第4章

The leaders of the Blood Moon Pack argued endlessly over Lyra's "marriage," powerful pheromones clashing violently in the air, thick with tension.

But I remained deathly silent.

I sat rigidly on the cold stone bench, like a soulless puppet, watching Damien lose control and challenge his parents and the entire council of elders.

I just felt like a huge stone was crushing my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The pain in my stomach, intensified by the violent emotional turmoil, became even harder to bear.

I quietly got up, hoping to slip away from this suffocating place while they were arguing and no one was paying attention.

But the old Alpha, furious, slammed his palm on the stone table in front of him.

"Damien! What nonsense are you spouting! What do you mean you'll never have children with your destined mate! Do you want our Blood Moon Pack to die out?!"

With his roar, the incredibly heavy stone table, along with all the food-laden stone plates, sharp bone knives, and heavy wine cups on it, were sent flying by his immense power.

Then they came crashing down towards Damien and Lyra!

Damien reacted like lightning! Almost instinctively, he pulled Lyra, who was beside him, tightly into his arms, shielding her completely with his broad back and strong arms, protecting her from any flying debris!

And me...

I was standing less than three steps away from them.

I had just stood up, not even taken my first step.

I watched, horrified, as the burning roasted meat, scalding hot soup, sharp bone knives, and shattered stone plates...

like a sudden disaster, rained down on me.

I had no time to react at all!

The moment Damien unhesitatingly chose to protect Lyra, my body, my soul, had already frozen, unable to move.

"Ah..."

Scalding soup splashed onto my bare arms and neck, instantly raising terrifying red blisters, burning painfully.

Hard stone shards, like sharp blades, hit my shoulder, forehead, and cheek.

Dark red blood immediately seeped from the wounds, quickly staining my clothes.

I grunted and fell heavily onto the hard stone floor.

It felt like every bone in my body was about to break.

Even worse, among the flying food, a few pieces of the Fire-Scale Lizard meat I’d been forced to eat earlier, which was like poison to me, landed on my open wounds!

That scorching fire energy, through my broken skin, directly invaded my body, clashing even more lethally with my already dangerously weak lunar energy.

An unbearable itching, like countless ants gnawing at me, spread through my body, followed by a heart-wrenching.

I forced my heavy eyelids open. In my blurred vision, I only saw Damien still holding Lyra tightly, not even looking back, quickly leaving the chaotic square with her.

His back was still so straight, so... cold and heartless.

The scene before me grew blurrier.

My consciousness, like being pulled by a dark vortex, plunged straight into endless darkness...

I don't know how long passed before I slowly woke up to the sound of low sobs.

Opening my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar cave, the air thick with the scent of herbs.

Lyra was slumped by my bedside, her shoulders shaking, seemingly asleep, but tear tracks still wet on her cheeks.

And behind her stood Damien, his expression as cold as ever.

He had taken off his precious snow-wolf king fur cloak and gently draped it over Lyra's shoulders.

Then he slowly raised his hand, as if to stroke Lyra's sleeping face, but just as he was about to touch her skin, his gaze met my empty one.

His movement froze.

A moment later, he nonchalantly pulled his hand back, said nothing, just looked at me deeply, then turned and walked out of the cave, probably to call the pack healer.

After watching him leave, I used all my strength to try and pull my hand, which she’d been using as a pillow and was almost numb, out from under Lyra's arm, but I still accidentally woke her.

She groggily opened her eyes, rubbing them, her voice concerned.

"Selena, are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I looked at my carefully bandaged wounds and gently shook my head.

My voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like me.

Lyra finally seemed completely relieved, handing me a bone cup filled with spring water.

"That's good. Last night really scared me! You were not only burned by those flying stones and hot soup, but you also had such a severe lunar energy backlash! I really regret not stopping you from eating that Fire-Scale Lizard meat! And you, really, knowing your body is allergic to that fire energy, you should have just told Damien to get you something else. Why did you have to be so stubborn and force yourself to eat it?"

She grumbled softly, subtly watching my reaction.

Damien, along with an elderly pack healer, walked in just then.

Hearing Lyra say I was "allergic to Fire-Scale Lizard energy," Damien's steps faltered noticeably, his expression complex.

I shook my head gently. "I wasn't being stubborn. It's just, the full moon gathering has too many rules, the elders and leaders were all watching, I didn't want to spoil everyone's mood because of my personal issues, and I especially didn't want to... embarrass the Alpha, so I... ate that meat."

