After the bath, enduring the tearing pain all over my body, I put on a pure white sacrificial gown. Every inch of fabric rubbed against my wounds, like countless silver needles piercing my skin.
Guards pushed open the doors, escorting me across the central avenue. On both sides of the road stood werewolves who had come to attend the full clan assembly.
Amidst the whispers, I was led to the high platform in the center of the square, standing behind my father, Alpha, like a shadow.
He turned and faced the densely packed crowd below. The square instantly fell silent.
"My clan!" Ian's voice was loud and powerful. "We have shed too much blood, lost too many brothers and sisters!"
"Now, we have a chance to end all of this! Following the ancient covenant, in exchange for lasting peace!"
"The covenant requires us to pay a price," he continued. "A heavy price. But this price will be borne by the purest bloodline among us!"
He slowly turned around and, for the first time, in front of all the clan members, placed his hand, as cold as iron, on my shoulder.
"Today," he announced loudly, "I, as your Alpha, declare—my daughter, Aila, will bear this honor and burden! She will be a 'Blood Pact Offering' and travel to the North to exchange peace for all of us!"
There was a dead silence from below, followed by deafening cheers. No one objected; their faces showed relief, gladness, and indifference.
After the assembly, I was confined to a cell next to the council hall.
After an unknown amount of time, the lock on the door made a sound. Physician Ilian walked in.
"Alpha's orders," he said to the guards at the door. "I must check the 'offering's' health."
The door closed.
"Child," the physician looked at my body covered in scars, his voice heavy. "They have done unforgivable things to you."
"Is that not the meaning of my existence?" I said expressionlessly.
"No, this is their cowardice." Saying this, he took out a jewelry box from his sleeve and placed it in my hand.
"What is this?"
"This is what your mother entrusted to you before she died. It is time to give it to you."
Trembling, I opened the jewelry box. Inside lay an ancient, old comb, its missing gem setting solidified with dried black blood.
"Your mother repeatedly told me one thing before she died, asking me to tell you," he said solemnly, leaning down. "She said, no matter what happens, never… go to the Moon Lake."
Impatient coughs from the guards outside the door could be heard.
"Live, Aila. No matter what, live on." The physician sighed and left.
I carefully put away the silver comb, took off the cumbersome ceremonial gown, and was about to apply medicine to myself.
Just then, the cell door was "bang" opened.
It was Kaelen. He was drunk, his eyes shining with ill intent.
"Yo, little freak," he hiccupped, approaching me. "Since you're being sent away anyway? Before you go, why don't big brother… 'love' you properly this one time?"
I grabbed the stone stool beside me. "Get lost, Kaelen!"
"Still resisting?" He lunged at me with a lecherous grin.
Just as he was tearing at my clothes, a cold voice rang out from the doorway.
"Kaelen, you idiot! What are you doing?"
It was Lillian.
"Mother…" Kaelen instantly sobered up halfway.
"Get out, don't embarrass yourself here."
Kaelen scrambled away. I awkwardly tidied my torn clothes.
Lillian walked slowly towards me and crouched down, looking at me. "Poor thing, Aila," she said softly, placing two items in front of me. "I have prepared a choice for you."
A small crystal vial and the shawl snatched by Kaelen.
She pointed to the crystal vial. "This is 'Eternal Night Sleep,' a potion. Drink it, and you can escape all pain."
Then she pointed to the shawl. "Or, like its owner, face the tragic fate that awaits you."
"Either way, I'm dead, but I refuse to let you succeed so quickly!" I sneered.
"No, my dear child, I am helping you find release. Some truths are more terrifying than death."
"Did you always think your mother died in difficult childbirth because she gave birth to you?"
I froze.
"Your mother's death was because she saw something she shouldn't have seen beneath the Moon Lake, and was therefore cursed," she said, enunciating each word. "And your father was the one who personally forced the poison down her throat."
