soul a mild case could survive for a few years a severe case wouldn't last a year
32:00dominic was the most severe case possible because our bond didn't break through natural death it was
32:05violently amputated by a dark magic the room was infinitely deeper the rot was infinitely faster
32:12princess should we intervene at this rate of decay he has six months max no intervention
32:22this is his debt to pay month six a freezing late autumn night i had just finished signing off
32:30on the day's operations and stood by the study window staring out at the mountain ridges
32:38princess he went to your grave again he goes every day
32:44tonight is different he brought a silver dagger a silver dagger to awolf that wasn't a weapon it was
32:53an execution tool if silver pierced the heart the healing factor was instantly neutralized death was
33:00absolute it was the only foolproof method of suicide for our kind what is he doing sitting in front of
33:08the headstone
33:08holding the blade he hasn't moved yet it looks like he's hesitating
33:15we're waiting for something i looked up at the sky tonite was a full moon exactly nine months ago
33:21under a full moon i lay on the birthing altar while he casually ordered them to pump wolfsbane into my
33:26veins
33:28nine months the exact time it took to carry a child to term get the car ready
33:37princess i'm going to see him one last time and then this is completely finished the cemetery at midnight
33:46the blackwood family graveyard was situated on a sloping hill at the edge of the old territory
33:52surrounded by pines the moonlight bled through the branches scattering silver shards across the grass
33:59i stood deep in the shadows watching dominic he was sitting in front of my gravestone he was so
34:05emaciated he barely looked human his cheekbones jutted sharply against his gaunt face his eye sockets
34:12were sunken hollows he wasn't even 40 but he looked like an old man he gripped the silver dagger the
34:19blade glinting with a lethal icy white glare the doctor says my wolf is dying the bond rot has hit
34:28the
34:28terminal stage i can't shift anymore my healing is gone i'm no better than a human now no
34:41i'm worse than a human humans don't have nightmares every single night of their mates screaming their
34:49name in a pool of blood he raised the dagger staring at his own pathetic reflection in the
34:54polished silver i thought about a lot of ways to die but a wolf should die by silver the most
35:01dignified
35:01thing i'll ever do is die like a werewolf he pressed the tip against his chest right over his heart
35:07savine i'm coming let me be a dog in my next life you can kick me you can curse me
35:15just please
35:17don't let me he squeezed his eyes shut his hands shaking as he prepared to thrust the blade
35:22i kicked a pebble the sharp clack echoed loudly in the dead silent graveyard dominic's eyes snapped
35:27open the tip of the blade had just pierced his skin a thin line of blood trickling down his shirt
35:33who's there he scrambled up turning toward the sound the moonlight shifted illuminating my face
35:39he saw me the silver dagger slipped from his trembling fingers burying itself into the dirt
35:46you his lips quivered uncontrollably he looked like a man whose sanity had just snapped it's me
35:54i'm not dead surprised she stood absolutely paralyzed bolted to the earth his eyes flooded with
36:01tears he lunged forward trying to pull me into his arms garrett instantly stepped in front of me
36:07planting a massive hand on dominic's chest and giving him a slight shove dominic staggered backward
36:13like a dead leaf nearly tripping over his own feet six months ago he was an alpha now he couldn't
36:18even
36:18withstand a casual push from a beater saliva you're alive i knew it the bond broke but i could still
36:27feel
36:27it he tried to sidestep garrett but three more shadow fang guards instantly materialized from the
36:32tree line boxing him in only then did he realize who i had brought four warriors in pitch black tactical
36:38armor all with silver irises all wearing the shadow fang crest on their chests his expression shifted from
36:44hysterical joy to confusion to a slow creeping terrifying realization who are they my men dominic stared at me
36:52he looked at me from head to toe and my own eyes were faintly glowing silver in the dark the
36:56absolute
36:56mark of an awakened ancient bloodline alpha i looked nothing like the submissive fragile omega
37:00wife you remember who the hell are you he choked out his whole body shaking let me reintroduce myself
