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Short filmTranscript
00:00Someone shoved my head hard into the pool.
00:02Leah, still refusing to hand it over?
00:04Ivy said the moonstone necklace doesn't belong to you.
00:06The hand pinning me down pressed even harder.
00:08Someone bent close to the water.
00:10Stop pretending to be dead.
00:12Trash like you can't even shift into a wolf.
00:14What makes you think you deserve to be Blackthorn's heir?
00:17My forehead slammed against the pool wall,
00:19pain bursting through my skull.
00:20But I smiled, because they had grabbed the wrong person.
00:23The next second, I seized the hand holding me down.
00:26The girl on the edge had not even reacted
00:28before I yanked half her body into the water.
00:30She screamed.
00:31Using the force, I flipped over
00:33and drove my knee hard against the pool wall.
00:35Surged out of the water,
00:37clamped a hand around the back of her neck,
00:38and shoved her face down into the pool.
00:42Water exploded everywhere.
00:45The laughter from moments ago cut off instantly.
00:51Tessa!
00:53Let her go!
00:54Someone rushed toward me, I lifted my head.
00:56Wet hair clung to my face,
00:57and my voice was hoarse,
00:58like I had just crawled out of hell.
01:00One step closer,
01:01and I'll make her drink this pool dry.
01:02Everyone froze.
01:03I lowered my head and hauled Tessa out of the water.
01:05She choked until her face turned purple.
01:07Tears and pool water smeared all over her face.
01:09None of her arrogance remained.
01:11I asked,
01:11Who told you to touch her?
01:15I...
01:15I was only listening to Ivy.
01:18I pushed her back underwater.
01:20Three seconds.
01:21Five seconds.
01:22She struggled harder and harder,
01:23her nails tearing open the back of my hand.
01:27I pulled her up.
01:29Say it again!
01:30Tessa cried out.
01:31It was Ivy.
01:33Ivy told me to force Leah to hand over the Moonstone necklace.
01:36She said that once she had the necklace,
01:39she would be the true alpha heir of the Blackthorn Pack.
01:42The poolside fell into dead silence.
01:44I slowly straightened.
01:45The silver suppression collar around my neck
01:48was still burning my skin,
01:49and this body was so weak I could barely stand.
01:51But that did not matter.
01:53I did not need to be at full strength
01:55to deal with things like them.
01:56A boy held up his phone and stammered.
01:59Leah, have you lost your mind?
02:01This is the academy pool.
02:03You'll be punished.
02:04You'll be punished for attacking someone.
02:07I looked at him.
02:08He immediately shut up.
02:10I dragged Tessa onto the deck
02:12and threw her onto the tiles.
02:13When she tried to crawl away,
02:14I stepped on her wrist.
02:15When you were holding me down,
02:16why didn't you mention punishment?
02:18No one answered.
02:19I bent down and tore the silver chain
02:20from Tessa's wrist.
02:21The silver burned into my palm,
02:23the pain drilling deep,
02:24but I looped the chain around her throat
02:26and tightened it gently.
02:33Tessa shook all over.
02:34Leah, please.
02:37Don't call me by the wrong name.
02:38She froze.
02:39I leaned close to her ear,
02:41my voice very soft.
02:42Leah would never do this to you.
02:43Tessa's pupils slowly widen.
02:45I smiled, but I will.
02:47Somewhere behind the crowd,
02:48someone suddenly sucked in a cold breath.
02:50She's not Leah.
02:51Then who is she?
02:52I looked up and saw Claire,
02:53the student affairs director,
02:54standing at the pool entrance.
02:56Five years ago,
02:57she was the one who handed my mother
02:58the silver moon potion.
02:59When she saw my eyes,
03:00her face turned deathly pale.
03:02Vera?
03:02The moment that name left her mouth,
03:04everyone around us froze.
03:05I released Tessa and walked toward Claire.
03:08Water dripped from the hem of the school uniform skirt
03:10winding across the floor behind me.
03:12Claire retreated step by step.
03:14Impossible.
03:15You were sealed.
03:16Yes.
03:17I lifted a hand and touched the silver collar at my neck.
03:20I would also like to know why I woke up
03:22when my sister was about to be drowned.
03:23Claire's lips went white.
03:24Calm down.
03:25Leah needs this body.
03:26I stopped.
03:27Where is she?
03:29Claire did not dare look at me.
03:30I asked again.
03:32Where is my sister?
03:33No one spoke.
03:35Only the sound of water remained in the pool.
03:37At last I understood.
03:38I called for Leah inside my heart.
03:40There was no response.
03:41Inside this body,
03:42it was as quiet as an empty grave.
03:44I turned and looked at everyone.
03:46My voice not loud,
03:48but clear enough for all of them to hear.
03:50Go tell Ivy.
03:52And tell those dear parents of mine too.
03:54The monster they sealed away five years ago
03:56has awoken.
03:59No one dared laugh again
04:01as I dragged Tensha past the edge of the pool.
04:04Tessa rasp.
04:05You'll be expelled for this.
04:06Silverhilled Academy doesn't allow private fights.
04:08I stopped and looked back at her.
04:10Then what were you doing just now?
04:13A club activity?
04:14Her face went white.
04:16I shoved her toward the locker room door.
04:18Keep talking.
04:18Where does Ivy live?
04:20The top floor suite in the east building.
04:22That is Leah's room.
04:24Tessa did not dare answer.
04:25My voice turned cold.
04:27I said,
04:28that is Leah's room.
04:29She burst into tears.
04:30Ivy moved in there.
