Chapter 5

After that day, Lucian never appeared at the hospital again.

But my heart didn't move anymore. The mental bond sank into total silence, as if it had never existed.

The day I was discharged, I was still alone.

The sky was gray and dull, like a dirty rag. But today was the final deadline. I had to complete the last procedure.

Time was tight. I cut into a secluded alley to take a shortcut.

But at the corner, I caught sight of two vague figures ahead. A bad omen seized me instantly. Without thinking, I spun around to retreat the way I came.

Too late.

A blunt pain struck the back of my head, and my consciousness snapped off.

Splash.

Ice-cold water slapped across my face. I jolted awake.

Hands bound behind my back, I'd been thrown into the corner of a dim, moldy abandoned warehouse. Across from me, Selene was also tied up—hair a mess, yet not a hint of panic on her face.

Then heavy footsteps approached from outside, carrying Alpha pressure.

“Lucian!”

Selene switched instantly, shrieking through tears, her pheromones turning into frightened fragility.

“Let them go.”

Lucian's voice was cold as ice, eyes fixed on the man behind us—

Kael, the black-wolf tribal elder whose bruises from Lucian's banquet beating still hadn't faded. His gaze was poisonous. He casually tapped a silver dagger against his palm.

“Alpha Lucian, you think money makes it go away?” Kael sneered. “I was laid up in bed for half a month!”

He pointed the dagger at Selene and me. “Two Omegas. You can only take one. The other stays and ‘entertains' my brothers. Or—”

He paused, grin turning crueler. “Or I can let them both die.”

Lucian's jawline tightened, his voice squeezed through his teeth. “You dare.”

“Try me?” Kael laughed. “Go on—bet on it. See if your people get in here faster, or my silver blade does!”

The air went dead.

Lucian's gaze snapped between Selene and me. In that moment, Selene's real tear tracks and her terrified, dependent pheromones looked especially glaring in the dim light.

“Selene.”

He almost blurted it out.

“I choose Selene.”

The next second, I was kicked down into the cellar beside us. The cellar was piled with ore that reeked of silver toxin—torture to a wolf.

After that, I don't know how much time passed.

Beatings. Curses. The scorching of silver slicing skin… Consciousness flickered back and forth between agony and blackout.

They seemed to deliberately avoid killing blows, focused on stretching the torment. After one brutal strike, my left leg made a sickening crack—bone displaced—and went completely numb. The silver toxin in my gland, stimulated by the ore, invaded wildly. I could feel the last remnants of wolf nature in me being scraped away.

When the cellar door opened again, the weak light stabbed my eyes.

They tossed me out of the warehouse. A black car waited at the door.

Cedric.

“Miss Agatha, I'm here to take you back,” the old man said, as steady as ever.

Inside the car, silence.

I stared at the barren landscape whipping past the window. My voice was so light it was almost soundless.

“Where is he?”

Cedric hesitated, then answered, “The Alpha… is with Lady Selene. She was frightened that day, and the silver ore agitated her. After returning she developed a high fever, her pheromones extremely unstable.”

I tugged the corner of my mouth.

“Go straight to the punishment hall.”

The steward glanced at me. “You… could postpone for a few days.”

“No.”

My voice was hoarse.

“No need to wait anymore.”

The car returned to the villa. I dragged my broken leg out of the car—just in time to run into Lucian on his way out.

When he saw me, he stopped hard. Surprise flashed across his face—then a restless, explosive irritation replaced it. He strode over, grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like he'd crush bone.

“Agatha! Why didn't you respond to my mental link?” he hissed, fury compressed in his voice. “I called you so many times! Do you know how—”

He cut off.

Because he finally saw what I looked like now—

Blood-soaked. Face white as paper. Left leg twisted at an unnatural angle. My whole body swaying, as if a breath of wind could topple me.

The anger in his eyes congealed, turning into shock. His grip loosened without him noticing.

“You…” He opened his mouth as if to say something. But his gaze hit my empty eyes, and in the end he only turned away irritably, forcing out an explanation.

“Selene's pheromones went out of control. She's been blaming herself. It's dangerous. I… have to go right now.”

He paused, as if to soothe me—or to convince himself. “You rest first. I'll be back soon.”

Then he let go. He didn't even look at me again. He turned and hurried into the car. The black SUV sped away, disappearing beyond the tribe's iron gates.

I stood where I was, watching it vanish. Then without a second of hesitation, I turned and went into the punishment hall.

The cold here was familiar.

My back was a mess of scars. Old wounds and new marks almost covered the three silver brands.

“The last step,” Cedric announced without emotion.

He lifted special silver tweezers and precisely found the shard deep in the gland—the silver grit that had fused with flesh, the emblem of wolf marking.

Then he clamped down and yanked.

“—Ghk!”

The pain was beyond description, as if someone tore a piece of my soul off by force. My vision went black, blood rising in my throat, my body convulsing violently. I nearly passed out—but I bit down and refused to fall.

As the silver shard was removed, I felt it clearly: the last thread connecting me to Lucian, to the wolves, snapped completely.

Blood surged instantly, running down my spine and dripping onto the icy stone floor.

Cedric tossed the shard into the brazier. A faint hiss.

Then he handed me a document.

“Agatha Sterling. This is your certificate of separation from the wolf tribe. From this moment on, you have nothing to do with the Moonlight Wolves. Your wolf soul is dead. Your mark is gone. You are free.”

With trembling hands, I took the bloodstained certificate. Then, dragging one ruined leg, I inched out of the door that had imprisoned five years of my youth and delusion.

Outside, the sky had already darkened. Guided by memory, I moved—step by step—toward the human border.

Every step was like walking on crushed bone. Every step took me farther from the abyss called Lucian.

Moonlight poured down, cold and clean, but it could no longer wake the wolf sleeping inside me.