Love That Bites, Pain That Stays

As I cleaned the final drop of blood on the floor, the wound on my chest healed thoroughly. At the same time, a new day dawned for the Moonshadow Pack.

Cyrus emerged from the bedroom, carrying Emily’s scent, and saw the rag soaked in dark red blood.

He frowned. “Why is there so much blood?”

I didn't explain, only lowering my head. "I'm sorry, I'll deal with this dirty thing immediately."

Outside the window, a maid was watering the garden, and she deliberately raised her voice, "That monster asked me how to please a werewolf and what gifts to give to a werewolf mate before! Goodness, is she trying to seduce the Alpha King?"

"Gosh, does she think that a witch like her can be with the Alpha King? How delusional! Doesn't she know that those dirty merfolk are the reason why the Alpha King's parents disappeared? She should be spending her entire life repenting!"

Hearing those words, I immediately sensed danger and tried to retreat back to the basement, but Cyrus moved faster.

He dragged me straight to the interrogation room, pressing me down on the chair that was carved with lightning runes.

With a mana stone that could activate the runes in hand, he looked down at me darkly.

"I just remembered that it was time for me to interrogate you… Now talk. Where did you bring my parents?"

I closed my eyes, flashes of excruciating pain that I'd experienced in this very chair flashing through my senses. Shuddering, I replied, "I don't know…"

The moment I finished speaking, strong electrical currents surged through me, making me scream in agony.

My entire body convulsed violently, and the wounds that had scabbed over split open once more.

When it ended, I was so weak that I could barely even breathe.

Cyrus' breaths became heavy, and he leaned in to press his ear on my chest, confirming that my heart was indeed still beating.

"Just tell me! Why won't you tell me?!" His voice was on the brink of breaking down, as if he was experiencing excruciating pain as well. "I just want to know where my parents are, Marina! If you tell me, I'll let you go…"

Blood flowed from the edge of my lips, every fiber of my being screaming in pain. "I… I won't tell you…"

I could never let anyone know where Cyrus' parents were—this was a matter of their safety.

"Well, be that way!" Cyrus stared at me for a very long while, before scoffing and ordering for his underlings to bring the mermaid pearls that I thought I'd kept hidden.

My eyes went wide, and I struggled in the chair. "What are you doing?! You can't do that!"

Cyrus spoke cruelly, “Of course I can. I can do whatever I want to a criminal like you.”

Then, he threw a mermaid pearl to the floor and crushed it underfoot!

As I let out a heart-wrenching scream, he continued, "I hear that mermaid pearls contain the souls of you merfolk, and that you'll never be able to revive them ever again if their mermaid pearls were destroyed.

"So… Does this pearl belong to your father, or your mother? Are you willing to let your family die because of you?"

My fingernails dug into my hands, already bloodied.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, falling to the floor and turning into blood-stained pearls.

"I hate you, Cyrus!"

In response, I got a kiss that was so fierce I couldn't breathe.

Cyrus growled, "You hate me? What right do you have to hate me?!"

I didn't speak, his kiss making me dizzy and confused.

These days, I was less and less conscious and aware, to the point where I almost forgot how in love we were in the past.

Mermaids had always had the custom of taking human form and going ashore to look for their true love.

I was three years old when I first met Cyrus.

The moment he saw me, he looked up at his mother and asked, "Mom, I like her! Can she be my Luna?"

Cyrus' mother smiled and looked at me. "Well, you would need to treat her well and get her to like you first, right?"

After that, Cyrus and I became the best of friends, spending most of our time together.

The year I turned fifteen, merfolk started being hunted for their healing abilities.

I was forced to leave the land and return to the sea, but I'd often sneak back on land and look for Cyrus.

When people asked me about my identity, I thought of an excuse—I'd tell them I was a distant relative of Cyrus.

However, before I could respond, Cyrus said, "She's my beloved girlfriend and my future Luna, Marina."

At that moment, I realized that I'd completely and utterly fallen for him.

Later on, the merfolk and werewolves were involved in a deal. The representatives for the werewolves were Cyrus' parents, but they ended up going missing as a result.

I was the princess of the merfolk, so I was naturally one of the greatest suspects.

I knew that Cyrus hated me, but I had no choice but to hide the truth.

Many years later, Cyrus became the Alpha King, and I had to approach him again for the safety of my people.

Many times, I couldn't help but want to tell him the truth, but I held myself back.

If I ever let the truth be known, his parents would be in peril.

In any case, I wouldn't have to bear any of this love or any of this hate ever again.

I had two days left.

Cyrus tried to lift me from the chair, only to find his arms soaked in my blood.

He paused and looked at my ruptured wounds.

I gave him a weak, bitter smile. “It’s dirty, isn’t it? But it’s fine. I’m going to die.”

I was telling the truth, but Cyrus acted as if I'd said something incredibly taboo, and he started pouring healing elixirs into my mouth in a crazed frenzy.

The elixirs barely worked.

His voice was icy, but beneath the frost was sheer panic.

“You can’t die! Not without my permission!”

Undoing the shackles on my ankles, he plunged me into a pool of healing elixir.

I coughed and choked, and the wounds on my body stopped bleeding.

However, I felt that there was something wrong with the healing elixir that I was plunged into—my body was temporarily healed, for sure, but the side effects were going to leave irreparable damage on my body.

Looking up, I caught sight of Emily, hiding behind the door. Meeting my gaze, she gave me a twisted, malicious smile.

Her red lips moved silently, wording the words she wanted to say to me.

“Marina, I want you dead!"