5

The chaotic scene instantly fell silent, as if he'd cast a spell. The question hung in the air, heavy with implication.

Everyone fearfully stepped back, no one wanting to be the next to jump into the silver pit. Parents pulled their children behind them. Friends gripped each other's hands. The scent of fear saturated the air.

In this situation, when everyone else retreated, I stepped forward. My dress was torn, my makeup streaked with tears, but I stood tall.

"I dare." The words came out stronger than I felt.

Dad looked at me deeply.

"No regrets?" he asked, giving me one last chance to turn away.

I nodded firmly, squaring my shoulders. "Absolutely no regrets!"

He leaned toward my ear and finally spoke those words...

After Dad finished speaking, everyone stared at me, waiting to see how I would react.

After all, they had just witnessed Ethan hear those same words and then rush in terror toward the silver pit.

Now, they wanted to see my reaction.

Would I also jump to my death?

But I just stood there, frowning at my father:

"You're lying!"

"How could that possibly be what you said?"

Dad's expression remained calm, as if he had anticipated my reaction:

"I've told you the truth. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

I argued back heatedly:

"If that's really all you said, why would Mom and Ethan kill themselves?"

They were both such simple, happy people.

They wouldn't die just because they were afraid of such words. The sentence was so ordinary, and they couldn't have heard it for the first time.

I was convinced he was making things up, and I looked at him with suspicion.

Dad maintained his indifferent expression:

"Like I said, they chose to die. What does that have to do with me?"

My questioning and Dad's calmness confused the pack members.

They looked back and forth between us, their eyes filled with doubt.

Just then, the pack guards arrived.

The lead guard said to my father:

"We've received reports that another pack member has died because of you."

"This is the second death you've been involved in. Come with us for investigation."

Dad silently extended his hands, allowing the guards to put silver-lined cuffs on him.

Before being taken away, he gave me one long, deep look.

That gaze seemed to hold many unspoken words.

But in the end, he said nothing.

After the guards took Dad away, the pack members remained standing there, looking at me.

Seeing that I was actually fine, Ethan's mother finally asked cautiously:

"Skye, what did your father actually say to you?"

During those years when Mom died and Dad was in prison,

Ethan had been incredibly attentive to me, and his parents treated me like their own daughter.

They became my new family, and I respected and loved them deeply, but now, shame overwhelmed me.

Looking at his mother's grief-stricken and confused eyes, I said softly:

"Dad only said one thing: 'I wish you both happiness and joy.'"

"Nothing else."

Ethan's mother widened her eyes in disbelief:

"That's impossible! It must have been some kind of wicked curse!"

"Ethan was clearly terrified after hearing those words. If it was just that simple phrase, he would have heard it dozens of times today. Why would he only react that way when your father said it?"

"Exactly! If it was merely a blessing, why would he jump into the silver pit?"

The pack members also questioned:

"We all saw Ethan's expression. That wasn't the reaction of someone who just received good wishes."

"Who whispers blessings into someone's ear? Wouldn't you say something like that openly and proudly?"

"And why wouldn't he wish happiness to his own daughter? What father only blesses the groom?"

"Skye, you can't protect him just because he's your father."

Ethan's father spoke in a deep voice:

"Ethan loved you so much. My wife and I have treated you like our own daughter."

"If you have even the slightest bit of gratitude, you shouldn't let him die without explanation."

Faced with his plea, I explained again:

"Mom and Ethan both died the same way, because of a simple blessing."

"I want to know the truth more than anyone. What kind of words could have such destructive power?"

"Why else would I ask Dad to say it aloud in front of everyone?"

"I find it unbelievable too, but he really only said a blessing. You all saw what happened—I have no reason to lie to you!"

No one has lost family twice to those words like I have. No one wants answers more than me.

Though the pack members were suspicious, they didn't press me further—the one who had suffered the greatest loss.

They busied themselves helping prepare Ethan's funeral and comforting his parents.

A celebration had turned into mourning.

My heart was shattered too. Happiness that had been within reach was now like a bubble that burst at the slightest touch.

I felt my soul grow thin, dragging my body like an empty shell through the funeral.

I returned to my childhood home, hoping to find some clue, some thread I'd missed before.

But I discovered people standing all around the entrance.

Seeing my return, the crowd immediately surged toward me like a wave, their eyes hungry and desperate:

"You're Skye, right? We heard your father told you those words?" A middle-aged man grabbed my sleeve, his fingers digging in. "What exactly did he say that took two lives so quickly? Just a whisper and I'll leave you alone!"

"If you're willing to share, we'll exchange it for whatever you need! Name your price!" A well-dressed beta wolf held up a stack of bills. "Ten thousand? Twenty? Whatever you want!"

They surrounded me like people possessed, their bodies pressing closer, hands reaching out to touch my shoulders, my arms, my clothes.

"Please," one whispered, lips almost touching my ear. "I need to know what words have such power."

I shoved through them with all my strength, heart pounding against my ribs. "Get away from me!"

I rushed into the house, slammed the door so hard the frame cracked, and activated the isolation barrier with shaking hands. The blue light of the barrier flickered to life, sealing me away from their hunger.

"Skye!" They pounded on the door. "Just tell us!"

Their voices faded as the barrier took full effect. The sudden silence felt like a physical weight lifting.

With the outside noise blocked, I curled up in the corner of the living room, knees pulled tight against my chest. My breath came in short, painful gasps.

"Why can't they just leave me alone?" I whispered to the empty house, my voice breaking. "Haven't I lost enough?"

Memories of better times floated through my mind unbidden, each one a knife twisting in my chest:

Mom's face, looking at me with a gentle smile, tucking my hair behind my ear the way she always did. "My beautiful girl," she'd say, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

The way she made wishes to the moon on her birthday, standing in our backyard with her arms outstretched, the silver light bathing her skin. "For my family's happiness," she'd whisper, thinking I couldn't hear.

Ethan standing by me during my darkest times, his warm hand steady in mine. "I'm not going anywhere, Skye," he'd promised. "I'll take care of you forever. You're not alone anymore."

His serious expression when he knelt and proposed, the nervous way he fumbled with the small box. "I've loved you since we were pups," he'd said, voice catching. "Be my mate?"