I can’t die yet. I can’t close my eyes and sleep knowing that my babies will be delivered into the hands of someone else. They might kill them or turn them into slaves for another pack. A gift.

"Push..." the midwife urged, her eyes signaling something to the man behind me.

I gripped the bed and let out a low groan, my body aching.

"If you do anything to harm me or my child, you will all die. I’ve already arranged for someone to kill your family once we can’t leave this place alive," I threatened.

The midwife and the man froze at my words. I cried out in pain, but I used every ounce of my strength to push my babies into the world.

“Twins…” she muttered.

"Ahhh!" I shouted in agony with the final push.

I gasped for air as I heard the first cries of my child. The midwife held him up, handing him to me, clearly shaken by my earlier threat.

She was about to leave, but I stopped her.

"I need you to do something for me. Once you’re done, I’ll give you enough gold to feed your family," I said, despite the pain. "Someone will assist you. If you don’t cooperate, both you and your families will die."

They had no choice but to agree. I explained my plan. I had arranged to purchase two babies from the black market—one dead, one alive. I knew Karina; she was easily fooled when there was someone else by her side.

The dead baby would be presented to her after I had ordered the milk to be laced with wolfsbane—just enough for her to believe the baby had died of natural causes. The important thing was that Daniel had prepared it, so Karina would blame him for her loss.

The live one would serve as the gift to the pact, just as Daniel wanted.

I instructed one of my loyal servants, a trusted friend, to take my babies and hide them. I placed the bought child beside me. I allowed myself a moment of rest before swallowing a fake poison, one that would stop my breath for thirty minutes.

"Lady Karylle, it’s time to return to your house," Greg, my loyal servant, whispered, waking me up.

I was still weak, and part of me wanted to escape, to leave it all behind. But I had to see how this would unfold—how Devon and Daniel would fight, how my sister would come to loathe my husband for stealing her.

"Y-you killed my child?" I heard Karina ask, holding the dead baby in her arms.

My husband was stunned. He didn’t expect this.

"I didn’t," his voice shaking.

Karina grabbed the glass of milk he had given her to drink before she gave birth.

"There’s wolfsbane in this! It killed my baby! You killed my baby! Why?!" she cried, devastated by the loss.

Just then, Devon arrived, his growls echoing as he searched for his child. He stopped in his wolf form, sniffing the air before turning his attention to Karina, who was kneeling and holding the dead baby.

"My baby…" she sobbed.

I was hidden behind a window outside, watching.

"Who killed my child?!" Devon roared.

Karina, stunned and furious, pointed at my husband in grief.

"H-he killed him!" she shouted.

Devon lunged at Daniel, and my husband had no choice but to shift into his wolf form to defend himself. But he was no match for Devon. They were both strong, but Devon had experience in prolonged pain, a masochist by nature who had changed for Karina. He was used to hurting himself just to feel alive.

I watched as my sister, now out of control, left with the lifeless child in her arms. I glanced at the carriage where the three live babies waited.

Devon was on the verge of killing my husband when a few of his men and some council members arrived to stop him.

"Give me that bastard! I’ll kill him! He killed my child with Karina! He fucking covets my fiancée!" Devon seethed.

They ignored him and focused on Daniel, who was now the alpha of the pack and needed to be kept alive. They left Devon alone, and all he wanted was to find Karina.

That was when I appeared.

"He’s not dead," I told him.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. Slowly, he shifted back into his human form, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

I smiled bitterly, knowing how this all seemed.

"Your child is with me. Alive."

I approached him eagerly.

"Help me with my revenge. Let’s plan wisely. We’ll raise our children and return here when they are old enough to claim what’s rightfully theirs."

"For what?" he spat.

I smiled at him.

"He can’t have a successor for all the wealth but my daughters. No one is allowed to be alpha except your son. He can't produce another child. You know that. Let’s return here and take our revenge when the time is right."

His brow furrowed, but after a moment, he pulled me closer. His teeth gritting.

"Then fake a name. Marry me, Karylle. In that way, I’ll show Daniel that I’m taking what’s his, just as he took what’s mine."

"Marrying each other through mating has consequences. One of you will die if two decades pass and you fail to break the sacred bond with your spouses," the babaylan had warned.

