Chapter 2
Chapter 2: The Black Stones
I saw poor Erica collapsed on the floor, shaking violently. Each spasm made her curl up in agony. Her pale skin flickered with a faint, erratic silver light in the moonlight, and her arms and neck were covered in messy scratches!
"Erica, my daughter!" I rushed over, kneeling and holding her tightly.
I put my face close to hers. She opened her eyes slightly and looked at me. Her pulse was racing, and her body temperature was dangerously low. "Mommy..." Her eyelashes fluttered, her pupils shifting wildly between golden-brown and burning gold. "I... hurt so bad... my whole body... feels like it's on fire and freezing solid... I think I'm dying... Mommy... it's unbearable!"
I held Erica close to my chest, warming her with my body heat. Her symptoms were a backlash from her bloodline awakening being forcibly suppressed and twisted from the outside, and the attacks had been increasing. But tonight seemed especially severe.
"No! Baby, look at me! Breathe! Breathe with me! You will not die! Your mother will never let you die!" My heart was torn to pieces looking at the nearly lifeless Erica.
I had to save her! I had to ease her pain immediately!
That cold, rusty, decaying metallic smell returned, stronger and more pungent than it had been in my room!
I snapped my head up, my red eyes wildly scanning every corner of the room! Leighton! He didn't just target me; he even poisoned our daughter! She was still so young, just a child!
I carried the groaning Erica to the bed, rushed to the nightstand, and pulled open the drawer, emptying everything inside. Finally, in the most secret corner of the drawer, my fingers touched something cold and hard that gave off a strong scent—a black rune stone! It was larger, thicker, and the symbols carved on it were more complex. It had been carefully hidden here, relentlessly and greedily poisoning and draining my daughter's young life day and night!
This was no accident!
This was a long-planned, years-in-the-making conspiracy to utterly destroy me and my daughter!
I searched Erica's entire room like a madwoman. Under the bed, in the back of the chair, inside the sofa legs, even stuffed inside her plush toys... I found eleven more black rune stones, all different sizes, but all giving off that cold, deathly scent!
As I removed the rune stones from their hiding places, Erica's violent shaking slowly calmed down. She fell into a deep, weak sleep.
I collapsed onto the floor, exhausted, looking at the black stones scattered around. A massive hatred, like a volcano waking up, exploded and spread through my chest.
Leighton didn't just plan to abandon me; he wanted me and my daughter to vanish from this world completely and silently from the very beginning! He truly intended to kill us!
Knock, knock, knock.
A soft but urgent knock sounded suddenly. My muscles instantly tightened. I snapped my head up, my wolf alertness peaking, my fangs nearly popping out on their own.
"Who is it?!" I hissed.
"Luna? It's Mara! I heard the young mistress screaming... What happened? Are you all right?" The voice was low. It was Mara! My personal maid, whom I brought from my mother's pack twenty years ago, and my most loyal shaman partner! My extremely tense nerves relaxed for a brief moment.
"Come in, Mara, quickly!" My voice was shaking uncontrollably.
The door was gently pushed open. Mara's thin, quick figure slipped in and immediately locked the door behind her. Mara seemed to sense something as soon as she entered. When she saw the unconscious and sweating Erica on the bed, her eyes, usually so calm and gentle, widened in fear.
"Luna, what's wrong with Miss Erica?" She practically lunged to the bedside, her thin fingers immediately checking Erica's neck pulse. She leaned in, her nose twitching rapidly, sniffing her breath and the faint scent from her skin. "The mistress's pulse is racing like a wild horse! But her temperature is like ice! This, this looks like... a severe poisoning reaction!" Her expression grew increasingly serious. "And this smell, like rust and decaying death... could it be—"
She snapped her head up and looked directly at me, her voice trembling slightly: "Luna! You... you have this scent on you too! And it's forceful!"
I pointed to the pile of rune stones on the table. "I found one in my room. We've found these in Erica's room so far. I don't think it's all of them. Search carefully, Mara; don't miss any corner!"
Mara nodded and began a detailed search of the room.
"Luna..." Her voice was filled with terror. "You... come look at this. By the Moon Goddess... this is the work of a demon!" I walked over, and Mara was pulling out several more black rune stones from a crack in Erica's bookshelf.
"Moonbane Rune Stones... Moon-Eater Stones... the dark object of ancient taboos... I thought they were lost forever, only existing in old horror stories and warnings..."
"They can act like the most greedy ghost leech, slowly and constantly draining the wearer's life and core wolf power until they are empty, yet making it look like natural decay..." Mara repeated the old shaman's words.
"So this is the truth." I heard myself let out a near-mad, cold laugh. "This is Leighton's so-called love for twenty years. He used these wicked stones, day by day, year after year, to slowly poison me into the 'failure' he described! Then he could throw me away without guilt and with a good excuse! What a flawless plan!"
"Leighton arranged this?" Mara's eyes were wide with terrified disbelief.
"Who else? Mara, he was just plotting with his mistress to publicly depose me at the full moon ceremony tomorrow and strip Erica of her right to be the heir!"
"Oh dear Moon! Luna, I can't believe Leighton would be so heartless to you! If I hadn't seen these rune stones with my own eyes, I would never believe he would harm you and the young mistress. Luna, we need to find a way, or they will soon know we've discovered these stones, and we'll be in terrible trouble!"
"Yes, Mara. We either take Erica and run, find the best doctor, or fight them to the death!" I looked at Mara and said firmly.
