Seven‑Year Fate: The Alpha Begs My Return

I went to the Moon Sanctum alone.

The sanctum was built on the snowy mountains at the northernmost edge of the Obsidian Territory. On most days, aside from priests and werewolves awaiting the Moon Goddess's blessing, few people ever came here.

By the time I arrived, it was already close to midnight. The young priest guarding the entrance froze when he saw my pale face, forgetting even to greet me as he scrambled to call for the elder priestess, Juliet Shaw. "What happened to you?"

Juliet had barely approached when she caught the scent of aconite wine on me. Her expression darkened instantly as she dragged me into the sanctum. "I just told you an hour ago not to provoke your wolf energy any further, and you immediately went off to drink aconite wine? Are you trying to get yourself killed faster?"

She forced me to sit beside the Moonstone. Too weak to explain, I simply rolled up my sleeve slightly.

The black poison marks that had previously been confined to my wrist had now crept further up my arm, spreading like dark veins under the skin.

Juliet's scolding stopped abruptly when she saw it.

Her face tightened as she sliced open the tip of my finger, letting the blood drip into the Moon Spring water.

The moment the black blood touched the spring water, a fine layer of dark threads floated to the surface, writhing slowly under the silver moonlight like living creatures.

Juliet stared at the threads for a long time before pressing her hand against the back of my neck, channeling the Moon Goddess' Power to probe my wolf energy bit by bit.

The pain made my shoulders tense, and I instinctively clutched the wolf fang pendant at my neck.

She suddenly stopped her movements. "Take off the pendant. Let me have a look."

I didn't understand why she wanted to look at it, but I still handed it to her anyway.

Juliet held the wolf fang to her nose, then scraped off a bit of the whitish powder from its edge with her fingernail.

Her expression grew complicated as she examined it. "Who has had this thing on all these years?"

"Kenton," I said.

She closed her eyes, as though too exasperated to find the right words.

Finally, she tossed the pendant back into my hand. "No wonder you're still alive."

Her gaze lingered on the pendant in my hand as she spoke gravely. "This wolf fang must have been soaked in the Moonbloom for years. The Eclipse poison inside you has been festering for seven years. A regular werewolf would barely survive a year with this parasite. You've lasted this long because you've stayed close to this pendant all these years."

I lowered my gaze to the pendant.

For the past seven years, I had indeed been surrounded by its scent almost daily.

But in the last six months, as Kenton and Zessia grew closer, I had seen him less and less.

It was right around that time that my poisoning episodes started becoming more frequent.

"Tonight, you drank aconite wine, fully awakening the Eclipse poison," Juliet said, hanging the pendant back around my neck and pressing her fingers against the wolf fang. Her tone was unusually stern.

"Never take it off again. Even if it only holds the poison back for a day, that's one more day you have."

I touched the wolf fang but said nothing.

As I left the sanctum, the blood moon had already sunk behind the snowy mountains.

I didn't return to the Obsidian Territory. Instead, I headed straight back to the Silver Moon wolf pack.

According to the original arrangement, in a month's time, I was supposed to complete the final blood oath ceremony here.

Silver Moon had been preparing for this alliance for over half a year, even finalizing the list of gifts I would bring with me.

But as soon as I stepped into Silver Moon's territory, I sensed something was amiss.

My father sat on the Alpha's seat, my mother beside him, and several Silver Moon elders were present as well. The atmosphere was heavy.

Closest to them sat a young woman I had never met before. She bore a striking resemblance to my mother.

My father spoke first. "Norya, come here."

I removed my cloak and walked to the center of the hall. "Why call me back so late? What's happened?"

My father studied me for a moment, then gestured toward the woman.

"Her name is Vera Davis. Nineteen years ago, your mother gave birth to a child who was taken during the return journey from the Moon Sanctum. We searched for a long time but found nothing. Just a few days ago, we finally found her."

I understood, but it still felt absurd. "So she's your daughter. Then what about me?"

The elders kept their heads down, but Vera was looking straight at me.

My father paused before answering in a lower voice. "You're not our biological daughter."

I stood in silence, unable to respond immediately.

I had already guessed the answer when I asked the question. But when I actually heard it, there was a moment when my mind went completely blank.

My father continued, "After Vera disappeared, your mother couldn't bear the grief. That's why we brought you back."

So that was it.

I had always thought I was the only daughter of Silver Moon's Alpha.

But from the very beginning, I was merely someone they had taken in to fill the void.

Just then, one of the elders coughed lightly. "Now that Norya knows the truth, it's time to discuss the marriage alliance.

The marriage between Silver Moon and Obsidian was meant to bind the two clans through bloodlines. The future Luna must have an unbroken Silver Moon Alpha lineage. Now that Vera has returned, the blood oath ceremony between Norya and Kenton cannot proceed."

The moon mark on my chest, a symbol of my fated mate, burned faintly at the mention of Kenton's name.

My face was pale, and I clenched my fists. "So you want to replace me and let Vera marry Kenton?"

My father's tone grew heavier. "This isn't about you. The blood oath concerns the interests of both clans. Vera is the more suitable candidate."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine. Anything else?"

My father froze, momentarily unable to respond.

In the end, it was an elder who spoke up. "By the next full moon, you'll need to hand over the inheritance emblem, medicine warehouse, and the cub care responsibilities to Vera. And since you don't have Silver Moon blood, it's inappropriate for you to remain here as the Alpha's daughter. Before the next full moon, we hope you'll complete the handover and leave the Silver Moon wolf pack."