"Impossible!" I roared. "I don't believe a word you say! You venomous snake!"
"Then shall we make a bet?" Lillian smiled instead of getting angry. "As long as you are alive for a day, the curse of your bloodline will follow you. Like a plague, it will spread from you to everyone you care about."
"Finn was just the beginning, because he pleaded for you; Willow is missing now, her fate unknown; and how long can Physician Ilian, who always helps you, withstand an accident?" Lillian stood up and looked down at me. "The entire clan will see that anyone who gets close to you meets a bad end."
I was completely stunned. I didn't care what happened to me, but I couldn't harm Willow and Physician Ilian. They were my only thoughts in this world.
Lillian stood up, picked up the small crystal vial, and handed it to me. "Drink it. It's the only way you can protect them."
I took the exquisite potion and drank it in one gulp.
The damp, cold night wind carrying the fishy smell of the lake hit my face. I tried to open my eyes. In the distance, the moonlight shimmered like scattered silver, and I was wrapped in my mother's old shawl.
I didn't die? I pushed up my aching body and stumbled to the lake. Under the full moon, the Moon Lake shimmered with an eerie blue-green. Just one step forward, and all the pain would end.
I closed my eyes, imagining sinking into endless darkness. Behind me, a deafening roar sounded.
I turned my head. A black wolf, larger than my dilapidated wooden cabin, was staring at me with eyes burning with crimson flames. It exuded a destructive aura.
Before I could react, it roared and lunged at me like a black meteorite!
I instinctively stepped back—
Beneath my feet was a cliff.
"Ah—!"
The sensation of weightlessness instantly enveloped me. I plunged into the icy, bone-chilling Moon Lake.
Just as I thought I would die like this, a huge black figure also crashed into the water, creating a massive splash. It was the giant wolf.
The icy lake water, mixed with the cold pain of the "Silver Frost Blood" within me, pierced my limbs. I felt myself constantly sinking…
Suddenly, a strong, powerful arm wrapped around my waist, and another hand supported my nape, pressing my cold body tightly against a similarly bare and warm chest.
Smooth arms? A warm chest?
I struggled to open my eyes. In the blurred underwater vision, I saw a man's face.
It was a handsome face, with sharp features, as if chiseled by a knife. Thick black hair and a messy black beard. Deep, night-sky black eyes were staring intently at me.
I was stunned.
He was clearly… clearly a ferocious wolf that wanted to kill me just now.
He seemed confused by his own state too. He looked down at his human arm, then at me, almost completely naked, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
But now was not the time to think about these things. The icy lake water was stealing our body heat.
I couldn't let him die here with me.
With strength I didn't know I had, I grabbed his arm and, with all my might, swam towards the shore with him. With every stroke, I could feel the firm muscle lines on his arm.
His head broke the surface of the water. His large hands held me firmly. As I struggled, my thigh brushed against his hip, and both of us froze. "Don't move."
When we both crawled onto the shore, exhausted, water droplets rolled from my forehead. He looked down, and my body, covered in new and old wounds, the Silver Blood scar below my collarbone slowly oozed silver blood.
His pupils constricted. His Adam's apple bobbed. "Your blood…"
Before he finished speaking, a strange thing happened again.
The handsome black-haired man in front of me began to twitch and deform uncontrollably.
I was bewildered, slumped on the ground, watching him, my mind in chaos. Which one was the real him?
In just a few seconds, he transformed back into the terrifying black beast. He pounced on me, his fangs hovering three inches above my throat.
He looked down at his paws, which had returned to their beastly form, then raised his head, his eyes seeming to regain a hint of reason.
He looked… so lonely.
I don't know where the courage came from, but I tentatively reached out my hand.
"You… are in pain too, aren't you?" I said softly.
He suddenly arched his back, a groan-like low growl escaping his throat. His retracted claws sank into the soft earth beside me, mere inches from my flesh.
