4

The abandoned dungeon in the north sat right against the edge of the Dark Forest, the most vulnerable point of entry for the rogues.

A guard shoved me into an iron cage and locked the door.

Inside the cage, there was no food, no water, not even a blanket to keep out the cold.

I curled up on the freezing stone floor, shaking all over, my mind drifting back to years ago.

After my mother died, my stepmother married my father and brought Serena with her. My life at home fell apart from that day on.

It wasn't until I married Ashton that I thought I had finally found happiness...

My consciousness faded as I reached into my boot.

Hidden there was a shard of glass I had grabbed in the chaos, its edge razor-sharp.

I gripped it with numb fingers and dragged it across my palm, drawing blood.

The pain kept me conscious.

Night fell, and a blood-red full moon rose into the sky.

Piercing howls echoed from deep within the Dark Forest, and then the alarm tower's bells rang out across the territory.

Flames shot skyward. The clash of battle was deafening.

Through the dungeon's iron grate, I saw that Ashton had positioned every last elite warrior around Serena's safe house.

But here, around me, there wasn't a single guard.

Then the mark on my neck erupted in a blaze of searing pain.

A scent, thick and almost bloody, poured from the mark and carried on the night wind toward the Dark Forest.

The blood sacrifice curse had been activated.

"Awooo!"

Almost instantly, the rogues that had been charging toward the territory turned as one and came barreling toward my dungeon.

The iron door buckled under the impacts. Hinges groaned and loosened.

I dodged desperately, but the rogues' claws caught my skin again and again, tearing bloody streaks across my body.

CLANG!

After several more blows, the bars split open, and I forced myself through the gap with everything I had.

Stone walls tore through my clothes and skin. I tumbled into the snow outside and looked up to find something far worse.

Behind the dungeon stretched the bottomless Howling Abyss.

Dozens of red-eyed rogues closed in from all sides, driving me step by step toward the cliff's edge.

There was nowhere left to go.

I stood at the edge. Wind whipped through my hair.

Through the firelight, I saw Ashton standing at the top of the high tower.

His eyes were locked on me, his body beginning to shift, as if he were about to rush to my side.

A flicker of hope stirred in my chest. Would he save me?

But the very next moment, Serena stumbled out of the safe house and threw her arms around him from behind, crying, "Ashton, don't leave me! You swore you'd protect me! If you go, what happens when the rogues come?"

Ashton froze.

He closed his eyes, turned around, and pulled Serena into his arms. All he left me was his broad back.

I laughed.

The sound shattered in the wind, mixed with blood and tears.

Lena, what are you still hoping for?

"GRAAAH!"

The lead rogue lunged.

I didn't dodge.

I pulled the wolfsbane-soaked silver dagger from my boot, gripped it in a reverse hold, and drove it into the mark on the side of my neck.

Silver pierced flesh. I bit down until my teeth cracked and carved that mark of shame out of my own skin.

Blood erupted, staining the white snow red.

The lure scent vanished from the air in an instant. The rogue mid-leap crashed to the ground, thrown off by the sudden rush of raw blood.

I held up the torn flesh and, with my last breath, spoke the oldest oath of the wolf race toward the tower, "I, Lena, reject Ashton as my fated mate.

"The bond is severed. In life and in death, we shall never meet again!"

BOOM.

Something shattered deep inside my soul.

On the tower, Ashton staggered as if struck by lightning. Blood burst from his mouth and he crashed to his knees on the cold stone.

Then I spread my arms wide, like a bird with broken wings, and fell backward into the Howling Abyss.

"LENA!"

I thought I heard Ashton screaming my name, his voice tearing apart.

But I didn't care anymore.

I was free.