There was no room for resistance.
Under Drake's icy gaze, I drank the bowl of "Soul-Forgetting Potion" that would erase all memory. Liam's face was a mask of worry and helplessness, but in the end, there was nothing he could do.
From that day on, my nights no longer belonged to me.
Every evening when night fell, Drake would appear at my door to escort me to the daunting chambers in the main building. And each time, I was forced to drink that dark black potion.
Every morning, I would wake up in my own bed.
I had no memory of what had happened the night before. My mind was a thick fog, leaving only a bone-deep exhaustion.
But I was sharp enough to quickly realize that something was wrong.
First, my wrists never bore the bandaged cuts that Lisa and the other girls had.
Second, even though I was "occupying" the Alpha's time every night, girls from the courtyard were still occasionally taken away by the matron to "serve" the Alpha.
When they returned, they were always pale and dazed.
Some of them… never returned at all.
One night, I saw Lisa sitting alone in a corner of the courtyard, hugging her knees and shivering. I walked over and gently draped my only thick outer coat over her shoulders.
She jumped, startled, but relaxed a little when she saw it was me.
"Thank you… Miss Aila…"
"Just Aila is fine," I said, sitting beside her and asking in a low voice, "Lisa, are you alright?"
She shook her head, tears falling silently down her face.
"Did Emily, who was taken yesterday… did she come back?" I asked softly.
Lisa's body went rigid. She shook her head in terror, her trembling finger pointing towards the castle's highest tower, which pierced the clouds.
"That place… it's the end for all of us," she choked out, her voice filled with despair. "We're all just… livestock, being raised and waiting to be bled dry."
"Don't be afraid," I said, taking her cold hand. On it, there was a faint, healed scar. "Lisa, listen to me. We will not die here like livestock. I promise."
My words seemed to give her a sliver of strength. She looked at me, and for the first time, a faint glimmer of hope shone in her perpetually terrified eyes.
I could not sit by and wait any longer. I had to see Liam.
But ever since Kaelen had issued that damned "service" command, Drake took me away on schedule every night, giving me no chance to slip out.
I found Ulf.
"Ulf," I said, pulling him into a corner during a patrol change, "I need you to do me a favor."
"My Luna, please command me," he said, dropping to one knee without hesitation.
"I need to see Lord Liam in the courtyard," I whispered. "Tonight. But Lord Drake will come for me… is there any way you can buy me some time?"
A look of difficulty crossed Ulf's face, but he quickly nodded. "Leave it to me, my Luna."
Late that night, just as Drake was about to enter the Moon Shadow Courtyard, Ulf rushed out from another path, looking panicked, and blocked his way.
"Lord Drake! It's an emergency!" Ulf's voice was filled with anxiety. "Something's happened at the eastern watchtower!"
Drake stopped immediately, his gaze instantly sharpening. "What is it?"
"The patrol team found tracks of an unknown creature over there!" Ulf panted, pointing in the opposite direction. "And… and it seems some of our men are injured! The captain sent me to report to you immediately and request backup!"
Drake's brow furrowed. On one hand, it was the Alpha's routine command; on the other, it was an urgent military situation concerning the safety of their territory.
He didn't hesitate.
"You, lead the way!" he said to Ulf. "We'll go check it out first!"
"Yes, sir!"
I watched as Ulf successfully led Drake away, my heart filled with gratitude. I seized the opportunity and, like a shadow, slipped out from the other side of the courtyard, running like mad towards the abandoned courtyard.
Liam was already waiting there, his face wearing its usual gentle smile.
"Aila? How did you…"
"Liam, help me," I interrupted, my voice urgent.
"What's wrong?" his expression immediately turned serious.
"It's the girls," I whispered. "The girls in the courtyard are still disappearing. Emily… she was taken two days ago and never came back. And even though I go to 'serve' the Alpha every night, I never have the same kind of scars on my wrists as Lisa and the others. This is all too strange."
