Father was clearly shocked by Damian’s choice, but my stepmother lit up with joy. She rushed to Chloe’s side, practically dragging her forward as she began praising Chloe endlessly in front of Damian.

“I know everyone must be curious why I didn’t choose Elara,” Damian said, bowing politely to the Alliance council elders.

My eyelid twitched.

Then, his voice turned sharp. “I will never marry a woman as unfaithful as her.”

Gasps rippled through the hall. Confusion followed like a wave.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Father spoke first, anger rising. No matter what, I was still his daughter.

“Alpha Thorne,” Damian said, addressing him politely yet coldly, “let me finish. I’ve seen her more than once getting handsy with rogues outside our territory, and I refuse to marry someone like that.”

“You accuse me of this, but do you have any proof?” I kept my tone like my younger self, not wanting him to sense that I, too, had been brought back to life.

“Do you think a Golden Lycan would lie about something like this?”

Father hesitated, glancing at me. Stepmother shot me a vicious look, as if I had disgraced the entire family.

Before I could speak, Damian continued, “With such poor character, even if she’s a high-ranking Silvermoon Alpha, she’ll only ever birth low-blooded mutts. Just wait and see whether my prediction proves true.”

Golden Lycans could indeed make prophetic declarations, but it cost them their own blood, so most werewolves avoided doing it.

The moment he said this, the council elders and pack members began whispering, pointing at me from all directions.

“Fine,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm. “Let time prove who truly has the lower bloodline.”

When his so-called “golden pup” is born, I'll expose him for the fraud he really was.

Chloe married gloriously. Damian gave her a grand ceremony, turning it into one of the Alliance’s favorite love stories.

As for me, my name was dragged through the mud. Thanks to Damian’s accusations, the suitors who had once come seeking my hand in marriage no longer dared show their faces. To them, my “infidelity” wasn’t even the main problem. What terrified them was the possibility of producing offspring with a lower bloodline.

In the Alliance, a Golden Lycan’s prophecy wasn’t something anyone took lightly. With Damian fueling the rumors, the stories grew more absurd by the day. They claimed I had slept with three rogues in one night, each tale more vulgar and detailed than the last. They even described the scenes as if they had witnessed them firsthand.

Stepmother said I was a disgrace and refused to show me kindness, while Father looked helpless. But me? Honestly, I didn’t care. My previous life had already exhausted any interest I had in marriage.

Three days after the wedding, Damian returned to our home with Chloe. The moment he saw me, he sneered.

“Elara, I suppose no one wants to marry you now, huh?”

“Thanks to you, I finally have some peace.”

Damian gave me a slow once-over before laughing coldly. “Without a mate, your heat cycles will only get worse. Forget rogues. At this rate, you’ll be so desperate you’ll end up with any beast in the forest. Imagine birthing some kind of monster that doesn’t even belong to a proper species. Now that would be a historic joke.”

“That’s right, Elara,” Chloe chimed in sweetly beside him. “You should lower your standards and find an Omega Black Werewolf. Otherwise, think about how pathetic the outcome would be. Not just the Alliance, but even the other species would laugh themselves sick.”

They had been married just a few days, and Chloe already acted like Damian’s perfect partner, her voice aligning with his like it was second nature.

Of course, Chloe and I were never close. She was my father’s daughter with his second wife. We shared a father, nothing more.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said calmly. “What you should worry about is your belly instead. Let’s see how you’re going to give birth to a pup of a higher bloodline. After all… bloodlines don’t lie.”

I lowered my gaze to Chloe’s abdomen and let out a small smile.

Damian’s expression darkened instantly, a killing intent flickering in his eyes.

“What trash are you spouting? Damian is a rare Golden Lycan. His offspring are guaranteed to be golden werewolves. You’re just jealous he didn’t choose you, so you’re trying to disgust us.”

Chloe lifted her hand, ready to slap me. Just like before, married woman or not, she still acted like she could bully me publicly. I stepped back, unwilling to waste breath arguing with her, preparing to leave.

“A useless woman who can’t even give birth to a proper pup.”

Damian’s low, icy voice sounded behind me. With one arm wrapped possessively around Chloe, he shoved past me and left first.

