Chapter 7

That night, Morgana and Morgan were mixing new potions in a corner on a stone table. Various colored liquids bubbled in crystal bottles, releasing a strange fragrance mixed with herbs and magic.

Lia was lying in my lap, her little head nodding to the tune I hummed. Her silver-white hair shimmered with a soft glow in the moonlight.

"Mommy," Lia suddenly looked up, tugging on my sleeve. Her large golden eyes were filled with anticipation. "Tonight I want to sleep with you. And I want to hear that lullaby again about the moon and the little wolf."

I was about to agree when a deep voice came from the other side of the cave. "No."

Eros put down the silver dagger he was polishing and stood up, walking toward us.

In the light of the blood moon, his figure looked especially tall. The black leather armor on him bore faint, mottled marks—countless scars from countless battles.

"Why?" Lia immediately pouted, dangerous red lights starting to flash in her eyes. "Mommy always sleeps with me! Mommy's mine!"

Eros crossed his arms, his brows furrowed, but his tone was unusually firm. "Things are different now. Tonight, Serina sleeps with me."

The comments from those watching the trial started scrolling wildly:

【Here it comes! Family war about to break out!】

【My ghost cub Lia will win! She's scary even when she's mad at herself!】

【Betting on Eros! He's the one who can take on an entire pack single-handedly!】

【Place your bets! I'm putting my money on Lia! Those little fangs of hers aren't just for show!】

Lia's form began to change, starting to ghostify. Her nails became sharp and dangerous.

"Mommy's mine!" she growled, a voice completely unlike that of a young cub.

Eros was equally unyielding. Blood-colored energy fluctuations started to surround him, and the air in the cave seemed to solidify. "She's my destined mate." His voice carried the unique deterrent force of a wolf, making the moss on the cave walls tremble slightly.

Seeing sparks about to fly between them, Morgana and Morgan intervened in time.

Morgana still held a potion bottle emitting purple smoke, while Morgan blocked the two of them who were facing off.

"That's enough," Morgana scooped up the ghostifying Lia, skillfully avoiding her flailing little paws. "Stop making a scene, little cub."

Meanwhile, Morgan stood in front of Eros, staring at him with a warning look. "Control yourself, Eros. Your energy fluctuations are going to spill my potions."

Lia struggled in Morgana's arms, her voice choked with tears. "But Mommy promised to sing my lullaby! She promised!"

Morgan turned around and crouched down to look Lia in the eyes. Her tone was surprisingly gentle. "Listen up, little one. If you want little brothers and sisters to play with, Mommy and Daddy need some alone time tonight."

Lia froze, her ears twitching in confusion. The ghostly features began to fade away. "Brothers and sisters?"

"That's right," Morgana picked up the thread, winking mysteriously. "But they can only appear when Mommy and Daddy are alone together. Like magic—it needs special conditions."

The viewing screen was instantly flooded with question marks and exclamation marks:

【Little brothers and sisters?! What are they teaching this kid?!】

【Wait, are these witch sisters actually trying to play matchmakers?】

【This is the weirdest family mediation I've ever seen!】

【This parenting style is way too hardcore!】

Lia tilted her head, thinking for a moment, her face completely serious. "Little wolf cubs that can run and jump? The kind that can play hide-and-seek with me?"

"Something like that," Morgan suppressed a smile. "And you can teach them how to hunt and take berry picking. So will you come sleep with us tonight, okay?"

Lia's eyes instantly lit up. She immediately nodded obediently and even took Morgana's hand. "Then I want three little brothers and sisters! No, five!"

The witch sisters left with expressions of victory. As they went, Morgan even shot Eros a meaningful look over her shoulder. "Don't waste this night," she mouthed.

Suddenly, it was just Eros and I in the cave. The tense atmosphere from moments ago suddenly became subtle and quiet. I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat echoing between the stone walls, unusually clear.

Eros cleared his throat uncomfortably, the tips of his ears clearly flushing red. "They always stick their noses in where they don't belong," he muttered, his gaze shifting around.

I couldn't help but laugh, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. "But it worked, didn't it? At least Lia's going to bed obediently."

We walked side by side toward the sleeping furs covered with soft animal pelts. The air was filled with a sweet tension.

Just as I was about to lie down, Eros suddenly spoke, his voice even deeper than usual. "You said before... that you like my muscles."

I froze, feeling my face start to heat up. "Um... I was just saying that to lighten the mood..."

But he started unfastening the clasps on his leather armor, his movements slow and deliberate. "You said you wanted to touch them. Now's your chance."

The viewing screen exploded:

【Wait, wait, wait! Is this content available for free?!】

【That bloodthirsty vampire-werewolf is actually offering himself up?!】

【Serina's Lunar Fear is still 0! Isn't she supposed to have a "perception disability" from birth?!】

【This is more exciting than any romance novel I've ever read!】

Eros took off his shirt, revealing a solid chest and abs. In the dim light, I could see his body covered with marks of varying depths, densely packed.

Curiosity compelled me to reach out and gently touch those scars. My fingertips felt the uneven texture.

"These are..." My fingers stopped on a particularly gruesome wound, a mark that stretched from his collarbone to his waist, clearly visible even in the dim light.

"Left by a silver whip," his voice was calm, as if telling someone else's story.

I gasped, my fingers trembling slightly. "Why? Why would they do that to you?"

He gave a bitter smile, his gaze drifting as if looking through the stone walls at a distant past. "I was the youngest commander in the Shadowfang Pack. At only twenty years old, I was promoted to Gamma Commander. Everyone said I would be the next Alpha."

There was a hint of barely perceptible pride in his voice, but it quickly faded. "During a territorial war, our Alpha chose to surrender, handing me over to the enemy pack as the price for peace. Trading his own commander's life for his safety."

