Chapter 4

When my mother was young, she had been wounded by a silver weapon, leaving her with permanent internal injuries. Recently, her condition had deteriorated, and the healer warned me her time was running out.

With the final glimmer of hope right in front of me, I begged desperately.

"Mia, it was my fault. Punish me however you want. Just please, help me."

Mia tilted her head, thinking for a moment before letting out a playful giggle.

"How about this, Sienna? Give me a few good wolf howls right here, and I'll give you the card. Deal?"

She smiled sweetly, but her words dripped with venom.

"Make it sound convincing. I heard that back when you went on covert ops, you were an expert at mimicking sounds."

Lucas remained silent.

He stood beside Mia, as if silently backing her every move.

"Not willing?" Mia sighed, moving to slip the card back into her designer clutch.

I blurted out immediately:

"I'll do it!"

Her smile widened, her eyes crinkling in anticipation of the show.

I glanced at Lucas, who didn't show a hint of emotion. My throat felt like it had been scraped with sandpaper.

It was just a few howls, yet it felt as if every shred of my dignity was being stripped away in public.

I parted my lips, but no sound came out.

My nails dug deep into my palms. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

"Awoo..."

When the first sound escaped, I could hear my voice trembling.

"Awoo... awoooo..."

The second howl came out clearer. A waiter in the hallway muffled a laugh.

"Sounds just like a stray dog," someone whispered.

Mia giggled in satisfaction, then feigned regret. "Oh, Sienna, I was just teasing. Why did you actually do it?"

I didn't stop. Keeping my head down, I continued:

"Awoo... awoooo..."

Every sound tore through my throat like a razor blade.

"Well..." Mia sighed lightly, dropping the card at my feet.

I bent down to pick it up, my tears splashing against the plastic surface.

My mother was saved.

Lucas, I will never dare to love you again.

I stood up and whispered, "Thank you."

Lucas's expression darkened. He brushed Mia's hand off his arm and turned back into the club.

"Lucas..."

She called out to him, but he didn't look back.

Mia glared at me in annoyance. "Still here?"

I gripped the card tightly and left the club behind.

Behind me, the voice of Mia's friend drifted through the air:

"Mia, are you really Lucas's mate now? The Moonstone Pack is the most powerful pack in the territory!"

Mia's earlier annoyance vanished into thin air.

She raised her chin proudly. "I told you, but you didn't believe me."

The woman sounded thrilled, though a hint of curiosity remained. "That Sienna Vance just now... she had something going on with the Alpha, right? You really just gave her fifty million like that?"

Mia's eyes darkened, a smirk curving her lips.

"Who said it was free? I already had someone upload the audio from earlier onto the pack's private forum."

"What audio?"

Mia chuckled. "Nothing much. Just an audio clip of Sienna Vance... howling like a dog outside the club."

The healer's clinic was located on the outskirts of pack territory.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, feeling a sense of peace I hadn't felt in months.

*Mom, I'm getting the herbs right now. I'm going to take you away from this place.*

The healer's cottage sat on a small slope. I could see the old oak tree and the healer's silhouette moving near the entrance.

I held the card high above my head, shouting:

"Healer! I have the money!"

I wanted the entire world to hear.

Yet the moment I shoved the gate open, chaos greeted my eyes.

The healer and her assistants were frantically gathered around the bed.

"The patient went into shock! Her heart channel just severed!"

I froze, then lunged forward, slamming the card onto the table.

"Take the money! Buy the herbs! For my mother, Margaret Vance!"

The healer looked at me, then glanced back toward the bed, her eyes filled with pity.

She didn't take the card.

I stood frozen in place.

Lying on that bed was my mother.

Terror seized my lungs.

"Mom!"

I never knew death could arrive in such terrifying silence.

I rushed toward the bed, but the assistants held me back.

Voices drifted in from outside the courtyard.

"Listen to this audio! Sienna Vance is barking like a dog!"

"God, how did she fall this low..."