Chapter 5

As I struggled, I suddenly noticed markings on the bed of herbs where she lay.

Inky black strokes, some of them smudged.

My mind flashed to Adrian, who had entered before us—how dare he tamper with my sacred space!

Dora began to struggle again, her strength even greater than before.

She tilted her head to the side, opened her mouth, and sank her teeth into my hand.

From the other side of the silver-threaded barrier, Gavin saw everything with perfect clarity.

He panicked, trying to get in, but he couldn't break through the barrier.

Not far away, Adrian roared with laughter. “Do you know what it feels like, Diana? To feel your blood drain away, bit by bit? To feel your body grow cold, your limbs refusing to obey?”

His words dragged me back to the moments before I died in my past life.

The massive hemorrhage from my miscarriage had numbed me to the pain of my broken arms and legs.

All I could feel was the life force ebbing away from the pup I had carried for months.

I wanted nothing more than to march out there and kill him right now.

But the person in front of me was more important.

I shot Gavin a look, telling him to stay calm.

I held my hand perfectly still, letting Dora feed on my blood.

Slowly, the blood-red light in her eyes began to recede.

Her pupils returned to normal.

Once her vision cleared and she saw my face, she tried to speak, only to realize she was still biting my arm.

I made a shushing gesture, telling her to rest.

Her condition was still unstable after just waking up. Speaking rashly at a time like this could very well give that black mist another way in.

My fingers brushed over my arm, and the bite wound healed quickly.

Only the mottled bloodstains remained on the surface.

I released the barrier. Behind me, Dora was still lying motionless on the bed.

Gavin dashed over to support me. "Are you okay? Did my sister bite you just now? How's the wound? I'll call the healer to bandage it for you."

I shook my head.

If the healer came, they would discover that I had no wounds.

Not only was the bite from Dora gone, but even the wounds from my pack members' beatings had healed.

Gavin insisted on bandaging me, but Adrian suddenly walked over and violently yanked Gavin's hand away.

"Get your filthy hands off her!"

"Diana, have you no shame? There's a dead person and so many living people right here, and you're this desperate to be with a man?"

His words were cut short by my slap.

I pulled back my hand and cleaned it twice with a cleansing spell.

Nadia lovingly caressed his face. "Diana, you resort to violence just because you can't stand to lose. How shameless!"

"Weren't you just talking about a life-or-death bet?"

She threw a silver dagger in front of me. "Are you going to kill yourself, or shall I do it for you?"

I kicked the dagger back with my foot. "Not so fast. Aren't you forgetting something?"

I looked past them to the small figure still lying motionless on the bed.

Adrian glanced back at Alex's form, then averted his gaze.

"Nadia said he'll need a little more time to wake up completely, but his life is no longer in danger. As for this little girl in front of you, her face is ashen and lifeless. I'd say she's already met the Grim Reaper."

I looked at him, my heart filled with disappointment.

From Alpha Felix to Adrian, and even Alex—not a single one of them was any good.

In my past life, I was fooled by their facades, constantly exhausting myself to help them.

I'd love to see just how the Silvermoon Pack will manage in this life without me.

With Alex—the only one capable of fathering an heir—dead, the Silvermoon Pack's lineage ends with this generation.

I turned and sat on the edge of the bed, blocking their view of Dora.

"Since we have to wait, we'll all wait together."

I placed two Silverleaf candles, representing life, between Dora and Alex. This is a secret art of my clan—when the person dies, the flame goes out.

Half an hour later, the candle belonging to Alex also began to flicker faintly.

Adrian laughed. “Diana, did you see that? Dora’s candle is about to go out!”

I cut short his gloating. “Adrian, take a closer look at which flame is brighter.”

Adrian composed himself and looked, then he suddenly spun around and lunged for Alex's bed, shaking his body violently.

“Alex, stop playing around! Open your eyes!”

With a soft puff, both candles extinguished at the same time, plunging the small cabin into complete darkness.

Soon, a single candle relit, illuminating a small area.

Adrian laughed triumphantly. “Alex is awake! Go to hell, you bitch!”