🎬 Il Risveglio della Stirpe
Giulia, la Luna del Branco Ferri, viene sacrificata
dal suo stesso compagno, l'Alfa Dante, per garantire la nascita di un altro
erede. Ma Giulia nasconde un segreto letale: è l'erede del temuto Branco Serra.
Sopravvissuta al tradimento, è pronta a reclamare il suo vero potere. Cosa farà
quando il passato tornerà a darle la caccia?
📺 Full 37 episodes (46 min)
🔥 Drama, Romance, Family, Modern
#shortmax #shortdrama #fulldrama #romance #drama #englishdrama #Licantropo #Fantasia
Giulia, la Luna del Branco Ferri, viene sacrificata
dal suo stesso compagno, l'Alfa Dante, per garantire la nascita di un altro
erede. Ma Giulia nasconde un segreto letale: è l'erede del temuto Branco Serra.
Sopravvissuta al tradimento, è pronta a reclamare il suo vero potere. Cosa farà
quando il passato tornerà a darle la caccia?
📺 Full 37 episodes (46 min)
🔥 Drama, Romance, Family, Modern
#shortmax #shortdrama #fulldrama #romance #drama #englishdrama #Licantropo #Fantasia
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Perform a soul-severing ritual on me.
00:02You want him to think you're dead?
00:04Yes.
00:08The full moon glared down at the birthing altar.
00:11A contraction ripped through me so hard my spine arched off the stone.
00:15Dominic squeezed my hand.
00:18Almost there, Selina.
00:19My mate, my alpha, bound to me by the human goddess herself.
00:23The pack priest walked in carrying a silver tray.
00:26I offered my arm for the pain relief.
00:27The needle pierced my skin.
00:29But it wasn't medicine.
00:31The pungent scent hit my nose.
00:33Wolfsbane.
00:34I looked at Dominic.
00:35He wasn't surprised.
00:36He was checking his watch.
00:37Vivian's water just broke.
00:40Delay her for two hours.
00:41Our true heir needs to be born first.
00:43He turned and walked away.
00:45Didn't look back.
00:46I tried to scream.
00:47I wanted my wolf to tear free and lunge after him.
00:50But the wolfsbane was already working.
00:52My wolf was dragged under.
00:54My voice died in my throat.
00:55And my pup halfway into the world stopped moving.
00:58Frozen inside me by her own father's command.
01:01Two pack guards dragged me down into the dungeon beneath the temple.
01:04A place for rogues, war prisoners, and wolves sentenced to death.
01:08Now it held the alpha's fated mate and his unborn child.
01:13A single rune lamp flickered on the wall.
01:15Straw on the floor.
01:16No bed.
01:17I slid down the freezing stone wall, hands clutching my belly.
01:20She was still kicking, faint, frantic.
01:24Mommy's here.
01:25Mommy's here.
01:26Three months ago, Dominic's older brother, Marcus, died in a territorial dispute.
01:38His mate Vivienne was carrying a boy.
01:40A pure blood alpha heir.
01:42The only pup you could inherit.
01:44Mine was a girl.
01:45Girls couldn't inherit.
01:47The moment the ultrasound confirmed it, the entire Blackwood pack abandoned us both.
01:52Heels clicked down the corridor.
01:54Cassandra Blackwood.
01:55Dominic's sister, the pack beta.
02:02She stood outside the iron bars, twirling a silver dagger.
02:05The blade dragged along the bars, metal screeching.
02:08Selene.
02:09Don't blame my brother.
02:10Vivienne is carrying Marcus's posthumorous son.
02:13A pure blood alpha heir.
02:15The only pup in our generation who can inherit the alpha title.
02:19It doesn't matter how early you give birth.
02:21You're carrying a girl.
02:22Girls can't inherit.
02:24You know that.
02:25A contraption slammed into me.
02:27The wolfbane pushed the labor down.
02:29My body fought back.
02:31Two forces tore me apart from the inside.
02:33Get the priest.
02:35The baby is coming.
02:36Please.
02:38The wolfbane will last another three hours.
02:42Vivienne has already been taken to the birthing altar.
02:45You'll stay here and wait.
02:47If she starts howling, gag her.
02:49Don't let the noise reach upstairs.
02:51Don't scare Vivienne.
02:59I looked down.
03:00My dress was soaked in blood.
03:02All I could see was Dominic's face.
03:04When he turned away, his eyes held no guilt.
03:06Just cold calculation.
03:07I dragged myself to the cell door.
03:09Then I punched the cell door hard.
03:11Again and again.
03:12Until my skin split open.
03:14Somebody help.
03:15I'm in labor.
03:16Save my baby.
03:17Shut up.
03:18If it dies, that's its fate.
03:20A girl with no inheritance rights.
03:22Her death won't affect the pack.
03:24My blood-stained hands slid off the cell door.
03:28I collapsed into a pool of my own blood.
03:30This wasn't fate.
03:32Someone was murdering my child.
03:33Just as my vision began to blur, the heavy door crashed open.
03:38Dr. Holden, the pack doctor.
03:40The moment he saw me, all the colors drained from his face.
03:43Luna?
03:44What are you doing here?
03:46Dominic said you were resting in the Moonstone Lounge.
03:48Fully dilated.
03:50Water broke.
03:50You're losing too much blood.
03:52The wolf of Spain is still suppressing your healing.
03:56Guards!
03:56The Luna is hemorrhaging!
03:58Only echoes answered.
04:00No one came.
04:01He tried his comm stone.
04:02Nothing.
04:03The dungeon's warding runes blocked all signals.
04:06Gritting his teeth, he scooped me up and ran.
04:08An aging beta carrying a bleeding woman up three flights of stone stairs.
04:13Every jolt sending agony through my pelvis.
04:15He burst onto the ground floor.
04:17Ran for the medical wing.
04:19Kicked open the door.
04:20And froze.
04:21He kicked open the door.
04:23And froze.
04:24Everything was gone.
04:25Stripped bare.
04:26Every Moonstone crystal, runestone, potion, gone.
04:29How?
04:30I checked inventory this afternoon.
04:33Cassandra strolled down the hall.
04:35Two Omega attendants followed behind her.
04:37We move to the third floor.
04:39Vivian's C-section is high risk.
04:41She needs the best resources.
04:43Her gaze drifted to me, drenched in blood, half dead in Dr. Holden's arms.
04:47She smiled.
