I regained consciousness to find the scalding injuries on my skin already tended to. I then realized that I was not in the dungeon but in a tidy room.

"You're finally awake, huh?" Carl asked, proceeding with a vacant expression. He seized my jaw and then forcibly forced a bowl of intensely bitter herbal medicine down my throat. He was so rough that I choked until tears streamed down my face.

He then said with a sneer, "You should stop looking at me with that pathetic gaze, Aria. You may not have been the one to do it, but the atrocity was committed by your father and your pack, and it is your duty to settle the score!"

He'd killed every single member of the Silver Moon pack on the day the stronghold was breached. He didn't even spare the pup in my belly—his own flesh and blood. He chose, however, to let me live.

I couldn't comprehend his motive, wondering if he did it because he loved me or despised me. I then concluded that it had to be because he despised me.

I wiped away the herbal medicine from my mouth and had not yet spoken when the thrilled voice of a Beta came through the door. "Luna Selena's pregnancy has just been confirmed, Alpha Carl! You must hurry to her at once!"

Carl was momentarily stunned, then jumped to his feet in excitement. "Is it really true that Selena is pregnant?"

I watched him with a fixed, unblinking stare, observing the sudden, unmistakable joy of impending fatherhood bloom across his face.

I suspected the Silver-Tipped Poison had taken hold, as a deep, excruciating pain shot through my chest.

That afternoon, the maids' and attendants' voices carried every detail of Carl and Selena's actions to me, covering the winter path with roses and setting off fireworks in celebration, which all seemed like trivial displays. He even topped it all by arranging a surprise for Selena every five minutes.

I was weakening rapidly, and my only wish was to wait for death in peace. Carl, however, unexpectedly sanctioned my departure from the room, but with the stipulation that I attend to Selena—he knew exactly how to torture me in the cruelest manner.

I was in Selena's bedroom as I picked up the bowl of medicine and, with a kind of blank apathy, ladled out a spoonful and brought it toward Selena's mouth.

Selena remained still, fixing me with an expression that was pure, undisguised hostility, free of any prior facade. "You must despise me terribly, Aria."

Selena was nothing more than a Rogue back then. Dad, seeing her being persecuted during a patrol, had generously taken her under his protection. She, however, was the first one to turn against the Silver Moon pack the moment our enemies descended.

It was when I was first incarcerated in the dungeon that Selena slipped in and explained her motive, saying, "Your brother brought this on himself by being so ungracious as to turn me down. You and the rest of the pack deserve to be destroyed since he broke my heart!"

It turned out that this was her reason for betraying the pack.

Selena held up the bracelet once more, parading it before me. "Isn't the Silver-Tipped Poison unpleasant, Aria? You likely still wonder why Carl is still so cold toward you when you were the one who saved him back in Umbra Forest ten years ago. It was because he was convinced that I was the one who had rescued him back then, Aria."

Having said that, Selena paused, hoping to revel in my shock and agony after her revelation.

Yet, my expression betrayed no change whatsoever, as the rift dividing Carl and me was a terrible landscape of genocide and generational hate—a veritable ocean of despair. What difference could one meager life saved possibly make?

I let out a mocking laugh, saying, "If I'd foreseen this outcome, I would have let him meet his end in Umbra Forest, and all of this would have been avoided."

It was then that a distinct, contemptuous laugh sounded from behind me.

I had just turned around when Carl grabbed me by my neck, his eyes looking utterly cold while asking, "Why do you hate me so much, Aria? Your father massacred my pack, then deployed your strongest fighters to pursue me.

"I was fortunate to encounter Selena after I was wounded by the arrow; otherwise, I would have perished. Your pack, seeing that I hadn't succumbed, offered you as a sacrifice. Did you honestly think I would let go of my hatred just because of you? Did you honestly believe that I lack the resolve to end your life, Aria?"

That very hand, which had once traced every inch of my body, was now clamped around my neck in a merciless grip.

I was rendered mute, struggling even to draw a breath. I suddenly felt my heart pounding violently, causing me to suddenly cough up a mouthful of blood.