37:04i stared down at him my tone as polite and detached as if i was speaking to a stranger
37:08celine ashfield direct bloodline heir to the shadow fang pack current reigning alpha queen the apex predator
37:15of the seven ancient bloodlines dominic whispered his mind breaking as if responding to my presence
37:20the moonlight suddenly intensified blazing down on us behind me my four elite guards simultaneously
37:34they dropped to one knee lowering their heads in absolute submission dominic stumbled backward
37:41one step two steps until his spine slammed against my gravestone impossible you said you were rogue an
37:47orphan no pack no family i lied my father forbade me from marrying you he said a black pit wasn't
37:58worthy
37:58of wiping dirt of a shadow
38:04fox boots i didn't listen i threw a tantrum and forced his hand looking back every single word he said
38:09was
38:10right
38:17no no no no so everything that happened to the blackwoods over the past six months
38:22the territory lost the allies betraying us the council sanctions my father orchestrated it i simply
38:27chose not to stop him or why didn't you tell me who you were his voice suddenly skyrocketed cracking like
38:33tearing fabric if you had told me you were the shadow fuck heir i would what i cut him off
38:38smoothly you
38:39would have treated me better you wouldn't have pumped wolf bean into my veins
38:44you wouldn't have locked me in a dungeon to bleed out think very carefully before you answer that
38:50dominic from the very beginning all you wanted was an easily manipulated powerless mate with zero backing
38:56someone you could sacrifice whenever it became convenient if you had known i was the shadow feign
39:01heir you would have been too terrified to even look in my direction you probably would have found a way
39:06to magically sever the bond before i even got pregnant just so you could trade me out for a more
39:11obedient
39:11lunar he couldn't say a word because it was the absolute truth he knew it i knew it the silence
39:19stretched on for an eternity long enough for the moon to drift from the treetops to the dead center
39:23of the sky finally dominic laughed a very quiet hollow laugh the sound of a man completely accepting his
39:30own destruction so from start to finish i was just the loser this was never about winning or losing it's
39:36about the two lives you owe and you can't afford to pay he looked at me his eyes slowly shifted
39:41from
39:41agonizing torment to a strange vacant peace the kind of peace a man only finds when he has absolutely
39:47nothing left to lose can i ask you one last question ask
39:55did you even for a single second actually love me the moonlight was quiet the pine forest was quiet
40:03i looked at his skeletal decaying face i couldn't even recognize the man he used to be i thought back
40:09to the library on campus years ago you read a lot he'd help me pick up my dropped books flashing
40:14a bright
40:15warm smile you read a lot huh he had laughed the sunlight hitting his face had felt so safe so
40:22clean
40:23i loved you tears finally spilled over dominic's eyelids tracking down his hollow cheeks thank you
40:31that's enough i turned around and started walking away after three steps i stopped i didn't look back
40:38garrett confiscate his silver dagger yes alpha i kept walking into the dark i didn't stop again
40:45behind me dominic's voice drifted through the freezing wind so faint it sounded like a ghost i'm
40:50sorry celine i didn't turn my head three months later dominic died alone on the floor of the blackwood
40:56manor it was the mate bond rot garrett had taken his dagger but he couldn't confiscate the festering
41:02wound carved into dominic's soul the severed bond was a bleeding gash that could never be closed
41:07devouring his life force day by day first his wolf died completely a werewolf without a wolf was just
41:14a hollow shell like a tree stripped of its roots then his immune system collapsed his senses
41:20deteriorated and his muscles atrophied finally total organ failure according to the last few rogue
41:27omegas who had squatted in the manor it was a full moon the night he died the moonlight spilled
41:31through the skylight painting the floorboard silver he lay on the exact spot in the morning hall where my
41:37fake casket had once been placed he was clutching something in his hand a red hair tie mine when i
41:43was pregnant my hair was always in my face so i constantly tied it back with a dark red ribbon
