Inherit the shop

Rudela,

We people from the slum rarely married the modern way. To have the Moon Priestess perform the ceremony and issue a marriage certificate cost around three thousand dollars. For those who could barely keep their stomachs full, it was far beyond reach.

So soon after I turned eighteen and he turned twenty, we married in front of the elders and completed the basic marking ritual.

Now, walking the bumpy roads, I realized one thing. I was grateful that in the last six years he had left me alone under the Moon Oracle and that I had never carried his child.

A bitter smile touched my lips. Just yesterday I had been ready to sacrifice my life for him, dreaming he would always stand beside me.

In the end I had been foolish enough to dream such a thing.

“Rudela, let me shift. It will be faster,” my wolf whispered.

“Okay.”

We reached the shop not long after leaving. The door stood wide open and the backyard light was on.

“Boss!” I called as I stepped inside. He lived on the second floor. The moment I neared the stairs, the scent of the Lycan struck me. Dark energy filled the air, demanding submission.

“Rudela!” Warner’s weak voice answered.

“Boss, what happened?” I had to crawl to enter the back room that held the herb store. Warner stood barely upright, grinding dry herbs.

“Fetch me a bucket of water from the spring well. Not tap water.”

“Okay.” I ran outside, grabbed the bucket, and hurried to the well. The spring was fed by Moon Mountain and carried healing power—one of the most important ingredients for our potions.

As I leaned down to fill the bucket, my gaze caught my reflection beside the moon above. I was not ugly, yet not beautiful enough to make anyone fall in love. I was overweight as well. Despite working all day and often going hungry, I could never shed the extra weight.

I sighed, filled the bucket, and ran back inside.

Warner was barely holding himself up while trying to calm the Lycan King. The Lycan’s eyes glinted with dangerous warning, as if something inside him fought to break free. Warner’s hands bled and shook violently.

“What happened to him?” I asked, setting the bucket on the table.

“The poison is still in him. He is losing his mind. He will turn berserk if we do nothing.”

“Why not give him the detoxification potions?” I asked, gripping the Lycan’s thick furry arm to keep him against the bed.

“He is a Lycan. They will not work.”

“You never know. At least we can try.”

Warner hissed in pain and looked at me. “Fine. Prepare one with two extra doses of every herb.”

I nodded and went straight to the study where we mixed the medicines. After working here so long, the potion came together quickly.

Warner was still struggling to hold the Lycan when the snarls grew louder. The patrol guards would find him if this continued.

“Here!” I rushed back, holding a small ceramic bowl. “I added sugar. He has been bleeding all day. It will give him strength.”

Warner said nothing. He took the bowl, forced the Lycan’s jaws open, and poured every drop into his mouth. I watched, stunned. In that moment Warner did not look like an elderly man. His strength was astonishing.

“Why can’t we call the Lycan Kingdom officials and let them treat him? This is clearly beyond us.”

“No!” Warner’s voice was cold and final. “News of the royal family’s conflict has been spreading through the kingdom. It is said that his Luna married his younger brother in the Court of Law and Commands today.”

My hands froze. “What is the Court of Law and Commands?”

“It is the ultimate Moon Oracle for Lycans. Once you accept your chosen mate there, the bond with your destined mate snaps without anyone’s consent.”

My breath caught. “If the bond is broken, his condition will worsen. Is that what is happening to him now?”

My legs felt weak. I could not imagine the pain he must be feeling.

“It is possible. I suspect his brother is behind this attack. They have fought for the throne since they were young.”

I glanced at the majestic Lycan. The crescent-shaped mark on his forehead lit the perfect lines of his face. It was the first time I had seen anyone so striking with my own eyes. Yet it was a pity. No matter who you were, those who betrayed you were often the ones closest to you.

“What happens now? You cannot keep him here forever. What if someone is already searching for him? Will we not be killed?”

Warner showed the thin crack of concern on his face, but it slowly shifted to genuine surprise as the Lycan King began to calm.

“It worked?” he whispered. “The ordinary detoxification potion worked!” He stared at me with wide eyes. “How did you make that?”

“I did nothing special. I only added two extra measures of every herb, as you instructed.”

Warner ran a hand through his beard and slowly sat down. The Lycan King’s body collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion.

“Good job, Rudela. It seems time for you to earn the official permit and certificate as a healer.”

My eyes widened. “A healer? Me?”

Warner stood and walked to the old shelves. “Yes. You have completed every task without failure for two years straight.” He took out an old book and held it toward me.

“I have two proposals. Inherit my shop as my next of kin, or sit the examination for a pack healer’s post. The choice is yours.”

I froze. “Wait… what do you mean by inheriting the shop as your kin? Is that not meant for your family? I am only a worker here.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Have you ever seen anyone from my family?”

I shook my head.

“Because I have none. I never married. Every mate I found, I rejected. All I have left is this shop.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You are saying that after you, no one will inherit it?”

He nodded. “Yes. So what do you want?”

I stood frozen, thoughts empty. I had always dreamed of owning a shop of my own. But inheriting this massive place?

“Are you certain? You could sell it and gain a good sum of money.”

He shook his head. “If I needed money, I would have moved the shop long ago.”

I pressed my lips together. “Would it be wrong if I grew greedy?”

He gave a sharp chuckle. “No. Besides me, you are the only one who knows this place’s true worth. You will not abuse it.”

I lowered my head as tears streamed down my face. I had thought I would be left with nothing after rejecting Kyle. Yet the gods had different plans.

“Thank you. I will inherit it.” I smiled.

My next goal was to buy the rejection potion from the Moon Priestess and sever the bond with Kyle. I no longer wished to waste any more time on him.

Just as the thought formed, a strong hand closed around my wrist. I jumped.

I turned slowly and found a man sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at me with deep red eyes.

“Water.”