Chapter 2

Unwilling to get involved any further, I reached for the door to shut it, only to have it violently shoved open.

Before I could react, I was bound in silver ropes by the members of the Silvermoon Pack and dragged to the pack's central square.

They tied me to an execution stake, piling firewood at my feet.

“Diana, you're not the Moonlight Witch at all! You've been lying to us this whole time! Tricking us into worshipping you for twenty years!”

“I gave up my entire fortune just so she would bless me with a pup, and what did I get? An Omega instead of a powerful Beta! I've been mocked in the Pack for half my life because of her!”

“My pup was born covered in dark spots. When I asked for her help, can you believe she told me to go to the healer? Why should I have to pay for treatment for a pup she blessed?”

“I brought my pup to her after he drowned, and she told me he was a wicked pup who should have died long ago. Yes, he cast dark magic on our neighbor’s pup. And? He didn't do it on purpose! How could she be so cruel to a pup!”

Some of the werewolves’ greedy eyes fell upon my neck.

By the time I realized they were after my moonstone amulet, it was too late.

“No! Don't break it!”

The word was barely out of my mouth when the moonstone amulet on the ground shattered into pieces.

That amulet was formed from condensed moonlight and had been with me since the day I was born.

It could absorb the malevolent black mist that clung to the spirits of the unjustly dead, but no one could use it except for me.

Now, a black mist that only I could see surged into the sky, tainting the heavens.

I couldn't spare it a thought.

Countless fists rained down on me, and every bone in my body screamed in agony.

I looked at my kinsmen, who had once knelt at the door of my small cottage, begging for my blessing. Their kind faces had all twisted into the visages of man-eating demons.

No one knew that most of these families, unable to produce powerful offspring, were descended from ancestors who had committed great wrongs.

But now, all of it was for nothing.

By laying their hands on me today, they had forfeited every blessing I had ever secured for them.

But there was something I didn't understand: these people had always been so kind to me; it was impossible for them to suddenly change their attitude like this.

There could only be one explanation.

I looked through the crowd at Adrian. “Why?”

A murderous glint flickered in Adrian's eyes. “Only when you're dead can my bonding ceremony with Nadia be truly set. I will take back the ritual you ruined!”

So he took back the rights to the Ancient Oak Grove and distributed them among the pack members.

A wolf’s nature can never withstand temptation. In the face of such immense gain, they had long forgotten the joy of receiving pups from me, and their desperation when they begged me to save them.

Hearing this, a few pack members turned and grabbed torches.

“You’ve always called yourself the Moon Witch. Go on, be tempered in the fire. After all, true gold fears no flame. If you have any real power, you certainly won’t die.”

I endured the excruciating pain wracking my body and cried out Adrian’s name.

“Adrian, are you sure your brother is still alive? Instead of wasting time torturing me, you should go check on him!”

At my words, Adrian pushed through the crowd and plunged the silver dagger in his hand through mine.

“Still have the strength to talk? It seems they were too gentle with you.”

He ground his teeth, twisting the hilt. “I’ll help you.”

The searing pain sent a cold sweat down my back, but it also sharpened my mind.

The power within my bloodline slowly began to awaken.

My blood stopped flowing. The life force of those who had just attacked me began to flow into me, carried by my own blood on their hands.

It flooded my entire body.

Adrian drew his dagger. "Nadia said my brother has a charmed life, the kind that comes once in a century. He'll still be alive long after you're dead!"

I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Of course his life was one in a century; he was the first person who should have died but was saved by me. Without my intervention in this life, he wouldn't have survived.

I no longer knew if Adrian truly loved or hated Alex.

He valued the Silvermoon Pack more than his own life, and he absolutely doted on Alex.

I just wondered how he would feel when he saw Alex die by his own hand.

At that thought, I suddenly laughed out loud.

My laughter seemed to snap something in Adrian. He snatched a torch from one of his pack members and hurled it at me.

The torch was made from the highly poisonous Moonbell flower.

"Burn!"

The next second, the torch was sent flying with a kick.

"No one moves!"