My Awakening Mate Is the Lycan King

Elara’s POV

Today’s my eighteenth birthday.

The smooth marble floor of the hall reflected my white gown.

Inside me, my wolf paced restlessly, claws scratching at my chest.

This is my Awakening Ceremony.

The most important day of my life as the Ashford family’s adopted daughter. Today, my wolf will awaken, and my Alpha, Kaelen, will officially claim me as his Luna.

The hall was dead silent. My foster parents sat in the front row, their faces cold and unreadable.

I’d waited forever for this day.

Kaelen, Alpha of the Darkmoon family, ruler of the Darkmoon Pack. He’d been up north for a whole year, clearing out Rogues.

Finally, the doors to the hall swung open, letting in the cold wind and the city’s neon lights.

It was him!

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

Kaelen looked taller than a year ago. His Alpha presence made every wolf in the hall bow their heads in submission.

My wolf howled inside me, “Mate! Our mate is back!”

I wanted to run down from the stage and throw myself into his arms.

But my feet felt nailed to the floor. My wolf whimpered in confusion.

Danger.

Kaelen wasn’t alone.

Behind him walked a tall, beautiful woman with noble blood.

Seraphina.

The same woman who, four years ago, rejected Kaelen in front of everyone when he was at his lowest, called him a “cripple,” and then vanished.

Now, she was back. And she was holding Kaelen’s arm like they were mates.

My breath caught.

My eyes locked onto Seraphina.

No.

No way!

She was wearing a Moon Goddess ritual robe.

That robe... I knew it. I spent six whole months sewing it by hand. I used the rarest moonlight silk thread and even wove in my own hair as a token for my mate ceremony.

My gaze drifted upward.

On Seraphina’s pale neck, my wolf let out a heart-wrenching scream.

That was my Moon Goddess stone pendant!

The only keepsake my parents left me. Kaelen had sworn he’d help me get it back.

Now, he’d found it.

But he was wearing it on another woman’s neck.

My world shattered in that moment.

Kaelen didn’t even glance my way. I stood on the altar like a fool.

Holding Seraphina’s hand, Kaelen walked forward from the entrance.

His eyes swept across the elders, his voice cold as ice.

“Members of the Darkmoon family.”

“Today, we gather to celebrate a new beginning and a union.”

“Seraphina has returned. Her noble blood will revive our family.”

He paused, then looked at me.

There was no joy in his eyes for our long-awaited reunion—only impatience.

“Elara’s awakening ceremony…”

He said it.

“…is canceled.”

The hall went completely silent. I could even hear my foster mother’s sharp intake of breath.

Kaelen raised the hand he was holding with Seraphina’s and announced,

“Tonight will be my mate ceremony.”

“With my one and only true Luna—Seraphina.”

Boom—

My mind went completely blank.

Right then, my phone buzzed.

It was my foster mother, the matriarch of the Ashford family. She sent me a voice message.

“You worthless piece of trash. You failed. Kaelen just dumped you in front of everyone. You’re no use to the family anymore.”

My whole body trembled as I kept listening.

“But you still have one last purpose. My daughter was supposed to marry that sleeping Lycan King. Since you’re so useless, you’ll take her place.”

Lycan King!

I froze. The legendary wolf king.

“He’s not dead,” her voice continued, “he’s just in a coma. Basically a vegetable.”

“You have to marry him for my daughter. Elara, this isn’t a request,” her voice turned cruel, “this is a debt you owe our family!”

When the message ended,

I stood there, frozen, unable to move.

No! I can’t accept this!

I stumbled down from the stage and rushed straight to Kaelen.

“Kaelen!”

My voice was hoarse, barely sounding like me.

Finally, he frowned, looking at me like I was a huge pain in the ass.

“Elara, don’t make a scene here.”

“Make a scene?” I laughed bitterly, tears spilling down my face. “Me?”

“You canceled my awakening ceremony! You made her wear my ritual robe! You put my mother’s pendant on her!”

“Four years ago!” My wolf roared inside me. “It was her, Seraphina! She was the one who rejected you! She called you a cripple, a useless wolf trapped in eternal sleep!”