My throat tightened, and I continued listening, my fingers unconsciously stroking those scars, as if that could ease the pain he had once endured.

"They shackled me with silver chains and whipped me with silver whips every day." His voice remained calm, but his fists clenched unconsciously, his knuckles turning white. "Later I heard that the surrender agreement demoted all members of our pack to slaves, and the cubs weren't spared either."

The comments from those watching the trial turned serious:

【The Shadowfang betrayal incident! I read about that in ancient texts!】

【So Eros didn't become a vampire-werewolf willingly?】

【Oh god, how desperate he must have been...】

【Did his family include those slaves?】

"So I escaped," the corners of his mouth curled into a cold arc. "In a way they never expected. Alone, I stormed their den and sent every member of that pack to the Moon's embrace. Not a single survivor left."

I covered my mouth, tears uncontrollably sliding down, dropping onto the scars on his chest. "And then?"

"Then?" He sneered, his gaze turning sharp. "The surviving witnesses said I was a monster who enjoyed killing. The Alpha Council sent three elite squads to hunt me down, leaving even more scars on my body, and finally pierced my heart with a silver sword."

My fingers gently traced the overlapping scars, my voice choked with tears. "It must have hurt so much. Every time, every wound..."

He froze for a moment, his deep eyes widening slightly, as if surprised by my question. "I'm used to it. The burning of silver, the cuts of blades... I used to all."

"But it hurts me," more tears fell onto his scars. I could even feel the muscles beneath the old scars twitching slightly. "Thinking about what you went through, thinking about you enduring all this alone... it hurts here." I pointed to my chest. It was indeed throbbing with pain.

Eros's expression instantly froze. His deep eyes locked onto me, swirling with complex emotions—shock, as if something long frozen was beginning to melt.

"Never... no one has ever said such things to me."

He slowly lifted his hand, gently stroking my cheek, his fingertips tenderly wiping away my tears, his movements awkward but careful. "Everyone was afraid of me, hated me, or wanted to use me. Even my own pack betrayed me. Never... no one has ever cried for me."

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a vulnerability I had never heard in him, like he had finally shed a heavy armor.

Then he leaned down and kissed me lightly. At first, the kiss was tentative, as if checking if this was real.

When I didn't pull away, it deepened—warm and firm, with an urgency that felt like long-suppressed emotions finally finding an outlet.

The viewing screen froze for a second, then exploded with a flood of comments:

【Moon Goddess above! They actually kissed!】

【! How is this possible?!】

【I'm actually seeing real love in a horror trial!】

The kiss was gentle and long-lasting. When he finally pulled back, we were both slightly breathless, our foreheads touching.

"Serina," he whispered, his warm breath brushing my cheek. "You remind me what it's like to be alive. Not as a weapon, not as a monster, but as a living, breathing person."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in the crook of his shoulder, feeling his strong heartbeat. "Eros, you deserve to be loved, deserve to be treated with tenderness. No matter what happened in the past, you deserve it."

He held me tighter, his arms firm and warm, as if I were his only anchor in the world.

"Stay," he whispered, his voice filled with a pleading I had never heard before. "Stay by my side forever. Be my moon, illuminating this eternal darkness."

Just then, there was a rustling sound at the cave entrance.

We both turned to see Lia and the witch sisters peeking through the stone doorway. Lia was on tiptoes, with Morgana and Morgan supporting her on either side.

"Are they making little brothers and sisters?" Lia asked innocently, her voice unusually clear in the quiet cave.

Morgana quickly covered her eyes: "Hey, little one. This is between adults."

Meanwhile, Morgan gave Eros a thumbs-up, a rare brilliant smile on her face. She mouthed: "Well done!"

Eros sighed helplessly, pulling a fur blanket over us.

"Looks like we lack basic privacy." His tone was complaining, but I could hear the amusement in it.

I couldn't help but laugh, leaning against his solid chest, feeling his steady heartbeat. "This is what family is like, Eros. They always show up at the most awkward moments, but they're always there for you."

He looked down at me, his eyes as gentle as the moonlight on a deep pond. "Maybe it's not so bad. With you here, it finally feels like home."

Those watching the trial all commented:

【This is the warmest horror trial I've ever seen!】

【This was supposed to be a blood moon trial! It's basically a dating sim game!】

【But why do I feel my eyes getting... wet?】

【So even these legendary monsters crave love...】

That night, we slept wrapped in each other's arms. In Eros's embrace, I felt a sense of security I had never experienced before.

His arms were wrapped around me, his chin gently resting on top of my head.

His breathing gradually became steady and deep. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt him gently kiss my forehead, and in a voice so low it was barely audible, he said:

"Thank you for coming to me. Thank you for seeing the real me."

The first three days passed quietly in our cozy atmosphere.

When the dawn of the fourth day arrived, the light of the blood moon seemed even more intense. The air was filled with a new tension.

I had just woken up and was brushing Lia's silver-white hair.

Suddenly, a cold mechanical voice echoed throughout the rainforest:

【Initial trial candidates: 100; current survivors: 20.】

This number made my fingers instinctively falter.

The communication crystal kept flashing with fragments of last messages—a Delta in the third-level cave torn apart by a frenzied wolf spirit.

An Omega at the fifth-level who instantly his Lunar Fear value to 100 and simply dissipated, supposedly having seen terrifying visions before his death.

And several candidates who tried to escape their caves only to be dragged away by other beings in the rainforest, leaving behind nothing but their screams echoing in the darkness.

"Mommy, your hands are shaking," Lia said, looking up at me with concern.

I forced a smile, about to reply, when the new trial mission was announced:

【Phase Two Mission: Token Collection】

【Collect at least ten tokens from other caves within the next three days.】

【Those who fail will be consumed by the blood moon on the seventh day.】

【Each token will provide bonus points.】