Chapter 8
“Still spinning your webs of deceit, Ravenna?” Valdrin’s words held the bite of winter frost. “We all witnessed the truth with our own eyes.”
A broken laugh escaped Ravenna’s throat as her gaze settled on Sweet, watching the pup peek through her theatrical tears. “So be it then. Yes, I attacked the precious pup.”
What use were denials to a wolf already marked guilty by her own blood?
Her father’s Alpha power erupted, claws extending as his rage peaked. The air crackled with lethal
intent.
Valdrin’s hand shot out, catching the former Alpha’s wrist. His own power rose to meet her father’s, though Ravenna saw through his show of protection.
He wasn’t defending her – he was safeguarding his precious heart donor. Now that the ritual date was set, he couldn’t risk any damage to his prize.
With a low growl, Valdrin herded her enraged father from the chamber, leaving only himself and Ash with Ravenna.
“They’re just designs,” Valdrin’s voice was cold. “Why react so violently over such paper?”
Ravenna’s body trembled. Just designs? These were her life’s work, her passion, her soul poured into every pattern! To him, they meant nothing.
Suddenly, the absurdity of it all struck her, and her laughter turned to tears. So this was her worth to them – less than nothing.
She clutched her chest, feeling real, physical pain. So this was how it felt when a wolf’s spirit truly shattered.
Valdrin’s mask of control slipped as her distress filled the air with the scent of breaking spirit. He reached for her with false gentleness, “Control your wolf, Ravenna. These are just designs. Let the matter go.”
Control?” The word tore from her throat like a feral howl. Something primal and ancient snapped within her that final thread holding back years of suppressed rage.
Her weakened wolf surged with one last burst of desperate strength as she launched herself at him.
CET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
The
The chamber erupted in chaos as she unleashed her fury, sending sacred crystals and healing stones. flying like shrapnel. Her voice rose to a savage snarl that shook the stone walls: “ALL OF YOU – OUT!”
Valdrin backed away, his Alpha instincts warring between dominance and caution. Though his eyes
blazed with dangerous warning, he retreated. Even he knew better than to challenge a wolf with
nothing left to lose.
Night had fallen when he returned, finding her rage burned down to cold ashes.
“The ritual,” he announced, “will take place in ten days.”
Ravenna sat motionless, her silence more telling than any response.
“We meant to wait for your recovery, but given your… instability, ten days seems best.” He watched her carefully, searching for reaction.
She merely nodded, her acceptance almost unsettling in its serenity.
Relief flickered across his face. “I’ll conduct the ritual myself,” he added softly. “You won’t feel any pain.”
Something in his gentle tone made her look up, her hollow face ghostly in the moonlight. “How kind of you,” she whispered, each word dripping with bitter ice.
Valdrin fell silent. Ravenna had grown so thin, her cheeks hollow, her lips bloodless.
“Valdrin, have you considered..
She lay there, the last spark of defiance flickering in her dead eyes. “Valdrin, have what if this time, I truly die?”
He froze. For the first time, real fear touched him.
But his rational mind quickly reasserted control. “The Moon Goddess’s rules are clear. You can’t truly die before completing your Trial. Don’t try to manipulate me.”
The final spark in Ravenna’s eyes died, replaced by emptiness. This was her last attempt.
No wolf was fool enough to keep offering their heart after it had been repeatedly torn out. At least, she wouldn’t be that fool anymore.
Soon, Ravenna would vanish from his life completely.
Silence filled the healing chamber.
Valdrin watched her tears fall, feeling an inexplicable ache in his chest. But he pushed it down,
telling himself this was temporary.
After the ritual, everything would return to normal. He would make amends. Ravenna would return to him, as she always did. She would live again. They would have another chance.
