Chapter 2

Thalyn's POV

Kairo froze. His mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came.

I watched his fists clench, a flash of pain crossing his eyes before cold indifference covered it.

"Leave," he said, turning away. His voice sounded hoarse. "Go prepare for the surgery."

I nodded and walked toward the door.

As I reached the threshold, I thought I heard him whisper something, but his voice was too low to make out.

Maybe he said nothing at all. Maybe it was just my imagination.

The surgery was scheduled for three days later. I thought I could spend the time quietly in the basement, waiting for it.

Two days passed. On the evening before the operation, the Pack hosted a grand full moon feast to pray for Querida's recovery and entertain distinguished guests from the Lodestar Alliance.

Kairo ordered me to attend—as a servant.

"This is your chance to make amends," he said coldly. "Let Querida see that you're truly reflecting on your mistakes."

I put on the servant's uniform and stared at my pale reflection in the mirror. The light had already left my eyes. In the dim banquet hall, perhaps no one would notice.

The feast was underway when a sharp crash silenced the room.

The sacred artifact brought by the Lodestar Alliance—a crystal urn said to contain the ashes of the First Alpha—lay shattered on the floor.

Querida stood among the fragments. Her face went pale, and tears quickly filled her eyes.

"No... it wasn't me." Her voice trembled as she looked toward Kairo. "I only wanted to see it more clearly..."

The envoy's expression darkened. "This is a desecration of ancestral remains. The Briarhold Pack must answer for it, or the Alliance will consider it an act of war."

Kairo immediately stepped in front of Querida. Then his gaze found me across the hall.

My heart sank. I knew what he was about to do.

He crossed the room, seized my wrist, and pulled me before the guests.

"It was you, wasn't it?" His voice was low, but everyone heard him. "Querida can barely stand. How could she have knocked it over? You did this out of jealousy."

"I was serving wine. I never went near the display."

No one came to my defense. The guests watched me with open suspicion, while Querida hid behind Kairo and let her tears fall.

Kairo leaned close enough that only I could hear him.

"Confess, Thalyn. Pack Law demands thirty strikes and imprisonment for defiling a sacred relic. Querida wouldn't survive that punishment in her condition. If you confess, I'll return the land your mother left you—the plot the Pack confiscated."

My breath caught.

That land was the only thing my mother had left me. I wanted it back more than anything. It was the last piece of her I could still call mine.

I looked at Querida. Behind her tears, the corner of her mouth lifted in a fleeting, satisfied smile.

"Sister, why would you do this?" she sobbed. "How am I supposed to face everyone after this?"

Father stepped forward, his face twisted with anger. "You disgraceful girl. How could you do something so vile to your own sister?"

I looked around the hall. Kairo had already decided I was guilty. Father believed Querida without question. Every guest was waiting for me to be punished.

If confessing was the price of reclaiming the last thing my mother had left me, I would pay it. I couldn't afford to lose this chance.

I swallowed against the metallic taste in my throat and forced myself to speak.

"It was me. I was jealous of Querida and deliberately knocked over the sacred artifact."

Kairo let out a breath, his expression still cold.

"Guards. Carry out the blood penance according to Pack Law."

The guards seized my arms. As they dragged me away, I saw Kairo turn back to Querida and gently wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Don't cry. It's over now," he murmured. "I won't let anyone hurt you again."

No one looked back as the guards led me away.