Chapter 3

As I dripped the sacred blood of my oath into my wine glass, I felt dozens of gazes shift.

Especially Elder Vivian, who sat at the head table.

She was the Alliance’s most impartial judge.

In my last life, she never gave me the time of day.

To her, I was just the Luna of a worthless, weak pack.

But now, she slowly walked over to me.

“I thought Damon had chosen a fragile mate.”

Vivian’s gaze swept over me, sharp and assessing. The disdain in her voice was gone, replaced by something else. Respect.

“But it seems your presence is strong enough to be the Luna of the most powerful pack in the Alliance.”

She even gave a slight nod, a sign of true respect in Alliance etiquette.

The guests around us immediately changed their tune, raising their glasses to me in salute.

I smiled and nodded back, but my mind was cold and clear.

This was just the beginning.

Vivian’s approval wasn't enough to survive. I needed to make my enemies tear each other apart.

Just then, a sickly sweet scent drifted near.

Sarah approached, holding two glasses of wine.

Her makeup was fixed, her mask of sisterly affection back in place.

“Elena, I was out of line earlier.” Sarah’s eyes were red-rimmed as she held up a glass. “I apologize. This drink is to you and Damon… may you have a lifetime of happiness.”

She deliberately offered me the glass in her left hand.

The wine was a deep scarlet, looking perfectly normal.

But my wolf spirit suddenly went on high alert. A prickling sense of danger shot up my spine.

Then, her vicious thought drilled into my ear:

[Drink it, bitch. This wine is laced with concentrated liquid silver. One sip will sear your vocal cords and wither your wolf spirit to ash. Let’s see if that old hag Vivian still respects you when you’re a mute, broken thing!]

Liquid silver.

The most violent poison to a werewolf.

She didn’t just want to ruin my ceremony; she wanted to destroy me completely.

I looked at Sarah’s expectant eyes and let a cold smile touch my lips.

I drank too much bitter wine in my last life.

This time, it was her turn.

I reached out, pretending to take the glass.

Just as my fingers brushed the glass, I “accidentally” hooked the hem of her dress with my foot. In the same fluid motion, I stepped back.

“Ah!”

Sarah shrieked, lost her balance, and pitched forward.

The poisoned wine didn't touch me. It flew in a perfect, damning arc through the air, drenching the sacred altar behind me.

SPLAASH!

The crimson liquid splashed across the pure white statue of the Moon Goddess. The glass shattered, sending shards flying everywhere.

The entire hall fell silent.

More silent than when Damon was a no-show.

That was the altar.

The sacred ground for worshiping the Moon Goddess, for praying for the packs’ prosperity.

To spill an offering and defile the statue during a Mating Ceremony was the highest form of blasphemy. A terrible omen.

“Insolent fool!”

A roar broke the silence.

Elder Vivian was trembling with rage, her Alpha-class presence slamming down on the room.

“The Luna of the Alder Pack! How dare you cause a scene at the Dark Moon Pack’s sacred altar!”

Sarah lay in a pathetic heap on the floor, her dress stained with wine and littered with glass.

She looked up in a panic, her face ghostly white. “No… it wasn’t me! Elena pushed me! It was her—”

“Silence!” Vivian barked. “I saw it with my own two eyes! Elena didn’t even touch you! Your own guilty feet made you stumble!”

The guests pointed and whispered, their faces filled with disgust.

“What bad luck.”

“To desecrate the Goddess at a Mating Ceremony… the Alder Pack is doomed.”

Sarah trembled, looking desperately toward Liam in the crowd.

Liam’s expression was thunderous.

But he had to act.

He strode to Sarah’s side, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders with impeccable tenderness.

“I apologize, Elder Vivian. Sarah is not used to drinking. I will repent to the Goddess on her behalf.”

Liam helped the trembling Sarah to her feet, his face a mask of apology and concern. “Sarah, are you hurt? Does it hurt?”

Such a perfect, devoted Alpha.

If only I couldn’t hear the violent, cold voice in his head:

[Useless thing. Pissed off that old bat Vivian. You’ve shamed me before the entire Alliance Council.]

Liam’s hand gently stroked Sarah’s back, as if calming a frightened kitten.

But I saw Sarah’s body go rigid.

A physiological reaction of pure terror.

Liam looked up at me, a standard smile on his face. “My apologies for ruining the mood, Elena. I’ll take Sarah to have her wounds tended to.”

I watched the two-faced couple, raised my empty glass, and made a gesture for them to leave.

“Go on, Liam. I do hope Sarah’s wounds… heal properly.”

Liam walked away, his arm around Sarah.

As they passed me, I caught the last flicker of a thought from Sarah’s mind.

The voice was chillingly calm, and it made my skin crawl:

[Elena, you bitch.... Your time is up. Damon's curse is surfacing. And I'm going to love watching you get shredded.]