Carl let go in utter astonishment, tossing me onto the floor like a piece of trash. He then scoffed and asked, "Is this your only tactic, Aria? You ought to know that the healer has already assured me that your health is just fine. Why do you persist in this elaborate charade of being at death's door, Aria?"

He wiped his hands in disgust and commanded the attendants to clean the floor. He then threw me outside and told everyone not to help me. He returned to the room after saying that, not even sparing me a glance.

I remained curled up and still, staying that way until the night arrived. I could see shadows moving inside the room and faintly hear Selena's muffled moans. I was eventually forced to quietly endure the sounds of their prolonged lovemaking.

I suddenly recalled the night I became one with Carl; we had neither performed the bonding ceremony nor the moonlight baptism. He had pinned me to the grass, where the harsh earth became our bed, and thrust into me with unchecked, savage tyranny.

I had assumed that was merely the custom of their pack, and so I repressed all my humiliation. I finally grasped the devastating reality during the Luna ceremony that Carl held Selena in such high regard and adoration.

I felt the wind sweep through my desolate chest, and before long, it was dawn. I had finally reached my last day. I thought to myself, "I'm finally dying, and the Silver Moon pack, the object of your hatred, will very shortly be completely eradicated, Carl."

I was awakened when someone threw a basin of water all over me. I opened my eyes to the sight of Selena's triumphant expression and noticed the Moonlight Bangle she was holding between her fingers, swinging it mockingly in my view.

I narrowed my eyes as I gained immediate clarity, realizing that it was a keepsake that belonged to Mom. I lunged forward to seize it, only to be held firmly by Selena's maids. I raised my head in fury, my voice shaking while asking, "What exactly do you want from me, Selena?"

Selena stifled a delicate laugh behind her hand. "You want it, right? I'd like to propose a wager with you, then—if we both happened to fall into the water, who would Carl choose to rescue first? If the outcome favors you, I'll return this bangle to you, Aria."

I followed Selena to Frost Flow, where vapor was curling above the water's surface; any average werewolf would certainly succumb to the cold within ten minutes. I was already shaking all over at that moment.

Selena, noticing my hesitation, challenged me mockingly, "You're frightened, huh? Have you given up on the bangle, Aria?"

I gritted my teeth as I recalled Mom's brutal death before plunging into the water.

Selena remained unmoving, smiling at me from the edge of Frost Flow. She then drew her cloak around herself and turned, her voice dripping with mockery while hissing, "I never would have guessed that you'd still be so naive, Aria!"

…

Third-person's POV:

It was then that someone outside suddenly yelled, "Alpha Carl has arrived!"

Selena quickly tossed the Moonlight Bangle into the water, and the moment Carl appeared, she pointed anxiously toward the water, exclaiming, "Aria threw the bangle you gave me into the water and is searching for it now, Carl."

Carl immediately rushed to the edge of Frost Flow and stared intently at the water, catching sight of a faint shadow below. He immediately bellowed, "You'd better come up this instant, Aria! It's merely a bangle—losing it isn't the end of the world!"

It had been quite a while, and the water remained completely still.

Carl was seized by panic. He quickly took off his cloak, preparing to descend into the water himself.

Yet, at this moment, Selena suddenly let out a series of loud sneezes. She called out to Carl, then rubbed her hands together and whined pitifully, "It's freezing out here, Carl; our pup must be cold right now. I'm sure Aria will be able to handle it just fine since she's such an excellent swimmer."

Carl, with an expression of deep concern, gently draped his cloak over Selena. He then turned to the maids and said, "You guys should wait here while I take Selena back and ensure that Aria is brought back immediately the moment she surfaces."

…

Having sent Selena back to her room, Carl instantly turned and rushed away. He felt his heart hammering in his chest as he told himself that Aria should have recovered the bangle by now. He then instructed the guard standing nearby, "Go bring Aria to me at once."

It wasn't long before the guard returned after being briefly away. He fell instantly to his knees before Carl, unable to control the trembling in his lips as he stammered, "A-Alpha Carl, A-Aria…"

"What happened to Aria?" Carl demanded, sounding irritated.

"Aria is dead."

"W-What!" Carl exclaimed.