Chapter 4

For the next two weeks, I locked myself in the Sanctuary's library, frantically flipping through ancient texts.

I was desperate to find a way to break the Symbiotic Pact by myself.

But every book gave the same brutal answer. Unless the one who made the pact chose to end it, or the one bound by it died, the pact would last forever.

Despair coiled around my heart like a vine.

*****

Two weeks later, at dusk, the peace of Silvermoon was shattered.

A thunderous horn sounded outside the city, making dust cascade from the walls.

I stood at the library window, staring out at the endless, dark mass of werewolf troops assembled beyond the gates.

Arthur had come in person.

He wasn't wearing the ornate robes of the Alpha Prince. Instead, he was clad in cold, silver armor.

Beside him stood Lily, dressed in a flowing white gown, so fragile she looked like she could melt away.

And on her head, boldly displayed, was the Queen's Diadem, the crown that was supposed to be mine.

It was a sacred artifact, worn only by werewolf queens. Arthur had sworn he'd crown me with it himself on Blood Moon Day.

Now, it rested atop Lily's head, reflecting the blinding rays of the setting sun.

David Sterling, the Lord of Silvermoon, and Beatrice Vale, the Sanctuary High Priestess, were forced to go outside the city to negotiate.

Arthur sat astride a massive Windwolf, looking down at the human representatives from his lofty perch.

"I have no intention of starting a war," Arthur's voice echoed through Silvermoon, carried by his spiritual energy. "I'm here for only one person. Cecilia Celeste. Hand her over, and the werewolf army will withdraw immediately."

David's face was clouded with worry as he tried to reason with Arthur. "Prince Arthur, Miss Celeste has already taken refuge here in the Sanctuary—"

"Refuge?" Arthur scoffed, his tone dripping with absolute arrogance. "She carries my Symbiotic Pact. Her life belongs to me. Who dares to shelter her?"

He abruptly raised his right hand, and the dark red mark of the pact on his wrist blazed with a piercing light.

In that instant, my heart seized, and an unstoppable force tugged violently at my soul.

I lost all control over my body. Like a marionette, I staggered out of the library, drawn helplessly toward the city gates.

When I finally appeared on the city wall, Arthur's gaze locked onto me instantly.

He took in my ashen face and shabby clothes, his brows knitting together in a faint frown.

"Are you done with this drama?" Arthur said, his tone laced with impatience and condescension. "If you're done, come back with me. Lily's bloodline cleansing ritual is at a critical stage. She needs your Heartblood as the key ingredient."

He didn't even bother to ask how I'd been these past two weeks. He'd brought an entire army to the gates, all because his new lover needed my blood.

"I told you, Arthur. I would never give you another drop of my blood," I said, gripping the wall and forcing myself to stand upright.

Lily cowered behind Arthur, her voice soft and shaky. "Cecilia, I know you hate me for taking your place. But my inner wolf is in so much pain.

"You're such a kind healer. You'd even save a wild bird by the side of the road. So why can't you help me? Just three drops of Heartblood, and I could live."

As she spoke, her eyes grew teary, her face full of pitiful innocence, as if she were the victim.

Arthur wrapped Lily protectively in his arms, his face full of tenderness for her. But when he turned to me, his eyes went cold in an instant.

"Cecilia, don't make me do this," he said. "You should know by now that Lily's life is worth much more than your ridiculous pride."

I stared at the couple clinging to each other, and suddenly burst into laughter, so hard that tears streamed down my face.

I jabbed a finger at the glowing pact on his wrist, my voice raw with anguish. "You said my life belonged to you?

"Arthur, did you forget? Two years ago in the Northern Frostlands, who tore open her own heart and gave you her Healing Essence, just so you could survive?"

Arthur's face twitched for a split second, but he went right back to his cold, hard stare.

"So what?" he said. "I gave you two years of luxury and honor. I gave you the status of the Alpha Prince's mate. You never knew when to be grateful."

He'd lost all patience.

"Since you refuse to come on your own, you leave me no choice but to activate the pact," he said, his right hand suddenly clenching into a fist.

My blood instantly boiled, and the Symbiotic Pact wrapped around my heart like a venomous serpent, crushing it mercilessly.

The agony was so overwhelming that I collapsed to my knees on the icy stone of the city wall.

Arthur didn't simply activate the Symbiotic Pact. He went further, invoking his Alpha Prince privilege to forcibly initiate the Ancient Blood Severance Ritual.

This was the cruelest sentence the werewolves used on any Blood Servant who dared to run.