Chapter 3

Edgar carried my body into the underground healer's den.

It was late at night, and no one else was there. Only the moonstone lamps on the walls cast a faint, bluish glow.

"Dr. Hanks," Edgar said softly. "I need a full autopsy, but don't file it in the official records."

Steve Hanks was the most respected healer in the pack. He also watched me grow up.

The moment he lifted a corner of the cloak, his hand trembled violently.

"Oh Moon Goddess!" he murmured. When he turned to Edgar, his eyes were filled with shock and grief. "Is this Jennifer?"

Edgar looked away. His jaw clenched tightly.

Steve fell silent for a long while before finally putting on his gloves.

"The fatal cause was internal organ failure due to wolfsbane poisoning," he said solemnly. "But she suffered prolonged abuse before death, and her body was deliberately mutilated afterward."

He paused. When the scanner passed over my slightly rounded abdomen, it suddenly stopped.

A faint trace of life flickered on the screen.

Steve's hand froze midair. It began to shake.

"She–" His voice quivered. "She was pregnant. About seven weeks."

The healer's den fell into absolute silence.

Edgar staggered backward and slammed against the wall with a dull thud.

He stared at my abdomen where the blood had not yet fully dried.

"The pup–" His voice broke off. "Did Ryan know?"

"It doesn't appear so." Steve shook his head gravely.

Edgar drove his fist into the stone wall. Blood instantly seeped out from the cracks on his skin.

He didn't seem to feel it. He only kept staring at my ravaged body on the table.

"Keep examining," he forced out through clenched jaws. "I want every piece of evidence proving she's Jennifer. Every single one."

Steve nodded. In the end, he retrieved a small, broken shard of necklace from a torn section of skin at my neck.

Under the cold blue glow, a corner of the Moon Goddess emblem glinted faintly.

It was the mate gift Ryan had once given me so casually.

I had kept it on for three years and never taken it off.

That was until a few days ago when I saw him place a brand-new crescent gemstone necklace around Fiona's neck. He had lowered his head and said, "I made this myself. Jennifer's was just something I bought outside. Don't be upset."

Fiona pouted. "Then when are you going to bond with me officially?"

Ryan had gone quiet for a moment.

"Soon. I'll find a way to dissolve my bond with Jennifer."

Once a mate bond was formed, forcibly breaking it would cause both parties unbearable pain.

Back then, Fiona had looked thoughtful.

Now, I understood.

If I died, the bond would dissolve on its own.

So that was it. She didn't just want my position. She wanted my life.

"Enough." Edgar gathered all the reports and evidence in his arms. His eyes were bloodshot. "These will be enough."