Kaelen’s face darkened.

“Shut up.”

“Have you forgotten?” I screamed, reckless, pointing at the silver scar on my wrist that would never fade.

“You were poisoned by wolfsbane! Trapped in a silver powder trap, left there to die!”

“It was me! I pulled you out of that silver powder! That shit burned my wolf spirit forever! I almost died saving you, Kaelen!”

I thought maybe he’d feel some guilt.

But he didn’t.

Kaelen didn’t even glance at my scar. He just gently patted Seraphina, who was trembling beside him.

“Elara, Seraphina’s hurt too.”

I stood there, stunned.

“She turned me down back then,” Kaelen said, his voice heavy with regret. “It was because she was cursed by a witch. That curse is eating away at her wolf spirit. The healer said she only has six months left to live.”

I stared at him, refusing to believe a word.

Kaelen lowered his head, looking at me with the same eyes I once loved.

“She’s dying, Elara.”

“And you,” he went on, “you’re here yelling over some damn ritual robe and a pendant.”

“Why the hell are you fighting with a wolf who’s about to die?”

Kaelen leaned in close, his voice dropping to a growl only we could hear.

“When did you get so selfish?”

“So cold?”

Selfish? Cold?

I burned my soul for him, gave him everything I had. Me? Selfish? Cold-blooded?

“Kae… Kaelen…”

Right then, Seraphina’s weak voice cut through the tension.

She started coughing violently at just the right moment, her pale hand covering her mouth.

“I… I’m fine…”

Before she could finish, a streak of blood slipped through her fingers.

But it wasn’t bright red.

It was silver, like blood mixed with glitter.

What a perfect little act.

Kaelen’s sanity snapped right then.

“Sera!”

His cold eyes were replaced by panic.

He didn’t even glance at me.

He scooped Seraphina up in his arms.

His shoulder slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.

“Healer!” Kaelen roared across the hall. “Now! Get to the healing hut!”

He stormed out of the hall, cradling her in his arms.

Out of my life—my whole eighteen years.

I was left alone.

My knees scraped and bleeding.

I looked pathetic and ridiculous.

Every wolf in the family stared at me with disgust.

Like I was some kind of monster.

On my birthday, on the day of my awakening ceremony, I was abandoned by my mate right in front of everyone.

My wolf let out one last mournful howl, then fell silent.

In the dead quiet, my foster mother’s cold voice echoed in my mind.

“Pack your things.”

“The wedding car to the Lycan King will leave at dawn.”

Kaelen’s POV

In the Darkmoon Pack’s private medical wing.

The air was thick with the sharp sting of disinfectant, mixed with the expensive scent of Moonshade herbs.

I stood outside the one-way glass, staring at Seraphina inside the sterile room.

She lay pale on the hospital bed, an IV drip hooked to her wrist. The most experienced healer in our pack frowned as he examined the state of her wolf soul.

“Alpha.” The healer stepped out and pulled off his mask, his face grim. “It’s exactly as you said. Miss Seraphina’s wolf soul is fading.”

“That witch’s curse…”

“Yes.” He nodded. “The curse is the root cause. And the silver powder she coughed up mixed with blood… Alpha, she’s very weak. Her wolf soul might not last more than six months.”

My heart sank.

This confirmed what I already feared.

Seraphina was dying.

And Elara…

My wolf growled restlessly.

Elara’s screams in the hall yesterday still echoed in my ears.

“That silver powder burned my wolf spirit forever!”

Of course, I remembered.

That silver scar—I’d touched it with my own hands.

But she made it through, didn’t she?

Elara was tough. Like a wild weed growing stubbornly through cracks in the rock—silver powder, wolfsbane, Rogues, nothing could take her down.

Seraphina, on the other hand, was the last bloodline of the noble Silvermoon family. She was like delicate porcelain—fragile and in need of protection.

Elara’s pain was temporary; her awakening ceremony could be postponed.

Seraphina’s pain was fatal.

As an Alpha King, I had to make choices.

I was doing the right thing.

Elara was just being too selfish.

