- 2 hours ago
The Alpha's Widow：I Seduced My Dead Mate's Brother to Survive
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Short filmTranscript
00:00To survive, three days after the funeral, I seduced my late mate's brother at his coffin.
00:07I wore only thin mourning linen, my back pressed to cold oak.
00:11I needed a child, one Luna Morrigan would believe was the last bloodline of her dead eldest son.
00:17I needed to survive.
00:19In fact, I lied.
00:22I trembled because I was just reborn.
00:24In my first life, Silverstone Pack sent me to Blackstone as a peace bride.
00:29My mate Alistair died three days after our wedding.
00:32He and his father fell in battle, slain by my own people.
00:36Three months later, his mother Luna Morrigan gave me poisoned wine in this same hall.
00:42Daughter of the enemy, a cursed widow.
00:44Your death will break the alliance and spark war.
00:48My soul was trapped, forced to watch it all.
01:01I stared at Cassian.
01:03For three years, he drowned Silverstone in blood.
01:07Today, we remind the world who rules it!
01:11Yeah!
01:12Today!
01:17Forcing all packs to bow to his rule, I watched him point a dagger at his own mother's throat
01:22for a grey-eyed shepherd girl.
01:24As they clashed, the family locket flew right through my ghostly heart.
01:28Then light swallowed everything.
01:43Candlelight flickered.
01:45If you're the one coming to me...
01:46His fingers sank into my jaw.
01:49Why are you shaking?
01:51I was watching the snow outside.
01:53It's cold.
01:55Fragile thing.
01:56The man above me bit out, impatient.
02:01Focus.
02:04Cassian.
02:05Then be rougher.
02:07Warm me up.
02:09His breath caught.
02:11He froze for half a heartbeat, clearly surprised that I dared.
02:17The coffin against my back was cold, but his palm against my chest was hot.
02:22Then he cupped the back of my head firmly and kissed me deeper and harder.
02:27I climbed onto his shoulders, letting my mourning gown slip down one arm.
02:31Then I felt his teeth graze to the pulse point in my throat.
02:35Our ragged breathing filled the hall.
02:39I needed a child.
02:41One Luna Morrigan would believe was the last bloodline of her dead eldest son.
02:45I needed to survive.
02:49That night after, I tempted him in every place we met.
02:53Beside Alistair's coffin.
02:56The garden.
02:59In the snow.
03:02My side chamber.
03:04By the bookshelf.
03:05I memorized his scent.
03:07Learned when his guard slipped.
03:09And learned to wrap my legs tighter.
03:11Driving him to take me with desperate force.
03:14Every time he fell asleep beside me, I would take out a moonbloom leaf and press it to my belly.
03:20I'd close my eyes and pray in silence.
03:24Moon goddess above.
03:26Tell me the result.
03:29After a moth, I opened my eyes to see the moonbloom leaf glowing silver in the moonlight.
03:39The poisoned cup arrived as I sat beside Alistair's coffin.
03:43Luna Morrigan wore morning black and held the silver cup.
03:47Alistair has been gone three months.
03:49Now it's time you joined him.
03:52The liquid in the cup was clear.
03:53I knew the taste well.
03:55I can't.
03:57I knelt, my hand moving to my stomach.
04:00I carry his child.
04:02Impossible.
04:03Her hand froze.
04:05Alistair never marked you before his death.
04:08He marked me.
04:09I looked up, moving her eyes directly.
04:11Our wedding night.
04:13Don't you remember?
04:14I was gambling.
04:16Gambling that a mother would choose to believe her son had left behind blood.
04:20Gambling that she would not kill her own grandchild right now.
04:23She stared at me for a long time.
04:26Summon the moon priest.
04:27Her voice icy.
04:29Verify.
04:32Priest, verify whether the child in her womb carries my son's blood.
04:37Madam Fecilia.
04:41Swear by the moon goddess, and any lie shall find no shelter under her gaze.
04:47The priest held the moon blue leaf, his gaze cold and piercing.
04:52Witnessed by the moon goddess, I, Kassilia Silverstone, swear that the child in my womb is Blackstone Blood, Luna Morius
04:59Grandchild.
05:00The moon bloom leaf in the priest's hand burst into silver light.
05:03The moon bloom tree confirms.
05:06It is true.
05:08How conveniently time this child's arrival is.
05:11I held my breath.
05:12Go.
05:13Rest.
05:16I stood up, my legs trembling.
05:19But I steadied myself, walked calmly out of the morning hall.
05:24I stepped into the sunlit corridor.
05:26For the first time, the air tasted sweet.
05:29Then darkness crashed over me.