04:32Luna said Leah was mentally unstable
04:33and needed somewhere quiet,
04:34so they moved her to the temporary dorm
04:36behind the old gym.
04:37No one lives there.
04:38It's very safe.
04:39Safe.
04:39Driving the blackthorn air
04:41into an abandoned dorm
04:42holding her under the pool
04:43and calling it safe.
04:44I asked again,
04:45What about Leah's people?
04:46Nora, Zoe, Marcus,
04:47the people I left behind.
04:49Tessa looked at me as if I were insane.
04:51Those people left long ago.
04:52Zoe's dead,
04:53Nora works odd jobs in the infirmary,
04:55and Marcus was kicked out of the academy.
04:57Everyone says Leah drove them away herself.
04:59Something slammed into my chest.
05:01Zoe was dead.
05:02The girl who always mistook Leah and me for each other,
05:04yet stubbornly claimed,
05:05I am simply respecting the differences
05:07between two personalities,
05:09was dead.
05:09I shoved Tia against the wall.
05:11How did she die?
05:12I don't know!
05:13Then think.
05:14Tessa's voice shook.
05:17I only heard she fell from the old stands.
05:20Ivy said Zoe had stolen something,
05:22and when she was caught,
05:23she ran too fast.
05:24With every word she said,
05:26the light in front of my grew colder.
05:30I had no time to grieve.
05:32Leah was not answering.
05:34Zoe was dead.
05:35Ivies had moved into Leah's room.
05:37Caden had betrayed her.
05:38And our parents had broken their promise.
05:41Every single thing told me.
05:43I had woken up too late.
05:46The locker room door was suddenly pushed open.
05:49A middle-aged woman rushed in
05:51with two campus security guards.
05:53She wore Silverwake Academy's administrative uniform,
05:56and her name tag read,
05:57Claire Dawson,
05:59Student Affairs Director.
06:00The first thing she shouted was,
06:02Leah, let Tess Nessa go.
06:05Go to the infirmary for an examination immediately.
06:08When she clearly saw my eyes,
06:10her voice jammed in her throat.
06:15Five years ago,
06:16she had not yet been a director.
06:18She was merely my mother's personal assistant.
06:20On the night of the sealing ritual,
06:22she was the one who handed over the Silvermoon Potion.
06:28Claire backed up half a step.
06:30Impossible.
06:33Mrs. Dawson,
06:34long time no see.
06:36You've been promoted.
06:38Vera?
06:39What Vera?
06:40Isn't she Leah?
06:41Shut up!
06:42I lifted my hand and took the walkie-talkie from Claire's waist.
06:45Why so nervous?
06:47Didn't you say I was dead?
06:48Claire forced herself to stay calm.
06:50You are unstable right now.
06:52You need a sedative.
06:53Your sister needs this body.
06:54The moment I heard the word sister,
06:56my patient snapped.
06:57I grabbed her uniform collar and slammed her against the lockers.
07:01You think you have the right to mention her?
07:03When the guards tried to step forward,
07:06I pressed the public broadcast button on the walkie-talkie.
07:11Static crackled through the entire pool area.
07:14Everyone listen.
07:16Leah Blackwood,
07:17heir of the Blackthorn Pack,
07:19was surrounded and bullied
07:21at the Silver Lake Academy pool today.
07:24The participants are already under my control.
07:26Next person who wants to stand up for Ivy
07:28had better bring a will.
07:30Claire's pupils shrank violently.
07:33You're insane.
07:35This will reach the principal's office.
07:38Perfect.
07:40I shoved the walkie-talkie back into her hand.
07:44Notifies my mother.
07:46I leaned close,
07:47my voice very soft.
07:48Tell her that the thing she buried with her own hands
07:52has awakened.
07:54Wearing a varsity jacket I had taken from a locker,
07:57I walked toward the top floor of the East Building.
07:59The back of the jacket bore the Silver Lake Wolves logo
08:01and the cuffs were still wet with pool water.
08:03As I passed through the corridor,
08:04students pressed them against the walls to make way.
08:06No one dared stop me.
08:08Fear traveled faster than a broadcast.
08:12The nameplate on the top floor of the East Building
08:15had already been changed.
08:17Ivy Stone.
08:18Alpha Hair Candidate.
08:20I looked at those words,
08:22lifted my foot,
08:23and kicked the door open.
08:24A small party was going on inside.
08:27Champagne, music, and Blood Moon Ball invitations
08:29were spread across the table.
08:31Ivy sat in the window chair
08:32wearing Leah's black leather jacket
08:34and the Silver Moon pendant I had given Leah around her neck.
08:36It was not the Moonstone necklace,
08:38but it was still mine.
08:42Sitting beside her was Caden Holt.
08:44I had not seen him for five years.
08:47The little boy who had cried on that full moon night
08:50had grown into the new air of the North Ridge Pack.
08:53His shoulders were broader,
08:55and his eyes had turned cold.
08:57His taste in people, however,
08:59was shockingly bad.
09:02Ivy stood first.
09:04The panic on her face lasted only a second
09:06before it quickly became wounded innocence.
09:10Leah, how could you barge in like this?
09:13Tessa said you hurt her badly.
09:14I thought it had to be a Mrs. Standing.
09:16I walked up to her and held out my hand.
09:18Take them off.
09:19What?
09:20The jacket, the necklace, the room key,
09:22Leah's student card.
09:23Return every single one.
09:24Caden frowned and rose.
09:26Enough, Leah.
09:27Ivy has been speaking up for you all this time.
09:30Stop treating everyone's kindness as humiliation.
09:33I looked at him.
09:35And who are you?
09:36His face darkened.
