Chapter 4

Hearing my question, my parents finally tore their gazes away from Ivy, a flicker of embarrassment on their faces.

My mother frowned, waving a dismissive hand. "Harper, don't be so morbid. You're just testing the safety of a regeneration ritual. This isn't some tragic farewell!"

My father snorted. "Are you trying to back out now? The agreement is signed. You'd better get in there. We'll come get you once the ritual is proven successful."

But Ryker's tone suddenly softened. He stepped forward and took my hand. "Stop making a scene, Harper."

"When the experiment is over, I'll take you to pick out the newest jewelry. You've always wanted that blue diamond necklace, haven't you?"

I looked at him, then at my parents' expectant faces.

Finally, I sighed and slowly pulled my hand from his.

"I don't want the necklace anymore," I said softly. "I don't want anything."

With that, I turned and walked into the dark, damp cellar, and I didn't look back.

The so-called "Wolf Spirit Regeneration Ritual" was nothing but pure torture.

The old witch, Morwen, gave me nothing for the pain.

She chanted her spells, forcing a violent surge of spiritual energy into my body.

My veins burned as if filled with lava, my skin crawling as if devoured by a million fire ants.

This inhuman torment lasted for eighteen long days.

In all that time, not a single person came to see me.

Perhaps they were celebrating with champagne. Perhaps Ryker was taking Ivy to gaze at the stars under the moonlight.

I didn't know.

All I knew was the feeling of my already-fading wolf letting out one final, mournful cry.

And then, it was gone.

As my wolf spirit disintegrated, my heart began to flutter violently before it finally fell still.

I was free.

When Morwen came in to begin the next phase of the ritual, she assumed I had merely fainted from the pain.

She prodded my arm impatiently with her wand. "Get up. Stop playing dead. Today is the final step."

She was met with a deathly silence.

Morwen froze. She reached out to check for my breath, then her face went pale and she stumbled backward.

After a long moment, she dialed the emergency number they had left her, her hand trembling.

"Madam... something has happened... Harper... she's dead!"

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds.

Then, my mother scoffed. "Are you trying to squeeze more money out of us, witch? Don't play games with me."

Morwen stared at the bruised, stiff corpse on the operating table, her voice trembling. "I'm not joking! Her wolf spirit is gone, and her heart has stopped! She's really dead!"

On the other end, Ryker snatched the phone.

Just moments before, he must have felt the heart-shattering agony of our mate bond breaking.

But he was certain I was just throwing a tantrum.

"Put Harper on the phone."

"Tell her to stop with the cheap tricks, playing dead for sympathy! And she can forget about scaring me by faking a broken bond!"

"Tell her to cooperate with the ritual."

Beep.

The call was disconnected.

Morwen stood there, phone in hand, her face a mask of disbelief.

She tried calling my father's and mother's numbers again, refusing to give up, but every call was immediately disconnected.

Finally, she spat in fury. "A whole family of lunatics."

Since her clients didn't care, she didn't want to get into any trouble.

In the end, Morwen dragged my body to a storage room in the deepest part of the cellar.

It was filled with moldy junk and rat droppings.

She carelessly threw a ragged cloth over my face, locked the door, and left.

And no one knew that this so-called Wolf Spirit Regeneration Ritual was just a scheme orchestrated by Ivy.

All to maintain her frail persona, to keep our parents' love, and to claim the position of the pack's Luna.

My soul floated out of my body, a silent observer as my own broken form was discarded in the darkness like a piece of trash.

Before long, a few large rats, drawn by the scent of blood, climbed onto the stone slab and crawled under the cloth.

Even as a soul, I recoiled at the sight.

Worthless in life, in death my body was left to be devoured by vermin.

My entire life had been a joke.

But I couldn't leave.

My soul was bound to this body by some unseen force, forced to watch day after day as it rotted away.

It wasn't until seven days later that a familiar voice finally echoed from outside the door.

"Morwen, was the trial a success? Is it safe for Ivy now?"