Chapter 2 The Red Crescent

"Dad," Elena whispered with her remaining strength.

The girl tried to lift her heavy head from the freezing metal table. She looked at the man who was supposed to be her ultimate protector.

"Dad, please help me. Stop them. My body truly cannot take this anymore. My wolf is dying, Dad."

Adrian swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. The man took two steps closer into the room, but then stopped abruptly. He stood frozen in the middle of the floor like a true coward, unable to meet the desperate gaze of his own flesh and blood.

"Elena, listen to me," Adrian said, his voice trembling slightly before turning cold. "Your sacrifice is for the good of House Veyrath. If Violet recovers, she can definitely make the clan stronger. You are the oldest child. You must yield for your sister's sake."

"Yield?" Elena stared at her father in heart-wrenching disbelief. "Yield until I die, Dad? I am your biological daughter. The blood of my late mother flows in my body. The blood of Eileen Callum! Why do you let this whore and her daughter torture me like an animal?"

Smack.

A vicious slap landed incredibly hard on Elena's cheek.

Selene stood beside the bed, breathing heavily with wild, glaring eyes. The physical force of the slap was so powerful that it threw Elena's face to the side. The delicate corner of Elena's lip tore instantly. Fresh, warm blood dripped down from the cut, wetting the collar of her ruined dress.

"Never dare mention that dead woman's name in front of me!" Selene hissed venomously, her chest heaving with rage. "Your mother rotted in the dirt a long time ago! I am the Luna of this clan now. You should be grateful, Elena. If it weren't for me, you would probably be dead joining your mother!"

Elena fell silent for a long moment. Her head hung weakly. Her messy long hair fell forward, covering part of her bruised and bleeding face.

Slowly, Elena raised her trembling right hand. With the cold back of her hand, the girl wiped the thick blood from the corner of her lip. She stared at the red stain on her own skin for several long seconds.

Hh...

A dry, mocking snort escaped Elena's throat. The girl lifted her head slowly. She looked straight into Selene's eyes. Her gaze was incredibly sharp, fearless, and piercing.

"Luna?" Elena whispered with a bloody, crooked smile that sent chills through the room. "You don't deserve to call yourself a Luna, Selene."

Selene's jaw tightened instantly at the insult. The veins in her temples bulged out prominently against her pale skin.

"If not for your filthy way of crawling into your own brother-in-law's bed when my mother's body had not even gone cold in the ground, you would never be a Luna," Elena continued without a single ounce of fear. Her voice was very calm, but her brutal words struck the room like lightning in broad daylight. "You are nothing more than a cheap parasite who stole someone else's place."

The medical room froze entirely.

The clan healer held his breath in terror, wishing he could disappear into the walls. Adrian stood paralyzed by the door with a deathly pale face. He looked exactly like a man whose greatest and dirtiest shame had just been skinned alive in public. Kael stared at Elena with wide eyes, genuinely shocked by the extraordinary bravery of the girl who was usually always looking down obediently.

"Shut your mouth, you little bitch!" Selene shrieked hysterically. Her face flushed violently red with rage peaking to the top of her head.

Selene turned fiercely to the trembling clan healer. "Open the valve to the maximum! Drain all her blood! Drain it right now until she begs for mercy!"

The terrified healer immediately pulled the silver pump lever all the way down, fearing for his own life. The blood extraction machine roared loudly and vibrated violently against the metal cart. Thick red liquid was sucked away at an insane, lethal speed through the transparent glass tube.

"Arghhhhh!"

Elena let out a piercing, gut-wrenching scream. Excruciating pain tore through all her internal organs. Her body convulsed violently on the metal table. Both her legs kicked the empty air, enduring an agony that felt like it was crushing her bones alive from the inside out.

Inside her darkening mind, her wolf let out a long, sorrowful howl. A howl of pure despair sounded deafeningly loud, echoing through the empty void of her soul before the voice slowly faded. The majestic presence of her inner beast completely died into total silence.

Across the room, Violet pressed her body closer into Kael's warm embrace while glancing sideways at Elena. The corners of Violet's lips curled up to form a very satisfied, wicked smile. She truly enjoyed the sight of her half-sister fighting for her life on the cold metal table.

"It is done, Lady Selene! The blood is enough!" the healer reported, panting heavily with sweat dripping down his forehead. The old man forcefully pulled the large silver needle out of Elena's bruised arm.

Elena collapsed weakly on the examination mattress. Her body was completely drenched in cold sweat. Her chest heaved with short, ragged breaths. Her left arm was entirely numb and useless. The gaping puncture wound continued to drip thick blood without anyone bothering to bandage it.

Kael was busy feeding the cup of dark blood extract to Violet's waiting lips. Adrian just stood frozen by the entrance, staring at the floor with a sickening look of guilt that meant absolutely nothing.

Selene stepped toward Elena with a victorious stride. She intended to throw a dirty piece of gauze at her stepdaughter's face to humiliate her one last time. But as Selene reached her hand out, the thin dress fabric on Elena's back slipped aside due to a small, involuntary convulsion jolting the girl's body.

Selene suddenly froze in place. Her eyes widened perfectly, staring fixedly at Elena's exposed back.

On the pale skin of Elena's back, a glowing dark red pattern suddenly appeared from beneath her pores. The mysterious light pulsed with burning heat. The surrounding skin blistered slowly, releasing a thin wisp of sulfur-scented smoke that stung the nose. The pattern curved sharply and glowed brightly in the dim room. Slowly, the shape carved a perfect, undeniably clear blood-red crescent moon symbol right above Elena's shoulder blade.

"Aaaakh!" Elena let out a strangled scream. Her back felt like it was smashed by a branding iron from inside her flesh.

Her body arched and spasmed intensely on the bed. Her fingernails clawed the metal sheets tightly, enduring a foreign, burning pain that scorched her flesh and soul.

"What is wrong with her?" Kael asked in panic. The man released his protective hold on Violet and stood up to stare at the horrifying sight unfolding on the table.

Adrian stepped forward with a panicked face and wide eyes. "Elena! What is happening to you?"

Selene did not answer her husband. The woman slowly took two steps backward, moving away from the examination table to process what she was seeing. However, a sinister, calculating smirk slowly blossomed on her face.