Chapter 2

In that moment, a huge wave of joy washed over me.

Scenes from five years ago flashed blurrily before my eyes. It was the same forbidden grounds, and also the same night of the full moon.

Elio had taken a Rogue's wolf claws to protect me, who had just come of age.

Back then, his back was torn and bloody, but he held me tight. His eyes reddened as he said, "I swear to the Moon Goddess, you are my one and only mate. If anything happens to you, I won't go on living either.

"As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you!"

So, he still cared about me after all…

"Elio…" I swallowed the bitter, metallic taste in my throat and reached my hand out toward him.

Elio did see me, but he didn't respond.

In the next second, the hope on my face completely froze. A massive Rogue wolf lunged at them from behind.

He hadn't come back to save me at all. He had been chased back here while trying to escape!

"Alpha!" The guards, alerted by the noise, burst out of the woods.

Five strong guards formed an impenetrable wall, tightly shielding Elio and Kelly in the center. Meanwhile, I was left completely exposed, right in the path of the wolf's claws.

"Alpha, the Luna is still out there!"

This came from a young guard who was clenching his dagger, unable to bear the sight.

Elio avoided my desperate gaze and swallowed hard. "Kelly can't fight at all. We have to protect her first. As for Sofia, she's tough. She'll be fine."

Just then, as if startled, Kelly shrank further into Elio's arms.

A clink sounded, and a familiar-looking glass bottle rolled out of her pocket.

Inside was a clear, golden liquid. It was the antidote! She had another bottle all along!

I stared at Kelly in shock.

"Kelly… You had the antidote…" I mumbled as black blood bubbled up from my throat.

When Elio saw the bottle, his expression stiffened for a moment. He looked like he wanted to speak, but after glancing at Kelly shivering in his embrace, he held back.

"That's the extra medicine I prepared for Kelly earlier."

He attempted to hide his unease behind his authority as an Alpha. "Kelly has been weak since she was little. What if she has a relapse? Sofia, you're the Luna of the pack. Be more magnanimous. Don't be jealous at a time like this."

I was dying, and he thought I was being jealous?

A flash of malice showed in Kelly's eyes. She pretended to be upset, her eyes reddening as she picked up the medicine bottle from the ground and walked over.

"Sofia, don't blame Elio. Since you want it so badly, I'll let you have it…"

She held it out, as if to give it to me.

I stretched with all my strength, reaching for the chance of survival that seemed so close yet just out of reach.

But just as my fingertips were about to touch it, Kelly's grip on the bottle loosened slightly.

With a smash, the glass bottle hit the ground and shattered instantly. The antidote flowed into the filthy mud and disappeared without a trace.