04:48I knew that smile.
04:49Six months ago, she'd worn it downtown, linking her arms through mine.
04:53Selina, you're the best Luna I've ever met.
04:56You're more like a real sister to me.
04:58The antique Moonstone necklace I gave her still rested against her collarbone.
05:02It glowed softly in the dim hallway.
05:04And made her smile look monstrous.
05:06Dr. Holden laid me on a bare stone cot.
05:08He tore open every cabinet and drawer.
05:11Empty.
05:12Not a single herb.
05:13I'm sorry, Luna.
05:15I have nothing.
05:17Relax.
05:17Once Vivian is done, the supplies will be returned.
05:20What's the rush?
05:22Her gaze dropped to my belly.
05:24Besides, you were nothing but a breeding machine from the beginning.
05:29And you couldn't even produce the right product.
05:31Dr. Holden stepped in front of me.
05:33This is murder, Cassandra.
05:35Two lives.
05:36Her smile vanished.
05:38Mothers and pups die in childbirth every day.
05:40Distedia, hemorrhage, healing failure, perfectly natural causes of death.
05:44No one will say a damn thing.
05:46And this is Blackwood family business.
05:49You're a contract beta doctor.
05:51Know your place.
05:52She snapped at the guards.
05:53Drag him to the third floor.
05:55Vivian needs him.
05:56I'll handle her.
05:57Two guards grabbed Dr. Holden.
05:59He thrashed against them, screaming over his shoulder.
06:01Luna!
06:02Press your stomach!
06:03Shard the wolf hard!
06:05Fight the wolf bond!
06:06The baby still has a heartbeat!
06:08You can still save her!
06:10Cassandra slammed the door, then pulled out a comm.
06:12Stone.
06:13Dominic's face appeared in the holographic screen.
06:15Behind him, the birthing altar blazed with light.
06:18Priests moved in and out.
06:20Nurses swarmed around Vivian.
06:22Dominic?
06:23Selina looks like she's about to deliver.
06:26Want to see?
06:27Dominic's eyes shifted to me.
06:28One glance.
06:29Like I was trashed by the roadside.
06:31Stop messing around, Selina.
06:33Vivian isn't doing well.
06:35The baby's heart rate dropped twice.
06:37Cassandra moved the stone closer, making sure the screen clearly showed my dying form.
06:41But look, she's bleeding a lot.
06:43Doesn't she look like she's dying?
06:45Tell her to wait.
06:45Once Vivian is done, I'll send a priest down.
06:48Cassandra pocketed the stone.
06:49You heard him?
06:50Vivian is the priority.
06:52Marcus's son is the priority.
06:54You were nothing.
06:55I closed my eyes, stopped looking at her.
06:57My hand crept behind my back, fingers finding the tiny raised bump on my left hip.
07:02It looked like a mole.
07:03It wasn't.
07:04A blood seal rune.
07:05My father had carved it into my skin on my wedding day with his own alpha blood.
07:09His voice echoed in my head.
07:11Selina, the waters in the Blackwood family may run deeper than you know.
07:14If the day ever comes when you need help, bite your finger and let one drop of blood
07:18fall on this rune.
07:19No matter where you are, someone will reach you within 30 minutes.
07:22I had laughed and pushed his hand away.
07:24Dad, you're being dramatic.
07:27Dominic treats me so well.
07:29I'm his mate.
07:30The moon goddess chose him for me.
07:32How could he ever hurt me?
07:33My father had been silent for a long time.
07:36Then he only said one thing.
07:38The moon goddess binds the souls, Selina.
07:40But she doesn't bind the heart.
07:42I was such a fool.
07:43Blood welled on my fingertip.
07:45I let it fall on the rune.
07:4930 minutes.
07:50I looked at the blood pooling beneath me.
07:52My baby's heartbeat was still there.
07:54Hold on.
07:55Please hold on.
07:55The wolf's bane suppression broke.
07:57Every contraction that had been held back for hours hit at once.
08:00Like a damn collapsing wave.
08:02After wave.
08:03Faster.
08:03Harder.
08:04I screamed.
08:05The sound ricocheted off stone walls.
08:07An Omega attendant rushed in.
08:09Checked me.
08:09And went white.
08:11Fully dilated.
08:12The head's crowning.
08:13Hemorrhage.
08:13We need moonstone crystals.
08:14Healing rooms.
08:15Anything.
08:15Cassandra didn't even step into the room.
08:17Then let them die.
08:18It's just a girl.
08:21Completely useless.
08:23Alive.
08:23She's a waste of space.
08:26Dead.
08:27Changes nothing.
08:28She turned and walked away.
08:29The attendant tried.
08:31But I had no blood left.
08:32No strength.
08:33No wolf.
08:34My muscles wouldn't obey me.
08:35The baby was stuck in the birth canal.
08:37I could feel her heartbeat.
08:38Getting weaker.
08:39Slower fading.
08:40My vision went black.
08:41I am sorry baby.
08:42Mommy tried.
08:43A deafening wolf howl tore through the night.
08:46The entire Blackwood territory shook.
08:48The protective wards flared violently across the walls.
08:51Then shattered.
08:52A booming blast rocked the building.
08:54Centuries of Blackwood enchantments.
08:56Destroyed in seconds.
08:58Moonlight flooded the room.
08:59In that silver light.
09:00Stood a massive man in tactical combat gear.
09:05He ripped off his helmet.
09:07Battle scarred face.
09:09Cold silver eyes.
09:10Eyes that had witnessed countless massacres and never flinched.
09:13But the moment they found me, they turned bloodshot.
09:16Garrett.
09:17My father's head better.
09:18The man who caught me every time I fell learning to walk.
09:21Who shifted into wolf form and slept beside my bed when I was afraid of the dark.
09:25Who stood at the very back of my wedding.
09:27Silent.
09:28Jaw locked.
09:29Eyes red.
09:29Because he already knew.
09:31He crossed the room in one stride and dropped to one knee.
09:34The stone floor cracked under the impact.
09:36Princess.
09:36Princess.
09:38I am late.
09:40Behind him stood 12 heavily armored warriors.
09:42Silver eyes.
09:43Weapons drawn.
09:44The elite shadow fangard.
09:46Blackwood guards lay unconscious in the hall.
09:48The Omega attendants screamed.
09:50This is Blackwood territory.
09:52Who are you?
09:53How did you get it?
