Chapter 3

I had been free for less than a day when my mother collapsed.

Elara Nightshade had always been strong. Even as the wolfen degeneration weakened her bones, she never complained. But that night, her heart gave out.

The pack healers worked fast. Their faces told me everything.

"The degeneration has reached her heart. Without Moonflower Essence, she won't survive the night."

Moonflower Essence. The rarest of remedies. Only an Alpha could authorize its use. Only Alistair Blackthorn had access to the Silvermoon Pack's reserve.

I called him. Once. Twice. Ten times.

No answer.

I ran to the pack house. To his study.

The door was open.

Alistair knelt on the floor, cradling a wolf pup in his arms. The small creature convulsed, foam at its mouth.

Jade Moonshadow sat beside him, tears streaming down her face.

"Alistair, please. Moonflower Essence is the only thing that can save her. She's been with me for five years. I can't lose her."

I grabbed his arm. My voice broke.

"Alistair. My mother is dying. She has hours. Give me the essence."

Jade looked at me, her eyes wet and pitiful.

"Selene... I'm so sorry. But this pup ate something poisonous. Acute heart failure. The healer said only Moonflower Essence can reverse it. Please... she's all I have."

Alistair looked at the pup. Looked at me.

His jaw worked. His eyes begged for an answer I could not give.

I dropped to my knees. For the first time in my life, I knelt before him.

"Alistair. I am begging you. That woman raised me alone for twenty years. She is my only family. Please."

He closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were hollow.

"Selene... I'm sorry. Your mother's degeneration was terminal. The essence would only buy her a few more days of pain."

He paused. The next words came out like broken glass.

"I owe Jade too much. She cannot lose this pup."

He took the precious vial from his belt. He injected it into the pup.

The small wolf stopped shaking. Its eyes opened.

Jade sobbed with relief.

I do not remember leaving. I only remember waking on the cold floor of the healer's den, someone pressing a small wooden box into my hands.

"Selene... we did everything we could. Without the essence..."

The healer's voice faded.

I held the box. My mother's ashes.

I sat in the cemetery for three hours. The rain fell. I did not cry.

Then Jade came.

She walked up the hill with the pup trotting beside her—healthy, alive. Saved by the medicine meant for my mother.

Her face was soft with false sympathy.

"Selene... the dead are gone. The living remain."

She paused. Then she smiled.

"Why don't we let Snowflake have the ashes? She needs the nutrition. The healer said bone meal is excellent for growing pups."

The world stopped.

"What did you say?"

Alistair stepped out from behind a tree. His face was calm. Reasonable.

"Selene. Snowflake just recovered. She needs strength. Think of it as good karma. Your mother believed in such things. If she knew her remains helped a living creature, she would be happy."

I could not breathe.

"You monsters. That is my mother. You will not touch her."

But guards surrounded me. Strong hands pinned my arms.

I watched as Jade tipped the wooden box over. Ashes scattered on the wet ground.

The pup lowered its head. It lapped at the gray dust.

I screamed until my throat bled.

"I will kill you. Both of you. I swear by the Moon."

Alistair's voice was cold. "Snowflake needs quiet to digest. Shut her up."

A guard's fist connected with my face.

Then another.

Darkness took me.