I Left the Cruel Wolf King for His Rival

Five years ago, to save my poisoned parents, I accepted the Lycan King's proposal. I thought our mutually beneficial transaction had eventually blossomed into genuine love. But when Angela died from poison and his guards pinned me to the iron bed in the dungeon, I realized just how utterly foolish I had been. There was no investigation. No trial. With the very hands that had sworn vows to me, he ripped open my belly and tossed my eight-month-old, unseeing half-wolf pup alive into the blazing brazier.

Staring at that lump of flesh convulsing in the flames, he said only one thing: Half-breeds don't deserve to live.

Listening to the sickening sizzle of my own flesh and blood burning to ash, the agony was so absolute I couldn't even shed a tear. But what he didn't know was that a witch's soul is immortal. In this lifetime, I would carve every lie he ever told me right out of his flesh, inch by bloody inch.

The freezing, cross-shaped silver bed sent violent tremors down my spine.

"Investigate the vial! Lucian, check the potion!" My voice was completely hoarse, the pure silver shackles searing into my skin.

Lucian stood just a few feet away, his gaze locked on my swollen belly. "Save it." He lifted his boot and crushed the glass vial that had rolled to his feet. "Angela is dead. Two lives lost. Do you really think I have the patience to listen to a venomous bitch make excuses?"

"Someone swapped the medicine! I am your mate too—is this the trust you give me?" I strained my neck frantically to look at him, panic surging as I felt a terrifying, sharp pressure against my stomach. "Don't touch my baby! This is your child too!"

"Mate?" Lucian scoffed.

The very next second, his claws plunged straight into my lower abdomen.

"Urgh—!" Cold sweat poured down my face as he brutally ripped my womb open. Blood sprayed everywhere in a gruesome mist.

"Lucian... please..." I gasped uncontrollably, my lungs failing me. His hand reached deep inside my body, ruthless and efficient, forcefully yanking out a tiny, bloody infant that already bore the distinct silhouette of a half-wolf.

I stared desperately at that fragile little body. "Give it back... give me back my baby!"

Lucian cast a cold, indifferent glance at the blood-soaked thing in his hand. Then, without even blinking, he tossed the pup straight into the massive, roaring fire pit in the corner.

"No—!" Bloody foam sputtered from my lips. My stomach violently convulsed, and the last string of sanity in my mind completely snapped.

"A filthy little half-breed. Its only value is dying as an offering for Angela's pureblood heir." Lucian methodically wiped the blood from between his fingers.

He walked over to a hidden compartment on the opposite wall, pulled out a few yellowed parchment pages, and threw them onto the iron bed next to my cheek. My vision was already blurring, but catching just a glimpse of the ancient witch totem bordering the paper stopped the breath in my lungs.

Dark Night Potions.

This ancient grimoire held the exact antidote to cure the strange poison afflicting my parents. It was the sole reason behind our marriage contract. Lucian had sworn to me that he was utilizing scouts across the entire Lycan territory to find it, claiming he just had bad luck and had only found mere clues.

"You... you've had it all along..." I gritted my teeth, forcing the agonizing truth out.

"I had it in my hands the day I proposed." Lucian looked down at me as if I were a pathetic joke. "If I hadn't hidden this useless book, how else would you have willingly stayed by my side to consolidate my throne? How else would you have served Angela like a lowly maid to protect her pregnancy?"

So that was it. From the very beginning, my anxiety, my immense gratitude, all those nights I willingly gave myself to the Lycan King to save my parents—all of it was nothing but an entertaining circus act to him.

Lucian leaned down, tore out the pages containing the core recipes right in front of my face, and walked toward the fire.

"Stop... that is my parents' last chance!" I thrashed insanely against my restraints, the heavy silver chains clanking furiously against the metal. But white ash was already swirling in the air, drifting down to land upon my eyelashes.

"You should be glad they'll be dead from the poison soon," Lucian said, turning around to deliver his final, cold verdict. "At least they won't have to see what a vicious murderer they raised."

The heavy iron door slammed shut, plunging my vision into encroaching darkness. From outside, the muted voices of two guards drifted in.

"Tough luck. Even the poison in those two old folks was probably ordered by the King himself back then. Ran around in circles for nothing and ended up getting herself killed. This witch is pathetic."

"Shut up, do you have a death wish?"

My teeth bit deep through my own tongue.

So... it was all because of him. The rage, the sheer devastation, and a hatred so profound I wanted to tear the entire Lycan race to shreds, were sealed forever within my broken, dying body. I swallowed my final breath.

"Selena? Are you alright?"

A smooth, deep voice echoed right next to my ear.

My eyes snapped open. The dank dungeon was gone. I was sitting inside the glass conservatory, bathed in warm sunlight. On the round table in front of me sat a steaming cup of black tea.

My hand shot down to instinctively cover my lower abdomen.

Flat. Unblemished.

Breathing heavily, I slowly raised my head.

Lucian was sitting directly across from me. His dark golden wolf eyes were brimming with deep affection and tenderness. His hand reached across the table, gently grasping my fingertips, while his other hand held a small, pristine box.

Lucian pushed the box toward me and flicked the lid open with his thumb, revealing a dazzling, hexagram-shaped blood diamond.

He stared deeply into my eyes, his tone echoing with nothing but earnest sincerity. "Wear it, Selena. As long as you agree to be my Luna, I swear, even if I have to turn over this entire continent, I will find that ancient grimoire to save your parents. Alright?"

I stared at that blood diamond. My fingertips trembled from the sheer magnitude of the hatred boiling beneath my skin.

He didn't know that I had just crawled my way back from hell.

Since he wanted to play this little game of affectionate transactions, then in this life, I would play until he was buried so deep in the ashes, he'd never crawl back out.