09:53Garrett didn't look at her.
09:54He was already lifting me off the cot.
09:56One arm beneath my knees.
09:58The other cradling my head.
09:59As gently as if I were made of glass.
10:01Blackwood?
10:03Soon.
10:04There won't be a Blackwood.
10:06The shadow fang warriors moved with terrifying efficiency.
10:09From the moment the captain picked me up to the second.
10:11I was loaded into an armored pack ambulance waiting just outside the borders.
10:15Barely four minutes had passed.
10:17Four minutes I had bled in that dungeon for hours.
10:19Begging for help and no one came.
10:21Shadow fang shattered the territory's defenses and extracted me in four minutes.
10:25Inside the medical transport emergency moonstone arrays flared to life.
10:29Bathing my body in pure silver light.
10:32Blood pressure critically low.
10:33Blood loss exceeds the lethal threshold by three times.
10:36Fetal distress is severe.
10:38Heart rate is under 60 and dropping.
10:40We must perform an emergency c-section right now.
10:42But her vitals can't handle surgery.
10:44Do it!
10:45The captain's roar rattled the walls of the ambulance.
10:48Every medic flinched.
10:49He gripped my hand, his knuckles white.
10:51Veins bulging up his forearms.
10:53I'll take full responsibility.
10:55Cut her open!
10:56I squeezed his fingers back, using the absolute last shred of my strength.
11:01Garrett.
11:03Garrett, save the baby.
11:05Save the baby first.
11:07Garrett, my father's head beater.
11:09The man who had guarded me since the day I was born.
11:12When I was learning to walk and fell, he was the one who picked me up.
11:15When I was terrified of the dark.
11:16He shifted into his wolf form and slept beside my bed the entire night.
11:19On the day I got married, he stood at the very back of the crowd.
11:22Completely silent, his eyes red.
11:24Now he was kneeling beside my stretcher.
11:26His combat armor stained with blackwood blood.
11:29His silver eyes completely bloodshot.
11:31Princess, don't speak.
11:33Save your strength.
11:34His voice trembled, but he gritted out every word like a blood oath.
11:38The Alpha is on his way.
11:39He'll be here soon.
11:41You and the pup will be fine.
11:42I swear it on my life.
11:43Before he could finish, the moonstone array above the operating table violently flickered.
11:48The vital sign monitors erupted into a shrill, piercing, uninterrupted scream.
11:54Cardiac arrest.
11:56The Luna's heart has stopped.
11:58Push the moonlight essence.
11:59Start the recitation Ronin's.
12:01Fetal heart rate is plummeting.
12:03Seventy.
12:04Fifty.
12:05Thirty.
12:05Scalpel.
12:06Now.
12:07The medics shoved Garrett out of the way.
12:09He stumbled back into the corner of the ambulance.
12:11Clenching his fists so hard his claws tore through his own palms.
12:14Blood dripping onto the metal floor.
12:16The surgeon sliced open my abdomen with a room carved scalpel.
12:19Silver energy flooded the incision, forcibly cauterizing the bleeding.
12:23They were draining the absolute limits of their healing stones just to keep my soul tethered to my body.
12:28Essence injected.
12:29Heartbeat is faint but back.
12:31Where's the pup?
12:32Found her!
12:33Extract!
12:34Pull her out!
12:35The umbilical Kate is wrapped around her neck.
12:37Damn it!
12:38The wolfsbane choked off her oxygen in the womb for too long.
12:40She's out!
12:41She's out!
12:42They pulled a baby from my womb.
12:44But she didn't cry.
12:45In the final second, before the darkness swallowed me entirely, I forced my eyes open.
12:50My vision was a massive blur of blinding silver light.
12:54But I saw it.
12:55Through the haze, the doctor held a tiny blood-covered infant in his hands.
12:59She wasn't moving.
13:00She wasn't breathing.
13:01She didn't cry.
13:02The voices faded.
13:03Faded into an abyss of static.
13:05The last thing I heard was Garrett.
13:07A battle-hardened warrior in his forties.
13:09Covered in 37 scars.
13:11A man who had ripped the throats out of hundreds of rogues.
13:13Collapsing into the corner of the ambulance.
13:15And silently weeping.
13:17I woke up to the harsh smell of medical bleach.
13:19Mixed with the crisp, ozone scent of moonstone crystals.
13:22The princess is awake!
13:24Someone shouted in relief.
13:26Several faces crowded my vision.
13:28Familiar faces.
13:30My father's personal elite guards.
13:32Uncles who had watched me grow up.
13:34Garrett stood closest to the bed.
13:36His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek.
13:39His eyes rimmed with red.
13:40Seeing me open my eyes, his lips parted.
13:43But no words came out.
13:44He just gave me one stiff, trembling nod.
13:47Where is she?
13:49A figure standing at the foot of my bed slowly turned around.
13:52My father.
13:53My father.
13:54The current alpha of the Shadow Fang pack.
13:56The absolute ruler of the oldest, most lethal werewolf bloodline on the North American continent.
14:00In the entire werewolf world.
14:02His name alone made other alphas bow their heads in submission.
14:06He was 54.
14:07His posture as straight as a spear.
14:09I had never seen him slouch.
14:11But right now his hair was completely white.
14:13Overnight he had gone totally grey.
14:15He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed.
14:17He took my hand in his.
14:19His hands were massive, calloused, scarred from decades of war.
14:23These hands had snapped the necks of his enemies and signed treaties that dictated the fates of millions of wolves.
14:28Right now they were shaking.
14:30Selina.
14:31He choked on my name.
14:32He bowed his head.
14:33In my entire life, I had never seen this man bow his head.
14:36Not when facing the interrogations of the Seven Alpha Council.
14:40Not when executing traitors with his bare hands.
14:42Not even when he stood before my mother's grave for an entire night.
14:47But now, looking at me, he bowed his head.
14:49She's gone, isn't she?
14:52I looked at him and I knew the answer.
14:54My father nodded.
14:56I love you.
14:57A single, scalding tear fell from his face onto the back of my hand.
15:01The hemorrhage, placental abtruction, the wolf bait in her bloodstream.
15:05She was deprived of oxygen for too long.
15:08The doctors did everything.
15:09The moonlight essence, the healing stones, the ancient bloodline resurrection rituals.
15:14We couldn't bring her back.
15:15The room fell dead silent.
