The voice of a forensic technician crackled over the communicator.

"Enforcer... the moonstone is too damaged. We can't fully restore the audio or video just yet."

The veins on the back of Ronan's hand bulged as he gripped the phone, ready to explode, but the voice on the other end suddenly rose in pitch.

"But! We restored the insignia it projected! It's the 'Silver Moon Wolf Sigil'!"

Ronan nearly staggered. The communicator clattered to the stone ground, its screen shattering on impact.

The Silver Moon Wolf Sigil.

It was my personal crest, a one-of-a-kind design from my father for my eighteenth birthday.

Ronan stared at the shattered device on the ground, his eyes instantly turning red.

After a long moment, as if his soul had returned to his body, he bent down to pick it up.

But Sienna, standing beside him, let out a scoff.

"Enforcer, how hard is it for a Rogue Alpha who specializes in illusions to fake a magical sigil?"

She clutched Kian's arm, her nails digging into the fabric of his ceremonial suit, her expression innocent but laced with venom.

"Wren was willing to abandon her family's honor to elope with him. She might have even given her personal sigil to that Rogue as a trophy."

Hearing this, the flicker of doubt in Kian's eyes hardened once more.

"Ronan, stop disgusting me with this ambiguous nonsense. Not unless you have ironclad proof."

Ronan gritted his teeth, forcing himself to maintain the composure of an enforcer.

"Then use the Bloodline Resonance!"

Ronan's voice thundered. "The moonstone she swallowed... if that stone has been soaking in her spiritual essence inside her body, it will react to kin blood! I want definitive proof of her bloodline!"

The technician fell silent for a few seconds before being forced to admit the truth.

"We need more time, Enforcer. The moonstone was shattered into fragments. We are trying to fuse the pieces back together. Only when it is whole can we test the resonance with your blood."

I watched Ronan take a deep, frustrated breath and walk away.

I floated in the air, feeling helpless.

My memory drifted back to the day my wolf first awakened.

I had excitedly shown my brother. "Brother, I'm going to be the sharpest blade in the pack!"

"I'm going to protect the pack just like you, and tear apart all the darkness that tries to invade our territory!"

The moonlight was beautiful that night as I clung to his strong arm, pleading playfully.

"If I ever die in some unseen corner of the world, you have to bring my soul back to Moon Goddess Mountain!"

Back then, Ronan had just affectionately ruffled my long hair.

"Silly girl. With your brother around, who would dare touch you?"

But later, I didn't become a revered guardian, but a traitor condemned by all.

I didn't make him proud of me. Instead, I left him clinging to a blurry sigil, deceiving himself in his despair,waiting for a healer's report that would either be my death sentence or the proof of my innocence.

I watched his dejected figure, my heart twisting in agony.

"How could this rotten piece of meat possibly be Wren, that pampered little princess?"

A mocking voice broke my thoughts. I realized Kian and Sienna had followed him.

The healer responsible for the autopsy was pulling off her blackened gloves, her face as pale as a sheet.

"Enforcer, it's too horrific! I've been doing this for thirty years, and I have never seen such a cruel method of torture and murder."

She lifted the white sheet covering the body, revealing the gruesome hands.

"While the victim was alive, the nails of all ten fingers were ripped out. They used a blunt instrument, prying them off piece by piece."

"The main tendons in her limbs were severed with a blade soaked in concentrated aconite. To prevent healing, the wounds were packed with crushed, toxic wolfsbane root."

"She was thrown into the pool of corrupting wolfsbane while she was still alive. She was conscious as the venom slowly dissolved her skin."

"And what's even more horrifying..."

The healer paused for a second. "While fully conscious, she forced herself to swallow that moonstone to hide it."

"Her throat was shredded by its sharp edges."

The werewolf warriors present drew in a collective gasp.

Even for werewolves, renowned for their resilience, such agony would cause them to pass out in under three seconds.

But she had held on, swallowing the intel with her last breath.

A sudden, jarring applause broke the heavy silence.

Kian stepped forward, his face blank as he clapped his hands.

"A brilliant story. Truly tragic."

"But what does that have to do with your thrill-seeking, pack-betraying sister?"

He let out a dry laugh, as if trying to convince himself.

"Don't try to attribute this honor to that bitch. One moment she was vowing to protect the pack, the next she was warming some Rogue Alpha's bed."

"She's probably enjoying herself in some filthy den right now. She wouldn't have the guts to endure this kind of suffering."

"You!" Ronan trembled with rage, his fists clenched.

Suddenly, Sienna, who had been observing from the entrance, let out a cry of surprise.

"Alpha! Enforcer Ronan! Look!"

She pointed outside the camp, where a group of warriors were escorting a prisoner back, her voice shaking with excitement.