41:49the night i went into labor it must have slipped off and fallen into the bloody straw in the dungeon
41:54i don't know when he went back to dig it out of the filth but he had held onto it
41:58ever since he held it
41:59until his last breath the omegas said he died very quietly no thrashing no expressions of pain the corners of
42:06his mouth were even slightly turned up like he was smiling or like he had finally finally been allowed
42:11to exhale it when the news reached shadow fang i was in the middle of signing a massive territorial
42:17integration treaty once the ink dried shadow fang would officially annex the resource networks of the
42:23three remaining ancient packs on the east coast cementing us as the absolute supreme power on the
42:28council garrett knocked and stepped into the office he stood silently in front of my desk
42:34hesitating i didn't look up from the paperwork speak dominic blackwood was confirmed dead this
42:40morning mate bond backlash organ failure my pen paused for a fraction of a second understood
42:47i closed the file and handed it to my assistant dispatch this treaty today i want the signatures
42:52of the other two alphas on my desk before next week the assistant bowed and quickly left the room
42:58garrett and i were the only ones left he stood there in silence for a long time alpha queen there's
43:04one more thing spit it out while clearing out his belongings the scavengers found a letter it was
43:11explicitly addressed to you he pulled a weathered envelope from his jacket and placed it on the edge
43:16of my desk the envelope was incredibly frayed and worn around the edges like it had been picked up
43:22squeezed and put back down thousands of times only one word was written on it celine i stared at the
43:28envelope i didn't move a muscle leave it there garrett nodded turning to walk out at the door he paused
43:36alpha queen what when he passed he was holding your hair tie i picked up the next dossier and flipped
43:45it open
43:45i said i understand garrett quietly closed the door the room fell dead silent when outside the window
43:53the jagged peaks of the shadowfang mountains rolled endlessly into the horizon the pine forests swayed
44:00in the wind like a silent violent ocean the moonstone chandelier overhead cast a soft silver glow over my
44:06desk over the envelope celine i stared at my name for a long long time then i casually tossed it
44:14into
44:14the roaring fireplace i watched the paper curl turn black and dissolve into a wisp of white smoke
44:22time kept moving forward under my rule shadowfang grew terrifyingly powerful the territorial alliances
44:28held strong our council seats doubled and the influence of the ancient bloodlines suffocated
44:34every corner of north america my father formally retired he spent his days planting trees in the
44:40mountains behind the estate training hunting eagles and occasionally shifting into his massive wolf form
44:46to take slow lazy walks through the pines he lived like a completely normal peaceful old man but sometimes
44:53during dinner he would abruptly go quiet he would just stare at me for a long time the moon is
44:58very bright
44:59i knew exactly what he was trying to say it was a full moon if my daughter had lived she
45:07would be one
45:07year old then two then three she would be walking she would be calling me mommy and on nights with
45:16a full
45:16moon she would feel her inner wolf stirring for the very first time she would run up to me grabbing
45:22my
45:23fingers vibrating with excitement mommy mommy mommy my wolf is moving i never let myself think about
45:32those things i absolutely forbade myself from going there but the body remembers every single full moon
45:40my inner wolf would let out a low mournful whimper deep inside my chest a mother wolf crying for the
45:47pup she failed to protect that kind of pain isn't cured by time it was exactly like my father said
45:53some
45:54wounds are forever
45:57outside my window the moon hung heavy and bright the forest was dead silent the moonlight washed over my
46:06hands over my left ring finger it was completely bare once i had worn the lunar ring of the blackwood
46:14pack
46:14there a silver band encrusted with moonstone dominic had personally slid it onto my finger during our mate
46:22binding ceremony on the night of the soul-severing ritual the ring had shattered entirely on its own
46:30i had gathered the shards and tossed them into the sacred lake of the shadowfang ancestral lands
46:35they sank to the bottom never to be recovered
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