15:17The only sound was the low, steady hum of the medical crystals.
15:21I closed my eyes.
15:22That tiny life that had lived inside me for nine months.
15:25The pup that kicked my ribs.
15:27The pup that made me run to the bathroom three times a night.
15:30The little wolf who would instantly calm down the second I rubbed my belly and whispered,
15:34Mommy's here.
15:35Gone.
15:36Where is Dominic?
15:37My father lifted his head and wiped his face.
15:40Who?
15:40At the Blackwood Pack.
15:41By Vivian's side.
15:43She gave birth.
15:44A boy.
15:45Pure blood alpha lineage.
15:46The entire Blackwood Pack is throwing a massive celebration for their new heir.
15:50They held the moonlight recognition ceremony.
15:53The old alpha hosted it himself, right before he died.
15:56Not a single person thought of you.
15:57Not a single person asked if you were dead or alive.
16:01I laughed.
16:01My chest heaved as a broken hysterical laugh tore out of my throat.
16:05The mate bond was still pulsing faintly in my chest.
16:08I could feel Dominic's heartbeat.
16:11Steady.
16:12Joyful.
16:13Untroubled.
16:14He was smiling.
16:15He was celebrating.
16:16His fated mate had nearly bled to death in a dungeon.
16:19And his daughter was a corpse.
16:20And he was celebrating.
16:22Good.
16:23That's good.
16:24My father tightened his grip on my hand.
16:26Selena.
16:27Come home with me.
16:29Blackwood Pack doesn't deserve you.
16:33Dad.
16:34I need you to do something for me.
16:37Anything.
16:39Perform a soul-severing ritual on me.
16:41My father froze.
16:42The soul-severing ritual.
16:44One of the darkest, most ancient forbidden arts of the Shadowfang bloodline.
16:48It artificially severed a mate bond.
16:50Forcing the other party to experience the exact physical sensation of their mate dying.
16:54The stopping of the heart.
16:55The shredding of the soul.
16:57The permanent snapping of the bond.
16:58To the person on the receiving end.
17:00It felt exactly like their mate had perished.
17:03You want him to think you're dead?
17:05Yes.
17:05The soul-severing ritual took place on the obsidian altar.
17:08Deep within the Shadowfang's ancestral lands.
17:11Midnight.
17:12A new moon.
17:13Pitch black.
17:14It was the only time we could deceive the moon goddess' gaze.
17:17I lay on the cold stone.
17:19Surrounded by four of our oldest priests.
17:21Their chanting was deep, guttural.
17:23Vibrating with the ancient, lost tongue of the first wolves.
17:26My chest pounded violently.
17:28It was Dominic's heart heart, eating inside me.
17:31Clear across a thousand miles.
17:33The high priest pressed his palm against my sternum.
17:36The runes flared blinding white.
17:38And then.
17:39An invisible silver spike was viciously ripped out of my heart.
17:42The mate bond is a tether woven into the soul.
17:44Severing it felt like two deeply intertwined trees being violently ripped apart by their roots.
17:49I clamped my teeth together, refusing to scream.
17:52In my mind's eye, I saw glowing golden threads.
17:55The physical manifestation of our bonds snapping one by one, turning into ash.
17:58When the final thread broke.
18:00My chest went completely hollow.
18:02A terrifying, absent emptiness.
18:04Like someone had reached into my rib cage and carved out my heart.
18:08Leaving nothing but a gaping void.
18:10The ritual was complete.
18:11From this second onward, in Dominic's mind and soul, I was dead.
18:15Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in the heart of Blackwood territory.
18:19Dominic stood proudly at the main altar, accepting the congratulatory toasts from his pack members.
18:24Without warning, it felt as if an invisible claw had just plunged into his chest and ripped it open.
18:30The bond snapped.
18:31He crashed to his knees.
18:32His hands desperately clawed at his own chest, his nails digging so deep into his own flesh that blood poured
18:38out over his shirt.
18:39A primal, guttural roar of pure agony exploded from his throat.
18:44Cassandra shoved through the panicked crowd.
18:47Brother!
18:48What's wrong?
18:49Dominic convulsed on the marble floor, his claws scraping sickeningly against the stone.
18:54Selina.
18:55She's dead.
18:56The bond just broke.
18:58She's dead.
19:00Cassandra's face drained of colour for a split second, but only a second.
19:03Brother!
19:04Calm down!
19:05She was always going to-
19:06Get the fuck away from me!
19:08Dominic backhanded her so hard she went backward, crashing violently into the altar pillars.
19:13He scrambled to his feet, stumbling and sprinting wildly out of the temple.
19:17The dungeon was empty.
19:19There was nothing left but a massive coagulated pool of blood and a soaked pile of straw and the rapidly
19:24fading scent of Selene lingering in the damp air.
19:27Dominic stood frozen in the centre of the blood pool.
19:30He stood there for a very, very long time.
19:32Long enough for Cassandra to finally creep into the room and gingerly touch his arm.
19:38Brother!
19:41You locked her in here?
19:43I just told her to wait!
19:46Wait for what?
19:48Wait to die?
19:50Those were two lives!
19:52My mate!
19:53My pup!
19:54Cassandra took a step back.
19:55But she was having a girl!
19:57She was useless to the pack!
19:59The sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the dungeon.
20:03Cassandra's head whipped to the side, a bright red handprint instantly welling up on her cheek.
20:08She clutched her face, staring at Dominic in total disbelief.
20:12Dominic glared at her.
20:13If I had been by her side, she wouldn't have died!
20:16If you hadn't taken all the medical supplies, she wouldn't have died!
20:21If I hadn't ordered them to inject her with Wolf Bay.
20:24He couldn't finish the sentence.
20:26Because the subject of that sentence was Pre-Sindlen, from start to finish, he made every single decision.
20:32Cassandra was just the executioner.
20:34The person who murdered Selene and their child was him.
20:36I spent the next few weeks recovering in the Shadowfang Estate.
20:39My body healed agonizingly slowly.
20:41The Wolfsbane residue severely crippled my cellular regeneration.
20:44And the pack doctor estimated it would take three months to completely purge it from my system.
20:49But I wasn't in a hurry.
20:50I had all the time in the world.
20:52My father ate with me and walked with me every day.
20:54Treating me exactly like he did when I was a little girl.
20:57He never brought up the Blackwoods.
20:59But I knew his intelligence network never stopped spinning.
