Chapter 4

When I next regained consciousness, I found myself lying in the pack's healing den.

I gingerly sat up, feeling the herbal poultices wrapped around my head.

The elderly medicine woman grinding herbs nearby quickly came over to steady me, saying,

"Easy now, you're badly hurt. A little more to one side and you might not have made it."

Recalling the last fuzzy bits of memory before I passed out, I asked,

"Did... my packmates bring me here?"

Hearing this, the medicine woman pursed her lips disapprovingly and said,

"The patrol found you. Your blood was nearly dried up - who knows how long you'd been lying out there in the woods."

"And that Alpha of yours! When they tried to contact him through the mental link, he actually had the nerve to scold you for causing trouble!"

The medicine woman went on and on, still muttering instructions not to move around too much as she left, lest my wounds reopen. Caden burst in right after she left, bringing a chill with him.

The moment he saw the herbal poultice on my forehead, a violent aura emanated from him.

"Stella, didn't I warn you not to pull any more tricks? How long are you going to keep up this act?"

The stitched wound was swollen like a small hill, and my face was as pale as snow. I couldn't understand why Caden thought I was acting.

My head was pounding, and I didn't want to argue with him, so I said,

"What benefit would I get from acting?"

"If you don't believe me, just leave. I need to rest..."

But before I could finish, he roughly yanked me off the fur bed.

"You colluded with the Blood Fang wolf pack to attack Seraphina, frightening her. Now you're faking an injury to avoid my punishment. Isn't that right?"

Standing up so abruptly made me dizzy, and I wanted to deny it but couldn't find my voice.

But to Caden, this silence looked like guilt. He dragged me towards Seraphina's recovery cave, fuming,

"It was you after all! This time, don't think I'll let you off easy!"

Seraphina, upon seeing me, immediately squeezed out a few weak whimpers and began to sling mud.

"Stella, how can you be so vicious, actually colluding with outsiders to harm me!"

I was rudely thrown to the ground by Caden, and it took me a long while before I could open my mouth to defend myself.

"It wasn't me! There are Luna's eyes in the forest, you can go check!"

But Seraphina ignored what I said and continued to pester relentlessly.

"But who else would do such a thing! You're just jealous that I've gained the Alpha's favor!"

I couldn't help but sneer, as if I'd heard the biggest joke in the world. Then I raised my head and said with utter calmness,

"Why would I be jealous of something I never cared about?"

Beside me, Caden's dark eyes narrowed slightly, his expression becoming complicated. The powerful aura around him grew unstable.

I didn't want to continue this confrontation with the two wolves, so I struggled to stand up, intending to leave.

Unexpectedly, Caden suddenly produced the animal skin box I had hidden in my humble dwelling, his tone enigmatic as he said,

"Then I suppose we should purify all these things!"

Seeing the box containing Ronan's sacred objects being brought out, I was so anxious I wanted to rush over and snatch it away.

"You... what are you going to do!" Caden blocked me with his body, acting all self-righteous as he said,

"I thought you didn't care anymore? Then why are you so precious about my brother's junk!"

"Stella, you're definitely playing hard to get with me! I'm not stupid enough to fall for your tricks!"

I had no time to pay attention to what Caden was saying. All my focus was on the box in his hands.

"I've been collecting those for so long... Please give them back to me, I'm begging you!"

Caden snatched up the sacred objects from the box and, without hesitation, tossed them into the blazing fire pit nearby.

I screamed and begged him to stop, crying desperately, but he acted as if he couldn't hear me. A glimmer of satisfaction even flashed in his eyes.

As the last sacred item was consumed by the flames, my heart plummeted into an abyss.

"Listen carefully, Stella. I gave you these things, and I can destroy them just as easily!"

"If you ever dare to hurt Seraphina again, my punishment won't stop here!"

With those words, Caden scooped up Seraphina and strode away, trampling over the ashes.

I collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably as I stared at the ashes before me. No matter how the medicine man tried to pull me away, I refused to budge.

At that moment, only one thing crossed my mind: the resurrection ritual.

If the ritual failed, I would likely lose all hope and throw myself off Luna Cliff to join Ronan.

Thankfully, after a sleepless night, Lyra's mental link brought good news.

"Stella, the ritual was successful! Ronan's soul is stable! When do you plan to leave Caden?"

I couldn't believe it and had to double-check. Finally, through tears and laughter, I replied,

"I'm leaving now. I can't wait to see Ronan..."Lyra sent an old wolf loyal to Ronan to pick me up via a secret route.

As soon as I stepped out of the Dark Moon pack's territory borders, Caden's mental link chased after me, carrying a commanding tone.

“Don't use snow rabbits for the Full Moon Ritual offering. Seraphina doesn't like them.”

He issued orders to me as usual, acting as if nothing had happened.

Today is the Dark Moon pack's Full Moon Ritual, and also the anniversary of Ronan's death.

For the past seven years, I would always prepare the ceremony for Caden early, deceiving myself into pretending Ronan was still by my side.

But this year is different. I can finally return to Ronan's side and spend every full moon with him.

The old wolf guiding the way came over to ask if I needed anything else.

I remembered the memory crystal Lyra had helped me obtain, containing the truth about the Blood Fang pack's ambush. I handed it to the old wolf and said,

"Today is the Dark Moon pack's Full Moon Ritual. Once it's safe, please give this to Caden."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Caden still knew nothing about any of this.His inner circle, noticing my lack of response to the mental link, began to taunt me once again.

"Has Stella the shadow grown too bold? She dares to ignore the Alpha's call!"

"Exactly! If the Alpha gets upset and revokes her mate status, she'll be crying her eyes out!"

Seraphina chimed in from the side,

"Caden, is Stella still mad at me? Is that why she's deliberately not responding, giving you the cold shoulder......"

Caden, however, seemed distracted as he sensed something in the distance, feeling an inexplicable unease in his heart.

Just then, a wolf responsible for reconnaissance burst in carrying a glowing memory crystal, howling,

"A quarter hour ago, while I was patrolling the border, the neutral pack's recorder actually saw Stella!"

Hearing this, all the wolves gathered around, eager to see what had transpired.

In the image, the neutral pack's recorder politely asked Stella,

"Our pack has a custom of recording those who leave our territory today. Would you mind cooperating?"

Seeing Stella nod, he continued,

"Are you going on a journey? How long before you plan to return?"

Without hesitation, Stella blurted out,

"I'm not coming back."

"Because my soulmate isn't there, I'm going to find him."