Liam's brows knitted together tightly. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," I said, looking at him. "Liam, I suspect my friend Willow's disappearance is also connected to all of this."
"Willow?"
"Yes," I told him everything that had happened in the kennel back in the South. "Everyone thought she had died or run away. But I found this in the kennel."
From an inner pocket, I carefully took out the giant, black nail fragment.
"Look," I said, handing it to Liam. "This isn't from one of our southern werewolves. Its owner… must have been enormous. And look, on the back, there's a 'K' carved into it."
Liam took the nail fragment, and the expression on his face changed in an instant. It was a look I had never seen on him before—shock, disbelief, and a flicker of pain.
"This…" he said, looking at the nail, his throat moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just clenched his fist around it tightly.
"Liam?" I asked, his reaction making me even more uneasy. "You know what this is, don't you?"
He was silent for a moment. He didn't answer my question, but instead looked up, his deep eyes meeting mine.
"Aila," he promised me solemnly, "I have noted everything you've said. Please believe me, I will find out what happened to the missing girls. You… you must be careful too."
"What about Willow?" I pressed. "And this nail fragment…"
"It's complicated," he cut me off, handing the nail back to me. "Until I find out the truth, don't mention this to anyone else, and don't let anyone see it. Especially… Kaelen."
He left me with those meaningful words and then turned, quickly vanishing into the night.
He definitely knew something.
And Kaelen's locked attic had just become even more suspicious.
Meanwhile, in Kaelen's chambers.
Kaelen paced back and forth in his vast chambers like a caged beast.
Ever since he had stopped taking Morgana's damned potion, every night had become a severe test of his willpower. The curse within him was a searing flame, constantly burning at his nerves. He desperately needed the calming presence of her scent.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. It was Drake.
"Drake, what took you so long?" he growled in Drake's direction.
"My apologies, Alpha," he said, dropping to one knee, his expression grave. "There was an emergency at the eastern watchtower."
"Report," Kaelen's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Ulf's patrol team discovered tracks of an 'unknown creature' and engaged in a brief skirmish. Two of our warriors were injured."
"Those things again?" Kaelen's brow furrowed. Their activity was increasing. This was not a good sign.
"One more thing, Alpha," Drake hesitated, but continued, "In the Moon Shadow Courtyard… another girl has disappeared. Her name is Emily."
Kaelen's pupils constricted. "Disappeared? Did I not order a halt to all 'blood rituals'?!"
"Yes, Alpha. The matron said she did not return after 'serving' the Alpha."
Kaelen knew that the one chosen to "serve" that night was not Emily, but Aila.
Someone in the castle was defying his orders, using his name to carry out their own dirty work behind his back.
He waved Drake away. He was alone again in his chambers.
Not long after, the matron brought Aila. She had already drunk the "Soul-Forgetting Potion," and her eyes were unfocused.
As her scent filled the room, Kaelen felt the raging fire within him finally be quenched by a cool spring. He sat down wearily at his desk and began to deal with the urgent battle reports Drake had just delivered.
Under the potion's effect, Aila quietly walked to a long couch in the corner of the room and waited silently for Kaelen's arrival.
After some time, Kaelen finished his work and looked up. Aila had curled up on the couch and fallen asleep.
He walked over to her, looking at her defenseless, sleeping face. He knew she had just met with Liam again, and a wave of frustrated jealousy washed over him.
He reached out, wanting to touch her, but his hand stopped in mid-air. In the end, he only gently draped a thick fur blanket over her.
He remembered every detail of these nights. But she, she knew nothing.
Kaelen looked at the sleeping Aila, his expression turning exceptionally cold and determined.
The concubines were disappearing, unknown creatures were ravaging the forest, and yet Barton and Morgana seemed unconcerned, instead constantly trying to direct his attention to the conflict with the South.
He realized that there was a great web in this castle, and it was trapping both him and his only "cure."
Barton… what is the game you are playing?
He had to move faster. Before Barton and Morgana destroyed his only hope, he had to be one step ahead, to uncover all the secrets.