05:31Suffocation seized my throat.
05:33Cassian pinned me against a corridor pillar, his fingers ironed around my neck.
05:37You calculated me.
05:41Not a question, but a verdict.
05:44His eyes blazed with the same fury I'd seen in my past life.
05:50Three months.
05:52You schemed to approach me.
05:55All for this child.
05:58My back pressed against the cold pillar.
06:01Yes.
06:02I looked up at him.
06:03He faltered.
06:04Perhaps he had expected denial.
06:07Wait for death or fight to live.
06:12Which would you choose?
06:14You expect me to bow quietly to my fate.
06:17I cut him off.
06:18You know I was the Silverstones' sacrifice.
06:21You know I had nowhere to run.
06:23You know your mother, Luna Morian.
06:24Once the war between Blackstone and Silverstone fully abropes,
06:27she'll kill me to set a battle banner.
06:29You know-
06:30You know nothing.
06:34You think I watched coldly from the side?
06:37You have no idea what merciful arrangement I made for you.
06:40I froze.
06:41Fine.
06:42He stared at me.
06:42Since you deem me an accomplice,
06:46let me show you what an accomplice is capable of.
06:50He seized my wrist.
06:52Dragged me down the corridor.
06:56I fell onto the bed.
06:58His shadow fell over.
06:59He breathed against my ear.
07:01You schemed against me.
07:02Then scheme this through to the end.
07:04His teeth grazing my earlobe.
07:08His teeth sank into my shoulder.
07:13My nails raked deep furrows down his back.
07:16He drove into me like a man unraveling.
07:24That night, he had no gentleness left.
07:28Yet his hands held my belly with desperate tenderness.
07:31Near dawn, he fell asleep.
07:33In sleep, he looked almost harmless.
07:35Moonlight poured through the window,
07:37gilding his lashes,
07:39softening the hard lines of his face.
07:44I rose quietly.
07:47Where are you going?
07:51Where are you going?
07:52His voice came from behind me,
07:54sharp and cold.
07:56Luna Moralek will send someone to check.
07:58I did not turn.
08:00I can't be found here.
08:03I prepared a deathfall straight for you.
08:06He sat up in bed.
08:07A cabin in the north.
08:08A new name.
08:09His eyes bright in the darkness.
08:11You could have lived freely.
08:12Not as my brother's widow.
08:14Not as...
08:16Not as the woman who schemed against me.
08:17I walked over.
08:18His voice was low, almost hollow.
08:21Cassian.
08:22His eyes bright in the darkness.
08:24Are you going to planning to defy your mother, Luna Morim?
08:27To set me free?
08:28He looked at me for a long time.
08:31Come here.
08:32He pulled my hand,
08:33dragged me into his arms.
08:34I plan to hide you away.
08:35His heartbeat was fast,
08:37matching mine.
08:38Make you mine.
08:41And mine alone.
09:07The Blackstone's secret dreft.
09:10False death.
09:12New identity.
09:14You will be mine.
09:15Not my brother's widow.
09:17Not Blackstone's young mistress.
09:19Just...
09:20He lowered his head.
09:21Kissed my forehead.
09:23Mine.
09:24Mistress in the dark.
09:29Cassian.
09:31The idea detonated in my skull.
09:39This is your mercy.
09:41What?
09:42False death.
09:43New identity.
09:45Hidden away.
09:46To be your secret mistress.
09:48Cecilia.
09:52Cecilia.
09:52What difference is there from waiting to die?
09:55I grabbed my clothes,
09:56walked toward the door.
09:57The difference is,
09:58you would live.
09:59This voice chased from behind.
10:01I stopped at the door,
10:02hand on the latch.
10:03Live!
10:04As your pet!
10:06Until I die unknown!
10:07I pulled the door open and walked out.
10:12Morning light stabbed my eyes.
10:20After that day,
10:22Cassian left for battle.
10:25Luna Morrigan never spoke of the poisoned cup again.
10:38Yet by her silent command,
10:40the servants ignored all my requests for daily necessities.
10:46Cold leftovers.
10:47Thin worn winter clothes.
10:49Time passed.
10:51Day by day.
10:52I needed a new path.
10:53I began appearing at Luna Morrigan's side.
10:56Morning herbal tea.
10:59Afternoon walks.
11:00Evening dinner.
11:01I did not speak.
11:03Only kept her company.
11:05One week passed.
11:06Two weeks passed.
11:08One day,
11:09she spoke to me.
11:14You are a quiet child.
11:18Quieter than I thought.
11:21Also smarter than I thought.
11:23I was gambling.
