Chapter 9
I stared at him, finding his delusion utterly ridiculous.
Even now, he still thought I had feelings for him.
Kai beside me lifted his wedding robes, revealing the blue belt at his waist.
“Brother, are you referring to this?”
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed – this was Lyra’s personal selection for me, and the measurements are perfect!”
Adrian froze completely.
“Impossible. How could you have decided to mate with him so early?”
“Then why did you send me medicine? You must still have feelings for me!”
He looked at me with stubborn determination.
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I leaned close to his ear with a slight smile.
“Death would be too easy… living is the real torture…”
“Adrian Blackwood, enjoy your nightmare!”
Something in his eyes seemed to shatter and crumble as he closed them in despair and collapsed backward.
Kai ordered his men to carry Adrian back to palace. All along the way, the stench of rotting flesh from his lower body was so nauseating that people covered their noses in disgust.
Under flickering candlelight, the wedding chamber was warm and inviting.
I rubbed my aching waist, weakly begging Kai to spare me.
But he seemed tireless, continuing until dawn.
In my drowsy state, I couldn’t help but ask:
“Back then, why did you agree so readily to mate with me?”
Kai’s eyes immediately softened with tenderness.
“Only now you think to ask me?”
“Silly girl, I’ve been secretly in love with you for over ten years. Mating with you was beyond my wildest dreams!”
He held me close, whispering softly in my ear about how he’d fallen in love at first sight during a palace banquet years ago, but I’d only ever looked at Adrian.
He never interfered, only silently protecting me.
Even in my past life, the reason I could successfully drive away the wild beasts was because before I arrived, he’d used himself as bait to lure the two most vicious tigers in the completely opposite direction.
My vision gradually blurred with tears.
I’d never realized that in my past life, his death was because of me!
Fortunately, this time we didn’t miss each other!
Though Adrian survived, his legs were completely ruined, and he could only lie in bed receiving medical treatment three times daily.
Come summer, countless maggots would breed, and the stench could be smelled from ten paces away.
Most importantly, Stella’s poison had left him unable to function as a man, ensuring he’d never have an heir.
In court, elders petitioned the Alpha King to choose a new successor.
Though the Alpha King pitied his son, he understood that a disabled, sterile prince was utterly unsuitable to remain heir.
Looking at all his sons, only Kai, who had mated with me, was the most suitable candidate for future Alpha King.
After all, my father led the most powerful pack in his territory, and with his support, the realm would remain stable.
When the decree to depose Adrian reached the Eastern pack, he completely broke down.
He had himself carried to the dungeons to the barely-alive Stella, all traces of former love replaced by endless hatred.
“Poison woman! If not for you, how would I have ended up like this!”
“This is all your fault! Die!”
He tried to strangle Stella with his bare hands, but his body was too weak. Stella easily broke free from his feeble grip.
Looking at the pathetic Adrian, Stella laughed maniacally.
“Blame me? You’re the useless one! If you’d just held on a bit longer and properly completed the ceremony with me, I would have been Luna!”
“I am Luna! I am Luna!”
Adrian stared at the mad woman still obsessing over the Luna position, finally realizing how foolishly blind he’d been.
He left in despair, Stella’s shrill, insane laughter echoing behind him for a long time.
After Kai’s coronation as Alpha King, I was naturally crowned as his Luna Queen.
At the coronation ceremony, everyone knelt in reverence.
Only one resentful gaze shot toward me from the crowd – it was Adrian.
His eyes held nothing but pain and regret.
If he hadn’t been deceived by Stella, the one standing beside me should have been him!
He was forced to leave the palace and move to a mansion outside the royal grounds.
His home became desolate and cold, with no one caring about him anymore.
On the day he left the pack, I went to see him off.
His eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. “Lyra, you still care about me, right?”
I shook my head, flashing a victor’s smile.
“You’re wrong, Adrian.”
“I only came to personally witness your downfall…”
“You don’t know yet, do you? The witch Stella found, and the poison that was given to you – I arranged it all…”
“From beginning to end, the one who wanted you dead was me!”
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When I first stimulated Stella during Adrian’s coma, I deliberately provoked her into seeking desperate measures.
Stella did indeed covet the Luna position, but she’d never have dared to poison him even with a hundred times more courage.
It was I who bribed the witch and told him to inform Stella that the medicine could temporarily restore consciousness.
Adrian stared at me in disbelief, murmuring:
“Lyra… it was you all along!”
“Why? Just because of what happened in our past life?”
“Exactly! The blood debt of my entire pack – we can never coexist under the same sky!”
“But they’re all alive now, aren’t they?”
Adrian couldn’t understand why I was so obsessed with revenge.
“They’re alive, but the sins you committed can never be washed away.”
“Those sufferings were real, and you must pay the price!”
I turned and walked hand in hand with Kai toward the depths of the royal palace.
Adrian could only live out his remaining days like a stray dog, drowning in regret.
