Chapter 1

I had been the Shadow King's secret lover for a century in the dark depths of the Night Realm.

I waited with a hopeful heart for him to ask for my hand in marriage.

But then, I accidentally overheard him drinking and joking with his generals.

"The King even managed to seduce the High Priestess of the Sun. When is the wedding feast?" one of them asked.

Balthazar took a sip of his dark wine and sneered.

"What wedding? I never intended to marry that little flower shifter! She threw herself at me, so why wouldn't I take what was offered?"

"But... Lady Evangeline is about to return from the void..."

"Why the rush? Evangeline loves blooming gardens. When she returns, she will see the Night Realm covered in the flowers that girl planted for me!"

My eyes stung with tears.

The hundred years of love I felt were nothing but me being a substitute for someone else.

I swallowed the bitterness in my heart and sent a telepathic message to my mother.

"Mom, tell the Great Alpha that I accept the marriage proposal from the Silverpaw Pack. I will marry the Werewolf Prince."

On the day of my wedding, it happened to be the same day Balthazar chose to take a wife.

On the Bridge of Souls, the Vampire Legion and the Wolf Pack stood in a tense standoff.

When Balthazar saw me in my crimson wedding gown, his eyes instantly turned blood-red.

1

"Mom, tell the Great Alpha that I accept the marriage proposal. I will marry into the Silverpaw Pack."

On the other side of the transmission, I heard a glass shatter. My mother was in total shock.

"Calla, are you sure? This alliance is no joke. Once you agree, there is no turning back!"

The Great Alpha had ordered a union between the Wolf Pack and the Flower Shifters. My parents had pressured me for a century, but I had delayed it out of my own selfish love for Balthazar.

My parents were even prepared to defy the Great Alpha's order and offer our tribe's treasures as a penalty.

Who would have thought that at the final deadline, I would suddenly agree?

My mother was silent for a long time.

"Calla, I know your heart belongs to the Shadow King. If you don't want this, your father and I will fight for you, even if it means..."

"Mom, I want this."

"I am willing to marry the Prince of the Silverpaw Pack."

I interrupted her, my voice firm.

Because my parents treated me so well, I couldn't let them suffer for my mistakes anymore.

"Mom, start the wedding preparations. I will be home in a few days."

"Fine. I understand."

As soon as the connection cut, Balthazar's voice echoed behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I turned around. He reached out and pulled me into his cold embrace. His dark energy seeped into my body, making me shiver uncontrollably.

I noticed details I had ignored before.

As the Lord of the Shadow Realm, why was his energy so unstable today?

There was only one reason. He had gone to the Abyss of Lost Souls again to summon Evangeline's spirit.

Seeing my distraction, he gripped my chin and forced me to look at him.

"Calla, I'm asking you. Where are you going?"

I bit my lip and responded coldly. "Nowhere. The gatekeeper asked me to plant some lilies. I'm going to the riverbank."

Balthazar frowned slightly, looking annoyed yet helpless.

"Calla, there has been a lot of war in the mortal world lately. The Shadow Realm is flooded with souls. I only came back late because of work. Don't overthink things."

I turned my head to avoid his kiss. My eyes caught the jade pendant tucked in his robe. It held Evangeline's soul essence.

Balthazar noticed and subtly hid the pendant deeper into his clothes.

It was funny. I had come to the Shadow Realm just to see the legendary River of Souls.

They say your destiny is written on the stones there.

I first met Balthazar at the river. At first, he was impatient and incredibly cold.

I was a newcomer and didn't know he was the feared Shadow King that everyone whispered about.

The riverbank was vast but dead. He would stare at the water in a daze, and I would plant flowers beside him.

Eventually, the gray sands were covered in colorful blooms. Only then did his eyes show a different light.

"The flowers are beautiful. Do you like them that much?"

That was the first thing he ever said to me.

Later, we became close. He gave me gifts, sometimes pale silk dresses, sometimes jade hairpins.

I didn't like any of them.

But back then, I thought he just didn't understand colors because he lived in darkness. To protect his pride, I never complained.

One night, he was drunk. I helped him to his room, and he kissed me. Everything happened naturally after that.

We spent a hundred years together, though we never went public.

I thought he loved me. I spent every day waiting for him to propose.

But now I realized he didn't lack a sense of color. He just loved someone else and was using me as her shadow.