Chapter 89: Chapter 89: The Murderer’s Confession

Lila’s POV

Derek suddenly raised a hand.

The two Werewolf guards moved at once.

A faint CREAK of straining leather—the sound of their uniform trousers rubbing as they bent their knees.

One guard grabbed Caleb’s left shoulder, his thumb digging hard into the hollow beneath Caleb’s collarbone. The other seized his right elbow, twisted his arm, and instantly forced his forearm behind his back.

Caleb’s body sank with the force, his knees hitting the walnut floor with a heavy THUD.

Derek stood up and stopped in front of Caleb.

He raised his right hand, splayed his fingers, and violently seized Caleb’s jaw.

The force was immense.

The rough pads of his fingers, calloused from years of holding a gun, dug deep into the skin of Caleb’s cheeks.

Caleb was forced to tilt his head back.

His jaw was pried open, the corners of his mouth stretched to the sides, revealing a sliver of pale gums.

Derek looked down at him, his amber eyes holding not anger, only contempt.

“You found out.”

“That there’s Silence Potion in the daily cream of mushroom soup.”

“So you only brought her the glass of water.”

“Are you trying to provoke me, Caleb?”

Caleb didn’t answer.

Behind his left ear, the red mark left by my nail was slowly starting to ooze a faint trace of blood.

Derek snorted. “If it weren’t for your father’s years of service to me, you’d be shark feed right now.”

After saying this, Derek picked up the white porcelain cup from the table again, raising it to his lips.

This time, he took a sip.

The clear water went down his throat.

He set the cup down, his gaze falling on my face, filled with a distant nostalgia that startled me.

“Your mother, Isolde.”

“She was the only naturally awakened Priest in our clan in nearly three hundred years.”

His voice was flat, as if telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

“The Priest bloodline is as rare as Moonlight Moss.”

“Sometimes, one only appears every few generations.”

“She was born with silver-gray eyes.”

“She could see the fate of the Wolf King and hear the pulse of the moon.”

He paused, his eyes sweeping past the spot behind my left ear before settling back on my face.

“But she didn’t like staying with the clan.”

“She would often sneak off into human society, made many friends, and in the end, fell in love with a… human.”

His tongue pressed lightly against the roof of his mouth, as if chewing on a word that had long since turned bitter.

“A lowly human.”

Derek didn’t look for my reaction.

He just continued, his voice steady, even carrying a strange hint of tenderness.

“Back then, my father, Great Elder Darius, locked her up.”

“He locked her in the lowest level of the Elder House cellar, her ankles bound with silver chains.”

“But I…” His lips curved into a slight smile, the tenderness vanishing as quickly as it came. “I was very fond of my older sister.”

“I used to secretly bring her food.”

“Every time I went, I’d bring a small piece of honey cake.”

“She would always take it with a smile, dab a bit of frosting on her fingertip, and wipe it on the tip of my nose.”

He paused for a moment, his gaze seeming to drift into the distance.

’Back then, I thought that when I grew up, I would marry her.’

“A Wolf King advised by a Priest would be the strongest in history.”

“We could have unified the entire Northern Territory, made all the Wolf Clans kneel at our feet.”

His voice suddenly turned cold.

“But she didn’t wait for me.”

“She ran off and saved Jasper.”

“That out-of-control half-breed who couldn’t even control his own bloodline.”

“She looked at him, her eyes shining like a cluster of stars.”

“She said, ’He is the true king.’”

Derek let out a soft sneer.

“And for that, Darius cast her out of the clan.”

“Stripped of her title as Priest, all records of her erased.”

“Left to fend for herself in human society.”

“It took me seven whole years to find a trace of her.”

“She was already married. And she had you.”

“It seems now that her Priest bloodline was passed down to you.”

“And hidden… so very well.”

His gaze fell on my face, and for the first time, a real, cold light flickered in his amber eyes.

“So, I killed her.”

“And I killed that man, too.”

“I thought that would be the end of the Priest bloodline.”

“I never expected…” His gaze slowly lowered, landing on my heart. “It’s still here.”

The cabin was so quiet I could hear the sound of my own blood rushing in my ears.

The HISS of the air vents seemed to have disappeared.

Outside, the CRUNCH… CRUNCH… CRUNCH… of the bow splitting the sea’s surface grew distant and muffled, as if heard through a thick sheet of frosted glass.

I stood rooted to the spot, unmoving.

The silver light at my fingertips was fading, inch by inch.

Like a receding tide.

Like an extinguished flame.

Like something that had never shone at all.

————

I was sent back to my cabin.

Caleb knelt before me, apologizing.

“Lila.”

“I didn’t know there was Silence Potion in the soup.”

“If I had known… I never would have brought it to you.”

I didn’t reply. I completely understood how humbly he had to act in front of Derek just now.

“When did you get me out of the basement?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He finally raised his gaze and looked me straight in the eye.

“2:17 in the morning.”

“But I didn’t see the route.”

“A black blindfold, earplugs, filtered air.”

“All I know is that I was hauled into a car, then a speedboat, and finally this ship.”

“Derek didn’t let me see anything.”

“Even the scent of the sea breeze was cut off.”

“I know you’re trying to confirm our location… so Jasper can find you as soon as possible.” He paused, his voice dropping lower. “But we’re almost in international waters. It’ll be hard to pinpoint our position.”

The hiss of the central air conditioning came from above, along with the never-ending sound from outside—

CRUNCH… CRUNCH… CRUNCH…

It wasn’t the sound of waves hitting the hull, but the muffled thud of the bow continuously splitting the ink-blue sea, of the water being violently torn apart only to slowly mend itself. The sound was low, constant, with a sickening viscosity that set my teeth on edge, as if time itself were grinding across the deck—and my eardrums—inch by inch.

I closed my eyes.

’Not from exhaustion, but to calculate.’

We left at 2:17 a.m. The journey by land and water would take three hours and forty-two minutes at the fastest. That meant we were now at least two hundred nautical miles from the coast. International waters. No shore in sight, no stars to navigate by. There was only this ship, this door, this curved metal wall, and the relentless, all-crushing sound from outside—

CRUNCH… CRUNCH… CRUNCH…

“Caleb.”

“I’d like to be alone for a while.”

Caleb said nothing, just nodded and turned toward the cabin door. As it opened, the cold white light of the hallway spilled in, casting a small, rectangular patch of light on the floor like a cold tombstone. He stepped out, and the door slid shut behind him, sealing perfectly without a single gap.

The cabin returned to silence.

I slowly walked to the bed and sat down. The mattress was thin, covering a hard alloy plate beneath. The ship was still swaying gently—not lurching, but a continuous, low-frequency rocking from side to side, as if held by a giant hand, slowly and steadily bobbing on the water’s surface. I raised my right hand, my fingertips hovering behind my left ear. The skin was dry and smooth. No heat, no silver light. In the silence, only the sound of my own breathing was especially clear.

I closed my eyes, trying to find that vibration again, that path of silver light.

But Derek’s words kept replaying in my mind: “Only when you’ve truly awakened… will you be worthy of me.”

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