Chapter 4

The man covered my mouth with a handkerchief. I struggled as hard as I could in his arms. He took me to a forest on the right side of the river.

I winced when he threw me to the ground.

'Let's switch bodies!' My wolf shouted.

Trembling, I stood up and clutched myself firmly. I took a hesitant step back, and a tree root nearly forced me to sit down on the ground.

My breath caught; my heart was racing so fast I could hear it, and my eyeballs shook as I watched the man tilt his head and narrow his eyes, smiling behind his black mask.

Calm down, Auretta. I told myself.

No. I couldn't calm down!

The man was a rogue assassin, and someone paid him to kill me.

My breath hitched as if the air around me had stopped blowing when, in the flash of an eye, the man was standing behind me again, bringing his knife to my neck.

My wolf growled. The man prevented my wolf from taking over my body.

“W-who paid you guys?” In this situation, I asked that. At least I know who wanted me dead.

“Are you seriously asking that?”

My heart beat like a drum when a woman dressed all in black and wearing a black mask, just like the man, stood in front of me and pointed her sword at my stomach. Her voice indicated that she was a woman. I was sure of it.

“Yes. If you would be so kind as to tell me.” I stared at the sword centimeters from my stomach, making me breathe carefully.

“You have some nerve talking to us,” the woman said sarcastically.

“Is it because you are an Alpha female?” She smiled crookedly behind her mask.

“As an Alpha of the small pack, I was used to dealing with death. My enemies are just as scary as you two,” I said calmly, in contrast to my brain, which was noisily thinking about whether I could escape from the two death-takers.

The woman laughed, clearly mocking me. “But now you are alone and not in wolf form.”

I reflexively held my breath again as she aimed the tip of her blade at my chest. A chill spread from my chest to my entire body. I shook with fear.

“Even when you are on the battlefield, your wolf will be helped by Beta's wolf or warrior wolves; they will not let you die.”

I could no longer hide my fear of death.

Moon Goddess. Was today my last day alive?

I only asked you one thing, and I was sure you would grant my request.

Please give my son a nanny or good stepmother who would care for him and love him sincerely.

"We will kill you quickly so you won't feel any pain," murmured the rogue assassin standing behind me coldly, making all the hairs on the back of my neck rise and my heart stop pumping blood.

It all happened so quickly. The man sliced the knife over my neck and ear. The woman then struck her blade into my stomach twice.

I dropped to my knees, putting my weight on the ground. My right hand touched my neck, while my left touched my stomach. It hurt so deeply that I couldn't express it.

However, I didn’t wince in pain because my wolf often got worse wounds than what I was feeling now.

The Alpha male wolves from the big packs were ambitious to kill me and my wolf because they wanted to control my pack's territory and made us realize that women were not worthy of being Alpha.

The two rogue assassins weren't lying. They had injured almost my entire body until my body stopped sending pain signals. I was lying in a pool of my own blood.

My breathing felt heavy. My vision was blurry. I even didn't have enough energy to move my fingers.

‘Don’t die, Auretta!’ My wolf panicked, and her tears flowed like a waterfall. She was busy channeling her energy to me. ‘You can’t die. You promised Alaric that you would see him often! Don’t make him sad.’

Ah, Alaric. My little son. I miss him.

What was he doing, and was he looking for me? I hope he wasn't crying because he missed me.

I couldn't force my eyes to open anymore.

My son’s face and crying voice played in my head like a broken record.

He was only ten days old. Alaric wouldn’t remember me until he was older. Eventually, he would only see me in pictures.

No. I didn’t want to die. Alaric needed me.

I wanted to live until my son became Alpha, met his mate, and had children.

Moon Goddess, please don't take my life.

If I must die today, I beg you to postpone my death.

Let me live a little longer. I would make many memories with my son so that Alaric would remember me as his mother.

Only to you, I beg, and I believe you would grant my request.

"You are awake."

A woman's voice pierced my eardrums.

I slowly opened my eyes. I stared at the black ceiling with a frown and then turned to the right. I made eye contact with the woman with shoulder-length light blonde hair.

The woman's scent stung my nose. The woman was a rogue. A sword was tucked into her waist.

I sat up in a panic, hugging myself defensively and staring at the woman warily.

I should have died. The two rogue assassins killed me with their knives and swords.

How did I survive? My body’s regeneration must have slowed down due to the many wounds I received.

‘I don’t know.’ My wolf shook her head and shrugged. She was as confused as I was.

‘I ran out of energy. I passed out after I gave you all my energy, but I don’t know if it was me who saved you from death or if those rogue assassins didn’t really kill you.’ My wolf’s words shocked me greatly.

They couldn't possibly let me live. They would tarnish their reputation if they didn't fulfill the client's request.

“Look at the news.” The female rogue assassin turned on the television on the wall.

"You're being buried in the Mountain Volcano Pack. Everyone in the Mountain Volcano Pack and the River Oval Pack is in tears because of your tragic death. Your ex-mate hugged your son, and he is crying louder than anyone else," the female rogue assassin explained.

I was riveted. Thousands of people crowded the burial, and their cries could be heard clearly.

“So I’m dead?” I pinched my hands, cheeks, and feet. “Ouch.” I winced in pain.

“Am I dead or not?” I checked my body. A feeling of anxiety and confusion gripped my chest.

‘You’re not dead, Auretta.’ My wolf shook her head.

“You’re not dead. We didn’t kill you, to be exact. We let you live.” A man with an Alpha aura entered the room with another man behind him. I assumed he was the Alpha of this rogue assassin group.

I held my breath. The Alpha rogue assassin’s brown eyes stared deep into mine as if he was trying to suck my soul out.

“What, what do you mean?” My eyeballs trembled as I stared into his eyes.

“We didn’t kill you because we needed you, and we believed you needed us too,”

He said confidently and grinned widely. His face became very scary.

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shook my head and gripped the pillow tightly, which I could use to fight them. “There’s no way you’re going to disappoint your clients.”

“Didn’t you see the news on TV?” The alpha rogue assassin pointed to the TV behind him. “Everyone believes you’re dead. You died after being burned alive.”

I was shocked. All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “You, you faked my death?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

Even if it was fake, what if they really burned me alive? I chose to get whipped 1000 times a day rather than that.

“Why do you need me, and why do I need you?” I asked with a perplexed face.

“We have sworn not to reveal our client's identity, but we have to do it now so that you will cooperate with us,” said the Alpha rogue assassin seriously.

I looked at him curiously with a tense body. He was going to reveal his secret to me.

“Alpha Andrew of the River Oval Pack is the one who paid us to kill you.”

A sledgehammer hit my head hard, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed.

“No, no, it can’t be.” I shook my head.

Did Alpha Andrew hate me so much that he wanted me dead?

How cruel he was to me.

“We had a problem with him and were having difficulty touching him. You are our hope.” The Alpha Rogue Assassin’s gaze was like a starving animal.

I reluctantly accepted the few sheets of paper he handed me, but his following words drove me to read the contract carefully.

“We will help you find and take revenge on the person who spread the false news about you and make Alpha Andrew regret not trusting you and wanting you dead.”