21:02Shadowfang's eyes and ears were buried in every major pack in North America.
21:06That was the terrifying power of an ancient bloodline.
21:09Every meeting, every decision.
21:11Every hushed conversation the Blackwoods had was transcribed and placed on my desk.
21:16Dominic had brought my corpse, a flawlessly forged illusion, created by the soul-severing ritual back to the Blackwood Manor.
21:23He didn't place the casket in the main hall.
21:25It was shoved into a side morning room.
21:27Vivienne and her son had already moved into the Alpha's master suite.
21:30They were surrounded by wet nurses, guards and priests around the clock.
21:36Elder Blackwood had issued his final decree before his stroke.
21:39Keep the funeral brief and simple.
21:42Do not bring bad luck to the newborn heir.
21:45Find a random day to bury her coffin in the family cemetery.
21:48She was a Luna, so make the grave look decent.
21:52He dressed it up in polite words, but the translation was clear.
21:56Dispose of the dead woman quickly.
21:58The living heir is the only future this pack has.
22:02Dominic didn't argue.
22:03He sat in the morning room, guarding the casket.
22:06Three days and three nights.
22:07No food, no water.
22:10Cassandra tried to talk to him, but he threw her out.
22:14Vivienne eventually walked in, cradling the baby.
22:17Dominic, my condolences.
22:22Selina is with the moon goddess now.
22:24She wouldn't want to see you like this.
22:27Do you know what she was thinking about?
22:29Dominic slowly lifted his head and stared at her.
22:32Right before she died.
22:36She was wondering why her Alpha wasn't with her.
22:40Why everyone was waiting for your baby to be born.
22:42And no one gave a single damn if she lived or died.
22:45Dominic, what is that supposed to mean?
22:48I practically died on that table too?
22:50Yes.
22:51You went through a lot.
22:52Dominic interrupted, his voice dead.
22:54But she died.
22:56Two corpses.
23:01Just because the pup in her stummy didn't have a dick, they deserved to die?
23:05As she turned to leave, she threw one last sentence over her shoulder.
23:09Don't forget Dominic.
23:10My son is the one continuing the Blackwood bloodline now.
23:15Dead people are useless.
23:17The absolute decimation of the Blackwood pack began in the second week.
23:21First, their territorial alliances collapsed.
23:24The Silvercrest pack.
23:25Allies with the Blackwoods for three generations.
23:29Abruptly terminated their treaties.
23:31When Dominic sent iron boys to negotiate, the gates were slammed in their faces.
23:36An anonymous dossier was submitted to the Seven Alpha Council.
23:40It detailed the Blackwood pack's use of Wolfsbane on their Luna.
23:43Her illegal imprisonment.
23:44And the deliberate denial of medical care during labor.
23:47Every single accusation was a heavy felony under pack law.
23:51The council dispatched inquisitors to occupy Blackwood territory for a month.
23:55Panic swept through their subordinate packs.
23:59And one by one they defected.
24:01Seeking asylum with rival Alpha families.
24:04Next, their resources were completely severed.
24:07The Blackwoods had monopolized the Moonstone mines for generations.
24:10Suddenly, the neighboring pack upstream dammed the mystical rivers.
24:15Without the spiritual water nourishing the land, the Moonstone yield plummeted to zero.
24:20Moonstone crystals were the Blackwood pack's entire economy.
24:23When production halted, their trade routes snapped and their finances instantly went bankrupt.
24:29In less than a month, the Blackwoods devolved from a top three powerhouse on the east coast into an isolated,
24:37quarantined, bankrupt, starving pack.
24:40Elder Blackwood was so enraged that his inner wolf went rogue.
24:44During a forced shift, his blood vessels ruptured.
24:47He suffered a massive stroke and collapsed.
24:49This time, there was no saving him.
24:52Save the pack, the air, the bloodline.
24:56And then he died.
25:02Almost no one attended his funeral.
25:04Those who did only showed up to sneer.
25:07Dominic stood by the coffin like a stone statue, completely expressionless.
25:11When the last guest left, he turned to Vivienne.
25:14Take the kid and leave the Blackwood territory.
25:17Vivienne shrieked.
25:19What did you just say?!
25:20I'll give you a safe house outside our borders and enough cash to live comfortably for the rest of your
25:26lives.
25:27Get out.
25:28I'm your sister-in-law!
25:29This boy carries Marcus's blood!
25:31The elder named him the sole heir!
25:34Heir to what?
25:34Dominic chuckled.
25:35A dark mocking sound.
25:37A pack that's being liquidated by the council?
25:39A territory that's about to be butchered and divided among our rivals?
25:43Vivienne glared at him, then let out a sharp, cold laugh.
25:47Don't bullshit me, Dominic.
25:49You're not doing this out of guilt for Selina.
25:52You're just terrified.
25:53Terrified of what?
25:55Of those black wolves that stormed the dungeon that night.
25:58You're terrified of whatever monster spack was backing you, Selina.
26:01You know they're coming back.
26:03You're kicking me out so you can wash your hands of us and save your own skin.
26:08She adjusted the baby in her arms and sneered as she walked to the door.
26:11She paused to spit out one final insult.
26:14You weren't so scared when you ordered the price to inject wolf bark into her veins.
26:19Dominic stood alone in the empty morning hall.
26:21He didn't say a word because she was absolutely right.
26:24I sat in the study of the Shadowfang estate, flipping through the latest intelligence reports.
26:29My father walked in holding a cup of tea.
26:32The council has ruled to strip the black hoods of two-thirds of their territory.
26:37The core sector they have left won't survive six months.
26:41I closed the file, faster than I predicted.
26:44My father sat down, staying quiet for a moment.
26:49Selina, is it enough?
26:51I looked up.
26:52I don't pity you.
26:53My father clarified.
26:54I just don't want you trapped in this darkness.
26:56Vengeance is a double-edged blade.
26:58Hold it too long and it'll slice your own hand.
27:00I stood up and walked to the window.
27:02Beyond the glass stretched the vast jagged mountains of the Shadowfang ancestral lands.
27:06The moonlight spilled over the pine forests, turning the world into an ocean of silver.
27:10I stepped out of the darkness the second my daughter died.
27:14Right now, I'm just collecting a debt.
27:17My father looked at me, his eyes full of complex sorrow.
27:20You've changed.
27:21You used to smile so much.