09:38You know who I am.
09:39Of course I do.
09:40You are Caden.
09:42The boy who almost bit through his own wrist
09:44on his first full moon
09:45and only survived because Leah held you all night.
09:48The room went quiet.
09:50Caden's expression changed.
09:52I went on.
09:53You are also the Caden.
09:55Who wrote three mate vows
09:58and said he was willing to give
09:59half of Northridge's territory to Leah as security.
10:03Stop, Leah.
10:04You know Caden chooses me now.
10:08I turned to her.
10:11His choosing you proves he is blind.
10:14You're wearing Leah's clothes
10:15proves your hands are dirty.
10:18Tears fell from Ivy's eyes
10:20as she turned and threw herself into Caden's arms.
10:22I truly didn't know this jacket mattered so much to her.
10:26Aunt Marina gave it to me.
10:27She said Leah didn't need these things anymore.
10:30Caden shielded her behind him.
10:32Leah apologize.
10:33I almost laughed out loud.
10:34To whom?
10:36To Ivy.
10:38And after today,
10:39I will formally dissolve our mate bond.
10:42In your current state,
10:43you are not suited for any pack alliance.
10:45I walked to the table
10:46and picked up a Blood Moon Ball invitation.
10:50Inviter, Caden Holt.
10:52Partner, Ivy Stone.
10:54I tore the invitation in half.
10:57Caden lunged forward and grabbed my wrist.
10:59I did not dodge.
11:00I let his hand clamp down on my wound.
11:03Pain stabbed up
11:04and I twisted his thumb back,
11:05pinning his entire arm to the table.
11:07Wine glasses shattered across the floor.
11:09Caden grunt.
11:10I bent over and looked at him.
11:12You are touching Leah's injured hand.
11:14Next time,
11:15I will make you sign the dissolution with the other hand.
11:18Ivy finally could not keep pretending.
11:20What exactly do you want?
11:21I want you to spit out everything you stole.
11:24Then you'd better be alive to take it.
11:25The moment those words came out,
11:27Caden snapped his eyes toward her.
11:29I slowly raised my gaze.
11:31Say that again.
11:33Ivy's face went pale.
11:34I mean, if you keep making trouble,
11:36you'll destroy yourself.
11:37I advanced on her.
11:38You just said I'd better be alive to take it.
11:40Ivy took a step back.
11:42I reached out
11:42and yanked the necklace from her throat.
11:44The silver moon pendant snapped free.
11:47How did you know Leah nearly died today?
11:50Ivy's lips trembled.
11:52Hurryed Jepstim suddenly sounded outside the door.
11:54A cool female voice rang out because the pool surveillance footage was deleted 10 minutes ago.
11:58I looked back.
12:00Nora Reed stood in the doorway,
12:01the white coat of an infirmary assistant smelling faintly of medicine.
12:04When she saw me, her eyes reddened for an instant, but she did not cry.
12:07She only said,
12:08Vera, I found Zoe's recording.
12:12Nora brought me to the temporary dorm behind the old gym.
12:15It was called a dorm, but it was really a converted storage room.
12:18Old ball nets were piled in the corner.
12:20Wind leaked through the window,
12:22and the mattress was so thin you could feel the iron frame beneath it.
12:25Leah had been living here.
12:27I stood at the doorway and could not step inside for a moment.
12:32Nora said quietly,
12:34She wouldn't let me contact the people you left behind.
12:37She said anyone who came near her would get hurt.
12:42I asked,
12:43What about Zoe?
12:44Nora was silent for a few seconds,
12:47then handed me an old phone.
12:48The screen was cracked.
12:50After it powered on, only a few recordings remained.
12:52I tapped the first one.
12:53Zoe's voice came through.
12:55Pressed very low.
12:58Leah, Ivy wasn't brought back because she saved Luna.
13:02Marina personally found her.
13:03They are copying your class schedule,
13:05your signature,
13:06your medical records.
13:08They want Ivy to replace you.
13:10In the second recording,
13:12Zoe was running.
13:13The wind was loud,
13:14and she was gasping hard.
13:17Nora, if I don't come back,
13:19tell Vera that Leah never betrayed her.
13:20She has been protecting that secret all along.
13:22She thinks Vera was sealed because she herself was too weak.
13:25The third recording lasted only a dozen seconds.
13:29Zoe said,
13:30Don't touch Leah!
13:31Then came arguing.
13:32The sound of impact and the recording ended.
13:35I stared at the phone.
13:36Nora said,
13:37The official read says it was an accidental fall.
13:39Ivy testified that Zoe had stolen her ball brooch
13:42and panicked when she was caught.
13:44Do you believe that?
13:45I believe evidence.
13:47Nora placed a USB drive in my palm.
13:50I found the access records from the old stands that night.
13:53Before Zoe went in,
13:55Marina's private car was parked outside.
13:57Both she and Ivy were there.
13:59I clenched the USB drive.
14:00The wound on my palm split open under the pressure.
14:03The pain sharp and clear.
14:05At last,
14:06I spoke.
14:07How many of the people I left behind are still here?
14:12More than you think.
14:13When Leah drove them away,
14:14she used your old code.
14:16They knew it was not a real exile.
14:17It was to keep them alive.
14:19It felt as if something had yanked hard at my chest.
14:22Leah was not weak.
14:23Without me,
14:24she had used the only method she could think of
14:25to push my people off the death list.
14:27She stayed behind alone.
14:29Had her room stolen.
14:30Her identity stolen.
14:32Her mate stolen.
14:33And was held under the water.
14:35Contact them.
14:36Witch code.
