She Chose Fire

As Damien walked closer, he happened to see a surge of inhuman energy appear on the Promise Stone.

He paused, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then pulled Seraphina toward him. "How could you use that kind of power in the human world?"

With those memories gone, Seraphina looked at Damien with complete calm.

The brief stab of pain she had felt earlier was gone as well, like a stone sinking into the sea without a ripple.

She withdrew her hand indifferently. "It's fine. No one saw."

Her expression was exactly the same as when she had been standing by the bridge earlier, yet Damien suddenly felt that something about her had changed.

He just couldn't put a finger on it.

Uneasy, he reached for her hand again, but before he could speak, Layla hooked her arm through his from behind.

"Damien, let's go check out somewhere else."

She tugged him away without waiting for an answer.

Damien was forced to let go of Seraphina. When he looked back, she was still standing where she had been.

In that instant, he had the strange feeling that he could never reach her again.

A short trip around the human world later, they returned to the pack territory. Hardly any time seemed to have passed.

Yet Layla already looked worn out, leaning weakly against Damien. "Damien, that was so fun. When I get better, can we go there again?"

Damien glanced at Seraphina but didn't answer.

All of a sudden, a wave of killing intent swept over them.

Seraphina jerked her head up, just in time to see a white blur lunging straight at them.

She was about to dodge when a large hand shoved her hard from behind and pushed her directly into the path of that blur.

Slash!

Giant claws tore three deep gashes across Seraphina's chest. She crashed to the ground as searing pain shot through her, her white clothes instantly soaked in blood.

When she looked up again, she froze. "Blaze?"

The one who had attacked her was Blaze!

She turned her head in disbelief and saw Damien shielding Layla with his own body.

The shove that sent her into harm's way had been Damien's.

To protect Layla, he had pushed her forward and let her take the blow instead.

Seraphina clutched her chest and spat out a mouthful of blood. Damien's face changed at once as he rushed toward her.

"Sera!"

All she felt was bitterness. She wanted to ask him why he looked so worried after pushing her out like that.

But the pain was so intense that she couldn't say a single word. She could only let Damien sweep her up in his arms.

They hurried back to the center of the territory and ran straight into Bryan, Miriam, and Leo.

When the old couple saw Seraphina covered in blood, their expressions changed drastically. They immediately ordered the pack members, "Quick, bring every rare moon herb we have!"

In her fading consciousness, Seraphina's lashes fluttered when she heard that.

But in the next moment, she heard Bryan add, "Seraphina cannot die. Otherwise, she won't be able to trade her life for Layla's."

Those words pierced her heart like a blade of ice.

In the end, the one they truly cared about was still Layla, and her own life only existed to keep Layla alive.

Seraphina felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, and then she could no longer hold on. Darkness swallowed her whole.

When she woke up again, three days had passed.

Damien was sitting by her bed, looking as if he hadn't slept the entire time.

The instant he saw her open her eyes, he stood up. "Sera, you're awake. How do you feel? Does it still hurt?"

Seraphina looked at him quietly.

Over the past three days, even while unconscious, she could clearly feel the Mooncrest on her forehead heating up.

Every time it burned, her memories faded a little more.

It had burned three times while she was out, so she knew she had been unconscious for three days.

Now, there was very little of Damien left in her memory. When she thought back to what had happened before she passed out, her heart no longer felt cold.

She parted her pale lips and asked suddenly, "Do you really care if I'm in pain?"

Damien went pale, guilt filling his face. "Everything happened too fast that day. I really didn't mean to… That spirit wolf was clearly going for Layla. I just wanted to protect her."

Seraphina scoffed lightly, and that tiny movement sent pain through her chest wound.

"Layla has your Shadow Wolfheart. No one could hurt her at all."

Damien's body shuddered, as if he had only just remembered, and his explanation instantly sounded even weaker.

Seraphina no longer wanted to say anything to him. She only asked, "Where is Blaze?"

Damien's eyes instantly turned fierce. "After it hurt you, it disappeared. I will find it and tear it apart!"

"No. Someone was controlling it!" Seraphina said urgently.

That day had been chaotic, but she had clearly seen a strange purple light in Blaze's eyes.

Someone had cast a mind-control spell on him.

Damien fell silent. Seraphina thought he was considering who might be behind it.

But after a long moment, Damien suddenly looked at her with suspicion.

"That day, Blaze was obviously targeting Layla. You brought it back to the pack, and it's not close to anyone else.

"Did you order it to kill Layla?"