27:23Now, even your smiles look hollow.
27:26I didn't turn around.
27:27Some people take a lifetime to grow up.
27:29Some people just need one betrayal.
27:32My father didn't argue.
27:33He set the teacup down and quietly left the room.
27:36My phone buzzed.
27:37Arshamuzi, it was Dominic.
27:39More accurately, it was him calling the old comms and frequency of dead Selene.
27:44Shadowfang's tech-temn witches had kept the line open and routed it to my secure device.
27:48I didn't say a word.
27:50His rasky, broken voice bled through the speaker.
27:53Selene, I know you can't hear me, but I don't know who else to talk to anymore.
27:59He sounded like he had been swallowing glass.
28:00The background was dead silent.
28:02He was probably sitting in the morning hall again.
28:03The pack is finished.
28:04The territory is gone.
28:05Our allies ran and the council report drops next week.
28:08They're probably going to strip my alpha title.
28:10My father is dead.
28:11Vivian left.
28:13Cass hates me.
28:14It's just me left.
28:15I'm the only one left in the whole territory.
28:18A long, suffocating silence.
28:21I keep thinking.
28:22If I hadn't let them inject you with wolf vein that night, would you still be alive?
28:26If I had just left you half of the moonstone crystals, would your wolf have healed you?
28:29If I wasn't so damn greedy, wanting the perfect air, wanting the alpha seat, wanting absolute control over everything, would
28:35you still be here?
28:37Would you still be rubbing your belly, laughing and telling she was kicking again?
28:42Another silence.
28:43Then, a microscopic, muffled sob.
28:47But there are no ifs.
28:48You're dead.
28:49Our pup is dead.
28:50And I did it.
28:52I could live a thousand lifetimes and never pay off this debt.
28:56The line clicked dead.
28:58I sat in the moonlight, gripping the phone.
29:01Outside, the wind tore through the pine trees, rustling the branches.
29:06After a very long time, I put the phone down on the desk.
29:09The black screen reflected my face.
29:12Totally blank.
29:13Not a single tear.
29:15Three months later, my body was entirely healed.
29:17The wolf bay was purged from my veins.
29:19My cellular regeneration was operating at maximum capacity.
29:23And my wolf had finally woken up.
29:25She was quieter than before.
29:26But vastly more lethal.
29:29My father was waiting for me in the study.
29:31On the mahogany desk lay a single document.
29:33The official transfer of the Shadowfang Alpha title.
29:36Are you ready?
29:37I'm ready.
29:38He nodded.
29:40Sliding the papers towards me.
29:41Sign this.
29:42And you are the next Alpha of the Shadowfang pack.
29:45The apex predator of the seven ancient bloodlines of North America.
29:49Are you absolutely certain?
29:51Once you walk this path, there is no turning back.
29:54I picked up the pen and signed my name without a fraction of hesitation.
29:57The second the ink dried, a terrifying surge of raw power exploded from the floorboards,
30:01rocketing up my spine and flooding every cell in my body.
30:04The Shadowfang bloodline was acknowledging me.
30:06The earth of our ancestral lands was answering me.
30:08Outside the window, massive, thousand-year-old pine trees violently trembled in unison,
30:13emitting a low, groaning hum, as if bowing to their new Alpha.
30:16My father looked at me, his eyes slightly red.
30:19But he smiled.
30:20You look just like your mother.
30:21From that day on, I officially took over the Shadowfang empire.
30:25To the outside world, I was the new Alpha, operating under the alias Silver.
30:29No one knew Silver was Selina.
30:30No one knew the discarded, murdered Luna of the Blackwood pack
30:34was actually the reigning queen of North America's deadliest werewolf syndicate.
30:38I stopped paying attention to the Blackies collapse.
30:41I didn't need to anymore.
30:43Dominic had liquidated the last scraps of their territory and formally disbanded the pack.
30:48A dynasty that had ruled for five generations completely ceased to exist in three months.
30:56He lived alone in the crumbling Blackwood now.
31:00The council allowed him to keep the house as a final sliver of mercy for a former Alpha.
31:06He only did two things every day.
31:10Drink, and sit in front of my gravestone.
31:13Sometimes he talked, sometimes he just stared.
31:18Garrett's intelligence reports noted that he had lost nearly 30 pounds.
31:23His hair was mostly white, and his mental state was completely shattered.
31:27The backlash of the severed mate bond was slowly rotting him from the inside out.
31:32Insomnia, auditory hallucinations, the inability to shift into his wolf form,
31:37uncontrollable violent outbursts that took symptoms of an Alpha whose mate had been ripped from his soul.
31:43A mild case could survive for a few years.
31:46A severe case wouldn't last a year.
31:49Dominic was the most severe case possible, because our bond didn't break through natural death.
31:54It was violently amputated via dark magic.
31:57The wound was infinitely deeper.
31:59The rot was infinitely faster.
32:01Princess, should we intervene?
32:03At this rate of decay, he has six months, max.
32:08No intervention.
32:11This is his debt to pay.
32:13Month six, a freezing late autumn night.
32:17I had just finished signing off on the day's operations and stood by the study window, staring out at the
32:23mountain ridges.
32:27Princess, he went to your grave again.
32:29He goes every day.
32:32Tonight is different.
32:35He brought a silver dagger.
32:37A silver dagger?
32:39To AWOLF, that wasn't a weapon.
32:41It was an execution tool.
32:44If silver pierced the heart, the healing factor was instantly neutralized.
32:48Death was absolute.
32:49It was the only foolproof method of suicide for our kind.
32:54What is he doing?
32:56Sitting in front of the headstone.
32:57Holding the blade.
32:58He hasn't moved yet.
33:00It looks like he's hesitating.
33:03Or waiting for something.
33:05I looked up at the sky.
33:07Tonight was a full moon.
33:08Exactly nine months ago, under a full moon,
33:11I lay on the birthing altar while he casually ordered them to pump wolfsbane into my veins.
33:16Nine months.
33:17The exact time it took to carry a child to term.
33:21Get the car ready.
33:26Princess?
33:27I'm going to see him.
33:28One last time.
33:31And then, this is completely finished.
33:33The cemetery at midnight.
33:35The Blackwood family graveyard was situated on a sloping hill at the edge of the old territory.
33:40Surrounded by pines, the moonlight bled through the branches, scattering silver shards across the grass.
33:46I stood deep in the shadows, watching Dominic.
