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The Barren Luna's Vengeance
NovelMaster
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The agonizing abdominal cramps drove me to seek out Healer Richard, suspecting a flare-up of an old internal injury. While grinding dried herbs, his hands suddenly froze. He glanced up at me, hesitati...
章節（4）
第1章
The agonizing abdominal cramps drove me to seek out Healer Richard, suspecting a flare-up of an old internal injury. While grinding dried herbs, his hands suddenly froze. He glanced up at me, hesitating as if wrestling with his own words.
"What is it?"
He hesitated for another second before lowering his voice. "Luna Sarah... inside your body, there are traces of a lingering herbal fertility seal."
A seal? How could that be? I was supposed to be barren. To conceive, I had endured seven years of drinking bitter medicinal tonics, suffering endless physical and emotional torment.
"Richard, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
He set the medicine jar down and pointed toward the faint marking on my lower abdomen. "I wouldn't make such an assumption lightly, but the remnants of this seal are undeniably real. Did you really... know nothing about this?"
I stared intently at the faded mark, my fingertips trembling uncontrollably. For seven whole years, Margaret had berated and shamed me for failing to bear an heir, and I had swallowed every drop of humiliation. Staring at a seal that should never have existed, the brutal truth hit me like a blow to the chest: I was never infertile. Someone simply never wanted me to carry a child.
My palm pressed firmly against my lower belly, right over the hidden seal. Seven years ago, right after Jason and I mated, healers had claimed I was barren and that an old internal wound had flared up inside me. Back then, I had looked at Jason in utter panic, and he had gently consoled me: *Don't be afraid, Sarah. We'll heal your injuries first. I will always stay by your side.* Over the next seven years, Jason faithfully accompanied me to Richard’s healing den countless times.
Snapping out of my daze, I asked Richard to break the seal. Once the procedure was complete, I lay back on the soft fur pelt. Just then, a runner sent by Jason arrived.
"Sarah, where are you? Alpha Jason has been looking everywhere for you."
"I'm with Richard, treating an injury," I murmured.
Through the runner's link, I could hear Jason’s flustered voice filtering in: "Richard's place? Which clinic?" Realizing he had sounded overly alarmed, he quickly adjusted his tone. "What injury? Are you not feeling well?"
Unable to untangle the storm of emotions inside me, I gave a brief reply and dismissed the messenger.
Moments later, the tent flap was thrust aside, and Jason strode in briskly. "You treated an old wound? Why didn't you go to Richard's main lodge? He knows your condition and could have taken better care of you." His eyes swept over me, reading my expression. Clutching the carved bone amulet in my palm, I kept my face blank and offered him a faint smile. "The pain was unbearable, so I just stopped at the closest den."
Just then, Margaret pushed her way inside. Overhearing my words, she snapped loudly, "It’s just an old ache, and you can’t even handle that? If you can't endure this, how could you ever survive childbirth? Oh, right—you probably can't even get pregnant anyway."
"Mom, drop it. Sarah just had her wound treated and isn't feeling well." Jason poured me a cup of water. Once he confirmed I hadn't uncovered anything about the seal, he made a hasty excuse to leave. "Sarah, the pack’s game supply has been running low lately. I need to arrange the border patrols. I'll have Mom stay here to look after you." I nodded, watching his broad back disappear behind the entrance flap.
"I don't have time to wait hand and foot on a barren hen," Margaret sneered, turning on her heel and leaving as well. Silence reclaimed the tent, and I let out a long, quiet sigh.
Three days later, my strength returned. Over those three days, Jason and Margaret barely visited, while Lily from the neighboring tent occasionally dropped by to check on me. Instead of returning to my home, I headed straight for the archives cave where Richard stored treatment records—the place where my original wound had been documented. Making sure Richard was off duty, I walked inside. The archive keeper pulled my file without suspicion.
I flipped through page after page. Seven years of swallowing bitter herbs, undergoing ritual cleansings, and enduring treatments. Yet the file contained only a few sparse pages of routine checkups. When I flipped to the very first page, what met my eyes wasn't a treatment plan for an injury at all—it was the record of a fertility sealing ceremony!
My hands shook uncontrollably. What a sick, twisted joke. Seven years of suffering, seven years of suffocating guilt, only to find out my right to motherhood had been stripped away by human design. A bitter laugh escaped my lips, accompanied by hot tears streaming down my cheeks. After a long while, I wiped my face and moved to secure the evidence, only to realize the page bearing the authorizing signature was missing. Without raising the keeper's suspicion, I closed the folder, expressed my thanks, and walked out.
The moment I stepped out of the cave, I dispatched a runner to Kevin, a Beta from a neighboring pack and a trusted childhood friend. After I explained the situation, he replied swiftly, asking me to wait. Soon enough, the runner returned with a rolled pelt parchment.
"Sarah, the missing page is attached at the back."
"Thank you, Kevin."
Kevin paused through the link before adding gently, "Your mate wiped his own records so thoroughly that I got curious and pulled a background check under his name. I found something else, and I've sent it along with the file. Brace yourself, Sarah. Call me if you need anything."
"I will..."
第2章
I sat down beneath a tree by the trail and unrolled the parchment. The first sheet was the missing page, and the authorizing signature scrawled across it belonged to Jason. Even though I had anticipated it, the sight tore through my heart like claws. Jason's gentle, comforting voice seemed to echo in my ears. What had he been thinking back then? Did he feel even a shred of remorse? Or had he been laughing at me all along?