11:24Gambling on a grieving mother's need
11:26to fill the void left by her lost son.
11:28Cecilia.
11:30You are finding a way to live?
11:32My heart raced.
11:33But I only nodded.
11:35Prove your worth to me.
11:39Her eyes hardened into icy slits.
11:44Cassian needs a mate.
11:50Help him pick a suitable one.
11:52I lowered my eyes.
11:58Yes, Luna Moria.
12:02The day Cassian returned,
12:04I waited for him at the manor gates.
12:06He led a column of blackstone wolf warriors,
12:08a long line of war spoils trailing behind him.
12:11Cassian, on horseback,
12:13his gaze swept over the crowd,
12:14locked onto mine,
12:15then drifted down to my faintly rounded belly.
12:18Then he rode past me without a word.
12:21I stepped forward to block his path.
12:26Cecilia, long time no see.
12:27I have a surprise for you.
12:29Tomorrow, the back garden.
12:33What surprise?
12:34Come and you'll know.
12:35He straightened,
12:36lips pressed thin, deigning to nod.
12:38I exhaled.
12:39He had agreed.
12:40Then he pointed to a carriage behind him.
12:42Find her some work.
12:43I picked her up on the road.
12:45She knows sheep.
12:48I turned.
12:50The carriage curtain lifted.
12:52A grey-eyed girl looked at me,
12:53timid.
12:54My blood turned to ice.
12:56Ayla.
12:57The shepherd girl from my first life.
13:01Of course, Cassius brings back such a pretty girl.
13:04She must be well arranged.
13:06Cassian's expression turned playful as he watched me.
13:08Was this,
13:09his warning not to mistreat Ayla.
13:11She must be his true love from his past life.
13:13I'll arrange it personally.
13:15How about some simple banquet service work?
13:21Cassian dropped a...
13:23Whatever.
13:24And left.
13:27The next day, Cassian came to the back garden.
13:30He wore a deep blue formal coat.
13:33His hair tied back.
13:34He smiled, striding toward me with a bouquet of white roses.
13:39He looked at me, lips curving, his gaze making my heart skip.
13:43Then he looked past my shoulder.
13:46Then he glanced past my shoulder.
13:48Wolf maidens gathered.
13:50Silk.
13:51Gems.
13:51Laughter all around.
13:54Twelve pairs of eyes fixed eagerly on him.
13:57His steps faltered.
13:59Then the smile froze on his face.
14:02Luna Morgan stepped out from the pavilion.
14:05Satisfaction rare on her features.
14:08Well done.
14:10You've made thorough arrangements.
14:13Cassian even got all dressed up.
14:15He's brought gifts to please the ladies.
14:18Cassian's expression changed.
14:20Excuse us for a moment.
14:22He seized my hand,
14:24dragged me into the shadow of a corridor pillar.
14:26White rose petals crushed between his fingers.
14:30This is your carefully prepared surprise.
14:33Bringing me here to pick a noble mate.
14:38This was Luna Moraine's delight.
14:41He stared at me, eyes burning.
14:44Then he laughed dangerously.
14:45Fine.
14:47Fine.
14:48Fine.
14:49Fine.
14:53Cassian pulled me back to the garden center,
14:55stopping before the assembled guests.
14:59Mom.
15:00There is already someone in my heart.
15:03He gripped my hand tightly.
15:04I struggled,
15:06tried to shake him off,
15:07but he would not release.
15:09Do not jest.
15:12No jest.
15:13My heart pounded wildly.
15:15I feared he would speak madness.
15:18I wrenched at his fingers with all my strength.
15:21His hand finally torn from mine.
15:23His eyes on me.
15:24The one I desire is her.
15:28All gazes followed his pointing finger.
15:30To me, I froze, screaming inwardly.
15:35Crash behind me, porcelain shattered.
15:38He turned.
15:39Bowls and plates scattered across the floor.
15:42Who is this girl?
15:44Cassian fell silent.
15:46Aayla only looked at him, timid.
15:49Cecilia, you tell me.
15:51Luna Morrigan's voice cut.
15:53A shepherd girl I brought back.
15:55Cassian spoke suddenly.
15:59Isla.
16:00Luna Morrigan's expression shifted.
16:02She looked past me,
16:04the girl behind me.
16:05A lowborn woman
16:07who bewitches Blackstone's future alpha
16:10should die.
16:12I could not tell which of us she meant.
16:20Isla is my beloved.
16:23I exhaled.
16:24My heartbeat dropped from my throat
16:26back to my chest.
16:27He had chosen her.
16:28Just as in the first life,
16:30history was repeating itself.
16:31And I was standing beside.
