Betrayal at its Closest

The male werewolf turned around and shouted toward the female werewolf who had collapsed nearby.

“Mona! We’ve found her! She really is our daughter!”

My father and mother froze where they stood.

“Sir, are you sure you haven’t mistaken her for someone else?” my father asked warily.

The male werewolf turned back to face them, his gaze instantly sharpening. He carried the crushing presence of a powerful Alpha, unique to one who stood at the very top.

“I am Drake Nocturne.”

The moment the name dropped, the cane slipped from my father’s hand and hit the ground with a loud clang.

Drake Nocturne was the Alpha of Shadowbite Pack, the strongest pack on the werewolf continent. The man controlled more than half of the continent’s mineral resources. He was also the legendary Alpha known for ruthless decisiveness and wealth beyond measure.

“Twenty years ago, my daughter was taken from me.” Drake looked at me, his eyes shimmering with tears as he said, “I searched for her for twenty years, turning the entire continent upside down. I never thought that all this time, she was suffering right under my nose.”

By then, the female werewolf, Mona, had been helped to her feet. She stumbled toward my bed and collapsed beside it. She clutched my hand tightly, sobbing as if her heart were being torn apart.

“My baby… I’m so sorry I’m late…”

I looked at those two strangers, yet an inexplicable sense of familiarity rose within me. The pull of shared blood stirred deep in my chest, impossible to resist.

I turned to look at my mother.

“So, I’m not your biological child?” I asked. “Is that why my wolf is different from everyone else in the pack?”

My mother stroked my head. She hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking. “Veya, your father and I found you when we were traveling. You were lying at the edge of Darkwood Forest, barely alive and almost eaten by wild beasts. I thought your family had abandoned you, so we brought you back to the pack.”

Mona reached out and gently cupped my face, her eyes filled with aching tenderness.

“My precious baby, I am your biological mother, Mona. I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It was my fault. I failed to protect you back then. You were taken away and made to suffer so much.”

Drake’s furious gaze swept over my father and mother before finally stopping on the countless scars covering my body.

“You will be repaid for raising my daughter,” he said. “But your son ruined her life. For that, I will make him pay.”

Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted outside the tent. Several large, muscular werewolf guards dragged another werewolf inside. His head was covered, and his hands were bound behind his back.

One of the guards yanked off the hood, revealing Butcher. His face was swollen and bruised, and more than half his teeth were gone.

The moment he saw Drake, he collapsed to the ground.

“Lord Drake! Mercy! Please!” he screamed. “I was just paid to do a job! I didn’t know she was your daughter!”

Drake didn’t even glance at him. Instead, he turned and looked at me, his expression softening.

“My daughter, this is my first gift to you.”

Then, he pulled a gun from a guard’s waist and placed it into my trembling hand.

“Do whatever you want,” he said. “It’s your choice.”

I gripped the gun, my fingers shaking slightly. As I looked at Butcher, he stared back in sheer terror.

“Miss Veya! Please! Please spare me!” he cried. “I have proof! I have all of Gariel’s recordings and bank transfer records! I’ll give you everything! Everything!”

I took a deep breath and raised the gun.

“Bang!”

The gunshot echoed through the tent, making everyone flinch.

Butcher collapsed limply to the ground, only to realize the bullet had struck the tent ceiling instead. He was so scared that he peed himself.

Drake glanced at him with disgust and ordered the guards to drag him away.

“I don’t want his life,” I said, lowering the gun. My gaze was icy as I looked at Drake. “I want to return to Embermoon Pack. I want to send Gariel to hell myself.”