Being married to Devon while still bound to Daniel was no easy feat. That’s why we did it through mating instead of making it sacred. Every week, we had to visit the babaylan to perform the ritual. We couldn’t proceed without the oil that protected my heart from breaking, since I was still linked to my true husband.

For Devon, there was no risk. The danger lay solely with me.

"My son will start his training tomorrow," Devon informed me as I prepared the tools for mating.

I nodded quietly, keeping my focus on my task.

"My daughters are learning everything they need to know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I knew I was leading them into a grim life of vengeance, but peace had long been a distant dream for us. Retribution remained the only path.

"How was your visit to them?" I asked, wiping sweat from my brow as he adjusted his sleeves.

“They’re preparing to appoint someone as alpha. They’ve made it seem as if their adopted son is their biological heir.”

I smirked. “The rogue boy? A full-blood alpha? That’s laughable.”

I stood and faced him, meeting the eyes of the man who had been my companion in suffering for years. We had grown accustomed to each other’s presence—partners in crime and sin, not love. What connected us was rage and a hunger for revenge, a bond of ruin that left no space for tenderness.

Still, it wasn’t hard to see why humans whispered behind our backs, calling us sorcerers who never aged.

Devon’s form remained as formidable as ever, his mature face chiselled with a dark aura that never faded.

To the world, he was my husband. But every time we performed the mating ritual, my blood screamed for Daniel.

Soon, I would end him. The time was close.

“It’s a long process,” Devon continued, his expression hard. “I’ve already planted the idea in the council that your brother never owned your wealth. It rightfully belongs to you.”

“But doesn’t everyone believe I’m dead?”

“Some of your father’s loyalists still remember. They know you bore a child and sent him to another pack. That inheritance could fall to him.”

I clenched my jaw. "We need to find that child before they do. If it’s about wealth, others might use the child to challenge the next alpha. We can’t afford any obstacles."

His eyes darkened as he nodded. For a moment, we stared into each other’s gazes, seeing nothing but the ghosts of the siblings who had betrayed us.

We were one year away from reclaiming what was ours. Retribution would be ours. Soon, we would walk freely in the lands that had been stolen.

“It’s time to go to the babaylan,” Devon murmured, gripping my arm.

It was midnight, and the world was asleep. The portal opened easily under the moon’s gaze as he shifted into his wolf form, carrying me as he raced through the woods. The scent of blood hung thickly in the air—fresh kills from sacrifices he had made.

We stopped before the gateway. Together, we raised our eyes to the moon, its light casting a cold, silver glow.

We spoke in unison, our voices weaving into the night.

“Luna, guide us to our world. We appease you with the blood of our sacrifices.”

The portal flared open. Devon moved swiftly into the vast land where a great chateau loomed—our ancestral home, now claimed by those who had betrayed us.

Their figures were visible even from here, standing on the balcony under the moon’s glow, performing the same ritual we were about to begin. The mating ritual.

Devon set me down before the babaylan. I kept my eyes fixed upward, watching Daniel with cold fury as he performed the ritual with my soulless sister.

That would have been my fate had Devon not found the last babaylan.

We began. His lips pressed against mine, his hands tracing my body with practiced intent. His mouth trailed down my skin, igniting each touch as our tongues entwined, our bodies merging in perfect rhythm.

Then I heard it—the howl of Daniel.

I turned my gaze in time to see him lift a dagger, its blade catching the moonlight. He drove it into my sister’s heart, the silver glinting as blood poured from her chest.

Karina would survive. The mating demanded death for the resurrection to take hold. That was its purpose.

For Daniel and Karina, mating meant death. But for Devon and me, survival came with a babaylan’s magic. We only had to match their ritual perfectly, performing in unison.

Their torment kept us alive.

“Moan my name, Karylle,” Devon commanded darkly. “Make them hear us both in their minds.”

When my voice mingled with his in the mind link, Daniel’s growl filled the night.

That was their consequence. They had to die for the bond they broke. We lived by cheating on them.

“In two months,” Devon whispered after the ritual, “you’ll return with a new name, a new face, and seduce him again.”

I smirked wickedly.

“I will. And you…” I traced his jaw with my fingertips.

“You will lure Karina to her death.”

His eyes darkened further.

“I will kill her this time."

“My name is Diana. Is this hostel available to let me stay for the night?” I asked.

I stood at the Versales Hostel where Daniel casually stayed now that Karina’s body was deteriorating each days.