16:33Luna Morrigan's expression did not change.
16:36She only waved her hand.
16:38The ball is dismissed.
16:40The twelve wolf maidens exchanged glances,
16:43then lowered their heads and withdrew.
16:46Aayla remained standing,
16:47eyes on the shattered porcelain.
16:49You stay.
16:51And you.
16:53She did not look at me.
16:54She looked at Aayla.
16:55The door closed behind us.
16:59Luna Morrigan sat in the master's seat.
17:03Cassian stood.
17:05Aayla knelt.
17:05I stood by the corridor pillar.
17:08Kill her.
17:10Tonight.
17:11Who?
17:11The shepherd girl.
17:14Impossible.
17:17Cassian, you are the future alpha.
17:19Your mate must be the Pax Luna,
17:21not some roadside shepherd girl.
17:23My mate.
17:24I choose myself.
17:26You choose?
17:29Do you choose a mate,
17:31or do you choose rebellion?
17:33Cassian's shoulders tensed.
17:35I knew this stance.
17:37In my first life,
17:38before he pressed the dagger to her throat,
17:40he had stood just so.
17:45You're obsessed with control.
17:47When will it end?
17:48When you become alpha.
17:50I am alpha now.
17:51You are merely the heir.
17:53Since your father died,
17:55since your brother died,
17:56until I allow it,
17:57you are nothing but Cassian,
17:59my son.
18:00The heir forms.
18:01Aayla's knees trembled.
18:02I looked at her,
18:04remembering myself kneeling in the morning hall.
18:06We were both chips,
18:07both tools.
18:09I choose the one I desire as my mate.
18:11She cannot become Luna.
18:14I do not need Luna!
18:16Every alpha needs a Luna.
18:18Otherwise, the Pax splits,
18:20bleeds,
18:20falls to...
18:21Falls to what?
18:22We cut through her words.
18:23Like father,
18:24like brother,
18:25dying under silverstone blades.
18:27Her expression finally changed.
18:29You hate me,
18:30because you believe I drove them to their deaths.
18:33Did you not?
18:34They chose the battlefield themselves,
18:36not I.
18:37Cassian looked at her for a long time.
18:40Then he glanced at me.
18:42He turned,
18:43took Aayla's hand.
18:45She will not die,
18:46unless you kill me first.
18:48Cassian passed by me without another look.
18:51You saw?
18:53This is the future alpha.
18:55Weak,
18:56bewitched,
18:57taken by...
18:58By what?
18:59She paused.
19:00She only waved her hand,
19:02dismissing me.
19:03As I turned,
19:04I heard her whisper,
19:05By love.
19:09After that night,
19:10Cassian brought Aayla into his quarters.
19:12I heard he gave her the finest chamber,
19:14silk gowns,
19:15and ate with him.
19:17Luna Morrigan said nothing.
19:18She was waiting.
19:20As was I.
19:22My belly grew rounder.
19:24The moonbloom leaf glowed in my palm.
19:27The priest pronounced the child healthy,
19:29the bloodline pure.
19:31But she only nodded,
19:33her eyes on the window toward Cassian's quarters.
19:37Cecilia,
19:38how long do you think Aayla will live?
19:40My hand stilled.
19:41Once,
19:42Alistair hated me,
19:43because I forced him to marry a stranger,
19:46you.
19:47But I was right.
19:49At least this preserved his bloodline.
19:51Don't you agree?
19:53Now Cassian hates me.
19:55History repeats.
19:58What should I do?
19:59I looked at her.
20:01What do you wish me to do?
20:02She smiled.
20:04The same smile when she handed me the poisoned wine before.
20:07She produced the same silver cup.
20:10I was not surprised.
20:11Isla must die or you join her after you deliver the child.
20:20I cannot kill an innocent.
20:22Then you are useless.
20:25Useless people should not consume Blackstone's resources.
20:28After she left,
20:29the poisoned cup remained on the table.
20:32My days returned to what they had been.
20:34Cold meals,
20:35thin clothes,
20:37the servants contempt.
20:38This time,
20:39I knew it was Luna Morrigan's order.
20:41She was forcing me to move against Aayla.
20:43I could not.
20:45Harming the innocent was not my way.
20:47Let alone,
20:48Aayla was Cassian's chosen beloved.
20:50If harm came to Aayla,
20:52in the future he would make me pay in blood.
20:54Yet I could not defy Luna Morrigan.
20:56If I did not act against Aayla,
20:58she would make my life unbearable.
21:00What could I do?
21:01Trapped between the two of them,
21:03I have no path to survival.
21:05Then,
21:06the thought struck.
21:07Leave this place.
