Chapter 3

3.

The next two days. I locked myself in the abandoned training facility at the edge of the territory.

My true gift was never weak, pathetic "healing."

It was absolute dominion over life force itself. The power to seize. To drain. The Moon Goddess's most brutal authority over life and death.

Last lifetime, the reigning Alpha had sensed exactly what kind of energy lived inside me. That's why he turned me into Emily's living blood bank. Drained every drop of value from my veins to prop up his rotten rule.

This lifetime? I was going to let them taste what it felt like. Being drained dry.

Boom.

My fist smashed into the reinforced titanium training dummy. Solid metal caved inward with a shrieking groan.

I looked at my knuckles. Unbroken. I felt the explosive power humming in my muscles.

Emily was clearly getting restless.

Evening. She showed up at the training facility door. Holding a glass of red nutrient fluid.

"Seraphine, you've been training so hard. I mixed this myself. To help you recover your strength." Her smile was pure innocence. Like the confrontation in the hall days ago had never happened.

I stared at the liquid. Beneath the cloying fruit scent, I caught it. Bitter almond. Sharp.

Wolfsbane.

Last lifetime. This was exactly how she did it. Trace amounts. Every day. Corroding my nerves. Keeping me weak. Making sure I could never awaken my wolf spirit. This was her "parasite" code.

"Drink up." She held the glass to my lips. A viper's gleam flickering in her eyes.

I took the glass. Her mouth was already twitching. Fighting a smile.

Then I flicked my wrist.

Splash.

The entire glass of poison hit her pristine white combat boots. Dead-on. Red liquid dripped off the leather and hit the floor with a corrosive hiss. Acrid white smoke rose.

"Oops." I looked at the empty glass. Zero sincerity. "Hand slipped."

The smile on her face cracked. Her expression twisted. Hideous.

"How thoughtful of you." I stepped closer. Voice low. Lethal pressure. "But next time? Use less wolfsbane. That rotting-corpse stench of yours is truly nauseating."

She sucked in a sharp breath. Her angel mask ripped clean off. Pure terror in her eyes.

Before she could explode, the door slammed open. Her two guard dogs stormed in.

"Emily!"

Caine saw her pale face. He shoved her behind him like a shield. His glare snapped to me. "You crazy bitch, what did you do to her?!"

Then Caine's gaze locked onto my wrist.

A dark silver wolf-fang bracelet sat there. Ancient runes carved into it. Wards against dark magic. A protection mark. Sent by Lucian.

It reeked of terrifying Alpha power. That mark meant one thing. Anyone who touched me before the duel was declaring war on the Blood Moon pack.

Emily started shaking. Violently.

"Caine, I'm sorry... I just wanted to check on her... I don't know why she hates me so much..." She bit her lip. Fat tears rolled down her face like a broken faucet.

"Take your fake goddess and get out." I delivered the eviction order. Cold. Turned back to my training dummy. "You're fouling my air."