Chapter 123: Victoria’s Despair
Chapter 123: Victoria’s Despair
(Ethan’s POV)*
The first thing I noticed was the pain. A searing, burning sensation in my abdomen that even my Alpha healing couldn’t fully suppress.
I forced my eyes open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent lights. My father’s face swam into view, his features contorted with rage.
“Where is she?” I rasped, my throat dry and raw.
“Who? That Omega b***h who tried to kill you?” Elder Richard snarled, his wolf close to the surface. “Don’t worry, son. I’ve called the enforcers. She’ll pay for this.”
Panic surged through me, giving me strength I didn’t know I had. I grabbed my father’s wrist, my grip surprisingly strong for someone who’d nearly bled out.
“Call them off,” I ordered, my Alpha voice cutting through the room despite my weakened
state. “Now.”
Victoria wheeled herself closer to my bed, her face a mask of concern. “Ethan, darling, you’re not thinking clearly. She stabbed you with a silver blade. She tried to kill you.”
The sight of Victoria in a wheelchair momentarily distracted me. “What happened to you?”
“Later,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand. “We need to focus on getting justice for you.”
I turned back to my father, who was already on his phone. “Father, stop. Don’t make things
difficult for Liv. This matter isn’t her fault.”
Elder Richard’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Not her fault? She plunged a silver knife into your kidney! If Maxwell hadn’t found you when he did, you’d be dead!”
“I deserved it,” I said quietly, memories of Olivia’s tear–streaked face flashing before my eyes.
“You can’t be serious,” Victoria interjected, wheeling herself even closer. “No one deserves to be stabbed, especially not by their mate.”
I closed my eyes, exhaustion washing over me. “Father, please. Call off the enforcers. This is a pack matter–my matter–and I’ll handle it my way.”
Elder Richard stared at me for a long moment, his jaw clenched so tightly I could hear his
teeth grinding. Finally, he nodded curtly.
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“Fine. It’s your pack now, not mine. But if that woman comes anywhere near you again, I won’t
be responsible for my actions.” He stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind him.
(Victoria’s POV)
The sight of him lying there, pale and weakened, sent conflicting emotions through me.
I said softly, moving to his bedside. “How are you feeling?”
Ethan’s amber eyes focused on me, still dulled by pain medication. “Better. The silver’s been
completely flushed from my system. My wolf is healing the damage now.”
I reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. “I was so worried. When Maxwell called and said
you were in critical condition…”
“Victoria,” he interrupted, his voice stronger than before. “What happened to you? Why are you
in a wheelchair?”
I lowered my eyes, letting tears gather. This was my moment–my chance to turn his guilt over
Lily into sympathy for me.
“I fell at Sacred Moonlight Cemetery,” I explained, my voice trembling. “Olivia… she pushed me
off a cliff edge when I went to return Lily’s urn to her.”
Ethan’s brow furrowed. “You had Lily’s urn? How?”
I hesitated, calculating my response. “I found it discarded near the Stone Estate gardens. I
thought Olivia would want it back, so I called her to meet me.”
“And she pushed you?” Ethan asked, skepticism evident in his tone.
“We argued,” I admitted, deciding a partial truth would be more believable. “I said some things
I shouldn’t have, about Lily. She got angry and shoved me. I lost my balance and fell.”
I gestured to the wheelchair. “The doctors say I’m paralyzed from the waist down.
Permanently.”
Ethan’s expression softened with genuine concern. “Victoria, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said quickly, squeezing his hand again. “But Ethan, I don’t understand. Why are you protecting her after what she did to you? To us?”
His eyes darkened with guilt. “Because I deserved it, Victoria. What we did to Lily… what I
allowed to happen…”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, feigning confusion.
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“The kidney donor,” he said flatly. “The one that was redirected from Lily to Emma. You told
Olivia about it, didn’t you?”
I flinched, not entirely acting. “I… yes. I was angry. She slapped me at Emma’s ceremony, humiliated me in front of everyone. I wanted to hurt her back.”
“By telling her I was responsible for our daughter’s death?” His voice was quiet but sharp with
accusation.
I let the tears fall freely now. “I was wrong, Ethan. So wrong. I was jealous and hurt, and I lashed out. I really didn’t expect that she would impulsively seek revenge on you for Lily.”
I moved my wheelchair closer, placing my hand on his arm. “But Ethan, you have to see that she’s dangerous. She tried to kill you. She pushed me off a cliff. How can you still defend her?”
“It’s me who owes them, mother and daughter,” he said softly, his gaze distant. “I failed them
both.”
“And what about me and Emma?” I pressed, injecting a note of desperation into my voice.
I
“Don’t you owe us anything? Emma needs her father–especially now that I’m…” I gestured helplessly at my useless legs.
Ethan’s expression clouded with conflict. “Of course I’ll take care of you and Emma. You know
that.”
I hesitated, then asked the question that had been burning inside me. “Do you love her?
Olivia?”
He was silent for a long moment, his amber eyes unreadable. “No,” he finally said. “But I owe
her. For Lily.”
Relief washed through me, though I was careful not to show it. “I understand,” I said softly. “You’re a good man, Ethan. Too good, sometimes.”
I leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Rest now. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
(Olivia’s POV)
The house was too quiet without Lily. Even after all this time, I still caught myself listening for her laughter, her footsteps, the sound of her calling “Mommy” from her bedroom.
I clutched the empty Moonwood Ceremonial Urn to my chest, tears streaming down my face. Victoria’s cruel desecration of Lily’s grave had reopened wounds that had never truly healed.
My wolf whimpered inside me, maternal instincts still raw and bleeding despite the years that
had passed. We needed to do something–anything–to honor our pup’s memory.
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I opened my laptop, searching for ways to memorialize a deceased werewolf child. An online support group for grieving werewolf parents appeared in the search results.
Hesitantly, I clicked the link and began reading through the posts. Stories of loss, of
heartbreak, but also of healing and remembrance filled the screen.
One post in particular caught my attention:
“Finding peace at the Ancient Moon Temple in Ravenwood saved my sanity after losing my
son. Elder Tobias Gray performed the Moonlight Passage ritual, and I truly believe my boy’s
spirit found its way to the ancestral hunting grounds. The perpetual moonstone lamp I lit for
him still burns there, a beacon guiding him home whenever he wishes to visit.”
My heart raced as I read more about the temple. Located in Ravenwood, a neighboring
territory, it was known as a sacred place where the veil between worlds grew thin during
certain lunar phases.
I immediately texted Lucas Blackwood, who had promised to help me honor Lily’s memory
properly after the desecration of her grave.
“Can you take me to the Ancient Moon Temple in Ravenwood? I need to light a perpetual
moonstone lamp for Lily.”
His response came quickly: “I’m sorry, Olivia. My grandfather’s condition has worsened. I need to return to Blackwood Estate immediately. Can it wait until I return?”
I stared at the message, disappointment washing over me. But my wolf pushed forward with maternal determination. This couldn’t wait. Lily had already waited too long for proper
respect.
“Don’t worry,” I texted back. “I’ll go alone. Your grandfather needs you more right now.”
Lucas replied with concern: “The journey to Ravenwood is dangerous, especially for a lone
she–wolf. Please wait for me.”
But my mind was made up. “I’ll be careful. This is something I need to do for Lily.”
I packed a small bag with essentials and the remnants of Lily’s ashes that I’d managed to salvage from the cemetery. The drive to Ravenwood would take several hours, but I needed to arrive before moonrise for the ritual to be most effective.
As I started my car, I felt a strange sense of purpose filling me for the first time since Lily’s death. My wolf, though still wounded by grief, seemed to approve of this mission.
“We’re doing this for Lily,” I whispered, both to myself and my wolf. “She deserves peace.”
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The journey to Ravenwood passed in a blur of winding roads and dense forests.
The Ancient Moon Temple stood atop a hill, its white stone walls gleaming in the late
afternoon sun.
+15 Points >
Elder Tobias Gray met me at the entrance. “You bring great sorrow with you, daughter,” he said softly. “And the ashes of a young one.”
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.
“Come,” he said, gesturing for me to follow. “The moonstone lamps are this way.”
Inside the temple, hundreds of small crystal lamps lined the walls, each glowing with a soft, bluish light. Elder Gray led me to an empty niche.
“Place your daughter’s ashes here,” he instructed. “And light the lamp with this.”
He handed me a special match that burned with an unusual blue flame. As I lit the lamp, I
whispered Lily’s name, watching as the flame caught and steadied.
“Now she will always have light to find her way,” Elder Gray said. “Would you like me to
perform the Moonlight Passage ritual as well?”
“Yes, please,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
The ritual was beautiful in its simplicity. Elder Gray chanted in an ancient werewolf tongue, his
voice rising and falling like waves.
“Her spirit is free now,” he told me when it was done. “She will find peace in the ancestral
hunting grounds and will be reincarnated into a happy life.”
Relief washed over me, and my wolf felt lighter than it had since Lily’s passing. “Thank you,” I
said, tears streaming down my face. “Thank you so much.”
As I left the temple, the sun was beginning to set. I checked my phone, intending to let Lucas
know I was heading back, only to find the battery had died.
“It doesn’t matter,” I told myself. “I’ll be home soon enough.”
The drive back to Silvercrest territory began peacefully enough. As I approached Silverfang
Bridge, I noticed dark clouds gathering, promising a storm.
was halfway across the bridge when headlights appeared behind me, approaching rapidly.
The car swerved erratically, coming dangerously close to my bumper.
My heart raced as I pressed harder on the accelerator, trying to put distance between us. The
other car swerved again, this time clipping my rear bumper.
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< Chapter 123 Victoria’s Despair
My car fishtailed, and I fought to regain control. As I approached a curve in the bridge, I pressed on the brakes–but nothing happened.
+15 Points >
Panic surged through me as I pumped the brake pedal repeatedly. Nothing. The brakes had failed completely.
Ahead, I could see a school bus full of young pups, stopped at the far end of the bridge. At my current speed, I would crash directly into it.
My wolf’s heightened senses took in everything in a split second–the bus full of children, the steep drop to Moonstone River below, the rapidly closing distance.
There was only one choice.
I yanked the steering wheel hard to the right, aiming for the gap in the guardrail. As my car broke through the metal barrier, time seemed to slow.
