Chapter 1

I didn't hesitate for a second. I tilted my head back and drank every last drop.

[Wolfsbane has entered the bloodstream. Self-healing permanently disabled. Countdown to death: seven days.]

It was late at night by the time Kyle returned. The attendants had unchained me from the judgment pillar and dumped me back in the bedroom tucked into the farthest corner of the main house. The wounds from the silver chains were still seeping blood, and my chest felt as though something were slowly tearing it apart from the inside. The door swung open, and Kyle walked in with the cold of the snow clinging to him.

He had changed into a brand-new dark gray overcoat, its collar carrying the distinctive fir fragrance sold at Redstone's spice shop. Leah loved the scent. He used to find it too sweet, but now he had grown used to wearing it. He walked to the bedside and set a paper box on the table.

"Honey berry pie from Redstone. It's your birthday too, after all."

He glanced at the blood-soaked gauze on my chest, and a faint crease appeared between his brows.

"Leah just wanted to see if the moon moth could be revived. She's never known hardship, and it's rare for her to take an interest in something. I didn't see the need to spoil it for her."

Kyle sat down, pressing his fingertips to my wrist and his palm to my chest to feel the pulse of my wolf spirit. The System concealed the signs of my wolf core's deterioration, so all he sensed was chaotic energy.

"The blade went half an inch too deep. That was my mistake. But your bloodline is stronger than an ordinary werewolf's. A wound like this won't kill you."

His tone was calm, as though he were stating a fact that could never be wrong. Kyle and I had grown up together. Two years ago, the Rosen family identified me as Erin Rosen, the biological daughter they had lost during a hunter attack, and brought me home to Silver Ridge from a border town.

By then, Leah had already been the pampered adopted daughter of the Alpha's household for sixteen years. The night I first arrived, everyone eyed me with suspicion and hostility. Kyle was the only one who stood in front of me. He said, "Erin, as long as I'm here, no one will ever shame you for where you came from. Anyone who lays a hand on you will never grow their claws back."

To stay with me in Silver Ridge, he had given up his position as heir of Moon Valley. But eventually, he fell in love with Leah, who was fragile, tearful, and always in need of someone's protection. To keep her happy, I became the only patient Kyle had ever willingly harmed.

Time after time, he watched others break me, and time after time, he put me back together.

"The pie won't taste as good once it's cold." Kyle opened the box and pushed the still-warm berry pie toward me. "That shop in Redstone only makes ten a day. I waited in line for two hours."

Kyle had never been one to lie. Leah had eaten a three-tier cake prepared by the household cook that night. He really had bought the pie for me alone. Some part of him still cared about me.

He simply believed that I would never leave, and that I could never truly die. I didn't touch the pie. I just looked at him and asked, "Kyle, what if I died?" His expression darkened instantly.

"How could you possibly die with me around?"

A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, quickly smothered by irritation.

"What are you making a fuss about now? Didn't you always love studying insects? Leah just borrowed a little of your blood. It's not like she was trying to kill you."

I looked at that familiar face and suddenly felt nothing but weariness. Yes, I liked insects. But I didn't like being chained to a judgment pillar in silver shackles, and I certainly didn't like my fiancé slicing open my chest just to settle one of Leah's casual bets.

Leah had been leaning against his shoulder, laughing as she said, "I bet her blood runs hotter than an ordinary werewolf's. It'll definitely bring the dead moon moth back to life." And so he had actually stabbed me. The searing pain in my chest suddenly intensified. I couldn't hold back the metallic sweetness rising in my throat any longer, and I doubled over and coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

The foul-smelling blood splattered across the still-steaming berry pie. Kyle's pupils contracted sharply, and when he reached out to steady me, his fingertips were visibly trembling.

"Erin, why is your blood black? Did the silver blade damage the vessels around your heart?"

He immediately opened his medical case and rummaged for moonstone needles that could stabilize the wolf core.

"Don't move. Let me seal the vessels around your heart first. Hold on. You'll be fine."

Just then, a maid's frantic voice came from outside the door.

"Kyle, something's wrong! Leah had a nightmare, and her wolf spirit is out of control. She keeps calling your name!"

Kyle's hand froze in midair. He looked at my ashen face, then toward the door, his expression torn.

"Leah can't breathe!" the maid urged again. "She says her chest hurts terribly, and she won't let anyone near her!"

Kyle clenched his jaw, then put the needle case away.

"You just took the medicine I prescribed. Purging the silver toxin from your body is normal." He seemed to be convincing me as much as himself. "Let me stabilize Leah's wolf spirit first. I'll be right back."

He turned and strode out. The moment the door closed, the System spoke again.

[Countdown to death: six days, twenty-three hours.]

I watched him disappear through the door and slowly closed my eyes.