Chapter1

"Master Caleb, this was sent by Lady Celeste. She said it's the latest herbs, perhaps useful for your research." A servant of the Shadowfang Pack spoke respectfully. "Hmph." Caleb replied coldly. He had been invited by the alpha of the Shadowfang Pack to serve as their chief shaman. After the servant left, his assistant, Rael, whispered, "Sir, the condition of this body is highly unusual." Only then did Caleb put down the scroll and approach the examination table. He stared intently at my disfigured form on the table, frowning. The wolfsbane coursing through me was potent, meaning Caleb would have to pull several more all-nighters. Seeing his furrowed brow, my spirit felt heavy, filled with guilt. If only I had been more cautious, he wouldn't have to work so hard now. Caleb instructed his assistant to prepare the tools to extract the toxin from my body. But there wasn't a single intact part of me left, and the poison had seeped into the festering wounds, mingling completely with my blood. Caleb's frown deepened. "Have poisoning methods become so insidious now? This wolfsbane has permeated every part." Assistant Caspar wiped his brow nearby. "Master, Lady Celeste specifically sent this. It must be important. If you can develop an antidote, the Alpha and his daughter will surely value you even more." Caleb acknowledged with a noncommittal sound. He said no more, turning his attention to carefully studying each poisoned wound on my body. "Was this developed by the most vicious coven, I wonder?" "To find such deep wolfsbane in a corpse... and this toxin doesn't kill immediately, it corrodes the mind as well..." Caleb truly was the greatest shaman. Before I died, I endured three days of torment. For those three days, my body and mind were eroded by the wolfsbane, my body sometimes burning as if on fire, other times freezing as if plunged into an icy abyss. I shouldn't have been able to withstand such agony for a single day. But I wanted to see Caleb one last time. For that, I clung to life, spending my last ounce of strength. Sadly, my final breath gave out before he ever came. When Caleb extracted the wolfsbane from between my legs, his face suddenly darkened. The venom was mixed with semen and aphrodisiacs. The victim had not only been raped but also forced to feign compliance through the humiliation. Assistant Caspar felt his scalp prickle seeing the nature of the extract. "How cruel. To poison her, then violate her like that... was it necessary?" "Even with an antidote, if she'd lived, she'd be permanently disabled." "These people are despicable. Killing her wasn't enough? They had to defile the corpse too!" Caleb said angrily. Watching this, my spirit was wracked with guilt. Rael's gaze fell on my slightly swollen abdomen. His eyes widened, and he started to say something to Caleb. But a Shadowfang Pack guard arrived at the door with a message. "Master Caleb, Lady Celeste requests your presence for dinner." Caleb took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. "Understood. Tell her I'll be there shortly." Rael instinctively asked, "Sir, shall I later send word to Miss Olivia that you won't be joining her for dinner tonight?" He was referring to the small temporary home we had established outside the Shadowfang Pack territory. At the mention of me, Caleb's face instantly frosted over. "That troublesome girl? Don't bother. If not for the debt I owe her late father, I should have sent her away long ago, lest she offends Lady Celeste's sight." He sneered. "I almost wish she were the one on this table right now." Rael immediately realized his mistake and lowered his head. "My apologies, Master. I spoke out of turn." Caleb waved a hand, irritated. "Forget it. Prepare things. I'll go meet her now." He turned to leave. Rael quickly asked, "Master, what should we do with the... formed fetus in the deceased's womb?" My spirit tightened. It's a shame. I had wanted to wait until Caleb's birthday to share this good news, to surprise him. I never imagined he would find out like this.