Chapter 4

I was then forcibly dragged into a knife-throwing game.

There was a huge wooden roulette wheel in the center of the room, and the chosen werewolves would be tied to the wheel, serving as the live targets.

The wheel would be spun, and when it stopped, the others would throw knives from about three steps away. If the knife landed near the target, it would count as a pass, and if the knife missed, it would mean a penalty for the thrower.

There were several other werewolves in the room aside from Simon and Cynthia, and I recognized them all. They were Cynthia's friends.

The first round ended, and the pointer landed on me, picking me as the next live target. So, I was forced to stand before the huge spinning wheel, and my arms were tightly secured in place by shackles.

Before I could even snap out of it, the first knife came whizzing at me, grazing past my ear and embedding itself in the wooden board, severing a few strands of my hair.

Then, the roulette wheel was spun again. I was made the next live target as well. Then, it just kept happening again and again. The pointer picked me out to be the live target every single time.

Fortunately, the first few werewolves were quite accurate with their aim. Their knife blades may have grazed my skin, but they didn't actually hurt me.

I gritted my teeth, refusing to show any fear in my eyes.

However, toward the end, Cynthis eventually ended up holding a knife, and it was also a silver one.

She weighed the hilt in her hand as a huge smirk played on her lips.

"You'd better hold on tightly, Layla. I've never played this game before, and my aim is questionable at best."

I looked at Simon, who was sitting in the shadows, as he suddenly stood up.

"That's enough, Cynthia! Get someone else to do it instead!"

Cynthia immediately pouted at him.

"Have you already forgotten your promise, Simon? You can only listen to everything I say today!"

Simon opened his mouth again, but he didn't say anything this time.

I saw his shoulders sagging afterward as he went back to his seat and sat down quietly.

He'd chosen to watch me get hurt right in front of him.

I closed my eyes, feeling the last of the warmth in my heart fade away.

There was a sudden loud whoosh, and the cold, silver blade plunged right into my abdomen, piercing through my flesh and embedding itself in my body.

I groaned, and cold sweat instantly soaked my back. Warm blood gushed from the slit, staining my uniform a dark crimson color.

Loud laughter immediately erupted from the private room. They spun the wheel again, and it landed on me again.

Simon finally couldn't sit still anymore. He rushed forward, trying to unlock my arms and wrists from the shackles.

"This is too dangerous! We can't play this anymore!"

Cynthia's face turned dark at once. She grabbed him by his collar and said, "What's a little injury like this anyway? You don't want us to play this game? Fine, then. But she's going to have to drink all of this in return!"

She then kicked the whole crate of strong whiskey toward me and demanded, "Finish all of this, and we'll let you go today."

I glared at the silver knife protruding from my abdomen and felt my vision go blurry.

"I'm not drinking it."

Cynthia grinned maliciously as she walked up to me, grabbed the hilt of the knife, and began twisting it deeper into my body.

I let out a painful scream of anguish.

Blood immediately continued spurting from my body, pooling beneath me and staining the entire floor a ghastly red. Cynthia then grabbed an open bottle of whisky on the table and said, "This is really good whisky, and it's such a waste if you don't drink it.

"I think you should still have a taste."

Then, she turned the bottle upside down and poured the strong liquor over my body, drenching the wound with it. I immediately screamed in agony as my body convulsed violently against my restraints.

Simon let out a loud roar as he tried charging toward me. His eyes were sharp and bloodshot. Yet, the other werewolves hurriedly stopped him from going anywhere and held him back.

I looked at him until the end, but he still refused to admit that he'd been faking his injury all along and continued trying to hide his secret that I'd already found out about a long time ago.

This was the wolf whom I'd loved, my mate. He was more willing to watch me suffer endless torture just to cover up his lies than expose himself and save me.

Cynthia soon tossed the empty bottle and clapped her hands.

"Don't get all worked up, Simon. I'll take her to the healing center now. I promise you that you're going to get your mate back alive and kicking."

She then instructed her wolves to unlock the shackles holding me up.

I crumpled to the floor as soon as the support was gone, landing in a heap.

Cynthia then began dragging me out of the room by my collar. She dragged me all the way down the hallway, leaving behind an eerie trail of crimson flood on the floor.

Soon, a cold wind swept over me as the darkness of the night enveloped me.

She dragged me out into the back alley of the bar and threw me to the ground in a heap.

I clutched my wound tightly as I gasped for breath.

She looked down at me, and her eyes were filled with contempt and mockery.

"You're such a pathetic loser, Layla. To think that you're still in the dark about the truth!"

I bit my lip, forcing myself to stay awake.

"What do you mean?"

Cynthia crouched down and whispered in my ear, "The ambush your father was caught in? It hadn't been an accident at all. I did that on purpose…"

A deafening roar went through my head at once, as if a volcano had just erupted after being struck by lightning.

"I was the one who gave Simon the wrong information on purpose!"

She then began laughing hysterically.

"Didn't you know that? Simon only approached you because he wanted to secure your dad's support to further solidify his Alpha position in the pack. I am his one true love. Do you finally get it now?

"Actually, I kind of regret giving him the wrong information now. Now, Simon refuses to leave you."

My world felt like it was crashing down on me at that moment.

All of the guilt, heartache, and tireless toil I'd gone through because of Simon turned out to be for naught after all. It had been nothing but a cruel joke that was played on me.

I always thought that Simon had loved me for me. However, as it turned out, he had only approached me in the past because he simply wanted to use me and take advantage of me!

My hands trembled as I tried to grab hold of Cynthia's dress.

"You monsters…"

She took a step back in disgust before kicking me hard and sending me flying into the wall behind me.

"Are you seriously still hoping that I'll save you?"

Cynthia cackled coldly and continued, saying, "Just go to hell already, both you and your laughable affection. Go ahead and die in this corner alone!"

Then, she turned on her heels and left without another backward glance, leaving me alone and lying in a pool of my own blood.

I could feel my life force draining from me.

Was I going to die soon?

I refused to die like this, though. I refused to meet my death while I was still bearing the title of Simon's mate!

With the last ounce of my strength, I looked straight up at the moon in the night sky, gritted my teeth, and swallowed the blood rising in my throat.

Then, I made a vow.

"In the name of the Moon Goddess, I, Layla Lunaris, hereby sever my mate-bond with Simon Fenwick!"

The words had barely left my lips when a sharp pain shot through my heart. Then, I coughed up a mouthful of blood, and everything went black.

In the last second before I lost all consciousness, I saw a dim figure appearing out of nowhere, striding toward me under the dim streetlights at the start of the alley.

Then, I plunged into endless darkness.