21:08No longer be the enemy's daughter,
21:10nor the widow who brought curse upon the family heir.
21:13But how to escape the heavily guarded Blackstone Manor?
21:16I needed the death false draft.
21:18Cassian had spoken of it.
21:20I infiltrated Cassian's quarters.
21:26A few maids passed.
21:28I hid behind a corridor pillar.
21:30Aayla is so fortunate.
21:32Prince Cassian visits her every night.
21:34I watched Cassian enter Aayla's chamber.
21:37The lamp burned for a long while.
21:40Good.
21:40Their world of two.
21:42Time for me.
21:43Study.
21:44Hidden compartment.
21:46Secret chamber.
21:47I searched every place.
21:49At last I found a plain white porcelain bottle by his bed.
21:52My hands trembled as I opened it.
21:55The smell was sharp,
21:56but I could not tell if it was what I need.
21:58I took out the moonbloom leaf.
22:01Pressed it to the bottle.
22:02Closed my eyes.
22:04Moonbloom tree above.
22:05Reveal the truth.
22:06The leaf glowed images.
22:08Flooded in.
22:09Not the draft ingredients.
22:11Cassian.
22:12Standing bathed in the moonlight.
22:14Leaf in hand.
22:15Eyes closed.
22:16Murmuring.
22:17The vision shifted.
22:19He looked at me.
22:20In the morning hall.
22:21In the study.
22:22In the garden.
22:23His heart racing.
22:24His temperature rising.
22:26His wolf spirit restless.
22:28Not Ayla.
22:29Me.
22:33Every time he entered Ayla's chamber,
22:36he stood at the window,
22:37looking toward my direction.
22:39Every time he said,
22:41my beloved,
22:42his fingers clenched,
22:44as if enduring pain.
22:46The moonbloom leaf does not lie.
22:48You saw.
22:49My eyes flew open.
22:52You came to steal the death false drought?
22:54I stepped back,
22:55my spine hitting the wall.
22:58I'm certain if it was real?
23:01Luna ordered me to kill Ayla or die with her.
23:03He entered.
23:04Closed the door.
23:07Then die.
23:08False death.
23:09I will help you.
23:11Why?
23:12Why help me?
23:13He approached,
23:14hand covering mine on the leaf.
23:16Because I love you.
23:17The moonbloom tree bears witness.
23:19The moonbloom leaf burst into light.
23:21He drew closer,
23:23hands on my shoulders.
23:24The death false drought.
23:25The northern cabin.
23:26New identity.
23:27Freedom.
23:27You still want me as your secret mistress?
23:29Never.
23:29It's only temporary.
23:30Until I'm free of my mother's coercion.
23:32Until she is no longer a threat to you.
23:34One hand tangled in my hair.
23:36The other took the porcelain bottle from my grasp.
23:39The real draft is in a safer place.
23:41In three days,
23:42it is mother's birthday banquet.
23:43I'll slip it to you amid the chaos.
23:47Why help me?
23:48He paused.
23:49Did not turn.
23:50Because you are mine.
23:55The morning of the banquet,
23:56Luna summoned me at the tower.
23:58Cecilia.
24:00You have been restless these days.
24:02I said nothing.
24:03My heart tightened.
24:05Cassian and you,
24:06did you think I did not know?
24:08My blood turned to ice.
24:10Isla is merely a shield.
24:11He thinks he has won.
24:13But he is only my son.
24:15Luna Morrigan,
24:15and I do not understand what misunderstand-
24:17What misunderstanding that my second son fell for his elder brother's widow and got her with child?
24:22I collapsed.
24:23But I clung to hope.
24:25The child of my fist is your grandchild.
24:28Enemy blood.
24:29Bastard born of adultery.
24:32Unfit to taint the family line.
24:33She waved her hand.
24:35Deal with her.
24:38The banquet is in full wish tonight.
24:40Let us stoke the flames further.
24:42Fire spread beyond the tower window.
24:44I fell to the tower floor,
24:45watching her turn to leave.
24:47I shielded my belly.
24:49My child was only three months.
24:50The door burst open.
24:52Cassian stood in the doorway,
24:53blood stricken his face.
24:55Not his.
24:55Behind him lay two fallen warriors.
24:58Go.
24:58He seized and dragged me through burning corridors.
25:01Heat licked our backs.
25:02Wooden beams crashed over.
25:06The death falls, Drost.
25:08Drink it now.
25:09I'll carry you out and bury you on the edge of the manor.
25:12Wait three days.
25:13I'll come dig you up.
25:15He pressed a porcelain bottle into my hand.
25:17My hand shook around the bottom.
