Chapter 31: Chapter 31: The Wolf Clan Rebellion

Jasper’s POV

That was my first frenzy. I spent three days in the Forbidden Forest. Hunger, cold, and savagery consumed my reason. I tore apart a bear—perhaps left there for me intentionally—and washed away my weakness in its blood. My claws sank deep into its flesh, and its warm blood splashed across my face, bringing a primal thrill. But after the thrill came a deeper emptiness and fear. I was terrified I had truly become a beast, unable to ever return to my human form.

The Elder Council was furious. They deemed my wild nature untamable, a menace to the clan. The Great Elder went so far as to declare publicly, “This boy cannot be allowed to live. He must be purified!”

On the eve of my execution, I was certain I was going to die. Pale moonlight washed over the cold stone pillar on the execution ground. I was bound in chains, covered in wounds, yet felt strangely calm. It was then that a pregnant woman walked into the Forbidden Forest. She not only soothed the frenzy within me, but even repaired the meridians damaged by my transformation.

When I woke up, all I remembered was a pair of gentle eyes and a sense of peace that seeped into my very soul. Afterward, I asked my father and the guards, but no one had seen her. It was as if that entire night had been a dream. I even began to wonder if she was a real woman at all, or a phantom sent by the Moon God, who took pity on a child cast out by his own people.

Regardless, that healing changed my fate. The Elder Council stopped mentioning “purification,” and my father finally began to treat me as his true heir. He would take me to inspect our territory, teaching me to distinguish loyalty from betrayal and how to uphold the clan’s interests within the rules of human society. But I knew Derek’s eyes were always on me. That cold hostility, like a viper, lay in wait, ready to strike every time our gazes met.

My father passed away the year I turned eighteen. An old injury flared up, taking him so suddenly it caught us all off guard. Before he died, he held my hand, his eyes filled with both satisfaction and a lingering worry. “Jasper,” he said, his voice soft as if not to startle something, “the throne is a heavy burden, but you must remember this: true strength lies not in what you can destroy, but in what you can protect.” The warmth of his hand in mine is one of the few warm memories I possess.

I inherited the throne. The coronation was a solemn and stately ceremony, the oaths of our people echoing through the ancient Forbidden Forest. Derek was among them. He knelt on one knee, head bowed, his voice ringing out loud and clear. But I knew that deep within his eyes, the fires of resentment burned.

The first two years were peaceful. I focused on helping the clan integrate better into modern society, establishing my own intelligence network and commercial empire. Derek, meanwhile, acted exceptionally deferential, even volunteering for the arduous task of patrolling the borders. Everyone assumed our past grudges had been laid to rest. Only I knew he was waiting. He was waiting for a chance that would seal my doom.

He secretly courted the clan members who were unhappy with their “Mixed-blood Wolf King,” especially the old-guard families who believed in blood purity. He promised them that once he ascended the throne, he would restore the “former glory” of the Wolf Clan—a closed kingdom ruled by pure-bloods, far removed from human society. His ambition, like a vine, grew silently in the darkness, entwining an ever-increasing number of hearts.

I was twenty years old that year.

The rebellion erupted on a stormy night. Derek led the clan members he had swayed in a surprise attack on Moon Hidden Villa. His objective was clear: to kill me. The battle was exceptionally fierce. My loyal guards fell one after another, their blood mixing with the rain to stream down the villa’s marble steps. I personally cut down his two most capable deputies, but I was also severely wounded; a claw had torn open my left shoulder, leaving a gash that went down to the bone, and blood poured out of it unstoppably.

Finally, we faced each other in the villa’s main hall. Lightning tore across the sky, illuminating his twisted face. His eyes were filled with madness, and every one of his attacks was a killing blow. “Do you think you deserve to sit here?” he snarled, his voice drowning out the thunder. “You’re nothing but a half-breed! This seat should have been mine!”

I didn’t answer. I responded with action. My claws ripped open his chest, pinning him to the floor. He lost.

According to clan law, the penalty for rebellion is death. The Elder Council unanimously passed the sentence. On the eve of his execution, the Great Elder—my own uncle—came to me. His aged face was streaked with tears, the first time he had ever shown me such vulnerability. “Jasper,” he pleaded, his voice trembling, “he’s my only son… I’m begging you, let him live.”

I looked at him, my heart devoid of any victor’s joy, feeling only a vast emptiness. I knew that if I insisted on executing Derek, the highly respected Great Elder might stop at nothing to avenge his son, even if it meant triggering a second civil war. For the stability of the clan, I made a decision I now regret to my very core—I agreed.

Derek was exiled, forbidden from ever returning to the Wolf Clan’s territory.

Fifteen years passed. I have been secretly tracking him all this time. He moves like a phantom across the globe, occasionally stirring up some chaos but always staying outside my sphere of influence.

「Until recently.」

When I learned Lila’s true identity and re-examined the timeline, a chilling truth surfaced—the year Derek launched his rebellion and fled the Wolf Clan was the same year Lila’s parents were in that “car accident.”

Everything clicked into place.

He hadn’t killed Isolde Thorne out of hatred for the “impure.” On the contrary, he did it because he knew how terrifying the power of a Priest was. He was afraid this female priestess would become my ally, afraid her very existence would make my rule unshakeable. Therefore, he had to eliminate her completely before she could establish any kind of connection with me.

As for Lila, the little girl he viewed as “collateral damage,” her adoption by the Goodrich family and the fact she’s been under strict surveillance ever since was likely no coincidence. That greedy merchant, Arthur Goodrich, is probably just a pawn on Derek’s chessboard. What his true purpose is, I still don’t fully understand.

At the thought, a cold, murderous rage began to spread through my chest. I looked down at Lila, frozen before me. She was so fragile, yet so strong. She had inherited not only her mother’s Priest bloodline, but also her unyielding spirit.

I slowly drew back my hand, which hovered in mid-air, and clenched it into a fist. My nails dug deep into my palm, the pain keeping me sharp. ’This time, I won’t let anyone hurt her. And Derek… you’ve hidden for fifteen years. Now, the game is over.’

Lila finally moved. She lifted her hand, her fingertips moving slowly toward her lower abdomen. They stopped an inch from her skin, trembling slightly.

My gaze was fixed on her hovering fingertips, waiting for her next move.

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