Enough time has passed since Mrs. Greene passed, and the Silverstar Pack vacated Human territory.

Adapting to the new situation is anything but easy.

Being far away from other humans and surrounded by Supernaturals is an odd feeling. But through time, through efforts, the pack managed to make something out of nothing. Founding the Clarentium Empire—defeating a major enemy, and even making peaceful expansion through alliances.

It was a hazardous odyssey, but the aftermath was incredible.

Seeing everything transpire before her very eyes, it was a blessing.

Adhara never felt better and safer than she did right now.

Anytime a problem arose, there was a man that she could always rely on. A man that she trusted with all her heart. She would do anything for him. Even if dying was what he wanted, she would do it without hesitation.

Not because she was stupid or blinded by love.

But because that man would also do the exact same and far more for her.

Evelyn is the one he relies on when it comes to leadership and management; that is the reason she is empress. Gistella is the one he relies on to give him peace; that’s the reason he is far more intimate with her.

She, on the other hand, is the one he relies on when his mentality broke and he loses sight of his way.

Compared to the others, she was the earliest to be by his side.

It was the reason why whenever he was uncertain and down, he came to her.

And perhaps because of her relationship with him, she could see what the others don’t.

Or at least see it more clearly.

Ever since that traumatic event, there has never really been a genuine smile from Rex. He does smile and play around when times aren’t hard, but it wasn’t genuine. His smile lost the sparkling edge that a normal smile has. His laughter rang hollow. And there are moments when his mind zoned out into the void.

It was the darkness catching up.

She had seen them multiple times, and it became evident around the time of the coronation.

Fortunately, the others were there to occupy his mind, and his enemies were there to keep him busy.

But it doesn’t tackle what truly mattered.

One way or another, the others also felt the vacant hollowness inside Rex.

Perhaps that’s why conquering the Scarlet Banes Kingdom is so important for them.

At least that way, they could remind Rex that he still has a future if bloodshed is no longer necessary.

No need to look back to the dark past anymore. Focus on the future. Focus on what can be.

Evelyn and Gistella might have their own reasons to do this. Other things to prove. But Adhara—only wanted to see him smile—genuinely. The kind of smile that he wears when Mrs. Greene visits him. It meant everything to her.

’Just once… Let me make him smile one time. Let me make him happy. That’s all I’m asking.’

And then, she woke up.

Adhara’s eyelids fluttered before they eventually rose like an open curtain.

Her vision is blurry.

But even so, the blurriness couldn’t hide the glare of the Blood Moon.

It took several blinks for her to finally return fully to the present, and the sight of the Blood Moon made her sit up immediately to take a look around. She probed her body with her hands, searching for any fatal wounds—there were none.

She then remembered the glistening powder that fell from the sky like snow.

And then a sudden intense sleepiness that she couldn’t resist.

Ever since she became a werewolf, it was rare for her to flee sleep. It happened only when wounded.

So, the feeling of drowsiness surprises her, and she instinctively knows that it was trouble.

“What happened?”

Like what she last remembered, she was still in the middle of the battlefield battling Laykard before the eruption occurred, and then the powder descended. Everything was still the same. Even Laykard lies not too far away from her.

He’s not dead. Sleeping. Exactly like she was seconds ago.

Adhara groggily stood up. She was reverted back to her human form, so she summoned her claws and made her way towards the sleeping Laykard. Killing the remaining rebelling forces of the Scarlet Banes Kingdom is not ideal.

At least Evelyn said so.

But Adhara couldn’t waste this golden opportunity.

She didn’t know what exactly had happened, but she decided to kill the enemies first.

“Eurghh…” Adhara moaned in pain.

It was only then that she realized her back was bloodied. A brutal scratch that was still bleeding.

From it, she felt an intense amount of moonlight energy.

A higher form of moonlight energy that she recognizes—Sven.

“Where is he?” She stopped abruptly and scanned the field of sleeping bodies lying.

And eventually, a quarter kilometer distant, a white figure caught her eye like a white stump. Sven was on his knees, body shuddering violently with moonlight energy that steams out of him endlessly, turning the air around him into mist.

From the moment Adhara stood up, he was already looking at her.

But he didn’t attack.

Sven only watches her from a distance, eyeing every movement like a prowling predator.

’Is he going to let me kill these guys?’ Adhara thought. She wasn’t certain, but she really wanted to take down the Scarlet Banes Kingdom for good. Just Princess Selene left, and this would be a success. ’I’m still regenerating. If I attack the rest right now, Sven might lung at me.

’But if I wait, they are going to wake up soon.’ Adhara gritted her teeth.

Even now, some of the werewolves from Princess Selene’s forces were moving on the ground.

One more minute, and the entire army would wake up again.

Adhara is still undecided on what to do.

However, she knew that not doing anything was worse than making a decision. Rex already showed her that in a situation such as this, indecisiveness would only kill her. ’I’m going to do it,’ Her eyes became sharper. ’For him, I’ll take the risk!’

Standing over Laykard, Adhara raised her claws and charged it with the Violet Fire of Jealousy.

“Adhara, stop!”