25:18Why should I trust you?
25:20You may not too,
25:21but you have no choice.
25:24Luna knows everything.
25:26She knows Isla is a fraud,
25:28knows the child is mine,
25:29knows...
25:30He paused.
25:32Knows I love you.
25:34The bottle burned in my palm.
25:37Drink.
25:37Or die.
25:39Fire swallowed the tower.
25:40Cassian's palm burned hot.
25:42The bottle in my hand felt cold.
25:44I pulled the stopper.
25:45The smell was sharp.
25:46I tilted my head back and drank it all.
25:48The liquid scorched my throat.
25:50Bitterness flooded my mouth.
25:51Then numbness spread from my tongue to my limbs.
25:54My vision blurred.
25:55His face swam amid the firelight.
25:57Lie down.
25:58He pressed me onto the burning floor.
25:59Hold your breath.
26:00Three days.
26:01I will come for you.
26:02He bent to press one last kiss to my forehead.
26:05You are mine.
26:05Darkness swallowed my consciousness.
26:07I heard beams crash.
26:09His footsteps fade.
26:10And Luna Morgan's cold laughter beyond the fire.
26:16Darkness.
26:17Suffocation.
26:17The weight of earth pressed my chest.
26:19I opened my eyes and my mouth to scream.
26:22But I couldn't.
26:24I clawed upward into my fingertips, touching cold air.
26:29A hand seized me.
26:30The sword closed behind him.
26:32Moonlight blinded.
26:33Cassian knelt at the grave's edge.
26:35Mud caked.
26:36Eyes bloodshot.
26:37Behind him stretched the northern border wasteland.
26:39I looked down at my belly.
26:41The swell remained.
26:42Trembling.
26:43I touched it and felt a faint flutter.
26:45The child lived.
26:46Cassian.
26:47Don't speak.
26:49He lifted me onto the horse's back.
26:51Luna believes you dead.
26:52Wrapped me in his cloak.
26:53Now you are a dead woman.
26:55The horse galloped more.
26:56I looked back.
27:00Blackstone Manor left behind us.
27:03The northern cabin.
27:05A new identity.
27:07Freedom.
27:09I leaned against his back and smelled blood.
27:11To get me out.
27:12Why are you wounded?
27:13How many had he killed?
27:14It did matter.
27:15But I was too tired.
27:17It doesn't matter.
27:19The horse stopped before dawn.
27:21A wooden cabin.
27:22Embers dying in the hearth.
27:24He placed me on the bed.
27:25Turned to tend his wounds.
27:28Cassian.
27:29Is this prison?
27:31Or freedom?
27:33Both.
27:33Then laughed.
27:34The door locked.
27:36The cabin was more comfortable than expected.
27:39Hearth.
27:39Blankets.
27:40And stored food.
27:41Beyond the window lay a frozen wasteland.
27:44Wolf howls.
27:45Echoing through the night.
27:47Cassian came every three days.
27:49Brought medicine.
27:50Food.
27:51And books.
27:52He never touched me.
27:53Only sat by the hearth.
27:55Watching my belly grow rounder by the day.
27:58A name for the child.
27:59Not yet chosen.
28:03If a boy.
28:04Perhaps.
28:06Not yours.
28:07His eyes darkened like the moon hidden by clouds.
28:11I know.
28:12He rose, walked to the door.
28:14Luna is purging dissenters.
28:16I must return.
28:18How long?
28:19Until she no longer suspects.
28:21Or until her suspicion costs nothing.
28:25He left.
28:26I counted days.
28:28Seven.
28:29Fourteen.
28:30Twenty-one.
28:32The food dwindled.
28:33The medicine ran out.
28:35One snowy night.
28:37Pain flared in my belly.
28:39A lock clicked open from outside.
28:42It was not Cassian who entered.
28:44A border wanderer.
28:46Drawn by the cabin's smoke.
28:48He saw me.
28:49Then my belly.
28:50His eyes were greed.
28:51Silver wolf blood glowed in the dark.
28:54My pupils turning silver.
28:58Big fortune.
29:00He raised his hunting knife.
29:01For my baby.
29:03I seized the fire toms.
29:05The struggle was weak.
29:07He fell.
29:08Blood soaked the floor red.
29:10I dragged his corpse outside.
29:12Then returned to find the pain worsening.
29:14I pressed moonbloom leaf to my belly.
29:17Closed my eyes.
29:18Prayed.
29:19The leaf glowed.
29:21The pain eased.
29:22By dawn.
29:23I made a decision.
29:25I packed my belongings.
29:27Took all the medicine.
29:28And walked north.