"Ugh—!" I couldn't help but let out a cry of pain. The cold pain from the Silver Blood struck again, and I curled up on the ground, feeling utterly cold.
The giant wolf saw my pained expression, nudged my neck with its nose, its hot breath fanning my ear. Its rough tongue curled around the silver scar below my collarbone. My trembling hand sank into his mane, my nails unintentionally brushing against the soft flesh of his ear. This time, he didn't flinch away.
His fur was softer than I expected, like the finest black velvet. Under my touch, his massive body relaxed.
While enduring the severe pain within me, I gently stroked him. The two lonely and pained monsters, under the pale moonlight, comforted each other.
After an unknown amount of time, the pain within me gradually subsided.
At this moment, I clearly saw the black obsidian-like claws emerging from his retracted paws. The roaring wolf head on his claws and his sapphire eyes shone brightly.
I watched him warily, all fear vanishing at this moment. "Where did you take Willow?"
The giant wolf's body suddenly tensed, and it took a step back, giving me a deep look.
Then, it turned around and disappeared into the depths of the Winterfang Forest like a black lightning bolt, without looking back.
I endured the pain and went to the old tree where I had hidden the fingernail fragment and the Moon Tear Stone. I reached into the tree hollow and retrieved them.
The first hint of dawn was appearing on the horizon. At least, I had to survive until I understood all of this.
Dragging myself, covered in dew, I crashed through the side gate of the castle. Lillian was leaning against the spiral staircase, biting into an apple, a half-smile on her face, as if nothing had happened.
Three maids entered. One carried a tray with a white sacrificial gown, another with jewelry, and the third carried food.
"Eat," a maid said stiffly, placing the tray on the stone table. "The northern envoys will arrive soon."
The tray was slammed onto the table. Beside the black bread, the cold meat congealed with white oil. I grabbed a piece of meat and stuffed it into my mouth, the grease mixing with the taste of blood between my teeth.
After a round of grooming and dressing, the heavy, long sound of a horn echoed from outside.
The door was opened again, and two guards entered.
"It's time."
I stood up and followed them out of the cell.
At the main entrance of the clan, the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. The elders of the Southern Wolf Tribe stood on one side, with several large chests filled with gold and jewels. On the other side stood several unusually tall northern werewolves, the ice crystals condensed on their leather armor glinting in the sunlight.
Their gazes, like the northern cold wind, swept over everyone on our side, finally resting on me.
Elder Eldred stepped forward and handed a parchment scroll sealed with wax to the leading northern werewolf.
"This is a copy of the peace treaty," his voice sounded a little weary, "and… the bloodline proof of the offering."
The northern leader snatched the scroll, his wolf-claw signet scratching the wax seal. His scarlet tongue licked the silver blood clinging to the edge of the scroll.
The northern werewolf nodded and signaled the guards. "Bring her over."
I was pushed forward. A northern guard roughly grabbed my wrist.
"Good luck, child," Elder Eldred sighed.
I did not reply.
As I was pushed forward, I caught a glimpse of Physician Ilian's gnarled hand tightly gripping a stone pillar. He formed the word "live" with his Adam's apple, and the tears embedded in his wrinkles made my eyes sting.
As the heavy iron carriage door opened, the strong smell of beast mixed with old blood grime hit me.
"Get in." The guard behind me commanded.
Before I was pushed into the darkness, I cast one last look back:
Lillian's skirt hem flashed by the tower window.
My father's blood-stained collar lay at the foot of the altar.
The gazes of the clan members were like a silent abyss.
Amidst the booming sound of the carriage door closing, darkness consumed everything.
In the darkness, I reached into my怀 and took out the silver comb Physician Ilian had given me, stroking the hollow in the comb with my hand.
Suddenly, I felt the shape was familiar. I took out the Moon Tear Stone left by the Northern Wolf tribe. I tried to fit the teardrop-shaped gem into the empty hollow on the comb.
They fit together perfectly.