14:38Black Moon returns to the nest.
14:40Nora's breath trembled.
14:41That was the command I had used at 12 years old
14:43when I built my private guard network.
14:44Only Leah,
14:45I,
14:45and a dozen utterly loyal people knew it.
14:47She immediately took out her phone.
14:48I looked around the shabby room
14:49and saw Leah's notebook on the desk.
14:51On the first page,
14:51it said,
14:52If my sister ever comes back,
14:53please don't let her know I cried.
14:54I tore out that page,
14:56folded it carefully,
14:57and tucked it inside my jacket against my chest.
15:00The sound of high heels came from outside the door,
15:03unhurring,
15:04steady,
15:04and carrying a familiar pressure.
15:06Marina Blackwood,
15:07my mother and Luna of the Blackthorpac,
15:09stood in the doorway.
15:10Behind her was the Academy discipline team,
15:11each of them holding a silver restraint ring.
15:13She looked at me.
15:14There was no joy of a mother
15:15seeing her daughter on her face,
15:17only fear that her control had failed.
15:19Leah,
15:20you need to go to the infirmary.
15:22Wrong person.
15:23Marina's face went white.
15:24I walked toward her.
15:26Mother,
15:27you should call me Vera.
15:29When the discipline team raised the silver rings,
15:32Marina was still maintaining her composure.
15:35She said,
15:36Everyone saw it.
15:37Leah attacked a classmate today,
15:39broke into a private room,
15:40and hurt Caden.
15:41She has serious mental problems right now.
15:43I asked her,
15:45You're not going to mention what happened in the pool?
15:47Marina looked toward Claire.
15:49Claire immediately said,
15:51The pool surveillance system is damaged.
15:53There is currently no evidence.
15:54I nodded.
15:56How convenient.
15:58Marina softened her voice.
16:00Leah,
16:00give me the necklace.
16:01I will help you handle all of this.
16:04You want the moonstone necklace?
16:06It is the sacred relic of the Blackthorn Pack.
16:10It should not be held by an unstable child.
16:13I smiled.
16:14Five years ago,
16:15when you sealed me away,
16:16you also said I was a child.
16:18Her eyes trembled.
16:19You are not Vera.
16:21Vera was permanently suppressed
16:22by the Silver Moon ritual.
16:24Behind me,
16:25Nora opened her laptop.
16:27The next second,
16:28the old projector on the dorm wall lit up,
16:30and Zoe's recording was sent onto the Academy public channel.
16:33Zoe's voice spread through the old gym,
16:35the corridors,
16:36the cafeteria,
16:36and the training field.
16:37Ivy wasn't brought back because she saved Luna.
16:40Marina personally found her.
16:41The discipline team visibly wavered.
16:44The gentleness on Marina's face finally cracked.
16:48Turn it off!
16:51Nora did not move.
16:53Marina lifted her hand,
16:54and a silver ring whipped toward me.
16:56The ring locked around my left wrist,
16:58burning my skin until smoke rose.
17:00This body instinctively trembled,
17:02but I did not step back.
17:03I rushed forward along the silver chain,
17:05snatched the controller from Marina's hand,
17:06and smashed it on the floor.
17:09Every time you hurt her...
17:12I stared at her.
17:14She never fought back, did she?
17:16Marina's voice tightened.
17:18I was protecting this family.
17:20Protecting whom?
17:21Ivy?
17:22Caden?
17:23Or your pathetic Luna dignity?
17:25Ivy stepped out from behind the crowd.
17:27Her eyes read at just the right moment.
17:28Aunt Marina,
17:29I didn't know things would become like this.
17:31I only wanted to help you calm Leah down.
17:36I looked at her.
17:37Of course you didn't know.
17:39How would a knife know
17:41whom the hand holding it intends to cut?
17:44What do you mean?
17:45Ivy, shut up.
17:46But it was already too late.
17:47I raised my hand,
17:48and had Nora play the second surveillance backup.
17:51The image was blurry,
17:52but it was clear enough to show Ivy
17:53handing Tessie a silver collar by the pool.
17:55That isn't me!
17:56The image isn't clear!
17:57I walked up to her.
17:59Then do you dare wear the truth silver ring
18:02and say this has nothing to do with you?
18:05Werewolves were sensitive to silver,
18:07and a truth silver ring would only tighten
18:08when its wearer lied.
18:09Ivy glanced at the ring
18:10and did not dare reach for it.
18:12The crowd erupted.
18:13Marina suddenly sneered.
18:14Vera, do you think dragging me down
18:16will wash you clean?
18:17The second authorization to seal you
18:18is not with me.
18:20My chest sank.
18:21She looked at me,
18:22as if she had finally recovered
18:23a little chance of winning.
18:24Your father signed it.
18:26Grant Blackwood signed it himself.
18:29An encrypted file appeared
18:31on Nora's laptop screen.
18:33Silver Moon Seal Secondary Activation Request.
18:36Target, Vera Blackwood.
18:38Authorizer, Grant Blackwood.
18:40Execution Time, Blood Moon Night.
18:42In other words,
18:44tonight.
18:46I looked at that file
18:47and suddenly understood.
18:48The pool had been an accident.
18:51Ivy had forced Leah to hand over
18:53the moonstone necklace
18:54not for the necklace itself,
18:56but to activate the second ceiling.
18:58The moonstone recognized the air,
19:00and it recognized the soul.
19:02Once they had it,
19:03they could shove me back into darkness.
19:04They might even destroy Leah along with me.
19:07If you stop now,
19:08there is still time.
19:09I can let Leah continue living.
