Nearly every major family gathered at the Velmoran estate to witness the outcome. Countless packs had participated in the betting. The vast banquet hall buzzed with voices, with every Alpha, Beta, and Omega’s gaze fixed in one direction
When Theron and I entered the hall, the guests widened their eyes in astonishment
“Is that Theron? Am I seeing things? He’s actually awake?”
“I bet five million on Grace winning!”
“He’s really awake!”
“Wasn’t this condition declared incurable even by the Temple?”
“The Moonshadow family… truly blessed by the Moon Goddess!”
Grace’s face turned pale[]
I approached her step by step. “You lost. Time to honor our bet.”
Grace’s lips trembled, but she refused to yield. She looked up toward the second floor, her eyes filled with anxiety and panic
“…“]
Just as she was about to be forced to kneel before me, Kaelen’s voice suddenly rang out from the second floor
“Who says we lost?”
Everyone looked up toward the sound
Kaelen stood straight at the top of the staircase
“My God, Kaelen’s legs are healed toot
“It seems this Grace has some skills after all. Even Elira said it was impossible, yet she succeeded.”
“Both of them are healed–so who wins?”
Grace lifted her chin toward me triumphantly.[]
“See that? Karlen is standing”
Kaelen looked down at me condescendingly. “Elira, you said my legs were beyond healing, yet here I stand perfectly fine before you Will you still not admit you’re a quack?”
I shook my head.[
“Kaelen, your legs might have been treatable before, but now they truly are beyond saving
His expression instantly darkened, his teeth clenched.
“Elra, how long will you keep up this stubborn pretense!”
With those words, he lifted his foot to walk down the stairs.
1 silently counted in my mind
“One, two, three..-]
“Ten.“|
With a loud “THUD“, he collapsed, tumbling down the stairs
The person closest to him screamed in terror.]
“Ah–what happened to Kaolen’s legs?”
The nearest guests backed away, their faces filled with horror. “His his legs just collapsedr
Grace instantly paled and rushed to help him, only to be pushed away.
Kaelen stared at his twisted legs. Before he could even cry out in agony, he heard his wolf’s agonized howl–the wolf that had been dormant finally responded to him today
“Someone poisoned your mediciner These were the wolf’s final words before it vanished completely
Karlen finally realized that not only were his legs beyond saving, but his wolf… had been poisoned to death.
I approached and whispered:
You said you didn’t need me?
You
“Karlen, this time, you delivered yourself straight to hell.]
Karlen’s pants had been torn by the stairs, exposing his once–muscular legs to all the werewolf guests
Everynne gasped in horror
“The bones have collapsed–it’s a clear sign of wolf spirit decay?”
“Moon Goddess above, wasn’t he standing just moments ago?”
“How did Karlen’s legs become so horrific? They seemed fine earlier…“]
“His bones have liquefied those logs are completely ruined!”
“Where’s Grace? Didn’t she say she healed hunt
Kaelen lay on the ground, howling in agony
But no one dared approach him.]
His bones seemed to be devoured by some invisible force, his legs a bloody mess that emitted a nauseating stench.
