The Marrow Went to His Moon,Now I’m Alpha

Chapter 2

The corridor was deathly quiet.

Raine broke the silence.

"Lydia. Before the Chief collapsed, she said something."

I turned to face him.

"She said that if she didn't wake up, the Bonehowl Pack should look to you for every decision."

I froze. In three years, Nora had never once said anything like that to me. She taught me. She guided me. She let me learn the clan's affairs from the elders. But she had never said those words in front of anyone.

Raine's eyes reddened.

"I thought she was delirious at the time. Now I see she knew better than anyone. Her own son can't be trusted. But the Bonehowl Pack cannot be left without someone strong enough to carry the weight."

Kris held his silence for a long moment. Then, finally, he nodded.

"That bastard is no heir of hers. Lydia, from today onward, all daily clan affairs that the Chief used to oversee will fall to you. Until Nora opens her eyes, or until she closes them for good, you are the decision-maker of the Bonehowl Pack."

No one objected. Not a single wolf.

"I will not fail the trust you have placed in me." I bowed.

Afterward, I walked to the glass window of the ICU and pressed my palm against it.

"Mother, I will hold the Bonehowl Pack together. And those bastards, I will make every last one of them pay."

The days that followed blurred into one endless stretch. I handled clan affairs around the clock.

Word came from the border patrols. The Urska had been making moves, testing our reactions. I dispatched three hunting squads to the northern border that same night. Orders were simple. No aggression. No retreat. Hold the line. Fly the flags. Let them see that the Bonehowl standard was still firmly planted. The Urska pulled back.

Then came the human developers in the eastern settlements. They had been trying to seize the forest our pack had guarded for generations. Nora used to handle those negotiations herself. This time, I went. By that afternoon, the construction crews were pulling out.

Even the long-neglected pension funds for our warriors' families, I forced those through one by one, swift and without mercy for bureaucracy. A dozen elders watched me. Their eyes shifted from scrutiny to something deeper. Recognition. The center of power in the Bonehowl Pack had shifted, quietly, and no one had even noticed.

As for Severin, he had cut himself off from the world entirely to tend to Freya's recovery. Every method had been tried. No one could reach him.

A week passed. I was standing outside Nora's ICU, discussing the northern conflict with Raine, when my phone buzzed.

Freya.

"Lydia. It's me. Freya."

I drew a slow breath and forced down the killing rage that surged through my chest.

"Freya. Put Severin on the phone. Now."

Freya let out a giggle.

"Severin says the roses are blooming so beautifully. He wants to pick some for me. Lydia, you sound so desperate. Is it the Bone-Kernel you're after?"

Every word dripped with condescension.

"If it is, don't waste your time. Severin stayed up with me the whole night the day before yesterday. He ground the Bone-Kernel into powder himself and mixed it with the finest Moonsap, and I took it. I feel my whole body being reborn. Every full moon, I used to suffer so badly that I wished I was dead. Now there's nothing. Severin says one more month of treatment and I'll be completely healed."

She paused. Waiting for my reaction.

"I almost felt bad about it, honestly. That Bone-Kernel is a treasure of the pack, after all. But Severin said nothing in this world mattered more to him than I did. He said what belonged to the pack belonged to him, and he would give it to whoever he wanted. No one's opinion mattered. Isn't he just so devoted to me?"

I didn't speak. She couldn't stand the silence.

"Severin is back with the flowers. Since you're so pitiful, I'll let you say a few words to him."

I didn't waste a single second on her petty rivalry. The moment the phone changed hands, my voice came out hoarse and final.

"Severin. Mother's condition has reached the breaking point. I'm asking you one last time. Can the Bone-Kernel be brought here or not?"

Outside the silent ICU, I pressed the speaker button. Raine, Kris, and dozens of wolves who had been keeping vigil in the corridor. Every single pair of eyes locked onto my phone.

The line went quiet for two seconds, and then came a cold laugh.

"Lydia. You really are persistent. Have you gotten addicted to this little performance of yours? You used the exact same story a week ago. She's dying. The hospital needs it to save her life. And here we are, a week later, and the woman is still alive. Don't you think your lie is a little too obvious? All that fake drama just to compete for my attention. It's pathetic. Your desperate little act makes me sick."

I stood frozen. Then a chill sank all the way into my bones.

He thought I was jealous. He thought I was lying.

My voice shook.

"Severin. Do you still not know who is lying in that ICU bed? Do you truly not know?"

He laughed again.

"Enough, Lydia. I don't care if it's your mother or some other relative of yours. The Bone-Kernel has already been given to Freya. If you're really that devoted, figure something else out. There are plenty of human hospitals. There must be other treatment options. Stop fixating on a sacred treasure that belongs to the wolves."

Beside me, Raine could no longer hold himself back.