At the dinner table, he doted on her relentlessly, serving her food, wiping the corner of her lips, and treating her with tenderness. Even Father, who had been upset by Damian’s earlier behavior, gradually softened when he saw the two of them acting so “in love.”

In my last life, Damian had treated me gently enough, but he had never done this. In his eyes, my status was beneath his, so I was the one who should serve him. Now, he was flaunting all this care for Chloe just to spite me.

Whatever. There were plenty of Golden Lycans in the world besides him. If I really wanted a pup of a Golden Lycan bloodline, all I had to do was find a donor.

In fact, finding a donor wasn’t a bad idea. There’d be no marriage and no strings attached. I could give birth to a Golden Lycan pup, infuriate Damian, and maybe even make up for the regret of never becoming a mother in my last life.

However, right now, every Golden Lycan in sight was either too old or far too young. Where was I supposed to find a young one in his prime?

“You’re looking for a young Golden Lycan?”

I nearly jumped and slapped my hand over Lilith’s mouth, saying, “Not so loud!”

Lilith, a tree spirit born from a thousand-year-old oak, was my non-werewolf friend.

“Mm– Let go, let go!” she protested.

I removed my hand, and she lowered her voice dramatically.

“Actually, I do know an absolutely extraordinary Golden Lycan.”

“You do?”

“Legend says that in Moonshine Heart on Silent Peak, there lives a Primordial Golden Lycan, the purest bloodline your Werewolf Alliance has seen in a hundred years. Even your council elders would bow to him.”

“That’s how strong he is?”

I wasn’t sure whether to believe her. After all, Lilith loved exaggerating.

“Of course! They say any werewolf who’s ever seen him was blinded by his golden aura. But ever since he went up Silent Peak, he’s never come down, and no one can go up either. The mountain basically became forbidden.”

I frowned, deep in thought. It was true. Since childhood, the council elders had always warned us to stay far from that mountain.

“How do you know more than me, and I’m the werewolf here?”

“I’ve lived nearly a thousand years. How could I not know?” She rolled her leafy eyes at me.

“So… let’s say, hypothetically… hypothetically I want him to be my donor. Is that possible?”

“Huh? What!”

There came another scream, and I had to slap a hand over her mouth again.

“Quiet! Don’t let anyone hear you!”

“You can’t be serious,” she said as soon as I released her. “First of all, no one can even get up that mountain. Second, no one knows what the situation is up there after a hundred years. And you want a Primordial Golden Lycan to be your donor? Do you have a death wish?”

“How would I know unless I try? And what if I get lucky? I could use a little moonpetal pollen, sleep with him for one night, and by sunrise, he’ll forget everything.”

Lilith stared at me, her jaw on the floor. However, I wasn’t joking. I knew exactly how to enter the mountain.

In my last life, Damian had spent years searching for forbidden rituals to hide his Omega identity. He had collected countless ancient texts, and one of them described how the golden-glow herb on Silent Peak could be crushed into juice and applied to fur to make one’s entire body shimmer gold permanently.

To search for that herb, Damian had searched through hundreds of ancient scrolls to find a way into the mountain. There was a rune stone at the mountain’s southwest base, unbreakable and ancient. It was only by using the blood of a high-ranking Alpha and a specific sigil that one could unlock the barrier.

I could still remember the sigil clearly. Back then, Damian had drained half a bowl of my blood to draw it, but he returned empty-handed and with severe injuries. When I asked what happened, he never answered.

“You’re insane,” Lilith whispered, waving two leaf-hands dramatically. “That’s a Primordial Lycan! If he finds out a lowly werewolf like you dares set your sights on him, he’ll tear you apart.”

“Lowly? I’m a high-ranking Silvermoon Alpha, thank you very much.”

“Are you actually serious?”

“I am.”

Lilith resigned. “Fine. I’ve heard all about what happened to you in the Alliance. And since you’ve watered me with so much spirit spring water, I can help you… but only a little.”

She reached into the center of her oak trunk and plucked her most tender leaf, handing it to me.