She actually had the nerve to be jealous of a dying werewolf in public—she looked like the coldest monster of all.

I forced down the irritation boiling inside me.

Elara was just having a moment of weakness. She’d understand me.

She loved me—loved me enough to die for me.

She’d come back.

She’d come to my room, just like before, crying and begging me to forgive her “unreasonable tantrums.”

I turned and left the treatment room, taking the private elevator back to my Alpha suite.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the whole wolf city glittered like a sea of stars.

I shrugged off my suit jacket, yanked at my tie, and sank into the leather chair.

The comm crystal on the desk blinked.

I hit speaker.

“Alpha,” my Beta, Marcus, said, “the Ashford family’s wedding car left half an hour ago.”

“Who’s in the car?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“It’s… Miss Elara.”

My pupils shrank.

What the hell?

She didn’t just skip apologizing—she actually had the nerve to get into that damn wedding car?

She’s going to marry that vegetable, the Lycan King?!

How the hell does she dare?

“Alpha!” Marcus’s comm crackled urgently. “There’s been a change!”

My anger flared instantly. “Spit it out!”

“Elara… she’s not in that wedding car!” Marcus stammered, panic in his voice. “She ran off halfway! She knocked out the warriors sent by the Ashford family and jumped the border!”

“She left our territory! Alpha, she… she’s entered the neutral sanctuary of the Sunfang Pack!”

She ran?

Right after I publicly declared Seraphina as my Luna?

This wasn’t just “throwing a tantrum” anymore.

This was outright rejection!

This was betrayal!

This was an open challenge to me, to the Alpha of the Darkmoon Pack!

My wolf howled like crazy. My Alpha pressure exploded, and the expensive mahogany desk in front of me cracked with a loud snap—splitting right down the middle!

“How dare she!”

I roared at the empty room.

A lowborn, worthless adopted daughter!

A loser whose wolf only stays calm because I soothe it!

She actually dared to refuse me!

Who the hell does she think she is?

“Alpha,” Marcus’s voice trembled, clearly shaken by my rage, “the neutral sanctuary of the Sunfang Pack—they always take in wolves without a Pack. Our warriors can’t just barge in.”

I stopped pacing.

Then I laughed.

“A sanctuary?”

Does she really think the Sunfang wolves’ mercy will save her?

Does she think she can run away?

She’s a lone wolf now.

Trash even lower than a Rogue.

No protection from me, no Darkmoon resources. She doesn’t even have any credit points.

Does she think the Sunfang sanctuary is some safe haven?

Did she forget the full moon is next week?

Without an Alpha’s mark and calm, her wolf—scarred and unstable from the silver powder burns—will tear her to shreds on the full moon night!

“Alpha… should I send someone to bring her back?” Marcus asked cautiously on the other end.

“No.”

I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down below.

My gaze crossed the Pack’s border and landed on the Sunfang Pack’s territory.

I reached out and grabbed the silver trophy on my desk—a tribute from a small Pack that submitted to me last month.

I slowly tightened my fingers.

The trophy creaked and twisted in my hand, sounding like teeth grinding.

Crack—

The trophy crumpled into scrap metal.

I tossed it into the trash can.

“Forget about her.”

“Alpha?”

“Let her go,” I said coldly. “Let her stay in that sanctuary and hit a wall. Let her taste what it’s like to howl like a rogue on a full moon night.”

I pictured her looking like a complete mess.

That image gave me a twisted kind of satisfaction.

“When she can’t survive out there anymore, when those rogues and her own wolf have torn her apart inside and out…”

“She’ll crawl back crying.”

“She’ll be on her knees begging me to have mercy, begging me to mark her again.”

And me? I’ll make damn sure she never forgets what happens to anyone who betrays me.

Elara’s POV

The neutral shelter of the Sunfang Pack.

It was even more rundown than I expected.

The air was thick with the scent of other werewolves—sweat, fear, the rusty tang of Rogues, and… blood.

I woke up in a crowded dorm room where beds were crammed side by side on the floor.

A sharp pain shot through my ankle, making me gasp.

It was badly swollen.