If I hadn’t been declared dead, they could have cheated on me using a potion to put me into a deep sleep, ensuring I wouldn’t feel their betrayal. But the night I discovered their secret, I had unknowingly misplaced the fake medicine Daniel had given me, supposedly for my pregnancy. It had all been part of their deceit.

But look at us now, time flies when everything aligns with your plan.

“I have no other place to go. Please, accept me. I’ll bring no harm. I am a rogue,” I pleaded.

They wouldn’t suspect me. My was almost human, and there was no trace of my noble bloodline in their senses. All they could smell was the human scent I’d adopted after years of living in their world.

The man at the counter whispered to someone, who appeared to be superior. Both of them scrutinized me carefully. I was dressed in a short, worn-out dress—enough to make them think I was neither wealthy nor part of any influential clan. Certainly not one of the rogues causing problems for the council.

“Who’s with you, Miss?” the hostel keeper.

“I’m alone, Sir. I have no shelter here. I escaped from a human community because hunters were after me,” I replied, desperate. “Please help me, even just for tonight.”

“The alpha is here! Bring your newest prostitute!” someone shouted inside.

I smirked inwardly. This was exactly what I had anticipated. I had timed my arrival perfectly; tonight, I would get what I came for.

“Do you have money?”

I shook my head and smiled softly.

“I was planning to ask a gentleman here to vouch for me,” I said innocently.

They exchanged amused looks. One of them chuckled. “Would you be willing to please the alpha of Versales tonight?”

I flashed a wide smile. “But I am a rogue. Isn’t it true that only humans, fragile and quick to die, are suitable offerings for the alpha?”

Their amusement faded instantly. Suspicion crept into their expressions. “How do you know that?”

“I heard it from the hunters,” I said, leaning closer. “You abduct humans and bring them here as sacrifices. That’s why I’m here… to negotiate.”

I had never heard of this illicit hostel until after my staged death. It turned out this was where my husband’s treachery had begun. Back then, I had no idea he was bedding and murdering humans.

I never thought Daniel capable of such depravity, but now I intended to use it against him.

“I can meet with him, but I won’t do the ritual with him. How about I give him information about the hunters instead?” I offered.

That sealed the deal. The two men nodded quickly and escorted me to the alpha’s chamber.

I walked confidently into the room, where he sat shirtless, waiting for yet another offering to grovel at his feet—and die for him by the end of the night.

“My dearest alpha,” I said, low and raspy.

He turned to me, his eyes dark and expectant.

“Why are you still dressed?” he growled.

“Because I’m not here to appease you sexually,” I said coolly, raising a hand to stop his retort. “But I do have something important to tell you—about the hunters and what they’ve uncovered.”

He sat up straight, the wear and tear of countless rituals evident on his aged features. Unlike Devon, who remained youthful and powerful, Daniel’s body bore the marks of his sinful rituals. Yet, despite everything, the bond between us still tugged at my heart. Thankfully, the enchanted necklace I wore sealed that bond tightly.

“And what is it?”

I moved closer, sitting beside him. My hand brushed over his shoulder, and I saw the flicker of recognition in his eyes. He froze, as though trying to place the familiarity of my touch.

“The hunters’ headquarters and… a certain lycan who left your pack years ago,” I murmured. “Someone who resembles you. Perhaps… your brother? Or your son?”

His golden eyes flared with rage, his chest heaving with anger.

“Where?!” he demanded.

“Will you help me survive in your city if I tell you?”

I needed to stay close to him. Only then could I execute my plan.

“Will you… make me yours, my alpha?”

“A rogue like you dares to negotiate with me?”

I feigned innocence.

“But you’ll gain so much more from me,” I whispered.

“Then speak!”

I pulled a photograph from my pocket and placed it before him, covering half of it with my hand.

“This,” I said, pointing to the exposed part. “The hunters mentioned him while tracking me. They plan to capture him… or you… or both of you. Because of what Versales does to women in human lands.”

“And their headquarters?” he barked.

“I’ll help you find it. But first… take me in, my Lord.”

Finally, I uncovered the rest of the photograph, revealing its entirety.

His reaction was immediate. He froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

“And one more thing,” I teased. “They’re after her too. Do you know her?”

I watched him growl in fury.

“Karylle!” he snarled. “My traitor wife is alive!”

A cruel smile spread across my lips. He had no idea he was sitting beside that very traitor he's calling.