Chapter 4
She laughed, a sound sharp with rage.
“Easy for you to say! Where will you go without a Pack? Do you want to be torn apart by savage Rogues in the woods?”
The sharp pain in my chest intensified with each passing moment. Soon, I would probably collapse just like last time.
But I still managed to pull the corners of my mouth into a smile that was uglier than a grimace.
“Being a Rogue… is better than being your tool.”
“At least a Rogue isn’t framed by her own father, her rank stripped.”
“She isn’t sacrificed by her own mother, her inner wolf ripped away for a fake sister.”
“And she certainly won’t have to beg for a single bite of food when she’s on the brink of death.”
As the last words fell, both the Alpha and Luna’s expressions shifted.
But clearly, what concerned them wasn’t my talk of dying.
The Alpha grabbed the Luna’s arm, his face etched with impatience.
“That’s enough. Why waste your breath on her? She’s just playing the victim to force our hand!”
“Didn’t she want to be a Rogue? Then let her!”
“I’d like to see how many days she can last outside the Azure Crest territory!”
The Luna gritted her teeth, her chest heaving. She stared at me, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, but it was quickly consumed by rage.
“Fine.”
She looked at me, her voice devoid of any warmth.
“From this day on, whether you live or die is no concern of ours.”
The pain in my chest grew heavier and heavier. I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream.
Not until their two lofty figures disappeared completely around the street corner.
Just as I was about to leave, a soft laugh echoed from behind me.
It was Lilith.
“Well, well, if it isn’t our former Aura Weaver. Why are you kneeling by the road in rags, like an unwanted mutt?”
The Alpha’s illegitimate son, Kian, sneered beside her.
“Pathetic, trying to gain sympathy. A waste like her is worthless outside the Pack.”
I gripped the railing, forcing myself to stand, and looked up at them coldly.
“Still better than those who can only live glamorous lives by deceiving, plundering, and feeding off the blood of others.”
“In the end, you’re not even as good as a waste.”
The smiles on their faces froze.
Lilith’s face darkened, her voice turning shrill.
“Shut up! Do you really think they care about you? You were just a blood-bag my mother kept around!”
“To pave my way, to shield me from disaster, and finally, to take the curse for me so I could have Garrett.”
The more she spoke, the more smug she became, her lips twisting into a strange, warped smile.
“You really think the Alpha and Luna could ever truly abandon you, don’t you? But what if you laid a hand on us? Do you think they would still acknowledge you then?”
My heart sank. Before I could react, she struck herself with a burst of dark energy and, pulling Kian with her, screamed as they tumbled down the nearby stone steps of the tavern.
“Mom, save me—”
The next second, the Luna rushed out from the corner, throwing herself over to embrace Lilith.
Lilith shrank into her arms, weeping a river of tears.
“Mom, Cora didn’t mean to… She just hates me so much…”
I opened my mouth, but before any defense could escape, the Alpha had already charged forward. A shockwave of his pure Alpha aura sent me flying.
I slammed against a stone wall, my ears ringing as a searing pain tore through my organs.
The Alpha’s eyes blazed with fury as he pointed at me. “You monster, Cora! How could you attack your own kin?”
“If I had known you were so vicious, I should have let you die in the wild!”
I stood there, numb with pain, a metallic taste flooding my throat.
Watching them cooperate so seamlessly to protect their chosen pups, I was struck by the sheer, heartbreaking absurdity of it all.
“You won’t have to,” I murmured.
I didn’t look at them again. I turned and ran, sprinting toward the Moonstone Cliff at the edge of the Pack’s territory.
The pain in my chest grew worse, each breath a knife’s cut, but I gritted my teeth and kept running until I reached the cliff’s edge.
Seeing me standing on the precipice, a trace of panic finally flashed across their faces.
But before they could speak, Kian leaned in and whispered urgently:
“Dad, she just said that if Lilith and I died, she would be your only heir.”
“She’s threatening to go Rogue to force your hand!”
That single sentence snuffed out the flicker of panic on their faces.
The Alpha’s expression turned grim, his tone cold and impatient.
“Cora, if you have the guts, then jump.”
“And never come back.”
The Luna’s face turned to ice.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to give your life back to us? Then jump.”
“Stop putting on a show. Who are you trying to scare with death?”
Lilith leaned against the Luna’s side, her eyes red, playing the pitiful victim.
“Luna, don’t say that to Cora. She’s just not thinking straight.”
“Cora, step away from the edge. We’re still a Pack…”
A Pack?
What pack did I have left?
My rank was destroyed by the Alpha’s own hand. My supposed mate was a lie from the start, a pawn to make me take a curse for Lilith.
And now, the Luna held Lilith in her arms, not even sparing me a proper glance.
“No one is going to indulge your temper. When you’re done with this tantrum, you’ll come down and bare your throat to Lilith—”
“You’ve always seen me as a burden, haven’t you?”
I interrupted her, my voice trembling but every word clear.
“Then I’ll give this flesh and blood back to you. Right now.”
As my words fell, I took a step back into the abyss.
