Chapter 1

Ten minutes ago, several rogues had stormed into the healer's den.

I, Tina Newman, was about to give birth, and moving around had become much more difficult with my heavy belly.

While driving the rogues away, one of them scratched my forearm with their claws. The wound wasn't deep, and a werewolf's healing ability should have been enough to handle it.

I glanced at Annie Blair who stood nearby.

She was Lawrence Stormer's first love.

Since she'd been attacked by rogues as a pup and suffered severe psychological trauma, her mental state had always been unstable. Lawrence was especially protective of her. He even asked me to provide her with psychological treatment.

Now, she was huddled in a corner and trembling with fear.

The door was pushed open, and Lawrence ran inside.

His gaze immediately landed on me. He looked me up and down.

When he saw that I was unharmed, his expression relaxed slightly. "Looks like you're fine."

His gaze then shifted to Annie in the corner.

She had several scratches on her body, and her clothes were covered in blood. She looked utterly terrified.

Lawrence hurried over and crouched beside her. "Annie, are you hurt?"

Annie looked up. Her lips were trembling when she spoke. "I'm so scared, Lawrence. I keep recalling what happened when I was little–"

Lawrence turned to me and said without hesitation, "Tina, give Annie the moonstone for now."

"I can't give it to her." I pressed a hand against my belly. "I'm about to give birth. I need to keep the moonstone with me. I need it to protect our pup and help it survive delivery."

Lawrence looked a little unhappy. He stood up and walked over to me. "Annie doesn't heal as quickly as you do. Besides, she was attacked by rogues when she was a pup. You're much stronger than she is. You'll recover from a little scratch in no time."

"Lawrence–"

"I'll take Annie next door to get her wounds treated. We'll let her borrow the moonstone for a little while to recover," he looked at me and said. He sounded almost reassuring. "I'll return it real soon."

Before I could respond, he took the milky-white moonstone out of the drawer and hung it around Annie's neck. He then helped her to her feet and led her to the door.

Just before leaving, Annie glanced at my wound. There was a smug look in her eyes.

"Don't go anywhere. William, the healer, will be here soon." After Lawrence said that, they left.

This happened again.

Whenever it came down to Annie and me, Lawrence always chose her.

I stood where I was and took a deep breath.

Suddenly, I felt a warm sensation spread across my shoulder. When I looked down, I realized my sleeve was already soaked with blood.

The wound hadn't healed.

I immediately pulled down the collar of my shirt and noticed a deep gash on my shoulder.

The fight had been so chaotic that I hadn't even realized I'd been injured.

I recalled the look in Annie's eyes as she left. She had clearly known something was wrong with my wound, yet she'd said nothing to Lawrence.

By now, the edges of the wound had turned gray, and the surrounding skin was beginning to show signs of necrosis.

These were unmistakable signs of silver poisoning.

I must have been cut by one of the rogues' silver blades during the fight.

There was no cure for silver poisoning except the moonstone.

The poison spread rapidly. Soon, I was struggling to breathe and could barely remain standing.

The pup inside me sensed that something was wrong and began kicking frantically. Each kick was harder than the last.

A warm current began to flow continuously from my shoulder. When I looked down, I saw blood streaming along my arm and dripping onto the floor.

The silver poison had suppressed my healing ability. My wound was bleeding uncontrollably.

I slid slowly down against the wall as my consciousness began to fade.

'Lawrence.' I fought to stay awake and tried to reach him through our mind-link connection.

'Lawrence, I'm hurt. I'm losing a lot of blood. I need the moonstone.'

There were a few seconds of silence before his impatient voice came through.

'Stop making a fuss, Tina. It's only a scratch. Your healing ability is far stronger than Annie's.'

'No. Lawrence–'

'Tina, I'm busy right now. We'll talk when I get back.'

With that, Lawrence cut off our mind-link connection.

My body grew colder by the second. My wolf spirit whimpered in agony, while my pup's kicks grew weaker and slower.

I lay on the floor and gradually lost consciousness.

'Don't leave.' I pleaded silently. 'Please, don't leave me.'

There was no response.

Just like that, my pup was gone.

By the time William Lane rushed in with his assistant, I was barely conscious.

He dropped to his knees beside me and immediately examined my body.

"She's bleeding from the arm. Apply pressure to stop the bleeding," he ordered his assistant. "Prepare the sutures."

He pressed firmly against my wound, but the gauze was quickly soaked through with blood.

He replaced it with one fresh piece after another, yet the bleeding showed no signs of stopping.

"What's going on?" William frowned.

He removed the gauze and examined the wound more carefully. The moment he saw the injury on my shoulder, his expression changed.

He quickly checked my pupils, pulse, and skin temperature. "This isn't an ordinary injury! The edges of the wound have turned gray, and the tissue is dying."

His voice grew urgent. "She's been cut by silver!"

His assistant froze. "What?"

William's hands trembled slightly as he turned around and shouted, "Silver poison has entered her bloodstream! Only the moonstone can neutralize it. Go get the moonstone!"

His assistant immediately ran out. William continued applying pressure to my wound, but his movements grew weaker with every passing second.

He had done everything he could, yet the bleeding wouldn't stop.

The poison had suppressed my healing ability, rendering ordinary medical treatment useless.

"Hang on," William said with sweat covering his forehead. "The moonstone will be here soon."

I knew I wouldn't live long enough to see it.

I could feel my heartbeat slowing. My wolf spirit let out one final whimper before disappearing completely.

I realized I was slowly floating upward. I was suspended in midair.

I looked down at my body. My face was pale, and my eyes looked vacant. My belly was still protruding slightly, but the pup inside would never be born. The blood on the floor had dried into dark red stains.

The monitor beside me showed a flat line.

William was still desperately performing CPR and trying to bring me back to life.

When his assistant returned, her eyes were bloodshot. She shook her head and told him that Lawrence had taken the moonstone away.

It was too late.

William lowered his head and remained silent for a moment.

Finally, he closed my eyes and pulled a white sheet over my face.

"Due to failed resuscitation efforts, the patient has been pronounced dead at ten minutes to eleven in the evening.

"Bring this death certificate to the Alpha."

William and his assistant walked out.

Silence settled over the room.

My spirit remained suspended in midair for a long time before turning around and floating in the direction Lawrence and Annie had gone.