I had to find some medicine.

I needed wolfsbane. My wound was giving off a scent, and only the sharp, bitter smell of wolfsbane could cover it. Out here in this no-man’s land, an injured wolf was easy prey for any Rogue.

And Kaelen’s trackers could be sniffing me out at any moment.

I had to find a way to survive before the Ashford family or the Lycan King’s warriors caught up with me.

I limped out of the dorm.

The sanctuary’s rules were simple: if you wanted food or medicine, you had to work for it.

My destination was the sanctuary’s only infirmary.

Inside, injured werewolves were packed in tightly together. An old healer with gray hair impatiently wrapped up the arm of a Rogue who’d broken it.

“Next,” she barked without even looking up.

I stepped forward.

She glanced up, her eyes scanning me before settling on my white dress.

She smirked. “Another little princess from the Darkmoon Pack, huh? Tossed aside by her Alpha and now begging here?”

The Rogues around her snickered with cruel amusement.

“I’m not here to beg,” I said quietly, swallowing my shame. “I want to work. I can change bandages, do anything.”

“You can do anything?” She sized up my hands, carefully manicured for the awakening ritual. “You know how to grind silver scale herb? Can you tell wolfsbane from clotting flower?”

I didn’t answer.

I just walked over to her medicine table, grabbed the mortar, picked up a handful of dried silver scale herb, and started grinding.

My technique was flawless.

Kaelen had taught me.

During those four rough years when Kaelen was down and out, I was his personal healer.

The old healer’s smile froze.

She stared at my movements, stunned.

“You…”

I didn’t stop.

I poured the powdered herb onto a piece of parchment, wrapped it up, then carefully measured the clotting flower and bracken fern.

“…You used to work in the Darkmoon Pack’s healing department?” Her voice lost its mocking edge.

“I need wolfsbane and some food,” I said, not really answering her question. “I can do odd jobs.”

The old healer stared at me for a long moment.

Then she tossed me a tube of black ointment.

“Put this on. It’ll mask your scent.”

She pointed to a corner where bloody bandages were piled up, soaked dark with blood.

“Go. Clean those.”

“In return, you can sleep in the woodshed and get one meal of black bread a day.”

“Thanks.”

I grabbed the ointment and limped over to the pile of bloody bandages.

I survived.

I could survive in this sanctuary.

Maybe, just maybe, I could make it through the full moon… and even dodge that vegetable Lycan King.

I was free.

***

I spent the whole day in the healing hut washing bandages.

The sharp stench of blood and herbs soaked into my skin.

By evening, I took my hard-earned black bread and walked into the sanctuary’s communal dining hall.

The place was buzzing with noise—Rogues shouting and cursing like wild animals.

I found the least noticeable corner and sat down.

On the wall hung a huge glowing crystal screen—the sanctuary’s only source of news.

It scrolled through headlines from all the major Packs.

I numbly gnawed on the tough black bread.

Then—

Buzz—

The screen flickered.

The Darkmoon Pack emblem filled the entire display.

It was news about Kaelen.

My heart clenched.

“Exclusive!” An excited announcer’s voice rang out. “Darkmoon Pack Alpha Kaelen was spotted today at Moon Goddess Park, rumored to be revealing the new Luna!”

My breath caught.

The image on the screen was crystal clear.

Kaelen was dressed in a pricey custom suit.

Next to him was Seraphina, beaming brightly.

She wore a sleek outfit, sitting on a park bench.

And Kaelen…

Kaelen, the high-and-mighty Alpha.

The one who didn’t even give a damn about the Elder Council.

He…

He was down on one knee.

Kneeling on the grass in Moon Goddess Park.

Right in front of Seraphina.

He was tying the laces of her Martin boots.

The screen zoomed in for a close-up.

His head bowed, face focused…

Hell, almost reverent.

Whoa! The Rogues in the dining hall whistled and hooted.

“An Alpha kneeling to tie a woman’s shoes! Now that’s a chosen Luna!”

“True love right there!”

My hands shook so badly I couldn’t hold the bread.

Plop.

It fell onto the filthy floor.