"They've caught a rogue! He claims to have news about Wren!"

Sienna kicked the bloodied rogue, sending him sprawling at Ronan's feet.

"Tell us! Did you see Wren in the rogue encampment?"

The prisoner grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth, his mocking gaze shifting between Kian and Ronan.

"Saw her? Of course I saw her. She's our Alpha's favorite little pet."

"She's our new Luna now. Lives in the fanciest den, with servants waiting on her hand and foot."

Ronan lunged forward and grabbed his collar, pressing a silver-bullet pistol to his head. "Wipe that smirk off your face! If a single word you say is a lie, I'll blow your brains out!"

"You don't believe me, Enforcer?" The prisoner shrugged, spitting a mouthful of bloody saliva. "She shattered her own moonstone. Said she was sick of the pack's rules and didn't want you tracking her!"

"If you don't believe it, go check. See if the moonstone wasn't destroyed by force."

My soul shot toward the rogue. I wanted to tear out his throat.

That story was clearly fed to him by Sienna!

But his words broke my brother.

Ronan's hands fell away, the broken communicator in his grasp feeling like it was burning him.

The pack's specialists had just said the moonstone was severely damaged, as if it had been smashed against something hard.

"Did you hear that, Ronan?" Sienna patted her chest, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Wren was always like this, throwing tantrums over the smallest things."

She turned to Kian.

"My Alpha, do you remember that day three months ago? She fought with you and blocked her mental link out of pure spite, so no one could find her. So selfish, thinking only of herself. How could someone like that ever be our Luna?"

"I tried to talk her out of it back then, told her not to make you worry, but she wouldn't listen. She said she wanted to make you anxious, make you regret it."

"Looking back now, she probably didn't block her link to make you worry. It was to make it easier for her to run off with that rogue!"

Kian stared at the prisoner, the last glimmer of hope in his eyes extinguished.

He twisted his lips into a sneer. "I knew it."

"She'd rather roll around in the filth with strays than be my Luna."

"Wren, you were always such a disappointment."

Ronan remained silent.

But the fists at his sides were clenched so tight they were cracking.

Sienna was still prattling on, parading her supposed "sisterly love," trying to cement the lie that I was still alive.

I floated in the air, my soul feeling like it was being ground to dust.

No...It wasn't like that!

The bloody night from three months ago flashed through my mind with painful clarity.

That day, I had listened to Sienna's advice to "go clear my head," blocking my link and walking alone into that desolate marsh.

I thought it was just a heart-to-heart between friends, but instead, I stumbled upon the Rogue Alpha using dark magic to break through our defensive wards.

There was no "elopement," no "pampering."

Only a cold dagger coated in wolfsbane and fangs pressed against my throat.

He tried to force me to reveal our pack's defensive layout so he could slaughter the elders on the full moon.

I was terrified.

But I knew that if I let him in, Kian would be in danger, and the entire pack would descend into hell.

"In your dreams," I had refused flatly.

And so, the torture began.

When he wasn't looking, I desperately tried to activate my moonstone, wanting to record his face and voice to send to my brother.

But I failed.

He saw what I was doing, stomped on my hand and shattered the bones, then snatched the moonstone and smashed it against a rock.

"Trying to send a message? Since you love this rock so much, you can take it to hell with you!"

He forced me to swallow the jagged shards of the stone.

Its sharp edges tore through my esophagus, and blood choked my airway.

But now, the secret I had died to protect was being twisted by Sienna into "ironclad proof" of my betrayal.

I finally understood. Sienna had planned all of this from the start.

She wanted me dead, my name branded in shame, so she could take everything that was rightfully mine.

My body began to flicker violently, becoming more and more transparent.

"Wren, your soul will dissipate in seven minutes."

The Moon Goddess's voice echoed once more.

I leaned weakly against Ronan's shoulder.

I had no weight, yet my heart felt as heavy as a mountain.

The honor I died to protect had become a joke to them.

The Alpha I loved was cursing me with the most venomous words.

Is this how it ends?

But I refuse to accept it.

Kian, brother... please, just look back!

I'm right here, watching you from inside this ravaged body!

Just as my soul was about to dissolve into specks of light, the doors to the infirmary compound were thrown open.

A sweat-drenched warrior stumbled in, holding a small tray covered with a velvet cloth.

He didn't even have time to salute. "Alpha! Enforcer! The Bloodline Resonance ritual is complete!"

"The Grand Elder repaired the moonstone shards! When we dropped Enforcer Ronan's blood onto it... it glowed crimson!"

"This only happens when the stone is stained with the soul of a direct blood relative! The deceased... is 100% Miss Wren..."