chapter 6
716 Words
Late at night, a note drifted through my window.
I picked it up cautiously and unfolded it to find a vehement message from Alpha Thorne's mother.
"Lucy, was it you who did this! Since you left the tribe, Alpha Thorne's hereditary illness has flared up prematurely, and everything he touches turns to misfortune!"
"What do you want? Money? Status? Or a public apology?"
Through the words on the page, I could distinctly sense her desperation, like a final, desperate lash-out before death.
I sneered inwardly, thinking: I shall make every werewolf of the Bloodmoon Pack pay a thousandfold for all I have lost.
As if she could read my thoughts, Alpha Thorne's mother's next line revealed utter collapse: "I'll report you to the Wolf Council! I'll denounce you!"
I laughed openly, almost wishing she would hurry up and report me to the Wolf Council, for: "I shall report the murder at the altar along with all your crimes."
I tore the letter to shreds and tossed the pieces into the brazier, then turned to gaze at the full moon outside the window.
The Bloodmoon Pack was already teetering on the brink, needing only the final straw to collapse entirely.
Their territory had been invaded once more, pack assets had dwindled by nearly eighty percent, and challenges from rival tribes poured in like snowflakes.
One hundred and thirty-six core warriors defected en masse. Alpha Thorne personally intervened to retain them, yet every single one refused.
What was once the mighty Bloodmoon Pack territory now held only a handful of Omegas preparing to leave.
Alpha Thorne's mother knelt in the Moon Goddess Temple, praying fervently for seven full days, yet no turning point came.
Selena's beauty vanished entirely. The wounds on her face spread as if alive, expanding from a single fine line to now cover half her face in rotting, necrotic flesh.
The tribal healers were helpless, declaring it an unprecedented and bizarre affliction.
She began to lose her mind indiscriminately, screaming at passers-by: "She's taking revenge on me! Lucy is taking revenge on me!"
The tale spread like fallen leaves after rain among the wolf tribes.
The once-venerated Moon Witch had become a madwoman, the object of the werewolves' scorn and ridicule.
Alpha Thorne's symptoms erupted a decade early, plunging him into frequent bouts of lycanthropy and convulsions.
The healers threw up their hands in helplessness. This was a bloodline defect; there was no cure.
He finally realised I was the source of it all.
He launched a frantic search for my whereabouts, dispatching numerous trackers who invariably came up empty-handed.
They seemed perpetually one step behind me, as if some mysterious force obstructed their path.
Until one day, a Beta risked his life to bring Alpha Thorne news: I was working at a communications station on the border.
Alpha Thorne resolved to journey there immediately, braving the downpour. Though his clothes were thoroughly drenched, he paid no heed to changing.
He pushed open the station door, his gaze searching the dim moonlight for my figure.
Leaning against the counter, I regarded him impassively, as though he were a stranger.
"Lucy!" his voice cracked, as if he'd expended every ounce of strength. "The Moon Goddess's blessing still resides within you, doesn't it!"
"This is all because of your Moon Goddess power, isn't it?"
Alpha Thorne advanced step by step, his knees suddenly buckling until he knelt upon the floor.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me," he sobbed, tears streaming down his face.
"Please save the Bloodmoon Pack. Save me."
I watched the once-mighty Alpha Thorne coldly, finding it utterly laughable.
Kneeling there like a dog, he resembled my own pitiful form upon the altar when I begged him to spare my cubs.
"Can your remorse bring back my parents and my cub?" My voice was as cold as ice.
Once I believed him to be a formidable Alpha, but now I know he is merely a demon in wolf's clothing.
"I will make amends! If only you cease your vengeance, I'll pay any price!" He seized my wrist.
I flung him off as though shaking off a venomous snake.
"This is only the beginning, Alpha Thorne." I met his gaze directly. "I shall witness the Bloodmoon Pack reduced to ashes with my own eyes."
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