1

Elara

My blood was pure magic.

It could cure any curse in the world.

Some said it was because I was a descendant of the Moon Goddess. Some said it was because I was simply blessed.

But I knew the truth. It was a curse. Because my blood only cured the curses of people I didn’t love.

Once I loved someone, the magic in my blood no longer worked.

Just like how it was not working for Lily, my childhood best friend.

I glanced at her face and released a heavy breath. She had turned pale again.

“ Ela. ” She murmured, her colorless lips curling into a weak smile. “ Don’t—don’t worry. I am not in pain. ”

My chest tightened. I leaned in and slowly slid her sweat-stricken hair behind her ears.

“ Don’t pretend for me. ” I pushed back the tears that threatened to fall. “ just don’t pretend. ”

Weakly, she huffed. “ then what? Do I watch you…suffer? ”

Did it matter? I wanted to ask her. I had been suffering since the day I was born. But I kept my mouth shut.

She didn’t need more stress.

She needed medicine.

“ I will go get the Fora herbs. ” I told her.

“ Ela! You can’t just disappear into the forbidden forest again! ” She mustered her energy and hissed. “ Alpha Lucien has strictly— ”

I didn’t hear the rest of what she had to say. I was out of the door and had closed it behind me.

For those I loved, I could cross the rivers of fire. A forbidden forest, and an Alpha’s warning couldn’t stop me.

Determined and a little uneasy, I made my way out of the packhouse.

In half an hour, I was deep in the woods. The night was beginning to fall.

Hurriedly, I collected the purplish, glowing leaves from the ground and put them in the basket I was carrying.

I was almost done when I heard a familiar voice and froze. My feet halted, and I hid behind a big tree, peeking around it to see what was happening in the distance.

I stared at the strange scene before me. Lucien, the Alpha of my Pack and my mate, had a blonde girl pushed against a tree, his lips moving against hers in a wild, frantic motion.

“ Stephanie! ” He growled, his senses too lost in her to even notice the gasp that escaped my lips.

I slammed my palm over my mouth. What the hell?

So the she-wolves were right about it. They said an Alpha had an uncontrollable desire to have a woman at all times. And Lucien was not any different.

If he is not satiating himself with me, then he must be taking pleasure from another body.

I always thought they were wrong. How could Lucien ever betray me?

He was so sweet, so kind.

I felt dizzy as their voices grew louder in the forest.

“ Lucien— ” The girl huffed. “ Please just take me with you. I can’t spend a day more with that idiot.  ”

Lucien exhaled a tired breath. “ I still need that witch, Steph. Without her, my Pack will fall victim to the curse like yours did. ”

Witch? So, that was all I was to him?

My chest tightens, a sharp pain spreading across my flesh in waves. This is not how it’s supposed to be.

Lucien is the man who held me together after my parents were killed in a rogue attack. He is the one who told me he will always be my shield, my protector, my lover. And then…Moon Goddess made him my mate.

Everything was perfect between us—

Then why?

“ Just one Black moon. ” The girl laughed. “ then—then you will kill her, right? And I will be your Luna, your mate? ”

Lucien paused.

My blood ran cold in my veins. My heartbeat slowed.

So this is what betrayal felt like. It was not a strong kind of pain. It was just a numbness that spread through my body, my bones, my flesh.

I waited, my breath held. Even if Lucien was cheating on me, he wouldn’t actually plan on killing me. A saviour could never—

“ Of course, I will kill her. Then, we will rule the world together, my love. ” He chuckled, leaning in to kiss her lips.

Something shattered inside me. Fear mixed with the numbness.

I wanted to storm over there and rip him apart. But without a wolf, how could I possibly fight an Alpha?

My eyes stung with unshed tears. I really thought he loved me, and was not only using me for my blood.

But even to him, I was just the means to an end. It hurt, and I wanted him to feel the same pain.

Suddenly, lightning struck the sky, and a figure appeared close to their tangled bodies.

The blurry man moved at a speed impossible to catch. He slammed into Lucien and threw him back into a tree.

The ground shook with the impact. A crack appeared in the tree, before it slowly broke and fell on the ground with a thud.

The man was onto Lucien again. His hand reached out and grabbed Lucien’s throat, lifting him high into the air. I could only make out his bare, rippling back and his unusually huge frame. But his aura was so suffocating that it made me shudder.

“ Alaric! ” Stephanie shouted.

The man stiffened. His grip on Lucien’s throat loosened.

“ Alaric, please let him go. ” Her voice lowered, turned into a whisper.

My brain couldn’t make sense of what was happening. She called him Alaric.

Alaric, as in the Alpha of North Shield Pack?

My throat closed up at the thought. I couldn’t breathe.

The enemy Alpha was in our territory, and he was after Lucien.

My frozen feet moved. I took several steps back. I had to run back and inform the Beta, the warriors, and everyone.

The enemies were here.

Slowly, Alaric released Lucien and turned to face Stephanie. My feet froze again.

The look he gave that girl was so similar to what I felt inside. Rage, pain, and an immense need to tear the cheaters apart.

“ Can’t watch your lover die? ” He whispered, his voice low but lethal.

“ Alaric, I can explain— ”

“ Then— ” Alaric cut her off. “ I guess I should spare you the pain and kill you first… ”