Chapter 3

Mother still did not budge. She frowned, and a trace of impatience crept into her voice.

"Bella, get up. You're not in good health. How could you let your feet touch that cold ground?"

Her words hit me like a slap across the face.

Bella could not let her feet touch the cold ground. Yet when Bella had been caught stealing from a store in our territory, Mother had forced me to kneel outside the store and apologize on Bella's behalf.

Even now, when I was coughing up blood like that, all Mother cared about was Bella's health. She did not care about me at all.

Father covered his chest, trembling with anger. "How long are you going to keep this up? What exactly do you want before you'll be satisfied?"

"What do you mean, satisfied?" Mother suddenly raised her voice. "This is all your fault!"

Father stared at her in confusion.

Under the bewildered eyes of everyone around us, Mother finally revealed the truth.

"Last week was the 20th anniversary of the day we met. I asked you half a month in advance to spend the day with me, but you said you were too busy with pack business. Then you completely forgot about it. You didn't even wish me a happy anniversary!

"You said you were busy! You said you had a terrible memory! So now, I'm going to make you understand exactly what your careless attitude can lead to!"

Father looked like he was about to lose his mind. "Not another anniversary! Caroline, can you please be reasonable for once? How many anniversaries do we need to celebrate in a single year?

"Our anniversary for the day we met, our anniversary for when we started dating, our bonding ceremony anniversary, even the anniversary of our first date. You want to celebrate every single one of them!

"When have I ever refused to go along with you? The pack has been incredibly busy lately. Do you have any idea how much I have to deal with every single day?

"And besides, when I forgot because I was busy, didn't I apologize to you immediately? Didn't I even make up for it by giving you a gift? So why are you bringing it up again?"

Mother became even more upset when Father argued back.

"How dare you yell at me? If you do something wrong, you have to admit it. Just because I accepted your gift doesn't mean I forgave you! When we first got together, you said you loved how romantic I was, so why are you suddenly acting like it's a burden now?"

Father opened his mouth, but he was so furious that he could not get a single word out. The mighty Alpha had been driven to that state by his own mate. He had never imagined that the price of forgetting a single anniversary would end up being paid with my life.

Suddenly, I felt exhausted. The pain did not seem quite as bad anymore. My body was slowly stopping its violent trembling.

However, I knew that was not a good thing. My wolf spirit was growing weaker.

When Bella saw my eyes close, she panicked and frantically patted my cheeks. "Xena! Xena! Don't go to sleep! Wake up! Wake up!"

Father knew there was no point arguing with Mother anymore. When he saw that I was already losing consciousness, he shoved Mother aside and carried me into Bruce's vehicle.

"Quick, Bruce! Save Xena first. She's been poisoned, and she's in serious danger. Take her to the royal infirmary. I'll stay here and cooperate with the identity check. I'll meet up with you afterward."

Bruce nodded and hurried into the vehicle.

Only then were we finally able to speed through the gates of the royal infirmary. I thought that once we reached the infirmary, I would finally have a chance to survive. However, Mother was about to cause trouble again.