Chapter 4

Hearing the panicked words, Leo froze.

I studied his expression carefully, hoping he might grieve for me.

But he reacted as if he'd heard a bad joke, brow furrowing. "What did you say? Catherine's dead?"

The subordinate, still shaken by the horror he'd seen in the dungeon, lowered his head:

"Alpha, you'd better go see for yourself."

Leo tried to reach me through the mind-link, but received only dead silence.

His expression went cold despite itself.

"She's faking it. Catherine is a werewolf—strong, resilient. She wouldn't die that easily. Is this some new trick to win my sympathy?"

The subordinate's lips trembled. "That's not it... Alpha."

Leo cut him off:

"What did she promise you to make you lie for her? Go tell Catherine—if she's really dead, I'll call the priest to perform her funeral rites."

The suffocating despair wrapped around me once more. I wanted to leave.

But my soul remained bound to Leo's side.

Eventually I realized what held me wasn't Leo himself—it was the wolf-soul ring on his finger.

A symbol left by my father.

After my first slept with Leo, I gave it to him as our token of love.

My father was the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack.

When I was twelve, I had snuck out of the pack's territory and was ambushed by a rival pack.

Leo happened to pass by, saved me, and was wounded in the process.

His strength and bravery made me fall for him at first sight.

So when the Moon Goddess prophesied that we were fated mates, I was delirious with joy and rushed headlong into the mate bond without a second thought.

Back then, Leo held little power in his pack and desperately needed my father's trust and support.

I ignored every one of my father's warnings and placed the wolf-soul ring in Leo's hands myself.

And after receiving the ring, Leo still showed me affection.

He would furrow his brow with worry when I fell ill.

On nights when thunderstorms terrified me, he would shift into wolf form, tuck me beneath the soft fur of his belly, and whisper gently:

"Don't be afraid. I'm right here."

He even took wounds all over his body to save me during a battle with rogue wolves.

Grateful for Leo's devotion, my father willingly helped him defeat his siblings and rivals, securing his place as Alpha of the Dark Forest Pack.

Just when I believed I had truly won his love, Leo brought Sophia home.

Everything I had worked for, every sacrifice I had made, vanished the moment she set foot in the pack.

My thoughts drifted back to the present. Leo waved his subordinate away with impatience.

"Go tell Catherine—if she doesn't come out now, I'll leave her in that dungeon for another month."

The Alpha's crushing authority made the subordinate tremble harder, but he didn't move.

"What are you standing there for?" Leo's voice seethed with irritation. "Do you want to be thrown in the dungeon too?"

The terrified subordinate fled.

One minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Ten minutes…

Time crawled by, but I never appeared.

Leo sat with his arm around Sophia, his face growing darker by the second.

"Why isn't Catherine out yet? It's been ages. I gave her days to reflect—has she still not realized she was wrong? She's defying me now?"

"Fine. Let's see if her stubbornness is really as unbreakable as she thinks."

I watched him coldly, but noticed his hands clenching involuntarily, his eyes betraying a panic he couldn't fully conceal.

The next second, Leo shot to his feet:

"Sophia, I'll go personally to escort our Luna out. Don't worry—I'll make her kneel before you and beg forgiveness."

His muscles swelled and burst through his tailored suit as he shifted into a massive, savage grey wolf and tore toward the water dungeon.

The moment he opened the door, a wave of overpowering stench—blood and rot—hit him full in the face.

Disgust flickered in Leo's wolf eyes, his expression thick with impatience.

"Catherine, you'd rather endure this filth than concede? Just to spite me?"

I stared at what remained of myself—gnawed beyond recognition by the water snakes—and let a bitter smile cross my lips.

"I've come personally to get you. Don't push your luck. Get out here now, or I'll make sure you rot in here for the rest of your life."

Leo strode forward, glanced down into the water with revulsion.

Dim light fell across the surface.

My face, ravaged by the water snakes, was long past recognizable. My body had swollen and turned a sickly white from days submerged.