5. Revenge!

He was sitting on the couch as time passed by. His mind was debating if he would stay at Clarice's side to watch over her the whole night or just go back to Alpha Bruce's mansion to attend the wedding with his new Luna.

He doesn't care about the wedding at all.

A big part of him wanted to stay by Clarice's side and whisper in her ears to fight for her life so she could finally take him to his son.

A few minutes later, Grandpa Eliezer came down the stairs. "You're still here? I thought you had already left?" he asked.

"Later," Alpha Callum replied.

"I'm going to go outside to gather some herbs to make more powerful herbal medicine to help Clarice's body expel the plethora of poison harming her internal organs. Good thing you brought her to me in the nick of time or else you have to dig her grave starting this very minute," Grandpa Eliezer said with a sigh of relief.

"Does it mean she's going to survive the poisoning?" Alpha Callum asked optimistically.

"Right now, I can say she has a 50% survival rate. A while ago, she only had a 10% survival rate, but now her condition has improved greatly. By tomorrow morning we will know if her body can fully recover. I'm expecting her system to flush out the majority of poison from her bloodstream tomorrow," Grandpa Eliezer elaborated further.

"That's good to know, Pops," Alpha Callum said, pleased with the good news.

"She will wake up any time soon," Grandpa Eliezer added.

"Do you need help gathering herbs, Pops? I can help you with anything," Alpha Callum offered.

"No need for your help. I can manage. You just do what you need to do. I won't be gone for too long. I'll be back in a few minutes." Grandpa Eliezer moved towards the door and exited the house.

Alpha Callum rose to his feet and glanced at the staircase. He wanted to see Clarice before he left the forest.

Lorey came down the stairs holding a basin filled with water.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She's still unconscious, Alpha. But her breathing is stable now," Lorey answered.

"Good," he said, feeling relieved. "Do you know where Luna Clarice hid her son? Have you seen her son?" he asked expectantly.

"No, Alpha." Lorey shook her head. "Luna Clarice told me about her son only once, but every time she visited the child she went there alone. She refused to take me to the child's hiding place. Maybe because she was being careful that her secret wouldn't reach her husband's ears."

"I see," he murmured. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to the kitchen. Grandpa instructed me to cook rice porridge just in case Luna Clarice woke up feeling hungry. She needs to eat soft food to help speed up her recovery," Lorey replied.

"Alright, proceed to the kitchen now. I'll watch Clarice in her room while you are cooking porridge," he said, heading to the staircase.

"Thank you, Alpha." Lorey proceeded to the kitchen and began the cooking preparations.

Alpha Callum climbed the staircase in a big stride. When he reached the room, Clarice was lying on the bed, eyes closed. Her face shone with perspiration. He picked up the face towel from the side table and wiped her face gently.

While wiping her sweat, he sighed heavily. Clarice is now the shadow of her former self. From being a beautiful, healthy and energetic woman, she is now skin and bones.

He put the towel on the side table. His heart was screaming for revenge. He would love to kill the person who poisoned Clarice. But he doesn't know the full story yet.

Shaking his head, he could only watch her condition sadly. Her hollow cheeks and skinny body were a pain to watch. He was outraged that those despicable beings had managed to poison Clarice for a long time, undetected!

A mixture of sadness, pity and anger marred his handsome, rugged face.

Suddenly Clarice's eyes flew open. "Water! Water! Please give me water. I'm so thirsty!" she screamed, as if she was dying of thirst.

Alpha Callum jumped to the table nearby and immediately poured water on the glass. He returned to bed, put the glass on the side table and gently raised Clarice's frail body into a sitting position. With his chest supporting her back, he carefully placed the glass in her mouth so she could sip the water slowly.

Desperate for water to satisfy her thirst, Clarice tried to drink the water at once.

"Drink slowly. You might choke on the water," he cautioned her. "Just sip the water slowly," he gently said.

Clarice looked at his face for a few seconds then continued sipping the water slowly. Tears of gratitude formed in her eyes. After she finished drinking two glasses of water, she lay down on the bed assisted by Callum.

"Thank you for saving me. I owe you my life," Clarice said in a grateful tone. Her mouth trembled, her eyes swarmed with tears.

"Shh, don't cry. Stop being emotional. Grandpa Eliezer is working hard to cure you with his medicine, so the poison can be flushed out of your body. We will help you with your medicine so you can recover fast, then you can bring me to our son afterward. I want to see our son and hug him and tell him that I'm his father," Alpha Callum said, his tone filled with thick emotion and deep longing for the son he didn't know existed all these years.

Clarice nodded her head. "Don't worry, after I'm strong enough to walk on my own two feet I will take you to meet our son. It's about time you met each other. I'm tired of hiding this secret from you for a long time." She agreed wholeheartedly.

All of a sudden, Alpha Callum's face darkened. "Why did it take you so long to inform me about our son?" he asked angrily.

"Because we both have already moved on from our past. I married Alpha Bruce and you married Luna Viviana. We can't be seen together in public. And besides, I'm the Luna of the Bloodhound Pack. I can't have a son out of wedlock. It will tarnish my reputation," she explained in a remorseful voice, feeling miserable.

"You only care about your feelings and your reputation. You don't care about my feelings at all!" he growled in an irate tone.

"I'm so sorry," Clarice said sorrowfully, feeling guilty for hiding the secret from him for so long.

Alpha Callum wanted to keep hurling insults at her to appease his anger, but she is looking so broken and fragile right now. He was afraid she would stop breathing because he continued to guilt-trip her. "I want you to take all Grandpa's medicine without questions so you get well soon. You can't die, you have to continue living, so I can meet my son. Do you understand?" he said in a hard tone.