“I’m actually a ‘fertility tree’. Eat this, and you’ll definitely get pregnant.”

“So that’s your real function. And all this time you lied, telling me your leaves would double my strength and grant eternal youth.” I couldn’t help laughing as I took the leaf.

“Don’t make fun of me!”

“Okay, okay.” I stifled another laugh.

“You'd better come back safe,” she said seriously. “I’ll be waiting for you to water me.”

“I know, I know.”

Waving over my shoulder, I began walking toward Silent Peak.

Following the instructions, I unlocked the barrier, and in the next moment, Silent Peak finally appeared before me in its true form.

From the outside, the mountain had always looked mystical, with mists surrounding the cliffs like something out of a dream. However, now that I stood before it, I saw the truth. The entire peak was shrouded in death—dark, heavy, and suffocating.

The trail wound upward, covered in brittle leaves and shattered stones. No creatures wandered the slopes, not even a flicker of life or a whisper of wind. Only an unnatural silence spread.

“There’s no sunlight at all, so how is it getting hotter?”

I muttered under my breath as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. The elders always said Silent Peak brimmed with primal life energy, a sacred place where a werewolf’s power could grow. However, this was nothing but decay.

Finding that Lycan could wait. Right now, if I didn’t find water soon, I was going to die of thirst.

The moment I entered the mountain, my body started burning up, and my head grew foggy. A creeping dread that something bad might happen tightened in my chest. Thankfully, after a while, I heard the faint sound of running water. I followed it, only to find a serene pool tucked between the rocks.

At that point, danger didn’t matter anymore. My body felt like it was on fire, my thoughts too blurred to process anything. I shifted straight into my wolf form and leapt into the water. However, the coolness barely soothed me. The heat deep inside refused to fade, and a burning ache twisted low in my body.

Perfect. Of course, my heat cycle decided to show up now.

I gathered my strength, trying to calm myself down, but it barely helped. Even as a Silvermoon Alpha, nothing could rewrite that biological instinct. That was why our kind sought mates once we reached maturity. Without one, some werewolves really would suffer to death.

If only there were a male werewolf around.

Annoyed, I glanced around and paused. There was a cave hidden deep within the pool, where its entrance faintly glowed gold.

Could that be Moonshine Heart? And inside was…

Holding my breath, I swam inside where, atop a stone pillar, curled a Golden Lycan far larger and more impressive than any I’d ever seen—a perfect specimen of our race. However, his eyes were closed.

I didn’t dare make a sound. I landed beside him carefully, my body trembling as I pulled out the moonpetal pollen and placed it near his nose. Unfortunately, standing so close only worsened the heat tearing through me.

Soon, the Lycan’s eyes snapped open. In one explosive movement, he leapt down from the pillar. The entire structure cracked and collapsed behind him.

Startled, I stumbled back, but the werewolf lunged toward me, his gaze sharp enough to pierce straight through bone. Did the moonpetal pollen not work?

I tried to run, but my legs had already given out. I collapsed onto the ground, helpless.

The Lycan roared, brushing past me before launching himself out of the cave. The pool outside erupted as his power churned the water violently. Then, he returned, charging back inside.

Just as I thought he was going to tear me apart, he spoke, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

The Lycan began circling me, over and over, before nudging me upright with his massive body. His skin was just as hot and fevered as mine. Our breaths grew heavy and uneven. When our eyes met, the hunger in them was unmistakable.

He lifted a claw, but instead of striking, he pulled me gently into his arms. His hold tightened, wrapping around me until I could barely think at all. My vision blurred as I looked down at our entwined bodies.

“Oh god. That… that size is unreal.”

The symbol of his power pulsed with heat and intent. My heart seized, and I swallowed hard, instinctively wanting to flee. However, my body—lost to the frenzy of heat—refused to move. All I could do was surrender to the Lycan’s touch.

He knew exactly what he was doing. Every brush of his claws sent waves of pleasure rolling through me. I couldn’t even tell whether the moonpetal pollen had affected him.

“Do you like it?”

His voice was low and rough. This was only the second thing he’d said.

Then, his body pressed against mine again, pulling me deeper, stealing the final remnants of my sanity.