"Luna, look at this too!" Mara trembled as she picked up a delicate little "Family Protection Charm" pendant that Erica often wore—another gift from Leighton for her birthday a few years ago. She forced open the seemingly solid outer shell, and inside was another, smaller black stone, also covered in runes!
"Now! Find all these damned things! Destroy them!" I ordered Mara.
"But Luna!" She grabbed my wrist. "Removing all the rune stones suddenly after long-term contact will cause a violent energy backlash! Your body and the young mistress's body have been poisoned for too long; your core strength is already weak. You might not survive the shock! You might die... Moreover,"
"Also what? Why are you holding back, Mara?" I growled low. "My shaman teacher once said that the rune stone's energy backlash is permanent but can be tamed and absorbed. However, it will be extremely painful, and you could die from your muscles and blood vessels rupturing. But if you can successfully tame the backlash, the one who absorbs it will gain immense power. Luna, should we destroy them immediately or try to tame these rune stones?"
It was the first time I'd heard that rune stones could be tamed. I held Mara's hand. "Mara, Leighton's rune stone plot nearly killed Erica and me. Anyway, we will face death eventually. I want to try to tame them. If I grow too weak and die during the taming process, please take my Erica and leave this place immediately to find our pack people."
Mara looked at me and nodded, her cloudy eyes full of tears. She pulled a pure silver ritual dagger from her clothes. She took a deep breath, her gaze becoming sharp and focused. "Then let us begin, Luna. You must hold on, no matter what! Miss Erica, and all of us, need you."
She quickly pushed the smallest, coldest black rune stone into my hand. Then, with the tip of her silver dagger, she swiftly cut my palm. A sharp pain came, and warm blood immediately welled up. But stronger than the pain was a strange, cold pulling sensation, as if the stone in my hand had come alive and was greedily drinking.
"Hold on, Luna!" Mara held me with both hands. "Your body is readapting to the return of your core power! This process will be agonizing!"
Just then, clear, loud footsteps and Leighton's voice were heard outside: "Hurry! Give me my order! Summon all the shamans who can sense the magic to see me!"
Clearly, the shamans who set up the spell had sensed the taming of the rune stones.
I had very little time left!
"Focus, Luna! Think of Leighton!" Mara's voice was time-sensitive. Her eyes were fixed on the rune stone in my hand. "Use all your hatred as fuel! Use your Silvermane bloodline as the bridge! Make this vile thing... turn the power it stole back on them, with interest!"
I closed my eyes. Leighton's betrayal and mocking, Erica's painful cries, and my overwhelming hatred for all this injustice and wickedness exploded in my chest like a volcano that had been waiting for a million years! I squeezed the ice-cold stones tightly, feeling my hot blood quickly soak them. I forcefully poured all my will—my anger, pain, and defiance—into the stones!
BOOM!
An indescribable, soul-shattering pain erupted from my hand holding the stone! It felt as if all my nerves were thrown into molten rock, only to be instantly plunged into a frozen hell! I let out a choked, desperate howl. My knees buckled, and my body convulsed violently. At the same time, a cold, foreign, but immensely powerful energy surged backward into my blood! It roughly collided with my core power, which had been suppressed and withered for years, savagely mixing, tearing, and then mixing again, bringing a destructive, tearing sensation of fullness!
Mara's method was working! I was going to succeed in taming the rune stones!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" "Open the door!" A fierce pounding came.
At that very moment, the bedroom door was smashed open by a raw, furious force! Wood shards flew everywhere!
Leighton's tall figure, like a demon returning from hell, blocked the entrance. A terrifying, heavy feeling surrounded him. His golden eyes burned with towering fury in the darkness, ready to burst out. His gaze instantly locked onto my bloodied hand gripping the rune stone.
His face flashed with unbelievable shock, then instantly changed to challenging rage.
"Sophia, how dare you... How dare you touch these forbidden objects! And use them for black magic!" He roared low, his voice like rolling thunder. The powerful, terrifying Alpha pressure rolled toward us. "Practicing such wicked magic! Sophia, you are hopeless! Completely mad!"
Erica was startled awake by the terrifying pressure and the loud crash. She let out a fearful, weak whimper, shaking uncontrollably.
"Wicked? Black magic?" I managed to stand up straight under his pressure, stepping to the bedside to shield Erica. Though the clash of new and old power inside felt like it would tear me apart, my voice was suddenly firm: "Which is more wicked?! Which is darker?! You used these things to slowly murder your wife and daughter! Leighton! You hypocritical executioner! You are the lunatic!"
"Take them down!" Leighton lost his last bit of patience and ordered sharply, "As for that old witch, kill her on sight! Leave no survivors!"
Two of his loyal elite guards, their eyes gleaming fiercely, lunged at us!
"Get back!" I screamed, instantly trying to summon the chaotic, wild new power inside me. A faint, unstable silver glow appeared on my skin, but it was unable to form an effective defense.
In that split second, Mara violently pushed Erica and me toward the window. "Jump out the window, Luna! Escape with Erica!"
She threw a smoke bomb at the charging guards. The entire room was instantly filled with thick smoke.
I struggled to lift the weak Erica onto my back and ran toward the window.
"Mara, we'll go together!" I grabbed Mara's arm.
"No, Luna! My life has been for your protection. Take the young mistress and leave quickly. My spell can hold them off for a moment! Go now!" Mara's eyes were full of tears.
She quickly drew an ancient, complex protective symbol and rapidly chanted a powerful guarding spell. A shimmering, light silver energy shield, covered in flowing runes, instantly opened in front of her.
"Luna! Go!" She screamed at me desperately, "Protect Erica! Don't look back! Live!"
"GO—!" She roared again.