Chapter 4

Kyle sped toward the pack's family estate with me in the car.

The silence was suffocating. I leaned against the window, watching the scenery blur past, feeling like a prisoner on my way to the gallows.

"Althea," Kyle's voice finally broke the silence. He tried to sound gentle, but he couldn't hide the cold calculation beneath.

"Get a pearl ready. As soon as you save my father, I'll hold your Luna ceremony immediately…"

“You know the ritual requires… intimacy,” I interrupted him softly. “Are you asking me to perform it with your father?”

Kyle stiffened.

His voice became strained. “It’s just… a means to an end. After this, you’ll be the most honored Luna in the Black Moon pack. Every wolf will bow to you. We’ll have absolute power…”

I closed my eyes, a deep sadness washing over me.

Power, honor. I never wanted any of that. All I ever wanted was a warm hug, a single word of genuine care.

But he would never understand.

We arrived at the estate.

Inside the ancient manor, all the family elders were gathered in the main hall, the mood grim. Kyle's father, the former Alpha, lay in bed, his breathing faint.

To strengthen his claim as the heir, Kyle pushed me forward in front of all the elders, showing me off like a trophy.

"Elders, this is my mate, Althea. She has been blessed with a divine gift from the Moon Goddess!" he announced, his face flushed with a manic energy. "I have died nine times, and every single time, she was the one who pulled me back from the brink of death!"

"What?"

"Nine times?"

The hall erupted in chaos. All eyes were on me—filled with shock, greed, and a disturbing fanaticism.

I wasn't a person to them. I was a rare treasure, a magical item that could grant immortality, to be used over and over.

"That's impossible!" Kyle's older brother, another ambitious wolf, stepped forward. "Father already intended for me to inherit his assets! You're trying to sway everyone with lies!"

A few elders who supported his brother chimed in. They didn't want the old Alpha to be revived; it would ruin their plans to carve up his power.

The hall instantly split into two factions, arguing fiercely.

Kyle watched the scene with a cruel smile. He knew it was time to throw out his final, most deadly lure.

He raised a hand, silencing the room.

"I know what you're worried about." He scanned every face, his gaze like a hawk's. "I swear to the Moon Goddess, if you support me as the new Alpha..."

He paused, each word a baited hook.

"In the future, every single person here will be promised a Mermaid's Pearl. One chance to come back from the dead!"

Instantly, the hall fell dead silent.

All opposition vanished. Kyle's brother turned pale as he watched even his most loyal supporters turn to Kyle—no, to me—with eyes full of raw, desperate greed.