Chapter 3

I didn't have much to pack. It was quick – just a few clothes and Grandma's alchemy notes.

I placed the wolf tooth token, the symbol of our mating, on the alchemy stone table.

As I was leaving my cave, I ran right into the pack's steward. He blocked my way.

He was wearing special tanned leather gloves and bowed slightly. He acted respectful, but his eyes were full of contempt.

"Miss Aria, Ethan's mother asked me to bring you this Moon Goddess amulet. Please accept it."

I looked at the closed obsidian box in his hand. It only had a small hole at the top, just big enough for a hand to slip through. A bad feeling crept over me.

I couldn't help but wonder. Shouldn't a Moon Goddess amulet be wrapped in moonlight silk and kept in a moon crystal box? Why was it like this?

But I didn't dwell on it. I just wanted to leave quickly. "Please give the amulet back to his mother. My mating ceremony with Ethan is off."

I tried to go around him, but a few tall pack guards blocked my path. They were built like brick walls.

The steward gave a fake smile. "Sorry, Miss Aria, I'm just supposed to deliver it. Please, just take it. Don't make things hard for an old wolf like me."

I sighed. Fine. I figured I'd take the amulet and give it back to Ethan later, just to avoid more trouble.

So I reached my hand in.

Instantly, a sharp, stabbing pain exploded. My fingertips burned like they were on fire! The pain was so intense, my vision went black.

I screamed and yanked my hand out. It was already turning black!

The stone box clattered to the ground, and a strong smell of vampire venom filled the air! The smell our kind hates most!

The venom was spreading fast up my fingers, like a living snake burrowing into my flesh!

I quickly grabbed a nearby animal hide to try and stop it, but the venom seemed to have a life of its own, eating into my hand, causing unbearable pain.

Sophia appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the cave entrance. She spoke in a lazy, sickly sweet but vicious voice:

"Aria, let me tell you. That moon dew balm you put on your hands today? I switched it out a while ago for a special bait that attracts vampire venom."

The pain made my vision blur. Through the haze, I saw Ethan rushing over, frantic, wrapping my hand in his precious snow wolf pelt. He seemed so desperate… was he being genuine?

…

When I woke up again, I was in the pack's healing room.

Drowsy and confused, I heard Ethan talking with his beta friends. They were keeping their voices low, but I heard every word.

"Ethan, you can't blame Sophia for this. Aria agreed to the trial, and this vampire venom, it was just part of testing her danger awareness!"

"I had the healer put some herbs in Aria's wound medicine that dull moon energy senses. Combine that with this vampire venom... if it's not completely cleaned out within half an hour, Aria's hands will never be able to sense moon energy again, let alone perform Moon Goddess alchemy!" My heart plummeted. My hands...

"Ethan, haven't you always wanted her to just settle down and be a normal Luna? Isn't this exactly what you wanted? Those hands of hers were too restless."

A chill went through me. My hand trembled as I tried to reach for the antidote I had hidden on me. The small sound alerted them.

"Aria, you're awake?"

Ethan's golden eyes lit up. He hurried over, trying to look concerned. "Are you uncomfortable anywhere else?"

I grabbed his arm tightly, like it was my last lifeline, my nails almost digging into his flesh.

"Ethan, I heard everything! I'm begging you, get me a healer, get this poison out completely! I can't lose my hands, okay? They're everything to me!" I pleaded, tears streaming down my face.

He knew how much I'd poured into studying Moon Goddess alchemy. He knew my lifelong dream was to restore the Silver Wolves' glory, to protect the Moon Goddess's legacy. It was a mission etched into my very bones.

But when he met my pleading eyes, Ethan said nothing. His silence was like a knife twisting in my chest.

My heart turned cold, inch by inch, until it was nothing but dead ashes.

He patted my hand. The touch sent a shiver down my spine. He wouldn't look at me.

"Aria, you misheard. Your hands... they're fine. You don't need any special treatment."

He was lying! He actually lied to me!

Rage and the terror of never being able to do alchemy again mixed inside me. For the first time, I found the courage to fight the entire pack. I struggled to get out of bed, to find my own alchemy supplies to save myself. I couldn't just give up!

This was Ethan's territory. I had to get rid of this poison fast, or escape this hell!

Sophia stomped hard on my injured hand. The searing pain made me let out a piercing whimper.

Sophia sneered, her eyes full of cruelty. "A lone wolf trying to save herself? Too bad. In this forest, no wolf dares to go against the Alpha family's will."

All the humiliation and despair from the past few days exploded out of me like a volcano.

I couldn't stop myself from screaming, "Why? Why are you doing this to me?!"

"I've told you so many times, I love Ethan for who he is! You forced me into this damn trial!" My voice trembled with rage.

"I already said I don't want the trial and I don't want the mating ceremony! So why, why did you have to ruin my hands?! Why?!"

My voice was hoarse. Bloody tears streamed from my eyes, dripping onto the cold stone floor.

Ethan said flatly, "Aria, it just means you can't do alchemy anymore. Just stay by my side quietly and be my Luna. Isn't that good enough?"

He got up and walked towards the cave entrance, ordering the guards there.

"Watch this place. Don't let Miss Aria leave, not even one step."

He was really going to destroy my alchemy talent… He was going to destroy me!

The moonlight in my eyes died completely. My heart was ashes, and I couldn't feel a shred of warmth anymore.

For a moment, I couldn't tell what hurt more:

The vampire venom eating away at me, or my heart, stabbed a thousand times by betrayal. Both. It all hurt so much I wanted to die.

The most ridiculous part was,

Outside the cave, when the betas were egging Ethan on to "just mark Aria and make her submit completely, or just get a purer-blooded mate," Ethan's reply came through loud and clear.

"Even though Aria's lone wolf status is different from our pack, and my mother still can't fully accept her, I will only ever mark Aria in this lifetime."

"I believe Aria loves me, just as I love her. This love, the Moon Goddess is my witness, will never die."

No, Ethan. In this life, I can never love you again...

Your love… it's too terrifying.