My mind exploded with a thunderous boom.

Only one other image remained.

It was from three years ago.

We were ambushed by a pack of Rogues.

A Rogue’s claws shredded my battle boots as I tried to cover Kaelen. My ankle was slashed so deep you could see the bone.

Blood pouring all over me as I crawled toward Kaelen and grabbed his pant leg.

“Kaelen, my boots, my foot—help me out.”

What was he doing at that moment?

Oh, just wiping Rogue blood off his silver dagger.

He didn’t even glance at me.

He just kicked my hand away like I was a nuisance.

“Don’t bother me with this crap.”

“Boring.”

He said it cold as ice:

“If your boots are busted and you can’t keep up with the pack…”

“…then you get left behind here to feed the Rogues.”

***

In the mess hall.

I stared at Kaelen’s face on the crystal screen—so devout, so calm.

Boring.

Don’t bother me.

My wolf.

I could feel her—the little one who cheered for her mate at the awakening ceremony…

The little one who whimpered when abandoned…

She was trembling.

Inside me, she let out one last confused whimper.

Then…

She curled up.

And went silent.

I…

Finally understood.

I covered my mouth but couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

The Rogues around me stared like I’d lost my mind.

So that’s it.

He’s no high-and-mighty flower on a mountain.

He’s no cold, unfeeling Alpha.

He’s just…

Not in love with me.

He can kneel.

He can focus.

He can be devoted.

He can even tie his mate’s shoelaces.

It’s just that the mate…

Isn’t me.

I stood up.

I didn’t pick up the bread on the floor.

I turned and limped out of the mess hall.

I have to survive.

I have to make it through the full moon on my own.

Elara’s POV

Outside the Sunfang Pack’s sanctuary, the cold wind bit through me.

The woodshed had given me a brief moment of peace, but I had to step outside the sanctuary’s protective barrier to gather wolfsbane for a stronger scent-muffling salve.

That was the biggest mistake I ever made.

The Darkmoon Pack’s enforcers had been lying in wait, hidden in the shadows. The second I stepped out of the safe zone, they pounced on me like I was prey.

The lead warrior—the same guard captain who used to treat me with nothing but respect—grabbed me like I was a dead dog. I didn’t even fight back.

“The Alpha’s orders,” he said coldly, eyes like ice, “Bring the criminal Elara back to the Moon Goddess Temple for trial.”

Criminal?

I went numb as they shoved me into the wagon, rattling all the way back to the place I once called home.

***

The Moon Goddess Temple.

This used to be the place I dreamed of the most. I’d imagined my mate ceremony here a thousand times. But now, it felt like a frozen tomb.

The heavy doors slammed shut behind me, trapping me inside.

On the high dais, Kaelen sat on the Alpha’s throne, his gaze sharp and cold. Seraphina leaned against him, pale as a ghost, her wrist wrapped in bandages.

Silas, Alpha of Bloodfang, sat below, toying with a silver cup, looking at me with pure contempt.

“Kneel.”

A warrior behind me kicked my knee hard.

With a thud, I dropped to the ground.

“Elara.”

Kaelen’s voice was void of any warmth.

“Do you admit your guilt?”

I lifted my head and stared at the man I’d loved for four years.

“What crime?” My voice was rough.

“You still dare to deny it?”

Kaelen stood up and slammed a box down in front of me. The lid popped open, and two identical Moon Goddess stone pendants rolled out.

My breath caught. Those were my mother’s keepsakes.

“You hired rogues to ambush Seraphina just to get this pendant back,” Kaelen pointed at me, his finger trembling with rage. “If Silas hadn’t happened to pass by and save her, those beasts would’ve torn her apart!”

I stared at him in disbelief. Hired rogues? An ambush?

“I didn’t…” I shook my head. “Kaelen, you know me—I wouldn’t even kill a rabbit…”

“Enough!”

Kaelen cut me off with disgust.

“Seraphina’s wolf is pure and flawless. She personally accused you. And you? You’re just a jealous lunatic blinded by envy.”

He stepped down the stairs, looking down at me.

