Chapter 2

"Alright, that's enough." Derek wiped away Lilith's fake tears, and when he turned back to me, his eyes were like ice.

"Selene, I won't kill you for the sake of what we had. But the Bloodmoon Pack has no room for someone useless. As of today, your status is revoked, and you're exiled to Frostmaw Mountain."

The whole place erupted the second he finished.

Exiling me to Frostmaw Mountain was basically a death sentence.

Frostmaw Mountain was at the northernmost edge of the pack territory, where the temperature never rose above minus twenty-two degrees, and mutated beasts roamed freely.

Even the strongest adult werewolf wouldn't dare spend a night there without supplies.

So what chance did I have? I was a "wolfless" who'd been hit by the bond's backlash, and I didn't even have fur to keep me warm.

A few of the older werewolves couldn't stand it and tried to speak for me.

"Alpha, if you toss her into Frostmaw Mountain, she won't make it through half the night," one of them said.

But Lilith leaned weakly into Derek's arms and said softly, "This is a trial from the Moon Goddess for her. If she's meant to survive, the Moon Goddess will protect her. Right, Derek?"

"Lilith's right," Derek said impatiently, waving his hand. "Drag her out. Now."

A few burly pack guards strode up to the altar, seized my arms without mercy, and dragged me off like I was nothing more than a corpse.

As they hauled me out the doors, I managed to glance back one last time.

Through the red carpet blowing in the wind, I saw Derek pressing a deep kiss to Lilith's lips while the whole pack cheered for them.

Not a single soul mourned for me, the one being sent to her death.

I had already stopped caring. Nothing could make me feel any worse.

I gave up struggling, letting the guards hurl me into the iron-cage cart headed straight for the icy wasteland.

With a loud bang, the rusty cage door flew open from a hard kick.

The two guards shoved me without a shred of pity, sending me sprawling into knee-deep snow.

"Good luck, you worthless piece of trash." One of them spat on the ground. Not bothering to look at me, he drove off on the snowmobile.

The blizzard slashed at my face like knives, the freezing wind slicing straight through my flimsy gown.

My heart, torn apart by the loss of the mate bond, twisted in agony inside my chest.

All I could do was hunch over, crawling through the snow like a stray left to die.

It was so cold. My fingers were completely numb, and my eyelashes were crusted with frost.

Every breath sent sharp pain through my lungs like ice tearing through them.

Right as my mind was about to slip into darkness, a strange, low growl came out of the blizzard.

It wasn't the wind.

It was something low and savage, like a beast breathing from deep inside hell itself.

Fueled by sheer survival instinct, I hauled my battered body toward the source of the sound.

After crawling for about half an hour, I spotted a hidden cave deep in the heart of Frostmaw Mountain, its entrance concealed by massive obsidian rocks.

At the entrance, a strong scent hit me, the kind that came from pureblood royalty.

The presence was so powerful that even someone like me, who had never awakened an inner wolf, could feel the weight of a higher bloodline.

I swallowed hard, using the faint moonlight at the cave's mouth to find my way as I stumbled inside.

Deep in the cave, water was dripping onto the rocks.

And along with the dripping came the sound of heavy metal chains being dragged across the stone.

A growl echoed through the cave.

Then a pair of crimson eyes lit up in the darkness, red like a bleeding ruby.

Right after that, a massive black wolf lunged out from the shadows. It was as big as an armored tank.

It was twice the size of Derek's wolf form.

Its fur bristled like steel spikes, and bits of flesh from some unknown animal were still hanging from its fangs.

I yelped. I was so scared that I fell back onto the ground and shut my eyes, completely hopeless.

I thought I was going to die here.

But the savage bite I was expecting never came.

The thick chains forged from ancient dark iron snapped tight in midair with a loud clang and yanked the black wolf back by its neck.

Its jaws stopped barely inches from my throat.

I was gasping for breath, and by the faint moonlight, I finally saw the monstrous creature before me.

Its back and stomach were covered in terrifying scars that crossed over each other in every direction.

A wooden stake painted silver and carved all over with ancient runes had been driven right through its heart. That was the worst wound.

It was raging, struggling in agony.

There was not a shred of sanity in those crimson eyes, only endless, savage bloodlust.

I suddenly realized who this was.

According to werewolf legend, there was only one wolf in the whole Siastonland with that pitch-black fur and massive size.

He was Alexander Blackwood, the legendary Alpha King of the past and the absolute ruler who commanded all the packs.

He was also Derek's adoptive father.

Legend said that ten years ago, during a great war against the Vampire Lord, Alexander got hit with the Frenzy Curse, the worst curse the vampires had ever created.

The curse robbed him of all reason, turning him into a mindless monster obsessed with slaughter.

To protect the werewolf packs, he commanded his most loyal followers to lock him up deep within Frostmaw Mountain, bound by legendary chains forged from ancient dark iron.

I couldn't believe it. The legend was real, and he was still alive.