"Making a scene? Brother, I've always known you were close to that rogue. But you aren't even mates. Are you really going to trample on pack law for her?"

Having struck a nerve, Adrian raised a hand to strike me.

"Selene! My relationship with Iris is platonic! We are packmates who fight side by side! Stop spouting nonsense and trying to ruin her reputation!"

I sidestepped his slap, watching him with cold eyes.

"Brother, you shot me with an arrow, and now you want to hit me?"

"You'd raise your hand against your own sister for a rogue mongrel?"

Adrian's face flushed red, and he bristled. "Selene, don't be so crude."

"Iris is not a mongrel. Her father was once a warrior of our pack!"

"And she's clearly a white wolf! How could you be so vicious as to use black magic to turn her into a gray wolf?"

The irony was thick. To clear Iris's name, my brother would stop at nothing.

"Was? Then why was he exiled? For betraying the pack!"

"And by stealing the Moon Goddess Potion and faking being a white wolf, she has committed betrayal as well! Brother, you know our laws, yet you shelter a traitor!"

Adrian's eyes turned completely gold as his wolf broke through to the surface.

"Shut your mouth!"

"Since you clearly have no respect for this ceremony, then we won't have one at all!"

He slammed his fist into a nearby stone pillar.

With a deafening crack, the ancient ceremonial pillar fractured on impact, sending stone fragments flying.

The onlookers cried out and scattered.

Adrian didn't stop. He began to frantically destroy the ceremonial grounds.

The altar was overturned, the sacred fire was kicked apart, and the moonstones were crushed underfoot.

"Everyone get out! The ceremony is canceled!"

"And another thing, if I hear anyone whisper a single rumor that slanders Iris after today, I will not be lenient!"

I looked at the ruined ceremonial grounds, my heart feeling like it was being sliced to pieces.

I had prepared for this ceremony for three months.

I poured my heart and soul into every detail.

The holy water for the Moon Goddess was spilled on the ground, and the precious silver dust lost its luster in the moonlight.

Everything was ruined.

The pain in my heart was so sharp I could barely breathe, and tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes.

He wasn't just destroying my ceremony; he was shredding my dignity as an Alpha's daughter.

In my last life, because of Iris, I missed my chance to awaken my silver wolf.

In this life, my own brother had destroyed my coming-of-age ceremony with his own hands.

Watching Adrian's frenzied state, my heart turned completely cold.

He couldn't beat me in combat training, he couldn't match me in pack administration, and his wolf even awakened a full two years later than mine.

But because of the traditions of the werewolf packs, everyone just assumed he would be the next Alpha.

In my past life, after Adrian took over as Alpha, his poor judgment and Iris's manipulations led the pack into one disastrous war after another.

The Silvermane Pack was nearly destroyed within five years of my death.

All those once-loyal warriors, those innocent pack members, died because of his incompetent leadership.

In this life, I will never let the pack fall into anyone else's hands. The Alpha position will be mine!

"That's enough, Adrian!" I roared.

But he had lost all reason and continued his destruction.

Only when the sacred grounds were in ruins did he stop.

Adrian turned to look at me, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Selene, you've enjoyed the privileges of the Alpha bloodline your whole life, getting everything you've ever wanted. And now, over a single potion, you're going to use black magic to destroy Iris?"

"Can't you stand to see someone stronger than you?"

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and turned to face him directly.

"Iris was the one who faked her identity and stole a sacred pack artifact. How did this become my fault?"

"Whether you admit it or not, the fact is you used black magic to deliberately harm Iris."

"I am now ordering you, in my capacity as the future Alpha, to be thrown in the dungeons! A dangerous person like you who knows black magic cannot be allowed to remain in the pack!"

Hearing the order, the guards hesitated.

"What, are you defying my orders?"

Adrian was resolute, and two guards seized my arms.

"I told you I didn't frame her! She was a gray wolf to begin with! I didn't use any black magic! I will never admit to something I didn't do!"

"Silence!" Adrian kicked me in the back of the knee.

I gritted my teeth against the pain, refusing to yield.

"You're malicious and jealous! Just because Iris shifted before you, you tried to kill her!"

"Are you even worthy of being the Alpha's daughter?"

"Haha!" I laughed, retorting instantly, "Adrian, are you worthy of being the next Alpha?"

Adrian flew into a complete rage, raising his hand to strike me again.

Suddenly, an authoritative voice boomed from the distance, "What is all this noise!"

A tall figure strode forward, his powerful Alpha presence instantly silencing the chaos.

"My daughter is a once-in-a-century prodigy! How could she possibly be jealous of that mongrel?"

"She revealed her noble silver wolf form, which is the very pinnacle of our bloodline, to me long ago!"

"Why the hell would she need some damn potion?"