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