Chapter 2
While I recovered at the Pack Infirmary, Herbert came to visit me every day.
But every time he appeared, he reeked of Lillian’s cloying, sickly-sweet pheromones. His eyes would wander, clearly distracted, desperate to escape a room that smelled of bitter medicinal herbs and the lingering scent of rotting flesh.
As the Alpha and Luna, my parents also made their perfunctory daily appearances. But as the rulers of the pack, their visits were pitifully brief.
They were really going to great lengths to perform this "tight-knit family" act in front of me just for Lillian's sake. It must have been exhausting for them.
Outside the door, the hushed whispers of the cleaning nurses pricked my ears like needles:
"Did you hear? That dying adopted daughter, Lillian—she actually got a perfectly matching heart the day of the rogue attack. Talk about the Moon Goddess playing favorites!"
"That’s not favor, that’s blatant bias! Luna Eleanor stopped the Sanctuary’s Moon Prayers for a whole month just to stay by her side. She’s a high-ranking Healing Priestess, yet she spent all her time by the adopted girl’s bed, boiling potions and spoon-feeding her broth personally."
"Shh... I also heard that a new nurse tried to bring a 'Soul-Soothing Potion' into this room last night, and Luna Eleanor slapped her across the face and confiscated it. That medicine cost Alpha Richard a fortune from the Swamp Witch to save a life, and she turned around and gave it all to the adopted girl as a nutritional supplement!"
"Lillian is using Teresa’s heart from when she was at her peak strength—why would she even need potions? Meanwhile, the one in this room is rolling on the floor in agony with that rotting, death-filled rogue heart, and no one even bats an eye..."
"Don't be naive. They’re just preventing rejection in the adopted one. Keeping this one half-alive might just be so she can serve as a living 'blood bank.' After all, Teresa has the purest bloodline of her generation..."
Fighting back salty tears, I endured the violent cramping of the strange heart in my chest and finished the dry, hard bread in my hand.
My body was my own, even if it was a broken vessel.
Two weeks later, Lillian and I were cleared to leave the Pack Infirmary on the same day.
As a warrior who once hunted giant bears single-handedly, I was now wheeled out in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, Lillian, who used to be so sickly she could barely shift, was now flushed with health, practically skipping with the vitality of my powerful heart.
The orderly had just pushed me to the family SUV when Lillian blocked the door, stopping me in my tracks.
"Teresa."
She pointed inside the vehicle, pouting with feigned innocence, though her eyes gleamed with triumph.
"Since I’m better now, Daddy said we don’t need to leave that huge space in the back anymore, so he had the mounting brackets removed. I’m sorry, but your wheelchair won’t fit."
I looked into the cargo area.
Sure enough, the spacious area that Father had once specially modified for the frail Lillian—so a wheelchair could fit—was gone.
In its place were plush pink velvet cushions filling the entire backseat. Lillian’s favorite style.
The orderly pushing me froze, looking awkward and unsure of what to do.
"Oh, damn it, I completely forgot!"
Richard rushed over from the trunk, slamming the rear door shut. He squatted down in front of me, his authoritative Alpha features showing a flicker of unnatural guilt.
"I’m sorry, Teresa. I’ve been so swamped dealing with those rogue incursions at the border that I forgot about the small details. It’s okay—you can take the pack’s supply transport truck back today. When I have time, I’ll have someone customize a proper vehicle for you."
I forced the corners of my mouth up, looking at the father who held absolute authority in this pack.
"It’s okay. No need to buy one. I won't be using it much longer."
"Won't be using it...?"
A flash of confusion crossed Richard’s sharp wolf eyes. "Teresa, I don't follow."
"I just meant I simply won't need it."
Herbert stepped forward, his hot palm pressing gently but possessively onto my shoulder. He tried to release a calming pheromone meant to assert dominance and comfort. Unfortunately, to me, the scent was now just nauseatingly metallic.
"Teresa, for a wolf to rely on tools meant for the weak is an insult. You don't need that."
He squeezed my shoulder harder, though his eyes refused to meet my broken body.
"You are the strongest warrior of this generation, even injured. We definitely don't need this thing. Recovery is just a matter of time, right, Alpha?"
Richard exhaled in relief, nodding profusely, acting as if this experienced slight was just a minor hiccup.
While speaking, Herbert had already taken the wheelchair handles from the orderly.
Before he could turn me around, Lillian rushed up from behind and latched onto Herbert’s forearm like a possessive pup guarding its food.
"Herbert, I want you to sit with me."
"It’s just too depressing sitting with Mom and Dad, Teresa. You can’t run and play with me right now anyway, so let Herbert keep me company, okay...?"
Herbert looked slightly embarrassed as he tried to pry Lillian’s hand away. "Don't be childish, Lillian. Teresa isn't feeling well..."
"Go ahead."
I cut Herbert off coldly. My pale fingers gripped the rims of the wheels. With a sharp push, I propelled myself forward, away from them.
As the orderly helped me into the dusty, suspension-less supply truck, I watched through the window as Herbert carefully lifted Lillian into the luxury SUV.
My parents watched the scene with eyes full of loving pride, as if that was the legacy they were truly proud of.
As the engine rumbled to life, my phone buzzed. A message from Herbert.
[Teresa, don't misunderstand. Even though Lillian has the heart, her wolf is unstable. She needs my Alpha pheromones to anchor her.]
[I know.]
Clutching my chest as needle-like pain spiked through me, I replied expressionlessly.
I was leaving this territory soon anyway.
Playing along with their boring charade for a few more days didn't matter.
Returning to the pack's central estate, seeing the familiar scenery, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.
A month ago, the day I left here to gather Moon Grass in the Black Forest for the rituals, I still held so much hope for this family and this mating bond. I had even fantasized about the pups Herbert and I would raise, rolling in this very grass.
In just over a month, everything had changed.
"Teresa..."
Mother began directing the servants to carry me down from the supply truck, then reached out and urgently grabbed my hand.
She pressed a totem carved from moonstone into my palm. The stone was cool to the touch and emitted a faint glow, etched with ancient prayer runes.
"This is a Binding Stone I requested from the Sacred Altar. Your wolf soul is too fragmented right now; it could fade at any moment. This stone will attest to your will to live. Wear it. Do not take it off."
"To get this, I knelt on the cold stone steps of the altar for three whole days. To move the Goddess, I specifically suppressed my healing giving up my wolf to kneel there as a human until my knees bled."
As she turned to give orders to a servant, my gaze fell on the hem of her long robe.
The fabric at the knees was worn through, stained with dark, dried blood.
Through the tears in the cloth, I could see the flesh was mangled from kneeling on rough stone for so long, the skin around the wounds pale with frostbite.
A memory suddenly surged back.
When I was seven, shortly after being brought back to the pack, I wandered into the Forbidden Forest. That night, she had knelt before the Goddess statue just like this for an entire night, nearly burning through her own life force to guide me home.
When I returned safely, she had been too weak to shift for a full month.
The frozen corner of my heart suddenly cracked, just a little.
I clutched the Binding Stone to my chest. It was the only thing I had left that still felt warm. I squeezed my mother's hand back, my voice raspy.
"Mom, thank you."
"Don't be silly. We're family." Eleanor’s eyes rimmed with red, looking infinitely maternal. "Just promise me one thing."
"Anything. Just say it."