“Apologize to her. Or forget ever getting that pendant back.”

I bit my lip hard. Apologize? Admit to a crime I never committed?

“I won’t—”

“Kaelen…”

Just then, Seraphina, weak and pale, spoke up from the platform. She gently tugged on Kaelen’s sleeve.

“Alpha, don’t push sister so hard.”

She said it with fake sympathy.

“Maybe she just lost her mind for a moment. If she’s willing to drink this Soul Moon wine, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened, okay?”

Soul Moon wine!

I snapped my head up, panic flooding my eyes as I stared at Seraphina.

She knew damn well that three years ago, when I saved Kaelen, my wolf had been badly wounded by silver powder. I couldn’t handle the high concentration of moon energy in that wine. For me, it wasn’t wine—it was poison.

“Kaelen…” I looked at him, my eyes begging for one last chance. “You know I can’t drink that… I’ll die…”

Kaelen stared back at me. He hesitated for a second, but when he saw the bandage on Seraphina’s wrist, his face went cold.

“Drink it.”

He ordered.

“Drink it and wash away your sins.”

He shoved the bottle in front of me.

I looked at him—the man who once swore to protect me, now holding poison and forcing me to drink it.

My heart shattered completely.

“Fine.”

I took the bottle, my hand trembling.

“I’ll drink.”

If you want me dead, then I’ll die right in front of you.

I pulled out the cork, and downed the strong Soul Moon wine in front of everyone.

The icy liquid slid down my throat like blazing fire, raging in my stomach and burning through my veins.

“Cough! Cough! Cough—!”

I started coughing violently, the empty bottle slipping from my hand and hitting the ground.

The pain was unbearable—like knives carving through my soul. My wolf cried out in agony, on the brink of death.

I staggered, barely able to stand, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth.

“Enough.” Kaelen’s voice was rough. “Take the pendant and get lost.”

Summoning my last bit of strength, I reached for the pendant on the floor.

But just as my fingers were about to touch it—

A foot in a fancy high heel stepped down on my hand.

Seraphina.

She had somehow come down without me noticing. Her back was to Kaelen, a vicious smile on her lips. She quickly grabbed the pendant, then—

“Ah! No!”

She suddenly screamed and fell backward!

“Ughh—!”

A mouthful of blood mixed with silver foam sprayed out of her mouth!

“Sera!”

Kaelen’s sanity snapped right then and there. He didn’t see Seraphina’s fake fall—he only saw the silver-tinged blood she spat out.

“You wicked bitch!”

Kaelen roared in fury and shoved me hard.

I was already wobbling from the poison in the Soul Moon wine, and his shove sent me flying backward.

My head slammed into a solid silver candlestick.

Pain exploded through me. Warm blood trickled down my temple, blurring my vision.

I collapsed to the floor, everything around me bleeding red.

In my last hazy moment of consciousness, I saw Kaelen scoop up Seraphina and bolt for the door like a man possessed.

“Healer! Hurry! Save Sera!”

He ran past me without a glance. He didn’t even care that I was bleeding more than Seraphina.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

The empty hall fell silent—except for one thing.

No. There was someone else.

Steady footsteps echoed, stopping right in front of me. Those expensive leather boots crushed my bloodstains.

I forced my eyes open and saw Silas looking down at me.

Elara’s POV

The blood dripping from the cut on my forehead thickened as it spread across my face.

Kaelen’s back, carrying Seraphina as he rushed out, crushed my heart like a vise.

The Moon Goddess Temple was eerily silent.

The elders and my foster parents had already slipped away quietly.

In the empty temple, it was just me and another Alpha—Silas.

He was Kaelen’s ally, the leader of the Bloodfang Pack.

He looked me up and down with pure contempt.

My body trembled from blood loss. I tried to push myself up with my elbow, but my sharp pain in my knees made me collapse again.

Silas took a step forward.

His expensive leather boots clicked against the floor—tap, tap—slowly closing the distance.

Was he going to help me?

That thought flashed through my mind, and I crushed it immediately.

He stopped by the altar and picked up the half-empty bottle of Soul Moon wine I’d left behind.

