Chapter 4 Bloody Altar

Night deepened at the forbidden peak of House Veyrath. A freezing gale howled beneath the full moon as hundreds of clan members gathered around the ancient black stone altar, whispering among themselves while watching their Alpha's eldest daughter dragged like an animal.

In the center of the altar lay a giant circular stone covered in intricate geometric carvings and ancient runic hollows.

Thud!

Elena's body was slammed flat against the center of the carvings. Four guards shackled her wrists and ankles to the altar's iron pegs with pure silver chains. The silver metal hissed with heat upon contact, burning Elena's skin and releasing agonizing white smoke.

In the front row, Selene stood beside Violet, who wore a sweet, victorious smile. Next to Violet, Kael held the girl's waist, his expression flat and completely devoid of pity.

Elder Marcus stepped to the edge of the altar, raising both hands toward the heavens. His mouth chanted an incantation in the primordial wolf tongue, making the air around the hill heavy and suffocating.

"For the purity of Veyrath blood, this cursed blood must be cleansed!" Elder Marcus shouted loudly.

Raising a long silver dagger carved with sacred symbols, the old man plunged the blade straight into Elena's left chest without a second of hesitation.

"Aaaaaakh!"

Elena's scream pierced the midnight sky. Fresh blood spurted from her chest, flowing heavily to fill every groove of the ancient runic hollows across the stone altar.

Instantly, an extraordinary phenomenon unfolded.

As Elena's blood filled the carvings, the entire surface of the stone altar flared with blinding light. Deep red energy, like molten lava, coursed beneath Elena's body. A wave of magical energy swept outward, whipping dry leaves around the hill into a violent vortex of wind.

Reacting violently, the silver chains binding Elena emitted a blinding bluish-white glare. The silver light crept upward, wrapping around Elena's body like an electric web, shocking and burning every inch of her flesh.

"It hurts! Please stop! My body is tearing apart!" Elena shrieked, her eyes rolling back and the veins in her neck bulging against the agony.

Seeing his daughter convulsing within the clashing crimson and silver lights, panic seized Adrian's chest.

Adrian stepped forward. "Wait, Marcus! Is this ritual safe? Why is she in so much agony? This could kill her!"

Noticing her husband's hesitation, Selene acted instantly, driving her elbow hard into Violet's waist.

Violet, catching her cue, immediately clutched her chest and collapsed weakly into Kael's arms, her face turning pale as chalk.

"Dady, my chest is suffocating," Violet groaned in a desperate, dying whisper. "My heart feels pierced by needles. Is Sister Elena's cursed energy fighting back? Dady I feel like I am dying."

"Violet! Hold on!" Kael cried out in panic, glaring at Adrian with rage. "Uncle Adrian, Elena's curse is actively attacking Violet right now! We have no time left!"

Seeing his favorite daughter writhing in pain, the last traces of mercy in Adrian's heart vanished completely. His fear of losing the Arveth alliance blinded him once more.

"Continue the ritual! Finish it immediately!" Adrian commanded with absolute authority.

Elder Marcus nodded coldly. He yanked the dagger from Elena's chest and took two long silver nails from Elder Gideon's hands.

Thwack! Thwack!

Driven violently through Elena's thighs and palms, the silver nails pinned her deep into the stone altar.

Elena arched her spine upward, her mouth open in a silent scream as the pain shattered the boundaries of human consciousness.

At the peak of that torment, the night sky shifted. Dark clouds parted, revealing a full moon that turned deep blood-red with a blinding halo of light.

Suddenly, an explosion of silver energy shot into the heavens from within Elena's body.

A massive astral projection materialized, hovering above the altar. It was an enormous silver wolf spirit with fur that shone like fallen stars. The wolf's sapphire eyes gazed majestically upon the crowd, radiating a pure aura so overwhelming that hundreds of clan members instinctively fell to their knees in terror.

Selene held her breath, her eyes widening in horror at the undeniable sight of Eileen's legendary silver wolf spirit.

Yet that majesty lasted only a few seconds. The web of light from the altar chains lashed out, firing a high-voltage surge of pure silver energy directly into the astral beast.

Crack! Shatter!

A devastating crack echoed like a massive glass pane shattered by an iron hammer. The phantom silver wolf exploded mid-air, disintegrating into glittering dust that drifted down before vanishing into the night wind.

The wolf spirit inside Elena's body was officially extinguished.

"Aaaakh..." Elena exhaled a long, heartbreaking breath. Her body collapsed limply, devoid of all strength, her eyes staring blankly at the sky.

The crimson glow in the stone carvings slowly dimmed as the vortex of wind died down. Silver chains returned to cold metal, leaving Elena's body covered in severe burns, blood, and puncture wounds. Elena panted weakly on the edge of death, stripped of every ounce of wolf energy.

Elder Marcus stepped back, washing his bloodstained hands.

"The ritual is complete," Elder Marcus declared to the crowd. "The blood moon curse has been cleansed. Her wolf spirit has been utterly destroyed. From this second onward, Elena retains the Veyrath name, but her status is merely a human without a wolf!"

Whispers of disgust and mockery rippled through hundreds of onlookers. To be a human in a werewolf pack was the ultimate disgrace, a creature lower than an Omega servant.

Violet stood tall in Kael's arms, a victorious smile spreading across her lips as she watched her rival completely ruined. Kael stroked Violet's hair, leading the girl down the hill without sparing a single glance back at the altar.

Adrian stood frozen for a few seconds, staring at his daughter's blood-soaked body. Knowing Elena had survived relieved a fraction of his cowardly guilt. The man let out a long sigh, turning around to follow Selene.

They all left, abandoning Elena bound alone to the freezing stone beneath the blood-red moon. Her wounds bled continuously, her chest completely hollow without the wolf that had accompanied her since childhood.

From the corner of her empty eyes, a single tear mixed with blood trailed down her deathly pale cheek.

Elena stared up at the blood moon, her gaze turning cold as eternal ice.

'You crushed my wolf. You took everything I had and turned me into trash,' Elena swore in her mind, carving a bloody oath into what remained of her soul. 'But I swear, if I still draw breath tomorrow morning, I will return, and I will make every single one of you kneel and beg for death beneath my feet.'

Elena's eyes slowly shut tight, letting the darkness of the night swallow her body and her vengeance whole.