第9章

(Third Person POV)

When Damien finally woke up from his drunken haze, the sun was already high in the sky.

A throbbing headache made his vision blur.

He instinctively wanted to call for Selena, to ask her to fetch some ice-crystal grass dew to ease his headache. But when he opened his eyes, he saw the cracked Moonstone.

He froze for a second, then frowned impatiently and picked up the stone.

"Selena, what kind of trick are you playing now? So I had a few too many drinks yesterday, is that any reason to scare me with this thing?"

He grumbled, turning the unremarkable stone over in his hand, ready to get out of bed.

But his movement stopped abruptly when he saw the ancient rune on the Moonstone, the one symbolizing a completely severed bond.

This Moonstone... the separation ritual was actually complete!

The color drained from his face. Forgetting his killer headache, he leaped out of bed, not even bothering to put on a robe, and rushed out of the cave bare-chested.

But he searched the entire Alpha cave, even all the places nearby he could think of where Selena might be, and found no trace of her.

What made him even more uneasy was that all the items in the cave that once carried Selena's unique lunar energy signature, things he’d once scorned but now made him feel strangely empty, had vanished completely, as if Selena had never existed in his life.

His mind went blank. A very bad feeling crept over him.

After a long moment, Damien took out his communication crystal from his storage pouch, intending to contact Selena, only to find their mental link had been completely severed.

Selena... had actually left?

Why?

Hadn't he been "good enough" to her lately? He’d given her gifts, taken her hunting.

And... and she loved him so much, loved him enough to give up everything for him. How could she bear to leave him?

He slumped onto the bed, his headache worsening, almost splitting his skull.

Suddenly, another communication crystal on his belt flashed urgently with a new message.

He quickly lit up the crystal screen.

It was a message from Lyra.

[Damien, are you busy? I suddenly really want to eat those sweet rainbow berries we found in Moon-shadow Valley last time. Can you go pick some for me now? Please?]

The moment he saw Lyra's message, all thoughts of Selena vanished from Damien's mind.

He got up and sped off towards Moon-shadow Valley.

In his mind, Selena's current departure was just her playing hard to get.

He was sick of having to pretend to be a good mate.

Since Selena dared to throw this "running away from home" tantrum, let her taste what it was like to lose his protection.

He'd see who came crying and begging him to restore that ridiculous bond in the end!

Damien sneered, no longer thinking about Selena, nor did he send any wolf guards to search for her.

He raced through the treacherous forest at full speed for a good two hours, then carefully searched a hidden valley filled with poisonous insects and miasma for most of the day before finally finding the rare rainbow berries Lyra wanted.

By the time he arrived at Lyra's dwelling with a small bag full of berries, it was already sunset.

His precious sister looked like she had just woken up, stretching lazily. The moment she saw him, she shrieked and threw herself into his arms.

"Damien!"

Damien caught her steadily, drowning in the faint, intoxicating scent of her hair.

"I got the rainbow berries you wanted. Eat them while they're fresh."

He took the berries, still warm from his body heat, from the small pouch in his pocket, successfully earning Lyra's sweet smile.

"Thank you, Damien! You're the best to me!"

She cheered, taking the small bag of berries. Then she took out her own communication crystal and carefully took several photos from various angles, seemingly preparing to show off to someone.

After taking the photos, she picked up the biggest, juiciest berry, took a small bite, then pouted her pink, alluring lips and complained, "Oh, Damien, why did you only pick such a small bag? I remember Selena seems to like these rainbow berries too. If you don't give her any, she'll definitely be upset when she finds out. How about... I give half of this to Selena? Remember to send it over to her later, okay?"

As she spoke, she habitually found Selena's mental link window, preparing to share one of the prettiest photos with her.

But the photo filled with a show-off failed to send.

"Damien! Selena... Selena cut off my mental link! Did... did she find out something? Or did you... did you do something to make her angry again?"

Lyra panicked, looking at Damien.

Hearing his precious sister's question, Damien snorted coldly, his tone dismissive. "I didn't do anything. She's the one who wanted to leave."

With that, Damien took out the Moonstone from his pouch and tossed it in front of Lyra.

Back in his own cave, he hadn't thought much about it, nor had he felt anything was wrong.

But now, facing the beloved he cherished so carefully, Damien could no longer suppress it. He gently took Lyra's small hand, his voice low, "Lyra, my little moon, isn't this good? It was Selena, that woman, who wanted to break the fated bond with me. She's completely gone now. We finally have a chance to be together, just like those days when we hunted together in Moon-shadow Valley, openly..."

As he spoke, he moved closer to Lyra.

Lyra's body involuntarily retreated until Damien cornered her against the cave wall, with no escape.

"Damien. We... we are... siblings, after all... The council of elders, and Father and Mother, they'll never agree to this..."

Her voice trembled as she tried to use her last shred of reason to stop Damien's potentially reckless actions.

However, her weak resistance was utterly futile against Damien's determined pursuit and possession.

Just like during those precious times they had spent alone together, they had long behaved like a true couple, sleeping in each other's arms every night, kissing and caressing without restraint, and even... even crossing that final line long ago, driven by desire, completing the most intimate union among wolves.

Damien reached out, grabbed Lyra's slender wrists, and pinned her fiercely against the rock wall.

Like a beast driven only by desire, he lowered his head and viciously kissed Lyra's soft, sweet lips.

"I told you! For you, my Lyra! Even if it means becoming an enemy of the entire Blood Moon Pack, even if it means completely cutting ties with my parents, I don't care!"