Lyra sighed, taking my hand that lay outside the fur blanket, and said sympathetically, "Sigh, I know you don't like those stuffy occasions either. Let me tell you some good news. Damien has already agreed, and he's talked to the council of elders. From now on, except for the grandest annual Moon Goddess festival, we don't have to attend those tedious full moon gatherings anymore! You won't have to tiptoe around those rules, and... I won't be pestered by those elders to find a mate anymore!"

Remembering the chaotic scene before I passed out, and now hearing this "good news," I just felt a wave of sadness.

To stop Lyra from being forced into mate selection, Damien could fight the entire council of elders, even change pack traditions that had lasted for centuries.

It proved he loved Lyra enough to defy anything for her.

I knew, with him desperately trying to shield Lyra like this, sooner or later, he would publicly announce his forbidden love for her.

It would surely cause a huge sensation in the Blood Moon Pack, even the entire Northern wolf clans.

I didn't want to be involved anymore.

I just wanted to leave soon.

Seeing me silent, Lyra seemed about to say more, but the communication crystal on her waist suddenly flashed urgently.

It was the old Alpha.

Lyra's expression froze.

She instinctively let go of my hand and looked at Damien for help.

Damien frowned, took the flashing crystal from Lyra, said nothing, just gestured to Lyra, and then hurried out.

Lyra saw Damien's grave expression and knew something serious had happened.

She didn't dare delay and quickly followed him out.

The room fell into a suffocating silence again.

Only the elderly pack healer remained, carefully examining my wounds and my internal energy.

"It seems the external injuries are no longer a major concern. But your lunar energy, due to the previous forced exertion and the impact of the fire energy, is very weak. To be safe, you should go to the depths of the sacred spring for a thorough purification and recuperation," the healer said after finishing the examination.

I took the token from the healer, allowing me to enter the core area of the sacred spring for treatment, and walked alone towards the deepest of the pack's territory.

The core area of the sacred spring was usually only accessible to the Alpha, Luna, and heroes who had made great contributions to the pack.

The teleportation arrays to the core area were all on the summit of the sacred mountain. I didn't want to attract attention there, nor did I want to encounter Damien and Lyra again, so I planned to take a little-known path.

But just as I reached the entrance to the stone steps, I heard familiar voices faintly.

"Lyra! You listen to me! I don't care what those old fools will think or how they'll react when they find out we love each other! And I don't care what the Moon Goddess's damn decree is! I just want to keep you by my side! With my life, with everything I have, I want to keep you under my wing forever! I never want to be separated from you! As long as I can be with you, even if... even if I have to give up the Alpha position of the Blood Moon Pack and become an enemy of the entire wolf race, I'm willing!"

It was Damien!

"But Damien, have you thought about Selena? She's... she's still your mate in name! And she grew up with me, like a sister. I... I can't let her suffer so much hurt and injustice because of us!" Lyra's voice was thick with tears, sounding incredibly kind.

Damien let out a pained growl, roughly grabbing Lyra's wrist and slamming her against the coarse rock wall. His bloodshot eyes were filled with desperation, like a wounded beast.

"If you care so much about whether she'll get hurt! Then you shouldn't have let me accept that ridiculous fated bond in the first place! You shouldn't have just watched me tie that innocent woman to an Alpha who doesn't even love her! You knew I didn't like her at all! My wolf, my heart, my body, from beginning to end, has only ever craved you, Lyra!"

He screamed out years of repressed pain and torment, no longer the cold, composed Alpha, but like a madman about to be consumed by despair!

He threw all caution to the wind, lowered his head, and almost savagely, kissed Lyra's lips!

Lyra seemed startled by his sudden madness, but after struggling for only a moment, her body went limp. She closed her eyes, her arms slowly wrapping around Damien's neck, uncontrollably sinking into the moment.

In the air, their pheromones crazily intertwined, clashed, and merged, emitting a heart-stoppingly sweet scent.

Just as Lyra was about to suffocate from the kiss, she let out a tearful moan.

"Damien..."

She leaned weakly against Damien's chest, panting.

Just as she was about to say something more, her gaze inadvertently swept past the bottom of the stone steps and landed on me, standing at the entrance, looking as if I’d been struck by lightning.

The color drained from her face instantly.

"Selena...?!"