Chapter 10​

Kael Wood' name once again echoed through the werewolf clans—this time as the “Merciful Alpha” who'd dismantled ancient purity codes. But Rin Lake' fall was swift and brutal. Whispers of her “rouge defilement” spread like wildfire, and within weeks, she'd thrown herself into the Silver Moon Lake. By the time her body was found, only her claws and a fragment of her wolf' ear remained, gnawed clean by water spirits.​ Laura Wood became a ghost in her own home, haunting the temples and howling at shadows. And then came the first anniversary of Elara' death—the night the Blood Moon rose, staining the sky like a fresh wound.​ Laura had fled to the Moonfire Temple, kneeling before the Goddess statue with a silver dagger in hand. But she wasn't alone. “Mother,” Kael purred. “You look... thirsty.”​ Before she could shift, his hand clamped around her wrist. He pressed a silver dagger—Elara' dagger—into her palm, the metal burning her skin. “The healers say a mother' love is