Chapter 6

Seraphina's POV

"Seraphina, thank the Moon Goddess you're here just in time, a batch of moon shadow herb spirits have died." Ember's voice was filled with anxiety. I quickened my pace, walked into the work area, casually dropped my backpack, grabbed my healer's robe, and hurried inside while putting it on.

Ember followed closely behind, her tone urgent: "All indicators were fine last night, but I didn't expect them to all wither by this morning."

"There are still toxins in the herbal formula." I said while fastening the buttons on my robe, quickly assessing the situation. Walking into the laboratory, I immediately began examining the moon shadow herb spirits on the cultivation bed.

These small lives, meticulously cultivated by healers, resembled translucent silver fawns, with herbal essences similar to werewolf blood flowing through their bodies, making them ideal mediums for testing new formulas. They could reflect the responses of living beings without causing real suffering, a crystallization of ancient healer wisdom.

I carefully picked up a withered herb spirit, its once luminous body now dim and fragile. My fingertips gently traced along its gradually disappearing silver patterns, trying to sense what went wrong. The smell of decay mixed with herbal components was bitter and pungent, making me involuntarily wrinkle my nose.

"I need to adjust the proportion of moon leaves," I murmured, more to myself than anyone else, "the balance is still off."

Our Silver Shadow Herb House was considered pitifully modest by pack standards. There were only three people in total—one responsible for trading with other packs, one managing resources, Ember nominally as the manager but actually working as an assistant, and I was the head healer and herbal formula developer.

From a young age, I was seen as a "good child" in others' eyes, obedient, attentive, and smart. Since my early training period, I had devoted myself to researching rare diseases. To date, I had mastered two ancient herbal formulas passed down through generations.

With the resources earned from these formulas, I established the Silver Shadow Herb House, renting this small space at the edge of the pack territory to continue pursuing my dream of healing forgotten werewolf diseases.

The laboratory, though modest, was practical—cultivation beds lined the walls, dried herbs and essences were neatly arranged on shelves, notes and various equipment were scattered across the central workbench. The air was permeated with the scent of sage, rosemary, and moon leaves, an aroma that had penetrated every inch of the space.

Ember sighed helplessly: "We're running out of resources, and the new healing project can barely continue. Could you ask your Alpha mate to allocate a bit of resources to us?"

Without looking up, I said flatly: "Anyone but him."

Ember put her hands on her hips, her tone carrying a hint of irritation: "If you continue like this, we won't even be able to pay for the scouts' food."

"Worst case scenario, I'll teach healing courses at the young wolf training ground to earn some extra money for the scouts' wages," I said, my gaze never leaving my work.

Ember raised an eyebrow: "What about my payment?"

I finally looked up at her, showing a rare smile: "I'll offer myself in payment?"

Seeing me finally smile, Ember relaxed and joked: "That works for me."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I quickly changed the subject: "Did you buy the new batch of cultivation materials? The silver leaf grass and moon dew needed to create moon shadow herb spirits are very scarce."

Ember sat across from me, resting her chin on her hands, looking exhausted: "I bought them, fronting the cost with all my hunting shares. I just went to the resource manager for reimbursement, but she said supplies from several trading packs haven't arrived yet, the herb house's resources must be prioritized for the scouts, and told me to come back for reimbursement after the supplies arrive."

I patted her shoulder, comforting her: "Your share will be doubled at the end of the full moon cycle."

She returned a tired smile, but I could see the worry in her eyes. We both understood that the Silver Shadow Herb House's situation was becoming increasingly precarious. Without stable resources, we probably wouldn't last through the next season. But I didn't want to ask Lucian for help.

As dusk fell, the forest darkened, and nocturnal creatures began to stir. I returned to the cave, took off my boots, and carefully placed them in the storage box. After closing the entrance cover, I fell exhausted onto the mat and closed my eyes.

The bitterness suppressed for days finally overflowed in this moment, tears silently falling. The cave was empty, and a sense of loneliness surrounded me like a tide. Just then, the moonstone in my pocket gently vibrated, emitting a faint silver glow.

I pulled out the moonstone, wearily propped myself up, wiped away my tears, and sensed the familiar scent mark. My heart immediately sank—my mother's scent always brought pressure that made it difficult to breathe. But I couldn't not respond. The blood-kin connected moonstone, unless on a new moon night, refusing to respond would be considered a great disrespect to the family.

I lightly touched the surface with my fingertip, injecting a trace of intention to activate the connection, and the stone's surface immediately rippled with silver. I said softly: "Mother."

"I heard your mate has succeeded as Alpha?" My mother's sharp voice came through the moonstone.

"Yes, the ceremony has been completed."

"Why didn't you notify us? As your blood relatives, we should have attended the ceremony and presented gifts." My mother's complaints were as piercing as ever.

"I presented gifts on your behalf." I didn't want my family to come. Even I couldn't get respect from my mate's pack; they would only be treated with more coldness. This humiliation, I would rather bear alone.

My mother was silent for a moment, then cleared her throat and cut straight to the point: "Seraphina, you haven't sent us resources this month."

I frowned: "Didn't I send a whole deer last month?"

"Last month is last month, this month is this month, how can you mix them up?" My mother only had one purpose for calling—to demand resources. She was like a bottomless pit, never satisfied.

I leaned weakly on the mat: "Mother, I already told you last time, that deer was all my savings. Now I don't have extra resources, the Silver Shadow Herb House's trade isn't good, and research requires a lot of resources..."

"If it weren't for you, would our whole family be suffering like this? Your brother had a bright future ahead, if he hadn't been dragged down by you, would he be so poor that he couldn't even support his parents and cubs? You ungrateful child..." My mother's voice was acerbic and angry, with a whimpering growl.

I stared at the cave ceiling, the familiar sense of guilt settling in my chest with her words. The torch light flickered on the stone walls, just like those shadows that always entangled me—from my mate, from the pack, and now from my own blood kin.