19:11Marina saw that I was silent
19:13and thought I was afraid.
19:14Erased my eyes.
19:15In what capacity are you saying that?
19:17Mother or murderer?
19:20Ivy suddenly grabbed Marina's hand.
19:22Auntie,
19:23you said you wouldn't make me
19:24take responsibility.
19:26Marina shook her off.
19:28I said that as long as you obeyed,
19:30you would get everything you wanted.
19:32I did obey!
19:34Ivy's voice sharpened.
19:35You told me to get close to Caden.
19:36You told me to move into Leah's room.
19:38You said Zoe had to disappear,
19:39or she would make this too big!
19:41The corridor exploded into chaos.
19:43Marina lost control of her expression
19:45for the first time.
19:46She raised a hand to strike Ivy,
19:48but I caught her wrist first.
19:50I said to Ivy,
19:52Continue.
19:52When Ivy saw the killing inst in Marina's eyes,
19:55she finally realized she was only a pawn.
19:57She retreated behind me
19:59as if grabbing the last rope.
20:01I have chat records!
20:02I have recordings!
20:03Marina said that as long as I forced Leah to collapse,
20:05the black thorn pad recognized me
20:07as its new daughter.
20:08You ungrateful stray wolf!
20:11Marina gritted his teeth.
20:13Ivy laughed through her tears.
20:16Stray wolf?
20:18That isn't what you called me
20:19when you brought me back from the rogue pack.
20:21You said I was the moon goddess
20:23giving you a second chance.
20:25You said Leah was too weak,
20:27Vera was too dangerous,
20:28and only I was the most obedient!
20:34I watched them tear away each other's skin.
20:37There was not the slightest satisfaction in it.
20:39Because Leah was not here.
20:42Zoe was not here.
20:43All those years,
20:45everyone had been lying,
20:46and only the wounded had stayed silent.
20:48I picked up the truth silver ring
20:50and tossed it at Ivy's feet.
20:54Put it on.
20:57Ivy stepped back.
20:59I've already told you.
21:00Put it on!
21:02I repeated.
21:04Tell the truth,
21:05and I'll let you walk into tonight's hearing alive.
21:08Refuse,
21:09and I'll hand you over right now
21:11to Tessa and everyone else you used.
21:13Ivy's face turned ashen.
21:15At last,
21:16trembling,
21:17she put on the silver ring.
21:18I asked,
21:19Who told Tessa to hold Leah under the pool?
21:30Me.
21:31The silver ring did not tighten.
21:33I asked,
21:34Who told you to do it?
21:39Ivy looked toward Marina.
21:41Marina stared hard at her.
21:46The silver ring suddenly tightened,
21:48and Ivy screamed in pain,
21:50forced to shout,
21:54Marina!
21:55I continued.
21:56How did Zoe die?
21:58Ivy's lips trembled.
22:00Marina told me to lure her to the old stands.
22:02She said she only wanted to scare her.
22:05Later I heard a noise and ran.
22:07The next day,
22:08Zoe was dead.
22:10Marina said coldly,
22:11You have no evidence proving I did it.
22:15There will be evidence,
22:17I said,
22:18looking at her.
22:19But tonight,
22:20I don't need it.
22:22She frowned.
22:24What do you mean?
22:25I picked up Nora's phone.
22:28The screen displayed.
22:30Black Moon returns to the nest.
22:32Responses,
22:3347.
22:35The old guard had returned.
22:38I said to Aunt Marina,
22:40the Blood Moon hearing is being moved up.
22:43Location,
22:43the Academy Auditorium.
22:46Audience,
22:47all students,
22:48teachers,
22:49and PAC representatives.
22:53Ivy asked shakily,
22:56What about me?
22:58I turned to her.
22:59You will sit in the front row
23:00and return everything you stole to Leah,
23:03one piece at a time.
23:08Caden stopped me at the Auditorium entrance.
23:10He had changed into a formal suit,
23:13with the Northridge PAC vag pinned to his chest.
23:16He looked as if he had come to negotiate,
23:18not to apologize.
23:19Two lawyers and a Northridge elder
23:21followed behind him.
23:23How fast.
23:24Once the news spread,
23:25everyone knew Blackthrone was about to change.
23:28Caden had come in such a hurry,
23:29not for Leah,
23:30but to sever ties.
23:32He said,
23:33Vera,
23:33we need to talk privately.
23:35I did not stop walking.
23:36He reached out to block me.
23:39You don't deserve that.
23:41I admit I handled things badly today,
23:42but I didn't know the pool incident
23:43would become like that.
23:45Ivy told me Leah was just being emotional.
23:48I looked at him.
23:49So you believed her.
23:51I thought she needed space.
23:53When she was driven to the abandoned dorm,
23:55you gave her space.
23:56When the whole school mocked her,
23:58you gave her space.
23:59When she was held under the pool,
24:01you also gave her space.
24:03Caden's face turned ugly.
24:05I didn't see it with my own eyes.
24:08I stopped.
24:09Did Leah ever beg you?
24:11He was silent.
24:12I knew it.
24:13She had.
24:15That foolish girl was afraid of troubling others
24:17even when she was hurt.
24:19If she had truly opened her mouth to Caden,
24:21it meant she had already run out of paths.
24:24Caden's voice lowered.
24:27She came to me once.
24:28She said Ivy took her student card in medicine.
24:31I thought it was just conflict between girls.
24:33I raised my hand and slapped him.
24:37The entire corridor went silent.
24:41Vera.
24:42Caden turned his face aside,
24:44anger instantly surging up.
24:46I backhanded him again.
24:47The first one was for Leah.
