Chapter 164

Chapter 164
Fiona's POV

He used almost no defensive skills—not even the wolf spirit shield.

He simply threw himself forward with that mortal body already riddled with wounds, like a moth into flame, taking Isabella's killing blow head-on.

Her claws pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.

Blood bloomed like roses, spattering across my face.

Warm, metallic, burning hot enough to scorch my very soul.

"Alexander..."

My voice shattered in my throat. In that instant, the world lost all sound and color, leaving only his figure slowly collapsing.

Isabella seemed stunned.

That bloodstained hand remained lodged in Alexander's chest. Her deathly white eyes flickered for a moment, as if awakened by this familiar scent—the scent of the Arctic Wolf King—to some instinctive—

Hatred.

Yes, it was a hatred that seemed to reach back to ancient times!

"Mother!"

I erupted with a primal roar, my metallic wolf spirit manifesting as a magnificent barrier around me!

A warm current—sorrowful yet resolute—suddenly surged through my blood and into my mind.

It was the mental link between my mother and me!

The most instinctive bond between mother and child, rooted deep in our bloodline.

"Fiona... my child..."

A voice so faint it was barely audible echoed in the depths of my soul, carrying endless grief.

The white in Isabella's eyes rapidly receded, replaced by infinite horror and pain. She stared at her blood-soaked hands, then at Alexander's pierced chest, and released a heart-wrenching wail!

Her consciousness struggled between lucidity and madness, her body trembling violently as tears mixed with blood dripped down.

At that moment, Professor Claremont burst in with his team. I watched as several thick syringes plunged into my mother's neck.

She looked at me one last time.

Her eyes were full of remorse and love. Then she slowly closed them and collapsed to the floor!

"Fiona..."

A weak call came from behind me, so faint it seemed a breeze could scatter it.

Alexander lay in a pool of blood, his face pale as paper.

"Alexander!"

I crawled toward him on hands and knees, frantically pressing my hands against his wounds, trying to stem the life flowing out of him.

But blood still seeped through my fingers, warm enough to drive me to despair.

I watched Alexander struggle to lift his hand, his fingertips touching my tears, ice-cold. Every inch of my skin he touched sent a piercing pain through me.

"I knew it was you... that day... behind the rose wall at Sterling Manor. You were the most beautiful rose in my eyes, forever edged in gold..."

---

The royal medical team had been working for a full day and night. I sat in the corridor, not even having changed out of my blood-soaked clothes.

I had slashed deep wounds into both my wrists, almost violently extracting my golden wolf blood—

But Alexander's condition remained dire. No one whose wolf spirit had been sealed could withstand such a severe attack.

Professor Claremont told me that even if he survived this time, he wouldn't have much time left.

"The book I gave you—you haven't had time to read it yet, have you?"

He placed his hand on my shoulder, though we both knew such comfort had long lost its effect.

"Perhaps you should read it. It contains the answers you seek."

"Just tell me what's in it, Professor. I can't... I can't read a single word right now."

I hugged my knees, burying my face in them.

"It's a very ancient record about wolf spirit transference..."

After hearing Professor Claremont's explanation, I felt the content itself was more like a curse than the actual curse.

When the doctor emerged saying Alexander had briefly regained consciousness, I rushed in almost recklessly.

I couldn't control my tears, couldn't control my sobs, couldn't even control my accusations and questions.

"Why? Why did you do this!"

Alexander slowly opened his eyes. Those deep pupils, though no longer sharp as before, were still filled with a tenderness that broke my heart.

He struggled to lift his hand, his fingertips ice-cold, gently wiping away the tears on my face.

"Don't cry..."

His voice was hoarse as sandpaper, each word seeming to drain all his strength. "Fiona, look at me."

I sobbed, clutching his hand tightly against my face.

"This was always the sin committed by the Arctic Wolf Clan's ancestors."

Alexander stared at the ceiling, his gaze somewhat unfocused, as if piercing through time to see those ancient pasts. "The curse between the Golden Wolf and the Arctic Wolf has been entangled for over a thousand years. There must be a generation to repay it, to end it."

"No! But why you! Why!" I shook my head, tears falling onto the back of his hand.

"Compared to my brother Julian, as the family's only Lycan bloodline, I am the most suitable one for the sacrificial seal." He turned his head, gazing deeply at me. "This is my destiny, and my only value."

"But I would rather be like my ancestors! I would rather bear the curse, I would rather be despised by the world!" I choked out through my sobs, my heart aching beyond breath. "I just want you alive! Alexander, do you hear me!"

"But could you bear the pain of knowing you would inevitably lose control and kill me in the end? If we wanted to stay together forever, could you bear that price..."

I froze, my throat feeling stuffed with cotton, unable to make a sound.

"You're wonderful, Fiona. You've done so well."

Alexander's lips barely curved into a smile, like comfort, like farewell. "It's just that from now on... I won't have the strength to sit on the throne and fight alongside you. Your Sunlight City still has a long way to go. You must become an excellent Alpha, a true queen. You will face many challenges—those who doubt you, those who look down on you. Strike back hard. Show no mercy, my golden wolf princess."

"Alexander... stop talking, please stop talking."

"You must believe, Fiona..."

His voice grew fainter, like a candle in the wind. "My soul will always be with you."

"No! This shouldn't be the outcome between us... I can't walk alone down the path you've unilaterally decided for me!"

I could no longer hold back. I threw myself onto him, holding his thin body tightly, crying uncontrollably.

In the hospital room, only my heart-wrenching sobs and his increasingly faint heartbeat intertwined into a desperate elegy.

---

When I walked out of the room, night had fallen.

Alexander had slipped back into unconsciousness. No one knew if he would wake again this time.

At the end of the corridor, Fendia leaned against the wall waiting for me.

Seeing me emerge, she walked over and handed me a cup of hot coffee.

"You talked?"

"Yes." I nodded, my voice hoarse.

Fendia was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "You probably don't know yet—the reason he pressured my father's clan and supported me as Alpha was only to pave a precedent for you. Of course, it was also the result of my being excellent enough."

I froze.

"In wolf clan history, aside from a few fringe tribes, there have never been female Alphas in the mainstream." Fendia looked out the window. "But he wanted to break that rule, so I became the first. That way, your future path wouldn't be so difficult for the public to accept. But regardless, that was my promise to the Alpha King. I will do everything in my power to support you, Fiona."

I looked at her, warmth rising in my heart.

"Thank you, Fendia."

At that moment, someone approached from the other end of the corridor.

It was Caleb.

He was now the new Alpha of the Gray Wolf Clan, looking much more mature and composed.

"Fiona."

He stopped before me, his expression somewhat complex.

"Rasen survived."

I jerked my head up. "Really... that's a rare piece of good news, the only one."

"Following His Majesty's instructions, I used hypnosis on him to erase all his memories of Diana. I also did the same to Diana."

"So... neither of them remembers the other?"

I was speechless.

"But their fated mate bond remains. That's something carved into the soul—hypnosis can only temporarily mask it. Perhaps one day, when the memories resurface, they'll have a chance to fall in love again."

"I hope so."

I said softly, "As long as they're both alive, there's hope."

Caleb nodded, then asked, "Where are you going? Back to the Underground City?"

"No, I'm going somewhere else."

I turned around, looking toward the elevator at the end of the corridor.