Chapter 4

"Arthene saved me by taking a fatal blow meant for me from a Rogue," Ares explained with an anxious gaze.

He didn't even glance at me as he shouted for healers.

My heart ached at the time. But that night, Ares held me and spent all night comforting me.

"Don't overthink it. She's my savior. If we don't save her, the Thunderhowl pack will become a joke. I'll send her away once she recovers."

I'd believed what he'd said.

But when Arthene recovered, she didn't leave. Not only did she stay, but she also became Ares' battle partner.

Wild, agile, and untamable, she was capable of keeping up with Ares' high-intensity combat pace.

Meanwhile, due to long-term bloodletting and physical exhaustion, I could only wait in the tent for his return.

Later, the time they spent together gradually became longer than the time he spent with me.

Then one day, I sensed the scent of the Bloodbone pack on Arthene, so I wanted to catch up to Ares and tell him about it.

Deep in the jungle, I saw a scene that left me gasping for air—two bodies were entangled with each other on the grass. It was my mate and the pack's "savior".

Their heavy panting sounded even more piercing than a beast's roar.

I stepped back in shock, but my foot snapped a dry branch and startled a nearby corrupted beast. It was then that a black panther pounced on me!

At the critical moment, it was the disheveled Arthene who rushed over and took a swipe meant for me, causing blood to instantly spurt out.

Arthene collapsed in a pool of blood. Her face was deathly pale as she mumbled, "Estella… Run…"

Ares rushed over like a madman and scooped her up.

Back at the pack, I cried and demanded to know why he had betrayed me.

His eyes were bloodshot as he said coldly, "If you hadn't run amok, Arthene wouldn't have gotten hurt at all! Why did you follow me? Do you realize you could have killed her? It's all your fault!"

I tried to explain myself. "But she had the scent of an enemy pack. I was worried about you…"

"Enough!" That was the first time he'd shouted at me.

"Estella, I never thought you could be so jealous. Arthene was kind enough to save you, but you dare call her a spy?" Ares roared.

In that instant, a deep crack appeared in our perfect "love". He was the one who cheated and did something wrong. Why did it become my fault in the end?

Afterward, Ares came to me. His tone was slightly softer, but it still carried that lofty self-righteousness from before.

"It was just an accident, a primal instinct. I'm an Alpha, so mating with a strong she-wolf is my nature. Arthene is stronger than you. She can fight alongside me and also protect you."

He patted my head like taming a disobedient pet. "As long as you behave and stop making a fuss, the position of Luna will always be yours."

Thus, I endured it—for the guilt I felt toward Arthene blocking the blow, for the trust I still had in him, and for the damn Seven-Day Withering curse.

And what happened in the end?

My restraint fed his greed, my silence became weakness in his eyes, and my feelings turned into "filth" to him.

…

Suddenly, a rough hand groped my thigh, and I was jolted awake from my memories.

Before me loomed the face of an unfamiliar werewolf.

"Hey, you're awake?" The werewolf grinned, his yellowed teeth reeking of foul odor.

He clicked his tongue. "The test said you were impure, but this face and this figure… You're truly worthy of being the Alpha's former mate."

He then roughly tore at my collar.

"Get off!" I shouted.

"Why are you acting like a virgin?"

The werewolf pinned me down and pressed his entire body on me. He said lewdly, "When the Alpha threw you down here, he said… He said anyone could go for a whore like you.

"Since you're already tainted anyway, why not let a few of us have some fun? Consider it your last bit of usefulness before death."

An explosion went off in my mind.

Anyone could have me? Ares… You had actually become this cruel?

Before, he would worry for half a long time if my finger got a tiny cut. But now, he wanted to throw me to random wolves to be ravaged?

He not only wanted to kill me, but he wanted to break my heart as well.

"Don't touch me…" I said through gritted teeth.

My tears had long dried up, leaving only immense hatred behind.

The werewolf sneered and lowered his head to bite my neck. "Be good and let me cherish you…"

What followed instead was a muffled sound of a sharp blade entering flesh. The wolf froze, and he widened his eyes in disbelief as he looked down.

A sharp claw had been brutally pierced through his chest.

I had half-shifted.

Before, to sustain Ares and his pack, I drained all my powers—including my ability to shift—and fed it to him.

But all my sacrifices were in vain, so I'd reclaimed my power. My pure Alpha bloodline couldn't only suppress the pain brought by the curse, but it could also sustain me.

Panting, the wolf clutched his torn chest. Blood came gushing out and splattered all over my face.

He collapsed, twitched twice, and stopped moving.

I pushed the heavy corpse aside and staggered to my feet. I picked up the Snow Wolf hide from the ground, shook off the mud, and draped it over my shoulders again.

It was now filthy, but it felt like my mom's embrace.

I looked down at the dead wolf, then glanced toward the brightly lit square of the Thunderhowl pack in the distance. Celebrations for Arthene's Luna Ceremony were in full swing there.

I wiped the blood from my face and smiled.

Seven days, huh? Since I was going to die anyway…

Then, before I died, I would settle the score of these three years with him.