24:49I stared at him.
24:51The second was for the girl who held you through that full moon night
24:55and never slept.
24:59A Northridge elder stepped forward.
25:01Miss Blackwood, please mind your status.
25:04I looked at him.
25:05My status?
25:06Blackthorn heir?
25:07Family member of a Silvervaid Academy victim?
25:09And witness to Caden Holt's former mate contract?
25:12Is that enough?
25:14The lawyer handed over documents.
25:16The Holt family is willing to dissolve the contract
25:19and provide compensation.
25:20I took the papers.
25:22The compensation list was long.
25:23Money, land, cooperation rights.
25:26It was written in a dignified, calm way.
25:28I flipped to the end and saw one sentence.
25:30Both froth-eye waver of all claims.
25:32I smiled, tore the papers to pieces,
25:35and threw them at Caden's feet.
25:37You think this is a business dispute?
25:41Caden lowered his voice.
25:43What do you want?
25:44I want you to publicly admit that Leah never pestered you,
25:47never envied Ivy,
25:48and never lost control of her mind.
25:50You betrayed her.
25:51When she asked for help, you chose her abuser.
25:53Caden's face turned livid.
25:55That would destroy Northridge's reputation.
25:57You just asked me what I wanted.
25:59I stepped closer.
26:01This is what I want.
26:04He suddenly released his alpha pressure.
26:07The lower-ranked werewolves in the corridor
26:10retreated one after another.
26:11I stood where I was and did not move.
26:13Five years ago,
26:14I could make Blackburn's senior rounts bow their heads.
26:17Five years later,
26:18the pressure of one Northridge heir was in my eyes,
26:20no more than the bark of an unformed wolf cub.
26:23I raised my eyes and released my own wolf nature.
26:26Caden's face went instantly pale,
26:28and his knees bent beyond his control.
26:30He forced himself not to kneel,
26:32but his instincts pressed him down
26:33until the side of his neck was exposed.
26:35Don't lower your head to me, I said.
26:38Lower it to Leah.
26:39The auditorium doors were open.
26:41The room inside was packed with people.
26:43Every camera was pointed here.
26:45At last, Caden spoke, his voice raspy.
26:48Leah Blackwood did not pester me.
26:51I violated our mate, Val.
26:53I failed to protect her.
26:55I looked at him,
26:57and he closed his eyes.
27:00I chose Ivy.
27:02I stepped aside.
27:03Good.
27:04Go in and sit in the front row.
27:06Not one of you gets to leave early tonight.
27:11By the time Grant Blackbird arrived at the auditorium,
27:14the blood moon had already risen behind the academy clock tower.
27:18His first sentence after entering was,
27:19Marina, did you get the moonstone?
27:22The auditorium was so quiet that even breathing could be heard.
27:26I sat in the chief hearing seat.
27:28Behind me stood Nora, Marcus,
27:29and 47 members of the old Black Moon Guard.
27:32Marina sat bound by silver rings on the left.
27:34Ivy sat beside her, her face bloodless.
27:36Caden and the Northridge people sat in the first row like prisoners waiting for judgment.
27:39Grant finally saw me.
27:40In that instant, his face seemed to age ten years.
27:44Vera.
27:46I raised a hand to signal that the doors should be closed.
27:50He quickly regained his composure.
27:53Long time no see.
27:54You've made too much trouble.
27:56Leah nearly died.
27:57This is not too much, I said.
28:00He swept his gaze across the auditorium,
28:02judged the situation,
28:03and lowered his tone.
28:05This is a Blackthorn family matter.
28:07Outsiders should not be watching.
28:09Did you also think it was a family matter when you second sealing authorization?
28:12He looked at Marina, his eyes like knives.
28:15Marina glared back at-
28:16Don't pretend.
28:17Without your signature, I couldn't have done it.
28:19Grant gave a cold laugh and did not deny it.
28:22Why?
28:23I asked.
28:24He was silent.
28:25I placed the moonstone necklace on the table.
28:27The blue-white stone did not glow under the blood moon.
28:30It looked like a closed eye.
28:32You want it?
28:33I said.
28:34Then answer me.
28:36Why did you allow them to torture Leah?
28:38Grant looked at the moonstone.
28:41Because she kept you.
28:43Greed flashed in his eyes,
28:45then was covered by hatred.
28:47Low gasps sounded through the auditorium.
28:49At last, he stopped pretending to be a loving father.
28:53You disgusted me from the time you were little.
28:56At six, you saw through the council's account books.
28:59At nine, you suppressed a riot by adult wolves.
29:02At twelve, you built your own guard network.
29:07Everyone said Blackthorn had a genius heir.
29:10But that heir was not me.
29:11It was my daughter.
29:12I looked at him.
29:14So?
29:17So you made me look like a joke!
29:19He slammed the table.
29:20If you had been a son,
29:21I would have handed all of Blackthorn to you.
29:24But you had to be my daughter.
29:26And you looked at me that way
29:27as if I would never be clever enough!
29:29Never be strong enough!
29:31You truly weren't.
29:32Grant's face twisted.
29:34I went on.
29:35You didn't hate me because I was dangerous.
29:37You hated me because I proved
29:40how mediocre you were.
29:41That sentence struck him.
29:43He stared at me,
29:44his voice so low it seemed squeezed through his teeth.
29:46Yes.
29:47I hate you.
29:48I asked.
29:49And Leah?
29:50She did nothing.
29:51As long as she lived, you might come back.
29:53Grant said.
29:54Every time she looked in the mirror,
29:56every time she stared into space,
29:57every time she held that moonstone necklace,
29:59I knew you were still there.