29:29Three days later.
29:31I reached a border town.
29:32A mixed land where wolves traded with other races.
29:36I hung out my sign.
29:37Healer.
29:38I had studied medicine.
29:40And my skills are peerless.
29:43But no one came for treatment.
29:45Until a blood-soaked wolf warrior.
29:48Collapsed at my door.
29:52He collapsed at the clinic door.
29:54I dragged him inside and cut open his armor.
29:57Wounds covered his body.
29:59The deadliest lay at the back of his skull.
30:01Blunt force trauma.
30:03A depressed fracture.
30:05I spent the night in surgery.
30:07He woke up three days later.
30:09Blue eyes empty.
30:13Who are you?
30:15Healer.
30:16Who am I?
30:18I froze amnesia.
30:20Retrograde memory loss from skull damage.
30:22I do not know.
30:24Only that you collapsed at my door.
30:27He looked down at his hands.
30:29Large, rough, warrior's hands.
30:31He tried to make a fist.
30:34I am a warrior.
30:36It would seem so.
30:37He was silent for a long time.
30:39Then looked at me.
30:41Eyes suddenly soft.
30:42You saved me.
30:44Yes.
30:45Why?
30:46Because you collapsed at my door.
30:48He laughed.
30:50That pure, simple laugh made me freeze.
30:54I will repay you with my life.
30:57He reached out, gently touched my rounded belly.
31:00He stayed, not as patient as guard.
31:03He said he would repay, so he never left my side.
31:06I treated patients.
31:09He stood at the door like a statue.
31:11Someone tried to cheat on payment.
31:14One look from him, and they paid obediently.
31:17Nights, I studied herbs.
31:19He sat by the hearth, polishing an old sword.
31:23A name for the child?
31:24He asked suddenly.
31:25No.
31:28Why?
31:30Not yet chosen.
31:35He set down the sword and came to my side.
31:38He knelt, his eyes level with mine.
31:41The gesture made my heart skip.
31:42Cassian never knelt.
31:43He always looked down.
31:45May I suggest one?
31:46He asked.
31:48For temporary use.
31:52Go ahead.
31:53He placed his hand gently on my belly.
31:55The child moved.
31:56Kicked his palm.
31:57He laughed.
31:59Star.
31:59Little star for temporary use.
32:02I turned away, afraid he would see my tears.
32:06Leah.
32:06You may call me by this new name from now on.
32:09He smiled and thought for a while.
32:11Liam.
32:12After yours.
32:15Blackstone Manor.
32:17Cassian stood in a pool of blood.
32:19Luna Morrigan was locked in the town.
32:21Dissenting elders were hanged at the gates.
32:23He had spent three months purging all opposition in blood.
32:26He entered the study.
32:27A map hung on the wall.
32:29The border town circled in red.
32:30Found her?
32:32He asked the shadow.
32:34No, Alpha.
32:34The north is too vast.
32:36She may have...
32:37Continue searching.
32:39He sat.
32:40Fingers tapping the desk.
32:42My brother's death.
32:43What did the investigation find?
32:45He said suddenly.
32:47The shadow was silent.
32:48Speak.
32:49The battlefield that year.
32:51Traces of a third party.
32:53Not Silverstone.
32:55Not Blackstone.
32:56Someone did not want the air to come back.
32:58Cassian's fingers stopped.
33:00Continue the investigation.
33:02After the door closed, he took out a plain white porcelain bottle.
33:06Inside lay a moonbloom leaf carved with a name.
33:09Cecilia.
33:10You are mine.
33:12He said to the empty room.
33:13Dead or not.
33:16The border town's winter passed.
33:18Liam learned to identify herbs.
33:19To brew medicines.
33:20To gently massage my shoulders when I grew tired.
33:23You had nightmares again last night.
33:25Calling a name.
33:28What name?
33:30Cassian.
33:31Somewhat familiar to me.
33:34My hand stilled.
33:35Was he your husband?
33:36Was he your husband?
33:37He asked concernly.
33:38No.
33:40Did he hurt you?
33:41I looked at him.
33:42This man had lost his memory.
33:44Yet he showed such fatherly tenderness toward my baby.
33:46If I told him the whole truth, would he leave?
33:49Would he lock me away like Cassian?
33:51He is the past.
33:53Unimportant.
33:54Liam looked at me long.
33:56Then reached out, gently wiped my tear.
33:58I will protect you and Little Star.
34:00No matter what the past holds, your future is with me.
34:04He kissed my forehead.
34:06Like a family.
34:07I closed my eyes.
34:08Outside, a black horse halted at the corner.
34:11Its rider cloaked in blackstone-pack hues.