He shook the bottle, the amber liquid inside swirling strangely in the moonlight.

“Soul Moon wine…” he sneered, reading the label aloud.

He let out a harsh laugh. “Kaelen tossed this here, just like he tossed you aside. What a waste.”

Then he strode over, grabbed my chin roughly, and forced me to look up.

Silas wore a cruel smile.

He tilted the bottle.

The icy Soul Moon wine poured over the bleeding cut on my forehead!

“Ah—!”

I screamed, sharp and desperate.

This wasn’t just physical pain—it felt like my soul was on fire.

The liquid was freezing cold, but as it seeped into the wound, it instantly turned into a burning flame that scorched my very soul.

It hurt a thousand times worse than the silver powder burning my wrist.

Silver powder just burned the skin, but this Soul Moon wine—it was destroying me from the inside.

The moon’s energy stabbed into my wound like needles, drilling into my brain. My vision went white-hot, the moonlight in the temple blinding me, and the elders’ chants in my ears like ghosts.

My wolf snapped awake in agony, howling like it was dying.

“Why…?” I gasped, on the edge of passing out from the pain.

“Why?” Silas’s smile grew darker as he crouched down, his Alpha presence pressing down on me. “Because of Seraphina.”

His voice was cold and almost fanatical:

“Seraphina is the purest soul the Moon Goddess has ever gifted this world. When I was a kid, I was captured by Rogues. But Seraphina’s family saved me. She’s my savior.”

“And you?”

His eyes burned with contempt. “With your lowborn blood, even breathing the same air as her is pollution. You don’t deserve to make Seraphina shed a single tear.”

His savior?

Seraphina?

My mind was a mess, but mostly I was furious.

Kaelen’s betrayal, my foster mother’s pressure, Seraphina’s scheme, and now Silas’s torment...

Why the hell?

Why do they all get to stomp all over me like this?

That burning pain deep in my soul, the rage building in my chest—it all exploded right then.

“Get the hell out—!”

I summoned every last ounce of strength, broke free from his grip, and slapped him hard—

Smack!

The sound echoed through the temple.

My palm tingled from the impact.

Alpha Silas froze.

An Alpha, high and mighty, had just been slapped by a nobody like me.

Time seemed to stop.

I stared him down, waiting for his furious retaliation.

I knew what was coming next. He’d tear my throat out—under wolf pack law, the ultimate insult to an Alpha. I was dead meat.

Bring it on. I had nothing left to lose. I didn’t give a damn anymore.

But Silas’s reaction was strange.

His strong, steady Alpha aura suddenly went haywire. It wavered, unstable, like it was about to explode at any second.

His eyes went wide. The look he gave me wasn’t anger—it was pure, baffled disbelief. Like his wolf inside was fighting him.

He even took a half step back without realizing it.

“Crazy bitch...” Silas muttered under his breath, then turned away and walked out of the temple.

He... ran away?

I didn’t have time to process his strange reaction.

The temple was empty except for me.

I had to get out.

I couldn’t stay here. The Ashford family would be here soon to drag me away and force me to marry the sleeping Lycan King.

The burning pain from the Soul Moon wine still scorched my soul. My knees and forehead were bleeding.

Leaning against the wall, numb, I crawled step by step out of the temple.

I didn’t dare take the main road. I stuck to the shadows like a real rogue, crawling out of the Darkmoon Pack’s territory.

The cold air outside the sanctuary filled my lungs, and it helped dull the burning wounds from the Soul Moon Wine just a little.

I didn’t go to the healing hut.

The healers there wouldn’t risk crossing Silas for me. These wounds wouldn’t kill me anyway.

I slumped down in a filthy alley, staring at the few remaining credit points I had left from the shelter.

My wolf was already asleep.

The sharp pain from Silas’s Soul Moon wine had made her howl just moment ago, but now she was sinking into an even deeper sleep.

I couldn’t feel her anymore.

Kaelen’s threat echoed in my mind.

How does a werewolf without a wolf’s soul survive a full moon?

Kaelen was damn sure I’d come begging him.

I clenched my fists tight.