33:51He was sitting in front of my gravestone.
33:53He was so emaciated, he barely looked human.
33:56His cheekbones jutted sharply against his gaunt face.
33:59His eye sockets were sunken hollows.
34:01He wasn't even 40, but he looked like an old man.
34:05He gripped the silver dagger, the blade glinting with a lethal icy white glare.
34:09The doctor says my wolf is dying.
34:14The bond rot has hit the terminal stage.
34:20I can't shift anymore.
34:23My healing is gone.
34:26I'm no better than a human now.
34:28No.
34:30I'm worse than a human.
34:33Humans don't have nightmares every single night, of their mates screaming their name in a pool of blood.
34:38He raised the dagger, staring at his own pathetic reflection in the polished silver.
34:44I thought about a lot of ways to die.
34:46But a wolf should die by silver.
34:48The most dignified thing I'll ever do is die like a werewolf.
34:52He pressed the tip against his chest, right over his heart.
34:56Savine, I'm coming.
34:59Let me be a dog in my next life.
35:01You can kick me.
35:02You can curse me.
35:03Just please, don't let me.
35:06He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands shaking as he prepared to thrust the blade.
35:10I kicked a pebble.
35:11The sharp clack echoed loudly in the dead silent graveyard.
35:14Dominic's eyes snapped open.
35:16The tip of the blade had just pierced his skin.
35:18A thin line of blood trickling down his shirt.
35:21Who's there?
35:22He scrambled up, turning toward the sound.
35:24The moonlight shifted, illuminating my face.
35:27He saw me.
35:28The silver dagger slipped from his trembling fingers, burying itself into the dirt.
35:33You.
35:34His lips quivered uncontrollably.
35:37He looked like a man whose sanity had just snapped.
35:40It's me.
35:42I'm not dead.
35:44Surprised?
35:45But he stood absolutely paralyzed.
35:47Bolted to the earth, though his eyes flooded with tears.
35:50He lunged forward, trying to pull me into his arms.
35:52Garrett instantly stepped in front of me, planting a massive hand on Dominic's chest and giving him a slight shove.
35:59Dominic staggered backward like a dead leaf, nearly tripping over his own feet.
36:03Six months ago, he was an alpha now.
36:05He couldn't even withstand a casual push from a beater.
36:10Saliva.
36:11You're alive.
36:12I knew it.
36:13The bond broke, but I could still feel it.
36:15He tried to sidestep Garrett, but three more Shadowfang guards instantly materialized from the tree line, boxing him in.
36:22Only then did he realize who I had brought.
36:24Four warriors in pitch black tactical armor, all with silver irises, all wearing the Shadowfang crest on their chests.
36:30His expression shifted, from hysterical joy to confusion to a slow, creeping, terrifying realization.
36:35Who are they?
36:37My men.
36:39Dominic stared at me.
36:40He looked at me from head to toe, and my own eyes were faintly glowing silver in the dark, the
36:43absolute mark of an awakened ancient bloodline alpha.
36:45I looked nothing like the submissive fragile Omega wife you remember.
36:48Who the hell are you?
36:49He choked out, his whole body shaking.
36:50Let me reintroduce myself.
36:52I stared down at him, my tone as polite and detached as if I was speaking to a stranger.
36:56Selene Ashfield.
36:57Direct bloodline heir to the Shadowfang pack.
37:00Current reigning alpha queen.
37:01The apex predator of the seven ancient bloodlines.
37:04Dominic whispered, his mind breaking.
37:06As if responding to my presence, the moonlight suddenly intensified, blazing down on us.
37:10Behind me, my four elite guards simultaneously dropped to one knee, lowering their heads in absolute submission.
37:15Dominic stumbled backward, one step, two steps, until his spine slammed against my gravestone.
37:20Impossible.
37:21You said you were a rogue, an orphan, no pack, no family.
37:24I lied.
37:24My father forbade me from marrying you.
37:26He said a Blackwood wasn't worthy of wiping dirt off the Shadow Fox boots.
37:29I didn't listen.
37:30I threw a tantrum and forced his hand.
37:32Looking back, every single word he said was right.
37:34No.
37:35No.
37:36No.
37:36So everything that happened to the Blackwoods over the past six months?
37:39The territory loss, the allies betraying us, the council sanctions?
37:43My father orchestrated it.
37:44I simply chose not to stop him.
37:46Why didn't you tell me who you were?
37:48His voice suddenly skyrocketed, cracking like tearing fabric.
37:52If you had told me you were the Shadow Fox heir-
37:54I would what?
37:55I cut him off smoothly.
37:56You would have treated me better?
37:58You wouldn't have pumped wolf bean into my veins?
38:01You wouldn't have locked me in a dungeon to bleed out?
38:05Think very carefully before you answer that, Dominic.
38:07From the very beginning, all you wanted was an easily manipulated, powerless mate with zero backing.
38:13Someone you could sacrifice whenever it became convenient.
38:16If you had known I was the Shadow Fane heir, you would have been too terrified to even look in
38:20my direction.
38:22You probably would have found a way to magically sever the bond before I even got pregnant.
38:26Just so you could trade me out for a more obedient Luna.
38:28He couldn't say a word.
38:31Because it was the absolute truth.
38:33He knew it.
38:35I knew it.
38:35The silence stretched on for an eternity.
38:37Long enough for the moon to drift from the treetops to the dead center of the sky.
38:41Finally, Dominic laughed.
38:43A very quiet, hollow laugh.
38:45The sound of a man completely accepting his own destruction.
38:48So from start to finish, I was just the loser.
38:51This was never about winning or losing.
38:53It's about the two lives you owe, and you can't afford to pay.
38:56He looked at me.
38:57His eyes slowly shifted from agonizing torment to a strange, vacant peace.
39:01The kind of peace a man only finds when he has absolutely nothing left to lose.
39:07Can I ask you one last question?
39:09Ask.
39:12Did you, even for a single second, actually love me?
39:17The moonlight was quiet.
39:19The pine forest was quiet.
39:20I looked at his skeletal, decaying face.
39:23I couldn't even recognize the man he used to be.
39:25I thought back to the library on campus, years ago.
39:28You read a lot, huh?
39:28He had helped me pick up my dropped books, flashing a bright, warm smile.
39:32You read a lot, huh?
39:34He had laughed.
39:35The sunlight hitting his face had felt so safe, so clean.