30:01She reminded me that I had never truly won.
30:04Marina closed her eyes.
30:06Ivy did not dare move.
30:08After hearing him out,
30:09my heart instead became completely calm.
30:12It was not relief.
30:13It was the blade finally finding where it should fall.
30:15Grant suddenly laughed.
30:16But you still lost.
30:18The blood moon has already risen,
30:19and the secondary ceiling array
30:21is beneath the auditorium.
30:22As long as the moonstone is here,
30:24you will sleep again.
30:25Students screamed.
30:26Elders rose,
30:27and Nora immediately drew a gun
30:29and fired at the console panel.
30:30But she was one second to late.
30:32Silver light coiled toward me from every direction.
30:35Grant revealed a real smile.
30:40Vera, however clever you are,
30:43you are still only my daughter.
30:47I lowered my head and watched the silver pattern crawl up my wrists.
30:51It hurt.
30:53It hurt badly.
30:54But I smiled too.
31:01Father, did you forget?
31:03The first ceiling succeeded because I was willing.
31:06Grant's smile frozen.
31:07I lifted my hand,
31:08and the moonstone necklace suddenly flew from the table into my palm.
31:14He had not awakened the array.
31:16I had.
31:18I had changed the secondary ceiling array into a public judgment array.
31:22Every word Grant had just said had already been transmitted to the Wellwolf Council.
31:2613 allied packs across North America,
31:29and the private terminals of every Blackthorn member.
31:32The moonstone finally lit up.
31:34Blue-white light pierced through the blood moon.
31:38I stood and watched the color drain inch by inch from Grant's face.
31:44You are useless now.
31:47The moment the moonstone acknowledged me,
31:49every Blackthrown werewolf in the auditorium heard the summons.
31:54It was not a sound.
31:56It was blood instinct.
31:58Marcus was the first to drop to one knee.
32:00His right hand pressed over his heart.
32:03The Black Moon Guard returns to the air.
32:06Then came the second,
32:07and the third.
32:09All 47 old guards lowered their heads.
32:12Outside the auditorium,
32:14wolf howls came from the direction of the training field.
32:17One after another,
32:19they shook all of Silverwill Academy awake.
32:21Grant roared.
32:22Do not kneel!
32:24I am your alpha!
32:25No one answered him.
32:27A representative of the Werewolf Council stood and announced on the spot.
32:31Grant Blackwood is suspected of murdering an heir,
32:34illegally using a ceiling array,
32:36and forging guardianship authority.
32:39His alpha powers are hereby suspended effective immediately,
32:43and he will be placed under council custody.
32:48Marina screamed.
32:50You can't do this to us!
32:52I am Luna!
32:53I looked at her.
32:55Not anymore.
32:56Ivy suddenly rushed toward the exit.
32:58She probably thought she still had a chance to flee in the chaos.
33:02Tessa blocked the doorway.
33:03The girl who had held me down in the pool only hours ago now looked at Ivy with nothing but
33:08the
33:08hatred of someone who had been used.
33:10Ivy shouted,
33:11Tessa!
33:12Help me!
33:13Tessa did not move.
33:14You said I would join your private guard.
33:17You said that once Leah fell,
33:19I could leave the low-rank dorm.
33:22Ivy panicked.
33:23I can compensate you the way you compensated Leah.
33:29Tessa raised her hand and shoved Ivy back into the auditorium.
33:34Ivy fell to the floor.
33:36Every camera pointed at her.
33:38Caden finally stood.
33:40Vera,
33:41Northridge is willing to testify.
33:44Please give us a chance to make amends.
33:46I looked at him and suddenly found it ridiculous.
33:49They always learn to make amends only after the tide changed.
33:53The chance was never mine to give.
33:56Leah gave it to you,
33:58and you did not take it.
34:00The council members escorted Grant and Marina away.
34:03Grant struggled and looked at me.
34:05Vera!
34:05I am your father!
34:07The council members escorted at Grant and Marina away.
34:10Grant struggled and looked at me.
34:11You are not!
34:12You are only the first person who appeared in Leah's nightmares.
34:15His face turned deathly pale as he was dragged out of the auditorium.
34:19When Marina passed beside me,
34:21she suddenly whispered,
34:22Do you think Leah will thank you when she comes back?
34:25She is so kind.
34:27She will hate you for destroying this family.
34:29This family was built on her bones long before I touched it.
34:32Ivy was left where she was.
34:34She lifted her head and looked at me.
34:36All sweetness gone.
34:38Will you kill me?
34:39No.
34:40She seemed to breathe in relief.
34:42I bent down and removed the last brooch that belonged to Leah from her neck.
34:47Death would be too quick.
34:49You will live and watch everyone learn that you were never the favored daughter.
34:54Only a thief who stole someone else's life.
34:58Ivy broke down sobbing.
35:00I did not look at her again.
35:02Everyone thought I had won.
35:03Only I knew that the one person who truly should have heard all this had not answered me from beginning
35:08to end.
35:09Leah, I called her in my heart.
35:11Still, there was only silence.
35:18The temporary dorm behind the old gym was still lit.
35:21It was the last place Leah had lived.
35:23I returned there and carefully arranged her notebook, her old sweater, and the cracked phone.
35:28One by one, Nora stood in the doorway.
35:31Vera, the hearing isn't over.
35:33You are Blackthorne's interim alpha now.
35:36I said, give me one minute.
35:37Nora saw the lighter in my hand, and her expression changed.
35:42Vera, I said, I only want to burn this place down.
35:46Leah should not have to keep memories like this.