34:14I smelled it.
34:15Black cedar.
34:16Blood.
34:17And Cassian.
34:18I pushed Liam away.
34:19Seized the moonbloom leaf.
34:21Glowed in my palm.
34:22Warning.
34:22We must leave.
34:23I told Liam.
34:25Out the back door.
34:26Why?
34:27Just go.
34:32The door burst open.
34:33Cassian stood in the doorway.
34:35Thinner than three months passed.
34:36Colder.
34:37He looked at me.
34:37At my belly.
34:38Then at Liam.
34:39You found a new guard.
34:41A replacement, eh?
34:42He is not!
34:43Liam stepped before me without hesitation.
34:46Cassian's gaze shifted from ice to scrutiny.
34:48He stared at Liam's face.
34:50An aged, battle-worn mirror.
34:52My brother.
34:52Liam frowned.
34:53What are you calling me?
34:54Cassian stepped forward.
34:56Alistair.
34:57Alistair Blackstone!
34:58Liam shook his head.
35:00You are familiar, but I do not remember.
35:02Impossible!
35:03I saw you die!
35:05Speak.
35:06Who are you?
35:07Why wear his face?
35:09Cassian!
35:09He has lost his memory!
35:11He remembers nothing!
35:13Cassian looked at me.
35:14Too much in his gaze, anger, pain, and fear.
35:17You defend him!
35:21He flung Liam to the ground.
35:23Then came toward me.
35:24Very well.
35:25An amnesiac.
35:27Taking my woman.
35:28Keeping my child.
35:30Your child.
35:31Liam spoke suddenly.
35:32What child?
35:33He turned to look at me.
35:35My wife.
35:36Naturally my child.
35:37How could you speak so to your brother's wife, Cassian?
35:40You are...
35:41Yes.
35:41I remember now.
35:43I am Alistair Blackstone.
35:44Your husband.
35:45You may not recall our wedding night.
35:47Cassian's face changed into pale.
35:49Alistair turned to Cassian.
35:50The battlefield last year.
35:52Third party signs.
35:53Delayed reinforcements.
35:56Cassian, was it you?
36:01Silence.
36:03Long silence.
36:07You deliberately delayed the rescue.
36:09Because I was the heir.
36:11Because...
36:11Because I hated you from birth.
36:13You had everything.
36:15I had nothing.
36:16Even her.
36:17A lister looked at me.
36:18At the swollen belly.
36:20How long was I absent?
36:23Seven months.
36:24Not to me.
36:25To my belly.
36:26His hand trembled as he touched.
36:28Cassian laughed.
36:29Touching.
36:31But she is mine.
36:32The child is mine.
36:34She is my wife.
36:37So is the child.
36:38The brothers faced each other.
36:40They're two wolves in confrontation.
36:41I refuse.
36:43But the whole room shook.
36:45His wolf spirit awakening.
36:46Blackstone pack's alpha power.
36:49You have no right, brother.
36:50You were absent seven years.
36:53The pack is mine.
36:54The army is mine.
36:56She...
36:56I'm not anyone's.
36:58I spoke.
36:59They both looked at me.
37:01I stood.
37:02Belly heavy.
37:03But spine straight.
37:04The moon-bloom leaf blowed in my palm.
37:07You fight for the pack.
37:08For power.
37:09For me.
37:10But no one ever asked what I want.
37:12I stepped forward.
37:13Silver wolf blood boiled long so fast in my veins.
37:19Cecilia.
37:21Do not touch me.
37:25Silver light burst on thin.
37:27My pupils turned pure silver.
37:29Hair moving without wind.
37:31The moon-bloom tree pattern emerging in my belly.
37:34This is the power of the silver stone pure blood.
37:38You thought me as a sacrifice upon an accessory.
37:41But I am silver wolf.
37:43I can heal.
37:45Can sense.
37:46Can make warriors of two packs lay down their blades on the battlefield.
37:49Or drive them to slaughter each other.
37:52I raised my hand.
37:54Light gathered.
37:55Alistair.
37:56You were absent seven months.
37:58But your duty remains.
38:00Return and be alpha.
38:02But not for me.
38:03For the pack.
38:04Cassian, your love is far too heavy.
38:06Heavy enough to break me.
38:08I want no cage.
38:10Not even a gilded one.
38:12The light peaked.
38:13Then receded.
38:14I returned to normal.
38:16But something had changed forever.
38:19I choose neither.
38:21I choose myself.
38:23And the child.
38:24The light peaked.
38:24The light peaked.
38:24The light peaked.
38:27The light peaked.
38:28The light peaked.
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