39:40I loved you.
39:41Tears finally spilled over Dominic's eyelids, tracking down his hollow cheeks.
39:47That's enough.
39:49I turned around and started walking away.
39:52After three steps, I stopped.
39:53I didn't look back.
39:55Garrett, confiscate his silver dagger.
39:58Yes, Alpha.
39:59I kept walking into the dark.
40:01I didn't stop again.
40:02Behind me.
40:03Dominic's voice drifted through the freezing wind, so faint it sounded like a ghost.
40:07I'm sorry, Selene.
40:08I didn't turn my head.
40:10Three months later, Dominic died alone on the floor of the Blackwood Manor.
40:13It was the mate Bond rot.
40:15Garrett had taken his dagger, but he couldn't confiscate the festering wound carved into Dominic's soul.
40:20The severed Bond was a bleeding gash that could never be closed, devouring his life force day by day.
40:26First, his wolf died completely.
40:29A werewolf without a wolf was just a hollow shell, like a tree stripped of its roots.
40:33Then, his immune system collapsed, his senses deteriorated, and his muscles atrophied.
40:39Finally, total organ failure.
40:41According to the last few rogue Amegas who had squatted in the manor, it was a full moon the night
40:46he died.
40:47The moonlight spilled through the skylight, painting the floorboard silver.
40:51He lay on the exact spot in the morning hall where my fake casket had once been placed.
40:55He was clutching something in his hand.
40:57A red hair tie.
40:58Mine when I was pregnant.
41:00My hair was always in my face, so I constantly tied it back with a dark red ribbon.
41:05The night I went into labour, it must have slipped off and fallen into the bloody straw in the dungeon.
41:10I don't know when he went back to dig it out of the filth, but he had held onto it
41:14ever since.
41:15He held it until his last breath.
41:17The Omegas said he died very quietly.
41:19No thrashing.
41:20No expressions of pain.
41:22The corners of his mouth were even slightly turned up, like he was smiling.
41:25Or like he had finally, finally been allowed to exhale.
41:28When the news reached Shadowfang.
41:30I was in the middle of signing a massive territorial integration treaty.
41:35Once the ink dried, Shadowfang would officially annex the resource networks of the three remaining ancient packs on the east
41:41coast.
41:41Cementing us as the absolute supreme power on the council.
41:44Garrett knocked and stepped into the office.
41:47He stood silently in front of my desk, hesitating.
41:51I didn't look up from the paperwork.
41:53Speak.
41:54Dominic Blackwood was confirmed dead this morning.
41:57Mate bond backlash.
41:59Organ failure.
42:00My pen paused for a fraction of a second.
42:03Understood.
42:03I closed the file and handed it to my assistant.
42:06Dispatch this treaty today.
42:07I want the signatures of the other two alphas on my desk before next week.
42:11The assistant bowed and quickly left the room.
42:14Garrett and I were the only ones left.
42:16He stood there in silence for a long time.
42:20Alpha Queen, there's one more thing.
42:21Spit it out.
42:23While clearing out his belongings, the scavengers found a letter.
42:27It was explicitly addressed to you.
42:29He pulled a weathered envelope from his jacket and placed it on the edge of my desk.
42:33The envelope was incredibly frayed and worn around the edges.
42:37Like it had been picked up, squeezed, and put back down thousands of times.
42:40Only one word was written on it.
42:43Celine.
42:44I stared at the envelope.
42:45I didn't move a muscle.
42:47Leave it there.
42:48Garrett nodded, turning to walk out.
42:50At the door, he paused.
42:52Alpha Queen.
42:54What?
42:54When he passed, he was holding your hair tie.
42:58I picked up the next dossier and flipped it open.
43:02I said, I understand.
43:04Garrett quietly closed the door.
43:06The room fell dead, silent.
43:08Outside the window, the jagged peaks of the Shadowfang Mountains rolled endlessly into the horizon.
43:13The pine forests, swayed in the wind, like a silent, violent ocean.
43:18The moonstone chandelier overhead cast a soft silver glow over my desk.
43:22Over the envelope, Celine.
43:25I stared at my name for a long, long time.
43:27Then, I casually tossed it into the roaring fireplace.
43:31I watched the paper curl, turn black, and dissolve into a wisp of white smoke.
43:37Time kept moving forward.
43:39Under my rule, Shadowfang grew terrifyingly powerful.
43:42The territorial alliances held strong.
43:45Our council seats doubled.
43:47And the influence of the ancient bloodlines suffocated.
43:50Every corner of North America.
43:52My father formally retired.
43:54He spent his days planting trees in the mountains behind the estate.
43:58Training hunting eagles and occasionally shifting into his massive wolf form to take slow, lazy walks through the pines.
44:04He lived like a completely normal, peaceful old man.
44:07But sometimes, during dinner, he would abruptly go quiet.
44:10He would just stare at me for a long time.
44:13The moon is very bright tonight.
44:15I knew exactly what he was trying to say.
44:18It was a full moon.
44:20If my daughter had lived, she would be one year old.
44:23Then two.
44:24Then three.
44:25Then three.
44:25She would be walking.
44:27She would be calling me Mommy.
44:30And on nights with a full moon, she would feel her inner wolf stirring for the very first time.
44:35She would run up to me, grabbing my fingers, vibrating with excitement.
44:40Mommy!
44:42Mommy!
44:43Mommy!
44:43My wolf is moving!
44:45I never let myself think about those things.
44:48I absolutely forbade myself from going there.
44:52But the body remembers.
44:53Every single full moon, my inner wolf would let out a low, mournful whimper deep inside my chest.
45:01A mother wolf crying for the pup she failed to protect.
45:04That kind of pain isn't cured by time.
45:06It was exactly like my father said.
45:08Some wounds are forever.
45:12Outside my window, the moon hung heavy and bright.
45:16The forest was dead silent.
45:19The moonlight washed over my hands.
45:22Over my left ring finger.
45:24It was completely bare.
45:25Once, I had worn the lunar ring of the blackwood pack there.
45:30A silver band encrusted with moonstone.
45:34Dominic had personally slid it onto my finger during our mate binding ceremony.
45:39On the night of the soul-severing ritual, the ring had shattered entirely on its own.
45:45I had gathered the shards and tossed them into the sacred lake of the Shadowfang ancestral lands.
45:50They sank to the bottom, never to be recovered.
Comments