Six years kept him alive，Now I let him die

Chapter 4

Jasmine's POV:

Night settled slowly, and the full moon rose over the sea.

Waves crashed against the shore, dragging white foam across the sand.

The salt-heavy wind tangled in our hair as Mia and I walked side by side toward the waterfront bar. The lights strung along the coast washed her profile in gold, making her look almost radiant. The smug, victorious smirk never left her face.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her. "Let's cut the act. What do you really want?"

Mia dropped her fake sweetness and puffed out her belly with pride. "I'm carrying Lawrence's pup. Do yourself a favor and step down as Luna."

I laughed at that. Then my voice went cold.

"Mia, Lawrence is just playing with you. As long as I'm alive, I'll always be the Luna of Moonspring Pack. And you? You're nothing but a dirty secret. A shameless whore."

Mia's face twisted. She clearly hadn't expected me to snap back like this. After all, I'd always been so easy to push around in front of her.

"Jasmine, what did you just say?" Her voice shot up.

"I said you're a w***e. A plaything." I enunciated every word. "If Lawrence truly loved you and wanted me gone, he would have defended you at the ribbon-cutting. But he didn't."

Mia's chest heaved. Rage burned behind her eyes.

"You're lying!"

She was furious, but it wasn't enough. I needed her blind with rage. I needed her to strike first.

Nearby, the cruise ship Lawrence had named after me, Jasmine, was docked at the pier.

I tilted my chin toward it and sneered. "See that ship? It's named Jasmine. Not Mia. You don't even deserve a place in his life. After I found out about you two, Lawrence swore to me you were just a broodmare. Once you pop out a pup, he'll throw you out of the pack."

"Shut up!"

Mia's face contorted. A flash of murderous intent flickered across her eyes. "Then die, Jasmine. Once you're dead, the Luna's place will be mine."

Her body lurched forward, pretending to slip as she lunged at me.

I saw it clear as day. She was doing it on purpose.

Her hands shot toward my chest and shoved with all her might.

I let her. I let myself fall exactly as she wanted, straight into the sea.

But I wasn't about to let her off either. I grabbed her arm and pulled her down with me.

She couldn't swim. If I was going under, so was she.

Splash!

My moon-white gown fanned out behind me like a stream of moonlight, cutting a graceful arc through the air before I hit the water.

"Someone fell into the water! Help!"

Wolves on the shore shouted and screamed.

I opened my eyes underwater.

Mia thrashed beside me, her mouth gaping open and shut—water rushing in, bubbles surging out. Her eyes were wide with pure terror.

I had no strength left to swim either.

The seawater seeped into my body. The contract began to break under my will. The backlash had begun.

My limbs felt chained. Every muscle cramped and tore with pain. The cold was stealing my warmth, inch by inch.

But I didn't regret a thing.

I floated in the water, and through the blur, I saw a figure dive in.

It was Lawrence.

He cut through the water like an arrow, swimming straight toward me.

I could see him—close, less than five meters away. His arm reached out through the waves.

"Lawrence! Save me! Help!"

Mia's scream rang out from behind.

Lawrence stopped.

Then he turned, and swam toward the one farther away.

I smiled bitterly.

Of course. He chose her again.

So I chose to let him go. And he had to die.

The backlash hit its peak. My hair lost its color. My skin turned pale white. I looked like a corpse.

Half an hour later.

Jack stood at the shore, directing the wolves to drag my body out of the water.

Someone grabbed my hair.

Then my arms, my shoulders—I was pulled onto the beach.

The rough sand scraped against my back. The waves receded, leaving me like a beached carcass, pale-faced, blue-lipped, not breathing.

The false death from the contract was so convincing. I looked dead, but I was still aware.

"Jasmine! Jasmine, don't leave me!"

Lawrence collapsed beside me, his voice cracking, raw with agony.

His hands trembled as they brushed over my face, my hair, my cold, lifeless arm.

"Wake up… please wake up…"

He looked just like a grieving husband mourning his wife.

"Lawrence, you still have me."

Mia's voice came, soft enough to drip honey. She glided over, took his hand, and pressed it gently against her belly, like she was his wife.

Lawrence froze. His tears stopped. He looked up at her, and the grief in his eyes began to fade.

Everyone else crowded around to comfort him. No one mourned my death. No one pointed out how close he and Mia were.

Then, through the noise, the healer's voice cut through like a blade of ice.

"Lawrence. Jasmine is dead. And so is your life."

Lawrence stiffened.

"Healer, what do you mean by that?" His voice turned cold.

The healer looked down at my "body."

"Lawrence, have you forgotten how you survived six years ago, when you were on the brink of death?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word drove into the ears of everyone present.

"Six years ago, your Luna, Jasmine, traded her life for yours. She gave you her strength, and became so weak that everyone mocked her. And because of your infidelity, you let that vile woman kill her. Now she's dead. There's no one left to keep you alive. And your time is running out."

Pandemonium erupted around her.

"No… that's impossible. Jasmine never told me any of this." Lawrence stared at my body in disbelief, reaching out to touch my face.

"You're lying!" Mia's voice turned shrill. "Lawrence, wake up! She's lying! Jasmine was a weak wolf who couldn't even bear pups. How could she have the power to save you? She would never sacrifice herself for you!"

She clung to Lawrence's arm, pulling him away from me.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Doubt spread like wildfire.

"Healer, Jasmine was a failure. Her wolf-spirit was so weak she couldn't even have pups. How could she have affected the Alpha's life?"

"I've got it. Jasmine must have saved the healer's life once. So now the healer is lying to avenge her, to frame Mia and ruin the Alpha!"

They all turned on the healer.

Lawrence's face darkened. "Slandering a dead Luna's sister, and deceiving the Alpha. Healer, you're going to the wolf prison. For your past service, you'll be whipped and then exiled, but you'll live."

The healer let out a cold laugh and looked up at the moon.

"The time has come…"

Lawrence opened his mouth to order her arrest.

Then he screamed.

A terrible, guttural howl tore from his throat. He clutched his head, dropped to the ground, and thrashed violently. Strange sounds gurgled from his mouth.

The pack stumbled backward in horror.

Before their eyes, red marks erupted across Lawrence's body, like snakes, like vines, writhing over his skin.

He couldn't hold his human form. Grey fur burst through his skin. His teeth lengthened. Saliva dripped uncontrollably from his twisted mouth.

He shifted, but not into a wolf. He became a monster. Half-man, half-beast.