The Last Lesson

"You wolves these days are absolutely useless. You can't even tell that it's a fake travel permit? How are we supposed to trust you with the safety of the pack if this keeps up?"

When I heard Mother say those words, I was doubled over in agony, my whole body convulsing. I spat a mouthful of black blood onto the leather seat and stared at her in disbelief.

The captain of the guard frowned and spoke in a stern voice.

"According to wolf pack law, even if you are the Alpha, I'm afraid you'll have to step out of the vehicle and cooperate with an identity check. We can let you through once everything has been verified."

Father's expression darkened, and his eyes were red as if they were bleeding.

"Are you crazy? Why would I make a fake travel permit? It's real. Don't you know that? This is no time for jokes. Xena isn't going to make it if we delay any longer!"

My younger sister, Bella, rushed to our mother's side and grabbed her arm, shaking it desperately. Her voice trembled so badly that the words nearly broke apart.

"Mother! Stop saying things like that! Xena's been poisoned. If we wait any longer, her wolf spirit is going to scatter!"

Mother finally turned her head and glanced at Bella, sounding almost reproachful. "So, you do know how to be scared. Take a good look. This is what happens when you drink random things you shouldn't."

Then she turned back to the captain of the guard, with the faintest smile still playing at the corners of her mouth. "Well? Can you confirm whether this travel permit is real?"

At that, the captain's expression became even more serious. He walked to the car door and asked Father to step out for an identity check.

I was frantic.

Father was the only one who could drive through the Black Forest. Neither Mother nor Bella knew how to drive. If we were delayed any longer, I really would die.

I used the last of my strength to push myself upright and begged the captain in a hoarse whisper.

"Captain, the permit is real. Mother... She's just talking nonsense. Please, let us through. We need to get to the infirmary as quickly as possible. The wolfsbane has already reached my marrow. I really can't hold on much longer..."

Before I could finish, another violent coughing fit tore through me. A huge amount of dark blood surged up my throat and splattered across the seat and car door.

The captain's expression changed instantly when he saw me.

He was a fighter in the pack. He had seen far too many poisoned wolves and knew exactly what my condition meant.

However, the order to inspect travel permits at this section of the road had come without warning today. He was short on manpower and had no spare people or vehicles to prioritize taking me to the royal infirmary.

Besides, there was nothing obviously fake about the travel permit. Even the special seal stamped onto it was an exact match. If they carried out a full identity verification, it would take at least an hour. With me in my current condition, we simply could not afford that kind of delay.

He stopped and looked sternly at Mother.

"Luna, please tell me the truth. Is the travel permit real or not? We've done a preliminary inspection, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. If you're only joking around and the permit is real, you can leave right now.

"However, if it's fake, you'll have to cooperate with the identity verification, and you'll be responsible for whatever consequences follow."

I cried and begged Mother.

"Mother, please. Just tell them the truth... I really can't hold on much longer. As long as you agree and save my life, you can punish me or yell at me however you want afterward. I'll take it all."

The wolves waiting in line nearby could not stand watching anymore. One after another, they started pleading with her.

"That's right, Luna. The cub is already in that condition. Saving her life should come first!"

"Exactly. What could possibly be more important than a life?"

Bella joined in, desperately begging, "Mother, I'll never drink cough syrup again. I swear I won't!"

At that, Mother's voice finally softened a little. She gently stroked the top of Bella's head.

"Good. At least you know to be afraid.

"Your wolf spirit has always been weak. Have you forgotten how you nearly lost your soul the first time you shifted? That cough syrup may be medicine, but drinking too much is bad for your body, and it can become addictive. You absolutely cannot drink it anymore."

She finally sighed and waved dismissively at the captain. "All right, all right. It's not a big deal. I was just joking around and trying to lighten the mood."

The weight crushing down on my heart finally lifted. The moment I relaxed, my body went limp.

However, just as the captain ordered the guards to clear the road and Father prepared to start the engine, Mother suddenly let out a soft laugh, as if she had just remembered something amusing.

Then she started laughing harder.

"Hahaha! You people really are too trusting. The Alpha deliberately made a fake permit to test how well you guards are doing your jobs. And you couldn't even tell it was fake! If this gets investigated later, don't blame me for not warning you."

The captain turned livid.

"If that's the case, then, Alpha, please hand me the travel permit. We'll conduct a detailed examination to determine whether it's genuine. You'll also need to step out and cooperate with the identity verification."

I could not catch my breath. The agony of the lethal wolfsbane burning through my organs twisted together with the suffocating pressure in my chest. My vision went black, and I nearly passed out.

