Chapter 4

Midnight approached, and rain lashed the wooden windows outside, driven by howling wind.

My leg joints issued waves of sour, aching creaks. Silver scales had densely covered both legs, and the edges of my feet had fully transformed into thin, cicada-wing fin membranes.

Enduring the agony, I sat up from the bed and threw on that thin black cloak.

Bracing against the wall, I moved inch by inch out of the cabin, toward the cliffside coast in the back hills.

I only had to reach the sea cliff, and my brother would bring the whale pod to take me back to the deep sea.

Yet just as I stepped onto the path behind the packhouse, the shrill horn of enemy attack suddenly sounded.

"Exiled wolves raiding the camp! Protect the pack!"

Over a dozen vicious exiled wolves broke through the outer defenses and stormed deep into the pack.

In the chaos, Chloe, who had been near the main hall, screamed and ran toward the back hills, running straight into me as I struggled along.

Before either of us could react, several hulking exiled wolves lunged forward, and thick black ropes looped around both Chloe and me!

"We've got the Alpha's women! Take them to the cliff!"

The exiled wolves dragged us at a dead run to the top of the thousand-fathom sea cliff!

The wind at the cliff edge cut like a blade, and below churned the furious sea and jagged rocks.

The exiled wolves hoisted Chloe and me into separate rope cages suspended from a rickety winch outside the cliff face, swaying violently in midair.

Lucas, Kane, and Aiden arrived, drenched in blood, leading the pack to surround the cliff.

"Let them go!"

Lucas's eyes were bloodshot, his wolf claws extending.

The exiled wolf leader stood by the winch, a machete in hand, and sneered:

"Alpha, the main rope is about to snap. The winch can only pull one person up!"

"I'm not here to fight you to the death tonight. I'll let you choose—pick one to pull up, and the other falls to feed the fish!"

The winch groaned under the strain, the hemp rope already frayed more than halfway, ready to snap at any moment.

In the adjacent cage, Chloe, terrified and tear-streaked, cried out desperately toward the cliff top:

"Lucas! Please, save Evelyn! I'm a widow, and Leo is injured. If I live, I'll only be a burden to everyone!"

"Let me fall and join Leo's father. Please, take care of Leo for me..."

Hearing Chloe mention her late husband, Kane and Aiden's expressions changed drastically, and they shouted anxiously at Lucas:

"Lucas! Choose Chloe, quick! Evelyn has merfolk blood—she won't drown if she falls into the sea! But Chloe is an ordinary wolf. Falling from this height onto the rocks, she'll die for certain!"

"Right! Evelyn can swim—she won't die from the fall! Save Chloe first!"

Lucas stood at the cliff top, his chest heaving violently.

After a moment, he looked at me, resolve in his eyes:

"Evelyn! You can swim—you'll survive the fall! Chloe will die for certain!"

"Bear with it. Once we pull Chloe up, the three of us will jump down and catch you right away!"

The storm whipped the waves into fury, and the tide at the sea cliff surged violently.

I hung suspended above the raging abyss, looking down at the churning black waves beneath my feet, then up at the three childhood companions who had once sworn to protect me with their lives.

This time, there was not a single tear in my eyes.

Aiden and Lucas together hauled on the rope on Chloe's side, straining to drag her upward!

At the same moment, Kane lunged at the exiled wolf leader!

Amid the violent jerking and shaking, the main rope—already worn to its last threads—snapped with a sharp crack!

Cage and all, I plummeted off the cliff, crashing heavily into the surging waves and rocks below.

The iron cage struck a rock, the door hinges broke, and a massive wave swept me out of the cage.

Up on the cliff top, Lucas, Kane, and Aiden pulled Chloe to safety and drove off the exiled wolves. Only then, hearing the splash of my fall, did they hurry down the cliffside path toward the beach:

"Evelyn! Hold on! We'll pull you ashore right away!"

Cold seawater rose over my chest, and the midnight tide thundered against the shore.

My coming-of-age day had arrived.

The bones in my legs issued a crisp sound, fusing together completely in the water.

Dense silver scales tore through the ruined dress, and my legs had fully become a long, dazzling silver tail!

From the far reaches of the deep sea came the low, resonant horn of the merfolk, calling me home.

Lucas, Kane, and Aiden reached the shallow rocks and were about to reach out to pull me up, still urgently reassuring me:

"Evelyn! Hold on! Give us your hand! We'll pull you ashore right now!"

"Don't be afraid—the pack is safe now. We're taking you home..."

Their words died in their throats.

Under the moonlight, I surfaced, my silver tail striking the waves and splashing cold seawater across their suddenly ashen faces.

Looking at the three childhood companions on the rocks, their eyes full of shock, I did not look at their outstretched hands again.

I turned, swept my silver tail, and dove without hesitation into the boundless deep sea, leaving that coastline behind forever.