After dismembering my body, the murderer heartlessly tossed the pieces into the pack’s drainage tunnels beneath the Alpha Hall — the dark, foul-smelling sewers where waste water from the entire territory flowed.
Warriors cloaked in scent-blocking herbs and protective leather descended into the tunnels. Even werewolves, blessed with stronger stomachs than humans, struggled against the stench. They searched for an entire day and night before finally retrieving my scattered remains from the murky waters.
One by one, my body parts were laid out on stone tables inside the healer’s hall. It took several elder healers three days and three nights to piece me back together, reconstructing what was left of my human form.
My head had been badly damaged, beyond recognition. Some flesh had been washed away by the flowing water. My left ear was missing, along with part of my leg bone.
The only part that remained relatively intact… was my womb.
But even that carried a horrifying truth.
It had been brutally cut open and crudely stitched back together.
When the healers carefully opened it for examination, a strange powder spilled out, scattering across the silver tray. Its scent was faint, unfamiliar, and unsettling.
After testing it with moonstone purification flames, the elders concluded that the powder was no ordinary substance. It carried traces of a forbidden poison once used by rogue packs.
Because of this, the case was handed over to the Shadow Guard — the elite warriors tasked with handling dangerous substances and rogue pack threats.
This… happened to be my mate’s specialty.
Aldric Stormwolf.
The youngest captain of the Shadow Guard.
The Alpha’s most trusted blade.
Even seasoned warriors turned pale at the sight of my remains. The air in the healer’s hall grew heavy with nausea and fury.
Aldric stood at the front, his face stiff, his brows tightly furrowed. His wolf stirred restlessly, clearly disturbed by the brutal scent of violence.
My husband looked at my broken body with eyes filled with disgust.
Aldric hated rogue wolves and poison traders more than anything. Perhaps, for a fleeting moment, he wondered if the victim… had been involved with forbidden substances.
The head healer stepped forward and began explaining.
“The victim is a she-wolf, approximately twenty-two to twenty-five winters old. She bled to death after suffering severe abuse. There are restraint marks on her wrists and ankles. Her body is covered in bruises, and her skull shows repeated blows from a blunt weapon.”
A heavy silence filled the hall.
“We also found traces of forbidden poison in her bloodstream.”
The healer’s voice grew grimmer.
“The most disturbing part… is that she was pregnant. Her womb was cut open crudely, not with healer’s precision. There are signs of struggle and infection. This means… while she was still alive, the attacker forced open her belly, removed the pup, and replaced it with this mysterious powder.”
Several warriors clenched their fists.
“After stitching her back together, she survived… for at least three days.”
The room fell dead silent.
“Then… she was beheaded while still conscious. Afterward, her body was dismembered.”
“The powder left inside her for those three days,” the healer concluded quietly, “caused unimaginable suffering. It was torture… beyond cruelty.”
Daxon Moonshield, captain of the warrior guard, slammed his fist onto the stone table.
“This is madness! Who would do this?!”
Fury spread across the hall.
“To torture a pregnant she-wolf like this… it must be revenge!”
“How much hatred does someone have to do this to a Luna candidate?”
“And throwing the body beneath Alpha Hall… that’s a direct challenge to the pack!”
Amid the uproar, Aldric remained silent.
His gaze fixed on the parchment detailing the strange powder.
His jaw slowly tightened.
Then he spoke, voice low and chilling.
“It’s them… The Death Reaper.”
The name fell like ice into the room.
Every Shadow Guard warrior stiffened.
The Death Reaper.
A forbidden poison created by a rogue alliance — deadly, addictive, and known to drive wolves into madness before death. Countless warriors had fallen because of it.
Three moons ago, after years of bloodshed, the alliance behind it was finally destroyed. Their leader died in battle, and their poison stores were burned beneath moonfire.
Yet now…
They stood before the mutilated remains of a pregnant she-wolf.
The Death Reaper had returned.
And this… was a message.
A revenge against the pack.
