3

When I woke up again, I was in my own simple healer's cave.

A young Omega apprentice named Lia, whom I’d mentored before, came in with a cup of warm herbal drink.

"Tutor Seraphina, you're awake. Alpha Damian said he had urgent pack business to deal with and already left."

Lia looked at me with pity.

I gave a bitter smile and took the cup.

"I'm not his Luna," I said softly, more to myself.

Lia sighed. "I heard Alpha was going to announce his real Luna soon. But you're so weak, and he still had the elder drain your soul essence..."

She stopped, then just tucked the blanket around me. "You should rest. Your soul core..."

I knew what she wanted to say.

My soul core was in tatters. Add to that the constant draining of essence and today's termination ritual, and I was about to die.

I closed my eyes, letting tears slide from the corners.

The communicator on my wrist glowed faintly. It was Damian:

[Sera, there's an emergency on the pack border. I'll be back after I deal with it. Get some rest, don't wait up for me tonight.]

I already knew from Lia's pitying gaze that he was currently outside Isolde's cave, soothing her with his Alpha pheromones.

And I used to be so stupid. He’d say, "I fight for the pack's glory, you keep things stable for me back here," and I’d believe his nonsense.

I never once questioned his so-called "urgent business."

Before leaving the cave, I found myself walking towards the fancy cave area where Isolde lived – second only to the Alpha's own dwelling.

Through a crack in the cave entrance, I saw Damian's tall back.

He was carefully feeding rare medicinal herbs to Isolde, who was lounging on a soft couch. The way he looked at her, it was like she was a fragile, priceless treasure.

"Damian, her soul core is already very weak! What if something happens to her..." Isolde pretended to be worried, sounding so kind.

"Don't worry. As a healer, she has plenty of soul power."

Damian's tone was indifferent. "Even if her core is damaged, as long as she can help you before she completely dies, that's good enough."

My legs went weak, and I almost collapsed in the snow.

He knew. He actually knew the real state of my soul core.

"But, the purity of the essence she can provide might decrease. Don't worry, though,"

Damian chuckled, picking her up in a suggestive way. "She also has a brother, Liam. That kid's soul essence is as pure as newborn moonlight. It'll be even better for your recovery."

He was even targeting my brother Liam!

My nails dug deep into my palms, but I couldn't feel the pain, only a bone-chilling cold.

"But that's her only brother. Will she agree?" Isolde purred, nestled in his arms.

Damian scoffed, his tone arrogant. "Seraphina is my fated mate. She loves me so much she'd give up anything. As long as she doesn't know the essence is ultimately for you, forget her brother's – she'd burn her own soul core to ashes to please me."

My past self was exactly like that. I would have died for him, only to end up with my soul tortured and eventually shattered.

I clapped a hand over my mouth and stumbled away.

On the way back to my cave, images of my brother Liam's horrible death from my past life kept flashing in my mind.

His pale little face, his chapped lips, that glaring, faint glow on the altar from his soul being forcibly ripped out...

Back in my cave, Liam rushed over and hugged me tight, his face beaming. "Sister! Where have you been?"

Hearing his familiar voice, my tears instantly burst forth.

Last time, when Liam died, he’d cried out just like this, "Sister, save me!"

I fought back a sob, unable to say a word, just hugging him back tightly.

My brother and I had relied on each other since we were little. We weren't high-ranking in the pack, and he was very sensitive. He immediately noticed something was wrong. "Did Alpha Damian bully you again?"

I didn't want to worry him, so I denied it.

But he huffed, like a little wolf pup with its fur on end. "Sister, every time you come back from his place, your soul aura is much dimmer!"

"He's not a good Alpha! Every time he comes to our cave, he stares at you like... like a snow wolf staring at a wounded elk!"

My brother's innocent comparison hit me hard.

Yeah, in Damian's eyes, I was just an "elk" that could provide fresh soul essence.

I wiped my tears, cupped my brother's small face, and told him seriously, "Liam, you're right. Once sister sorts some things out, I'll take you away from here! Remember, no matter what happens, don't go anywhere alone with Alpha Damian, okay?"

Hearing I wanted to leave Damian, to leave this suffocating pack, my brother almost jumped for joy.

I couldn't help but despise myself. I wasn't even as clear-sighted as a ten-year-old, so easily fooled by the empty title of "fated mate".

Once my brother was sound asleep, I quietly packed some rare herbs and healing stones our parents had left me.

I also contacted a messenger from a border pack I’d met during my travels. Using my last high-quality moonstone, I bought a pass and a guide to leave the pack territory in three days.