"Since Elara is being so cooperative, you can remove one of the silver runes. Make it loud. I want her to know that if she behaves, I'll let her live."
He probably thought he was being magnanimous. To my drifting soul, it was meaningless.
No matter how many runes he removed, it wouldn't bring me or my pup back to life.
Seraphina shifted, her hand stroking Kaelen's chest.
"Kaelen, don't let things get ugly on my account."
"You still have to complete the final bonding with her and spend the rest of your life with her," she said, tears suddenly welling in her eyes.
"Unlike me. She's the reason your brother is dead, and now I'm condemned to a life of loneliness."
"Don't worry, Seraphina. No matter who my final Luna is, I will not abandon you and the pup."
"You two are precious to me. No one can touch you, not even Elara. If she dares, her soul will be forfeit. It's the least she owes you."
Seraphina looked at him with eyes full of gratitude, and Kaelen likely saw himself as a selfless hero.
How ironic.
Kaelen would probably never know that the cursed relic that led to Damien Thorne's death was handed to me by Seraphina herself.
I was merely the messenger, yet I bore all the blame, accusations, and punishment for Damien's death.
In the end, it cost me and my pup our lives.
I clearly remembered Seraphina telling me she had personally chosen the relic for Damien, and that I had to be the one to give it to him.
Clearer than that memory were the words Seraphina said just before she walked into my workshop.
"Elara, can I see the gift you carved for Kaelen?" Seraphina had asked affectionately.
I naively led her to the sculpture into which I had poured the power of the moonlight, only to watch her let out a piercing scream and get thrown back by an invisible force.
Why did that happen? How could the sculpture attack her?
Suddenly, I heard a commotion outside. I ran out and saw Kaelen, his face ashen.
Before I could ask a single question, the sharp crack of a slap echoed as his hand struck my cheek. The taste of blood instantly filled my mouth.
"You vicious woman! How could you frame Seraphina with dark magic?"
"Don't blame her. I know she's always been worried that I'd steal you away after I got pregnant. I can understand. Don't be angry, Kaelen. I'm not worth it."
"The nature of this magical backlash is… unusual," the pack's magic advisor noted. "In theory, the sculpture has no offensive properties. Shouldn't we investigate its magical signature?"
"She's jealous of Seraphina, that's a fact! What's there to investigate? Lock her in the silver confinement cell. No food, no water. I want her to suffer a thousandfold!"
Everything that happened that day flashed before my eyes, until Liam's scream suddenly pulled me back to reality.
Liam came stumbling down the stairs, his eyes wide with wolven terror, pupils constricted to pinpricks.
"Elara... Elara is dead!"
"Her wolf... has withered!"
Hearing this, Seraphina's expression faltered, and she quickly glanced at Kaelen.
Kaelen, however, just sneered. "How much did she pay you for this little illusion?"
"I'm not lying! Alpha, if you don't believe me, go see for yourself! The silver is already corroding her body!"
"Get out!" Kaelen roared, his expression ferocious.
"I know her pathetic tricks! She's just trying to lure me there so she can grovel and beg for her freedom. In her dreams!"
Seeing Kaelen's reaction, Seraphina's tense expression relaxed. She rested her head on his shoulder and comforted him.
"It's been a while. Elara's wolf is afraid of silver, so she must be terrified. Why don't you let her go? I'm sure she's realized her mistake by now."
"Ha! Sending my Beta to feed me some illusion? She clearly hasn't learned a thing. She's just trying to get a rise out of me!"
"Of course I know her wolf fears silver. Why else would I have sealed the cell so tightly not a sliver of moonlight could penetrate it? I want her to understand that the same hands that gave her the world can just as easily rip it away."
As a spirit, I stood aside, tears I could no longer shed streaming down my face. It felt as if I couldn't breathe.
I did make a mistake.
I was a fool to believe his promises so easily. I was wrong to give him my entire heart. I was wrong to forgive him time and time again, and in the end, I lost my pup.
And this was the man I had loved for seven long years.
Kaelen was born into the powerful Thorne clan, a born Alpha.
And I was just an ordinary werewolf with an affinity for moonlight, making a living in the pack with my sculpting skills.
He was captivated by me at first sight during the Full Moon Celebration and began to pursue me relentlessly.
I knew the gap between us was too great, so I always rejected him.
The other she-wolves in the pack despised me. They made my life hell, all because Kaelen had set his sights on me.
"Why is she pretending to be so pure? I bet she's secretly ecstatic!"
"She's stringing our Alpha along. She's such a scheming woman. We could never learn her tricks!"
As I walked past them with my sculpting tools, they tripped me and splashed me with mud.
It was then that I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I turned and met Kaelen's loving gaze.
His Alpha command silenced the women instantly, and gasps rippled through the surrounding werewolves.
He wrapped an arm around me and declared to everyone who scorned me, "Elara is my mate. If anyone dares to so much as lay a hand on her, they will pay a thousandfold! Anyone who doubts me is welcome to try!"
Then, he pulled my trembling body into his arms and comforted me gently.
"Don't worry, I'm here. Don't be afraid."
From then on, he would always wait for me outside my workshop.
When his mother objected to our union, he stood firmly by my side, and we defied her together.
In that moment, it felt like he would protect me even if the sky fell.
Kaelen was my whole world.
But he was also right. He could give me the world, and he could take it away and give it to another woman.
After Seraphina was "hit by the magical backlash," he shoved me aside and rushed straight to her, his entire focus narrowing on her.
"She's carrying my pup! If you dare to bully her, I will make you pay a thousand times over!"
Then he comforted Seraphina, saying, "Don't worry, I'm here."
The tenderness that once belonged to me now pierced me like a silver-dipped blade. My body, my very soul, was a canvas of scars he'd carved into me.
Despite being injured by the Alpha's dominance, Liam gathered his courage to speak again.
"A pack member is dead, Alpha. You can't just ignore it! Besides, the other guards smelled it too. Why would I make up a lie that's so easy to disprove?"
Kaelen was getting more agitated. He tugged at his collar and gulped down some water.
"Wait for me. I'm going to see what game that woman is playing now."
Seraphina held Kaelen's hand tightly and said with longing, "The pup just kicked. You have to come back to us, okay? We'll be waiting."
Kaelen kissed Seraphina on the forehead and made a sincere promise.
Watching their passionate display, I couldn't help but laugh at myself.
Was my soul being trapped here a blessing or a curse?
Kaelen strode to the bedroom. The foul odor, a mix of silver and decay, grew stronger. He instinctively covered his nose, feeling a wave of dry heaves.
Several guards who went in screamed and ran out. Some even collapsed.
Kaelen pushed open the door, and the stench hit him full in the face, making him even more certain this was another one of her tricks.
"You vicious woman! How dare you pull such a stunt on me!" he roared, kicking open the confinement cell door.
"You got what you wanted. I'm here! So speak. You'd better be ready to apologize, or I swear you'll never get out!"
"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?"
There was no sound from inside, and Kaelen's patience wore thin. He glanced into the cell, ready to scold me again, but the sight that met him made his pupils constrict.
An arm, swollen and blackened from silver poisoning, skin peeling, hung from inside. Maggots writhed on the rotting flesh in a horrifying display.
Kaelen stumbled back in disbelief.
He shook his head and muttered in a trembling voice, "No... no, this can't be..."
