Clara’s POV
I rushed to the glass door, yanking on the handle, but it was locked tight.
“Is anyone there?” I shouted. “Let me out!”
But there was no reply.
Just then, a sweet, cloying scent drifted toward me.
I immediately tensed. It was the smell of a werewolf tranquilizer, laced with Silver Dust.
“Damn it…” I held my breath, but it was too late.
A wave of intense dizziness washed over me, and I started to sway.
The Silver Dust severely affected my newly recovered wolf, making it impossible for me to summon my strength to resist the
drug.
“Finally… found you…”
A familiar, twisted voice came from deep within the garden.
251
I struggled to keep my eyes open and saw a figure step out from behind the bushes.
It was Selene, but she looked nothing like her former self.
Her face was covered in hideous scars, clearly from severe burns. The right side of her face was almost completely
disfigured, her eye was cloudy, and most of her hair was gone.
But the most terrifying part was her expression–a mad, twisted hatred that made her look like a demon crawled out of hell.
“Selene…” I said weakly. “How did you…”
“End up like this?” she laughed maniacally. “It’s all thanks to you!”
She stalked toward me, her eyes gleaming with madness.
“Kael almost killed me because of you,” she pointed to her ruined face. “I spent a month in the hospital, thinking every single day about how to get my revenge on you.”
My consciousness was fading fast, my body losing control.
“Now, it’s your turn to feel pain,” Selene dragged me toward the center of the garden.
When I woke up again, I was tied to a stone altar.
This was no longer the rooftop garden, but some abandoned room in the academy’s basement.
Black candles flickered, and the air was thick with the smell of blood and sulfur.
My hands and feet were bound by silver chains, and I couldn’t move.
Awake?” Selene sat beside the altar, toying with a silver dagger. “Welcome to your funeral.”
Selene, you’re insane!” I struggled, but the silver chains neutralized my wolf. “Let me go!”
“Insane?” she cackled. “Yes, I am insane!”
“Do you know what my life has been like this past month?” her laughter grew shriller. “No one would talk to me, I had nowhere to go, I was treated like a rat!”
would still be the noble heir!”
“Those were your own choices!” I said angrily. “No one forced you to do those evil things!”
“Shut up!” Selene slapped me across the face. “It’s all your fault! Everyone loves you! Everything good always happens to you!”
“Now, I’m going to end it all myself,” she picked up the dagger, her eyes glinting with madness. “I’ve prepared a special blood ritual. It will let you die slowly, feeling every ounce of pain.”
“And then, I’ll die here too,” she laughed wildly. “We’ll go to hell together and be tangled up forever!”
The silver dagger gleamed in the candlelight, radiating an aura of death.
“Goodbye, my dear sister,” Selene raised the dagger, ready to strike.
BANG!
Suddenly, the room’s door was violently kicked open.
A tall figure rushed in, tearing off a gardener’s hat and mask.
It was Kael.
“Let her go!” he roared, his eyes burning with fury.
“Kael?” Selene stared at him in shock. “How are you here?”
“I’ve been protecting her,” Kael’s wolf radiated a dangerous pressure. “Drop the weapon, Selene.”
“Protecting her?” Selene laughed maniacally. “You almost killed me for this bitch! And now you want to protect her?”
“I know I hurt you, but Clara is innocent,” Kael slowly approached. “Let her go, and you can do whatever you want to me.”
“Do whatever I want to you?” A flicker of hesitation crossed Selene’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by madness. “No! I want you to watch her die!”
She raised the dagger again, aiming for my heart.
Kael instantly lunged forward, grappling with Selene.
But in the struggle, Selene’s hand shot out, frantically pressing a button on a small remote.
“Let’s all die together!” she shrieked.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the room, and the entire space began to shake violently.
Flames spread, and the ceiling started to collapse.
Kael knocked Selene down with a single punch, then rushed to the altar, desperately trying to undo the silver chains binding
- me.
“Clara, hold on!” His hands were burned by the silver, but he didn’t stop. “I will get you out of here!”
But just then, a cracked, burning support beam came crashing down.
And from the rubble, an arm shot out and grabbed Kael’s leg.