"Yes, I understand." Clarice nodded her head.

Alpha Callum breathed deeply. He should stop scolding her and give her space to breathe.

Clarice looked around the room. "Where am I? Where is this place?" she asked.

"You are currently inside the room of my grandfather's two-story wooden brick house in the middle of a ten-hectare forest. I bought this place for him. He lives here in seclusion, enjoying the peaceful surroundings and honing his healing skills to perfection. You are safe here," Alpha Callum assured her.

"Thank you so much for saving me and for everything," Clarice said gratefully. Huge relief washed over her after knowing that she was already safe from the evil shaman and Aurelia's scheming.

"Don't mention it. I'll do anything for my son," he replied. "I also brought your servant here to serve you. Lorey is in the kitchen right now cooking porridge so you can eat when you wake up," he said gruffly. His voice still carries a hint of anger.

Tears of gratitude filled Clarice's eyes. "Thank you so much for helping me and Lorey. I'll make it up to you one day."

"You don't have to. As I said earlier, I'll do anything for my son. I'll get your servant here so she can help you get rid of your sweaty dress." Alpha Callum walked to the door and exited the room.

Clarice cried silently, despite her miserable condition, she felt a lot better now. She thought she was going to die today. She has to thank the Moon Goddess for sending Callum to her aid at the last minute, saving her life in the process.

She glanced at the window. It's already late afternoon. Sooner or later, the darkness of the night will cover the entire surroundings and the wedding of her husband and best friend will take place a few hours from now. If she is correct in her guess, the people in the mansion have already discovered that she and Lorey have disappeared from the room. But if everyone is busy with wedding preparations, nobody will know and make a fuss about their disappearance until tomorrow.

No one will tamper with the festive spirit of the wedding ceremony by announcing the bad news out in the open for other Alphas' wives to gossip. Her disappearance will be her gift to the new couple. She grimaced resentfully. Their betrayal left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She closed her eyes for a few minutes, trying to feel her insides. The burning sensation inside her belly had faded, only the dull ache remained. Whatever medicine Grandpa Eliezer had given her while she was unconscious was effective at preventing the poison from burning the organs inside her stomach.

One day, she will return to exact revenge on those who wronged her!

The door opened and Lorey entered the room, carrying a wooden tray. The aroma of delicious porridge cooked with ginger and medicinal herbs filled the air, making her stomach growl with hunger.

Lorey smiled upon seeing her mistress's eyes wide open. "Luna, I'm glad you are already awake. Are you hungry? I brought you a bowl of delicious rice chicken porridge with lots of ginger," she said cheerfully.

Clarice smiled, glad to see her loyal servant alive. She was thankful that Callum brought Lorey to her side. The evil shaman will torture Lorey if they catch her. They are safe now in the middle of the forest. "I feel so hungry. Please bring the porridge to me, so I can start eating. I'm starving!" she said, dying to eat one of her favorite comfort foods.

Lorey brought the tray to the bed. She helped her mistress sit upright and slowly fed her the delicious porridge.

Due to extreme hunger, Clarice finished the bowl of delicious porridge in a breeze.

After a few minutes of eating the delicious porridge, Clarice felt the food she had eaten was rushing back to her throat. "I'm going to throw up!" she yelped.

Lorey grabbed the basin underneath the bed and quickly placed the basin in front of her mistress.

Clarice vomited into the basin. Tears filled her eyes.

"Argh, I felt awful!" Clarice said between tears as she kept vomiting into the basin.

"Grandpa said that vomiting was normal in your condition. It's better for you to flush out the poison from your body. The medicine is working now. You will be fine," Lorey said consolingly, rubbing her mistress's back gently.

"I feel bad. I vomited all the porridge I ate a while ago," Clarice said dejectedly. Her eyes swarmed with tears.

"There's still enough porridge left for you to eat, Luna. After resting, you can eat again," Lorey said.

"Thank you, Lorey," Clarice said in a heartfelt tone, grateful for her servant's never-ending support and loyalty.

"Serving you is my pleasure, Luna," Lorey said fondly. She stood up, went to the bathroom and flushed the foul smelling contents of the basin into the toilet bowl. Then she left the room and went downstairs to wash the dirty dishes in the kitchen.

Back in the room.

Clarice rested comfortably on the bed, staring at the window gloomily, wondering what the future was in store for her now that she no longer had a husband and a pack to go back to. She lost her best friend as well. She lost her parents two years ago in a tragic train tragedy, killing all the 200 tourist passengers onboard.

She still has a son though. She would devote her time to raising him.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

In her mind, she saw the vision of her husband, the shaman, and Aurelia's faces smiling happily during the wedding celebration. The vision made her blood boil.

How can she punish those people who betrayed her and poisoned her to death?

What can a weak, powerless woman like her do to achieve justice and get revenge on all the people who wronged her? She doesn't even have a wolf to ask for help to begin with.

Her mind was bombarded with mind-boggling questions that she had no answer yet.

All she knows is that the road to revenge is a long winding road, filled with danger at every turn.

Obviously, she is not ready yet for revenge in her current condition.

The road to fast recovery is what she is trying to focus on right now. She doesn't know yet the full extent of the damage her body has suffered from all the poison she has accumulated in her system. She hoped she could still have a full recovery.

For now, her main goal is to get better, then take revenge later after she regains her full strength. One day, she will rise from the ashes of her downfall and punish everyone who wronged her.

One day!