35:49When the flame fell onto the old bed sheet, it caught quickly.
35:54I stood before the firelight and did not step back.
35:57If Leah was truly gone, then the world I had won back meant nothing.
36:01The instant the flames lunged toward me, this body suddenly moved on its own.
36:05My right hand grabbed the doorframe hard and dragged me away from the fire.
36:11From deep within my heart came a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
36:17Sister.
36:18I froze.
36:19That voice was trembling, yet it was still trying to hold on to me.
36:23Don't die for me again.
36:25I stood between firelight and cold wind, afraid to move for the first time.
36:30Leah?
36:31The voice in my heart was very soft.
36:34I closed my eyes.
36:36Before a smile could rise, tears fell first.
36:38You finally agreed to speak.
36:40Leah sounded as if she had just woken from the bottom of very deep water, her voice breaking in fragments.
36:46I was always here.
36:47It was just too cold, too tiring.
36:50I heard you calling me, but I couldn't wake up.
36:52I pressed a hand to my chest.
36:56Why didn't you tell me?
36:57Why did you drive my people away?
37:00Why did you endure everything alone?
37:02Because Zoe died, she said.
37:04I was afraid the next would be Nora, Marcus, and everyone you left to protect me.
37:08My fury burned up again, but it could not burn toward her.
37:11She continued.
37:12I knew you didn't leave by choice.
37:14I found a fragment of the sealing record.
37:18I thought it was because I was too weak that they got a chance to hurt you.
37:23Idiot.
37:25She admitted it softly.
37:26But I still wanted to preserve the people you could use when you came back.
37:34I hid it under the old wolf statue on the training field.
37:38The one Ivy wanted was fake.
37:41I froze.
37:44Then could not help laughing out loud.
37:46The fire alarm rang, and Nora rushed in with people to put out the fire.
37:50Outside was chaos, but I leaned against the doorhole laughed until I could not stop.
37:55You're still laughing?
37:56Nora was so angst she cursed at me.
37:58I said, she fooled everyone.
38:01Leah?
38:02Nora froze.
38:03Nora's eyes instantly redded.
38:05I nodded, but she forced herself not to cry.
38:08Welcome back.
38:13After the fire was put out, I returned to the auditorium.
38:17Every 111 was still waiting for me.
38:19Grant and Marina had already been escorted to the council's temporary holding site.
38:24Ivy had been stripped of Blackhorn surname protection and sent to a public hearing.
38:28Caden and Northridge would have to publish apology statements on the school-wide channel for seven consecutive days,
38:34and hand over all benefit pledges Leisha had signed when she helped Northridge back then.
38:39The council representative asked me,
38:41Vera Blackwood, do you accept interim alpha authority?
38:47I was about to speak when Leah suddenly said,
38:50Sister, I want to say it.
38:52I stepped back and handed the body over to her.
38:56The next second, everyone saw my eyes soften.
39:00Leah looked across the hall full of wolves.
39:02Her voice was still weak, but she did not hide.
39:05I accept, but not as interim.
39:08The auditorium went quiet.
39:09Leah held the moonstone necklace and continued.
39:12From this day on, the Blackthorn Pack will no longer be ruled by fear.
39:17All old orders issued by Grant and Marina are abolished.
39:20Those they expelled may return home.
39:23Those they harmed will receive compensation, apologies, and a record in pack history.
39:29Leah, I truly...
39:30Caden lifted his head to look at her.
39:31Caden, don't say my name again.
39:33Leah cut him off.
39:35His face went white.
39:36Leah said,
39:37I once liked you, and I once begged you.
39:41Back then, you did not turn me around.
39:44Now, neither will I.
39:46She paused.
39:47Her voice soft but ruthless.
39:49I dissolved the mate hand not because you chose Ivy,
39:52but because you are not worthy of being chosen by me.
39:55Dead silence filled the room.
39:56I laughed in my heart.
39:58Well said.
39:59Leah whispered back.
40:00My hands are shaking.
40:02It's alright.
40:03I said.
40:04Winning while shaking still counts as winning.
40:08The council representative asked again.
40:11Then the new alpha of the Blackthorn Pack is Leah Blackwood?
40:14I took back the body, raised my eyes, and looked at him.
40:17And Vera.
40:19Murmurs rose again through the auditorium.
40:22I held the moonstone, and Leah held me in her heart.
40:25The moonstone's light slid in two, then merged back together.
40:29The council representative stared for a long time before finally lowering his head.
40:36The new alphas of recognizes the dual souls as co-ruler Pack.
40:41Vera Blackwood and Leah Blackwood.
40:43Marcus bowed his head first.
40:46Nora followed.
40:47Then came the old Black Moon Guard,
40:49the Silver Lake Students,
40:51and the Blackthorn Representatives.
40:53In the end, even the Northridge people had no choice but to lower their heads.
40:58The blood moon fell across the auditorium glass like a belated coronation.
41:08Leah asked me in her heart,
41:10Sister, did we win?
41:13I looked at the empty seat in the front row,
41:16where the person who betrayed her had once sat.
41:19No, I said.
41:21We have only begun taking back what belongs to you.
41:25She laughed softly.
41:27It was faint, yet bright enough to burn through my chest.
41:31I lifted my head and said to everyone bowing before us,
41:34From tonight on, Blackthorn has only one rule.
41:38No one dared make a sound.
41:40I said each word clearly.
41:42Anyone who dares make Leah shed a single tear again
41:45will regret ever being born under a full moon.
41:50Outside the auditorium, the wolves howled together.
41:53This time it was not judgment.
41:55It was submission.
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