Cold sweat seeped from every pore as I forced each word through gritted teeth. "Her den-crystal holds the scent-marks of seventeen different males she's been intimate with. Just last week, she shared heat-chambers with three different wolves at the same time. Call your personal healer right now and ask him how dangerous that kind of reckless mating behavior truly is!"

"You're lying! This is nothing but slander and false accusations!"

After Raven Langford spat those words, tears began streaming down her face as she burrowed into Fenris Langford's embrace, seeking shelter like a wounded creature.

She sobbed against his chest. "Fenris, she's gone too far. She's using her position as a healer in this infirmary to forge false blood-scent assays and smear my name."

"You know the truth! I've been with you this entire time. How could I possibly have been with other males? There's no way I could be tainted with any blood-sickness!"

"Fenris, are you really going to let her torment me like this? You have to make her pay for what she's done..."

With each word of her accusation, Fenris's expression grew darker and more thunderous. His Alpha command rang through the corridor. "Drag her to the underground cold-stone holding cellar! Without my direct order, no one releases her!"

The enforcers seized my arms and hauled me toward the service passage.

I struggled against their grip, but they only tightened their hold until my bones ached. The pain was so intense that even the stone steps seemed to pitch and sway before my eyes.

"Fenris Langford! If you refuse to believe me, you'll regret it sooner than you think!"

Behind me, Raven's weeping only grew louder and more pitiful.

"Fenris, make her disappear! I can't bear to look at her anymore. If she finds out we're about to complete our mating ceremony, she'll surely try to destroy everything!"

Fenris's voice softened as he soothed her. "Hush now, little one. Trust me. I won't allow anything to disturb our bonding rite."

"When the time comes, you'll be the most beautiful mate any wolf has ever seen."

"..."

The heavy cellar door groaned shut behind me. Inside the holding chamber, the temperature plunged well below freezing. The bitter cold pierced through my flesh like countless ice needles, burrowing deep into my bones and marrow.

I curled up against the frost-covered storage units, pounding weakly against the door. "Fenris Langford, let me out!"

"This is unlawful imprisonment! You're breaking pack law and human authority codes! Release me now!"

The thin healer's garments I wore offered no protection against the bone-deep chill. My thoughts began to scatter and fade as the cold claimed more and more of my awareness.

I lost track of time in that frozen darkness. Then Fenris's voice cut through the haze. "Have you learned your lesson yet? Will you dare try this again?"

"Selene, don't think that bearing me a pup gives you any right to touch what belongs to me."

"Today, I'm teaching you exactly what happens to anyone who threatens what's mine."

Fenris stood just outside the cellar door, cradling Raven in his arms like a precious treasure.

She was wrapped in his heavy coat, her face still deathly pale, but beneath her lashes, a calculating gleam flickered in her eyes.

Raven pressed closer into his embrace. "Fenris, it's so cold here. Won't she freeze to death?"

I had seen her blood-scent assay results. I knew exactly how severe her condition truly was.

Rather than worrying about me, she ought to worry about herself—and how much time she had left among the living.

"But she's been so cruel to me, making me suffer so much. A little freezing is exactly what she deserves."

Raven lifted her gaze to meet Fenris's eyes, her voice trembling with practiced fear. "I'm so afraid she'll come after me once she's released. Back in the healing chamber, the way she looked at me... it was terrifying, like she wanted to tear me apart with her bare fangs."

Fenris held her tighter, sparing me a single cold glance. His voice was hard as winter stone. "As long as I'm here, she can't touch you."

At those words, Raven's eyes reddened with fresh tears. "But what if she holds a grudge? What if she spreads rumors through the howl-network, claiming my heat-conduct is shameful?"

"Everything she said just now was fabricated. She's jealous of me, that's all. She made it all up to destroy my reputation..."

"If this damages you or the Langford Pack's standing, that would be terrible."

"Fenris, please don't believe her poison words. You're the only one in my heart. She just wants to drive us apart so she can slither back to your side."

My teeth chattered from the cold, my whole body felt like it was being pierced by ice needles, and my mind was almost blank. The chill seeped into my bones, and my wolfish instincts struggled wildly within me, powerless against the extreme cold.

"Raven…do you dare show Ferris your communication stone…do you dare let him check your records at the border inn last week…?"

"Shut up!" Raven Langford's voice suddenly rose, sharp enough to pierce my eardrums.

"Brother Azhou, look! She's still talking nonsense! I didn't! She framed me!"

She deliberately leaned into Ferris Langford's arms, pretending to accidentally pull on the bruise on her wrist, immediately letting out a cry of pain, "Ah…it hurts…Brother Azhou, I don't want to hear her voice anymore!"

The coldness in Ferris's eyes deepened, like the coldest moonlight in a winter night. He ordered the enforcers guarding the door, "Turn the temperature down to the lowest setting, let's see if she dares to talk nonsense again."

The enforcers immediately complied.

The chill intensified abruptly, frost forming on the walls of the metal prison. My wolfish senses gradually numbed in the extreme cold, a metallic sweetness rising in my throat, my fingernails scraping harshly against the icy walls.

My vision began to darken.

I heard Ferris's final warning, "Selene, when you learn your lesson, I'll let you out."

"Otherwise, you'll never get out."

My consciousness began to fade, my body frozen stiff. A weak, mournful howl emanated from within me, but it was powerless to respond. With my last ounce of consciousness, I uttered, "Ferris... let me out..."

But he turned and walked away, carrying Raven.

Just before they were about to leave, the door to the passage was violently flung open.

Chief Healer Elena Everwell stormed in, carrying a stack of blood test results, her voice filled with anxiety: "Raven Langford's blood disease test result is positive! All instruments in the operating room must be incinerated and purified immediately!"

She slammed the test results onto the stone table beside her, shouting sharply, "You all just came into contact with her blood! Perform the containment purification ritual immediately, or it will be too late!"

Ferris's hand froze in mid-air, his face drained of all color. "What did you say?! How is this possible?!"