chapter 9

Daisy didn't look surprised at all. She even smiled a little. "Arvil, you're telling me all this because you're panicking, aren't you? I am just a lowly human—no wolf spirit, no way to protect myself. But I'm prettier than you and I'm younger than you. You're scared Silas might actually fall in love with me, right?"

She was deliberately provoking Arvil. As long as Arvil got upset, Silas would drop everything to rush back and comfort her. And that would give Daisy her chance to escape.

"You're lying!" Arvil suddenly got agitated and pointed at her. "You're just my replacement! Without that face, how could Silas ever really love you!"

"If you hadn't noticed he has feelings for me, why would you look so desperate right now?"

Daisy walked closer to her step by step with a smile. "Do you know what it was like when he got drunk and held me, calling me his mate and begging me not to leave him?

"Do you know how he rushed to give me medicine when I was sick?"

"Oh, and maybe you don't know this yet. His wolf recognized me as his fated mate. He promised me under the moonlight that I'd be his one true love, the luna of Bloodmoon Pack."

Daisy spoke slowly, and her expression stayed calm.

Everything she said was technically true. She just left out the real context behind it all.

When he got drunk and called her his mate, he probably mistook her for Arvil.

When she got sick and he urgently gave her medicine, he was probably just worried her fragile human body would have problems that could affect the pregnancy.

And as for promising her the luna position... that was probably just a way to manipulate her.

At the end of the day, Daisy knew one thing clearly—everything Silas did for her came with strings attached.

"Shut up!"

Arvil was a beta after all, and Daisy's words pushed her over the edge. She actually forced herself up from the hospital bed and shoved Daisy with all her strength.

Daisy wasn't ready for it and stumbled back, losing her balance for a second.

"Silas loves me!" Arvil was practically hysterical now. "No one can steal him away from me! You're just a filthy human, a low-class species, a weak little lamb, and I'll slaughter every last one of you eventually!"

Faced with that kind of crazy, Daisy just said coolly, "You're insane. No wonder Silas moved on from you."

"Ahhh!" Arvil's shrill scream was deafening, and Daisy frowned and took a step back.

"Why? Why do you get to be Silas's fated mate?!"

Arvil risked the curse's backlash and forced herself to shift into wolf form to attack. But she was too weak, and the curse made her body flicker between forms. Even the claws that were about to hit Daisy's face went limp and powerless.

Daisy froze for a moment, then quickly dodged out of the way. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. She was still terrified of werewolves.

Arvil's attack missed completely, and it was like all her strength drained out of her. She shifted back to human form and fell to the ground, her cheek slamming hard into the wooden bed frame. She couldn't get up after that, and only then did Daisy manage to breathe a little easier.

"You actually dodged?" Arvil covered her injured cheek, and her eyes filled with venom. When she heard footsteps outside the door, she suddenly let herself fall backward.

She made enough noise that the hospital room door was pushed open immediately.

Silas saw Arvil collapsed on the floor and quickly rushed over to pick her up. "Arvil, what happened?"

"Silas, Daisy knew I was cursed, but she still pushed me and made me hit my face." Arvil leaned into his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. She deliberately showed him the red mark on her face and whimpered, "I really didn't do anything wrong..."

Silas looked at the red mark on her face, and his expression darkened as he turned to Daisy.

"Daisy, do you know what you just did? You hurt a beta who was honorably wounded fighting for the Bloodmoon Pack. Do you want to find out what the dungeon and the poison insects feel like?"

The veins in Silas's temple bulged, and his eyes narrowed. "Get over here and apologize to Arvil!"

Daisy glanced at Robert, who had followed Silas in, and her face went tight. "She attacked me first. Why should I apologize?"

"Silas, I really didn't attack her," Arvil cried.

Silas looked at Arvil's injured face, and his anger flared even hotter. He strode forward and grabbed Daisy by the throat, his voice harsh. "Daisy, don't you dare cause trouble here!"

He was taking Arvil's side without even asking what happened, and Daisy's brows furrowed tight.

"Right is right and wrong is wrong. If anyone should apologize, it's her apologizing to me first."

Silas was choking her so hard she could barely breathe, but she didn't back down. "Silas, I'm a human being with dignity. The Human Council's laws protect my rights. I'm not your personal plaything just because you're the Bloodmoon Pack's alpha!"

Her words made Silas tighten his grip even more, and a cold smile appeared on his lips. "Daisy, you think you're in any position to negotiate with me? Or do you actually believe the Human Council's so-called laws can control a Bloodmoon Pack alpha?

"Stop being stupid and go apologize to Arvil!"

"Never!" Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice shook. "If you want me to apologize that badly, then just strangle me right now!"

She was betting that Silas wouldn't actually kill her. After all, he still needed the baby in her belly as a catalyst for the cure.

The veins on the back of Silas's hand bulged from the effort of holding back, and he stared at her like he really might strangle her to death.

Just when Daisy was starting to panic, Arvil spoke up from the side. "Silas, just let it go."

She still needed Daisy alive. If something really happened to her, it wouldn't do Arvil any good. She just wanted to teach Daisy a lesson today.

Tears of pain streamed down Daisy's face, and her complexion turned deathly pale.

A fresh tear rolled down her cheek and landed on Silas's hand. He suddenly loosened his grip and shoved her away hard.

Daisy's legs went weak, and she couldn't stay on her feet. She fell hard to the ground and clutched her stomach, coughing a few times.

Silas looked at her pained expression, and his wrist—the one that had hurt her—started to throb with sharp pain.

His wolf Owen growled in his mind. "Silas, you're going to regret this!"

Silas didn't respond. He looked down at Daisy and said coldly, "Get out of here and think about what you did!"