Chapter 3

"Get up! Stop playing dead!"

A bucket of freezing water splashed over my head.

I jolted awake, coughing violently. The dungeon door was open, and the glaring sunlight made it impossible to open my eyes.

A guard dragged me out of the cell and dumped me into the mud outside.

"Get lost. The Alpha doesn't want to see your face today," the guard spat in disgust.

Ignoring the agonizing pain of what felt like shattered bones, I scrambled to my feet.

Mia!

I stumbled out of the manor and ran toward the hospital as if my life depended on it.

I tripped and fell countless times along the way, my knees scraped and bloody. But I couldn't feel the pain. I just wanted to see my daughter.

When I pushed open the doors to the emergency room, the air was dead silent.

The healer was standing in the hallway. When he saw me, he avoided my gaze and took off his medical cap.

"Healer!" I lunged at him, grabbing his white coat tightly. "Where is Mia? How is she? I went to get the herb but it was burned... You guys used another method, right?"

The healer's eyes grew red, his voice tight.

"I'm sorry, Luna. We did everything we could."

My brain buzzed, and the entire world instantly lost its sound.

"What did you say?" I asked numbly.

"Without the Moon Herb, the poison spread too fast." The healer lowered his head in pain. "We called the Alpha over a dozen times, begging for permission to use higher-level life support machines. But he... rejected all the calls."

"The last time we got through, a woman answered. She said the Alpha was resting and no one was to disturb him."

His words were like thousands of poisoned needles violently piercing through my body.

"At 3 A.M. this morning, Mia went into multiple organ failure... and stopped breathing."

I froze in place.

No tears. No screams. It felt like my soul was being brutally ripped from my body in that very moment.

"Where is the body?" I heard a strange, icy voice come from my own mouth.

"In the morgue. Do you want to see her?"

"Keep her safe for me for now." I turned numbly and walked out.

I had to go home.

Mia was so scared of being lonely. Her favorite stuffed bear was still at home. I needed to get it for her so she wouldn't be afraid.

Like a walking corpse, I dragged my heavy feet back to the pack manor.

I walked straight to the end of the hallway, to Mia's room.

I pushed the door open.

Empty.

The little bed was gone. The drawings on the walls had been painted over in blinding white. The room was completely empty and spotless, as if my daughter had never existed in this world.

"Looking for that little brat's things?"

Valerie was suddenly standing in the doorway, holding a glass of red wine, her smile blindingly bright.

I turned my head and stared at her.

"Where did you put Mia's things?"

"Threw them out," she said lightly, taking a sip of wine. "Gideon said this will be my pup's nursery from now on. Trash belongs in the junkyard, obviously."

The junkyard.

The most remote, foulest place in the entire territory.

I didn't say a word. I didn't curse her, nor did I hit her, because I didn't care anymore.

I turned and bolted out.

A sudden downpour crashed from the sky. Freezing rain slammed against my face, making it impossible to tell what was rain and what were tears.

I ran all the way to the junkyard at the edge of the territory.

Trash was piled up like mountains, the stench overwhelming. Rotting food, rusted metal, and broken glass were mixed into the black mud.

I threw myself into the mountain of garbage.

"Mia's clothes... Mia's bear..."

Like a madwoman, I knelt in the mud and dug frantically with my bare hands.

Sharp glass sliced my palms; rusty nails pierced my fingers. My blood mixed with the black mud, staining the trash beneath me red.

Day turned into night, and night gave way to dawn again.

I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. Those were the last traces my daughter left in this world.

The rain poured heavier.

Finally, deep in the sludge, I felt a piece of soft fabric.

I pulled it out, trembling.

It was Mia's favorite pink jacket. I could almost see her holding her little arms out, asking me to put it on her.

But now, the jacket was torn to shreds, covered in foul black mud and stains that would never wash out.

I hugged the ruined jacket tightly to my chest.

The rain washed over my battered body.

I didn't cry. My tears had already run completely dry in that dark dungeon the night before, the moment I heard the healer's death sentence.

I lifted my head and looked toward the pack manor hidden in the distant mist.

The only thing left in my heart was a hatred strong enough to burn the entire Silver Eclipse Pack to the ground.