As her claws descended, she heard someone shouting her name.

She paused for a second and looked up, only to find Evelyn waving at her from the castle. There was a small smile on her face, the kind that shouldn’t exist on the battlefield. Even Gistella seemed to have already put down her armor.

“But why…?” Adhara thought aloud.

In hindsight, the answer should be obvious. And Adhara allowed herself to hope for the best.

Just then, he saw Princess Selene standing silently beside Evelyn.

Both were enemies not too long ago—but now, they’re standing side by side and haven’t tried to kill each other.

“It’s okay!” Evelyn shouted again. “The war is over!”

“Eh…?” Adhara stared at Evelyn, the words hitting her like a wave. Her body trembled like there was electricity running through her veins—then slowly, impossibly, began to relax. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Tears welled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks before she even realized she was crying.

“It’s over…” Her voice cracked. “Doesn’t that mean… we succeeded?”

Most of the foundation was done by Rex with his triumph against the Yule Moon that was helping the royal werewolves. But taking the kingdom down and absorbing them effectively, that was their doing, and that is something they could brag to Rex.

Something that lessens the burden on his shoulders.

Adhara slumped back down to the ground.

Even now, the scent of blood and gore was still thick in the air.

But that made the situation all the better, as there was no need for more bloodshed anymore.

Now, the Scarlet Banes Kingdom can rebuild, and the Clarentium Empire gains yet another strong ally.

“You can come back now, Rex.” The words came out broken, swallowed by sobs she couldn’t contain. She was trying to hold back the tears, but the feeling of achievement was too overwhelming. Each one was a release of everything they’d fought for—landing on her hands, on the earth, on the proof that they had actually succeeded. “Come home. Please. We have something waiting for you.”

Princess Selene, dozens of Alpha Primes, and countless Ancient Werewolves.

Adhara and the others had gone through all of that without suffering too much.

She, in particular, could know for sure that she had gotten stronger, as she could even stall and survive the attack from both Sven and Laykard. Soon enough, the others were starting to wake up, and Princess Selene came to diffuse the situation.

After all, there were still some who instantly resorted to fighting the moment they woke up.

Once the situation was sorted, Evelyn stood separated from the others, staring at the Blood Moon.

Even though the war was over, there was something brewing in the background.

“How long has it been since the night should’ve ended?” She asked.

“About forty minutes,” Sintra answered, also confused as to why the Blood Moon was still up when the day was supposed to be over. “None of the scouts had returned—so we don’t exactly know if the night only seized us.”

Hearing the report deepened Evelyn’s frown.

Princess Selene couldn’t contact Miriam, so the trap was activated and put them all to sleep.

And she also said that the Blood Moon visited her dream before today. It told her to stall for a time until the Blood Moon arrives, which was the reason why the trap was set in the first place. So, this was without a doubt stemmed from the Blood Moon.

“What about Miriam? Has she said anything?” Evelyn asked again without looking.

“Yes,” Sintra nodded and glanced over to the other side, where Princess Selene and Miriam were talking extensively. Surely, to talk about the details leading to this moment. “She said she wanted to deactivate the trap, but an illusion seized her, and she was activating it instead.”

“Can it be because of her incompetence?”

“No. Sintra is an even better Shaman than I.”

So that confirmed everything; the Blood Moon was doing something.

’How do we even get out of this? Is it even possible?’ Evelyn clenched her fists. ’If only Rex was here.’

Going against something in a higher plane is never within her scope.

In fact, this would be her first time, and she didn’t really know what to do.

“No need to fret about it too much,” Sintra assured, noticing the evident concern on Evelyn’s face. She was still young, so there were many new things for her. “Your Alpha went against the Lunirich Gods, so they are onto us. But there’s so much God could do to us.

“We aren’t their only enemies, so they need to be mindful of how to deal with us.” She added.

For what it was worth, Evelyn found comfort in what she explained.

’The Lunirich Gods have attacked Rex recently. I doubt they could do too much,’ Evelyn nodded, and then turned to Sintra. “Break the armies into small groups and scatter them in all directions. If we are dealing with the Blood Moon, we need to be mindful of our rage.

“Inform Princess Selene to do that too. Or if she has any better idea, I’m open.” She added.

Sintra nodded and walked away.

At that moment, Evelyn spotted Gistella a short distance away. She was standing by herself, glancing left and right, and she seemed to be troubled by something. Evelyn bounded over and landed beside her, “Gistella? What’s wrong?”

“Evelyn…” Gistella acknowledged her with a nod, but kept looking around. “I really don’t know.”

“You need to speak what’s on your mind, Gistella,”

Evelyn pressed.

Right now, they were in a limbo, waiting to see whether something bad was going to happen.

If Gistella could feel something, anything, then she needed to know.

“Just that I can feel death’s presence all around us,” Gistella answered. “It’s odd.”

“Isn’t it because many people died here?” Evelyn raised a brow.

Gistella was once an Undead, so she is able to sense death energy still. And since there are many blood spilled in this area, it should not be that odd to sense death. But it troubled her still, “No, it’s not from the dead. It’s from us…”