The lethal wolfsbane had already taken away my ability to shift. My hands curled into tight claws as my entire body began to convulse uncontrollably.

Bella could not take it anymore. "Mother! Are you insane? Can't you see that Xena is dying?"

Mother calmly turned her head toward Bella. She even reached out and patted the top of her head.

"What are you yelling about? Look carefully. Today, I'm going to use your sister's pain to teach you a lesson. I want you to remember this forever. You can't just mess around with medicines when you don't know where they came from.

"And you certainly can't spend every day drinking bottle after bottle of cough syrup! Your sister was born with a strong constitution, and even she ended up like this.

"Now think about yourself. You've always been weak. If you drink something like that, something terrible could happen."

I stared at her in disbelief, my eyes widening.

At a moment when my life was hanging by a thread, Mother was actually using my life to teach Bella a lesson.

Father was shaking with rage. Even his voice had changed. "Xena is already like this! And you still... You still..."

Mother interrupted him without a hint of concern, "What are you so afraid of? I only put a tiny amount of lethal wolfsbane in it. I diluted it with three times as much Moon Spring water. It isn't nearly as poisonous as you think.

"Besides, Xena is the strongest wolf in the family. Her constitution is incredibly strong. What are you all panicking about? She can still talk, can't she?"

She turned to Bella, and her voice became even sharper. "And you. Your cough was already gone, but you kept begging for cough syrup every single day. I've been sick of watching it for a long time.

"Today, I'm going to make sure you remember this lesson! Your sister took this lesson for you, so you'd better remember it!"

I curled up in the back seat as the burning pain from the wolfsbane eating through me spread from my marrow all the way to my fingertips.

My healing ability had already been pushed past its limit by the wolfsbane. Those few sentences had used up almost every bit of strength I had left.

Now, I could not even force out a complete sentence.

However, Mother would never know. She could not feel my pain.

A few months ago, Bella had secretly slipped out to have some fun. To keep our family from finding out, she had quietly blocked the mind link between herself and the rest of us.

On her way home, she ran into a giant beast. She panicked and completely forgot to restore the mind link and call for help.

If the guard patrol had not happened to be passing by that night, she probably would have lost her life.

Mother had been terrified. She stayed by Bella's side for several days afterward. She even blocked her mind link with me so she could focus entirely on taking care of Bella.

Father had been worried that something might happen to me too, but Mother had shut him down with a single sentence.

"Don't you know how strong Xena is? Nothing can hurt her. Besides, she's the best-behaved child in the family. She always listens and never does anything reckless. Instead of worrying about her, you should focus on Bella. She's at that age where she's always getting into trouble.

"Once some time has passed and Bella grows a little more sensible, we can restore our mind links again, can't we?"

Father had thought about it and decided she had a point, so he went along with her wishes.

Now, when I was actually in danger, they could not feel a thing.

Voices swirled together around me, but I could barely make out what anyone was saying anymore.

My consciousness was fading when a rugged vehicle bearing the Silver Moon insignia suddenly pulled up.

Through my blurred vision, I vaguely saw a middle-aged wolf hurry toward us.

It was Bruce Freeman, the Beta who had been at Father's side since I was little and one of the most renowned fighters in the wolf clan.

He had obviously seen me coughing up blood. Without asking a single question, he shouted to the captain of the guard.

"Captain! The permit I have was issued by you just today. There's no way there's a problem with it. I'll take the child to the royal infirmary! You can continue your inspection according to procedure. Just don't delay her treatment!"

The captain clearly knew him.

After taking one look at Bruce's travel permit, he visibly relaxed. He immediately nodded and called over his men to open the checkpoint and let us through.

Bella held my increasingly cold body in her arms, her eyes red from crying. She could do nothing but thank Bruce over and over.

Father also turned to Bruce, his voice breaking as he promised that our entire clan would do everything in its power to repay him afterward.

Mother stood beside the car, frowning slightly, but she said nothing. She simply lowered her head and softly reassured the frantic Bella.

"All right. Your sister will be fine. Just remember what you learned today."

I curled up in Bella's arms. Her thin arms wrapped tightly around me as she kept calling my name and encouraging me to hold on.

My vision had gone completely black. The pain tearing through my organs felt as if it were shredding me into pieces, yet I finally let out a breath of relief.

Bruce was reliable. If he took me to the royal infirmary, they could purge the wolfsbane from my body and save my life.

I would survive.

However, just as Bruce was about to carry me into the vehicle, Mother suddenly rushed over and grabbed the car door with both hands. No matter what, she refused to let me get in.