I unfurled the second piece of parchment. It was an official copy of a pup registry. My chest clenched violently. In the column labeled Father, there it was: Jason. I compared the two signatures side by side. They matched stroke for stroke. One signature had severed my chance at motherhood; the other had claimed him as a father. Tears spilled over without restraint, and raw hatred surged through my veins.
I sat outside for a long time before finally walking home. Margaret was resting beside the hearth. The moment she saw me, she barked orders for me to cook dinner. Because of my supposed infertility, I had always carried a mountain of guilt, once even pushing myself to cook over an open fire while burning with a fever of a hundred and four. But this time, I flatly refused.
Seeing that she could no longer order me around, Margaret immediately rushed over to Robert’s memorial shrine, wailing loudly that my barrenness was ending their bloodline and crying that Jason refused to cast me out. For seven years, I had listened to this identical tirade day in and day out. Every single time, I had felt swallowed by shame, eternally grateful to my mate for not abandoning me. Now, watching her dramatic performance, a cold thought crossed my mind: Did she know she already had an older grandson out there?
Perhaps because I stared at her for too long with unblinking eyes, Margaret couldn't keep up the crying act. Instead, she dispatched someone to fetch Jason. Ignoring her entirely, I turned and walked into the bedroom. I searched every corner thoroughly, but found no trace of my ritual treatment logs. I had undergone three fertility ceremonies, all deemed failures. Whenever I had asked to see the documentation, Jason always claimed he hid them so I wouldn't feel heartbroken. Back then, I had believed him and felt touched. Looking back, it was nothing but a sickening farce.
I lay on the bed with my eyes closed, completely drained of energy. Before long, Jason pushed the door open. He naturally stepped up to my side and leaned down to kiss my cheek. I turned my head away, dodging him. He didn't mind and simply said, "Feeling any better? Come eat dinner first." He reached out to pull me up.
Staring at the hand extended toward me, I felt an overpowering urge to scream the truth in his face. But I couldn't. Not yet. There were still loose ends to uncover, and I couldn't afford to startle the prey. I placed my hand in his obediently and allowed him to lead me out.
After dinner, Jason knelt on one knee before me, gazing up with eyes full of tenderness. "Sarah, you just recovered, and I didn't want to burden you, but our pack truly can't hold on much longer."
"What's wrong?" I asked, playing along.
"Neighboring packs banded together and cut off our hunting grounds, and our allied packs have suspended all aid. The pack is on the brink of collapse."
Before I could reply, Margaret piped up with venom, "Why do you think our allies stopped their support? It's all because you can't bear a pup!"
"Mom, this isn't Sarah's fault." He turned back to me. "They evaluated my standing and saw I have no heir. Believing our bloodline has no future, they severed aid the moment trouble started. Sarah, this pack is my life's work. I can't watch it fall apart."
Indeed, Alpha Jason held complete control over this pack, and I had never doubted his leadership before.
"If there’s no heir, just adopt one! There’s always a way!" Margaret’s loud voice rang out again.
"She's right, Sarah. Can we adopt a pup from outside the pack for now? Once we have an heir on paper, our allies will resume their aid." His gaze was filled with pleading and desperate sorrow, but I could no longer see truth in any of it.
"I'm tired," I said, casting my gaze down.
"All right, get some rest, Sarah. We'll talk later. I'll figure something out."
第3章
Over the following days, Jason stayed home drowning his sorrows in liquor, while I quietly tracked the movement of pack provisions behind his back. Today, Jason didn't touch a drop of alcohol and slipped out early in the morning. A report came back from my informant—he had secretly hoarded a hidden stash of game and medicinal herbs. Armed with evidence, I waited for him to return so I could corner him.
That afternoon, Jason came home, his voice brimming with excitement. "Sarah, I found a way to resolve the pack's crisis!" His cheerful tone cut off the words I was about to say. "A distant cousin of mine was killed in an ambush while on patrol, leaving behind a widow and an orphan. Lisa can't afford to raise the boy alone, and she's willing to let us adopt him."
"Oh, that's wonderful! Little Ethan shares our bloodline anyway, so it counts as continuing the family line!" Margaret exclaimed from the side, beaming with joy.
Ethan? That name triggered a memory. "What is your cousin's widow's name?"
"Lisa."
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. Lisa—the exact mother listed on the pup registry.
"Sarah, what do you think? We adopt the boy, host a family gathering, and solve the pack's crisis first. If we have our own biological child later, the pack will still be passed down to our child."
"Sure," I nodded. A family gathering, is it? The more people, the livelier the show. I gripped the evidence hidden inside my sleeve.
The day before the gathering, Jason brought the widow and orphan home. The moment Lisa walked through the door, she yanked the boy down to kneel. "Quick, kneel before your aunt. Thanks to her adopting you, she will be your new mother from now on."
"I won't kneel! I don't want a new mommy!" Ethan screamed, lunging forward and clawing at me, raking sharp scratches across my arm.
Jason was too busy helping Lisa up to care. "Sarah, Lisa is giving you her child. Even if you aren't grateful, how could you let her kneel like that?"
Lisa leaned delicately against Jason's chest. "It's fine, Jason. As long as you both treat Ethan well, that's all that matters."
Caught off guard, I was shoved hard by Ethan and tumbled to the ground. With a sharp snap, the carved bone amulet on my wrist shattered into pieces—the only keepsake my late mother had left me. Seeing red, I slapped the boy across the face.
Jason immediately pulled Ethan behind him. "Sarah! Are you out of your mind? Why are you picking a fight with a child?!"
"He broke the bone amulet my mother left me!"
A brief flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, but it vanished instantly. "It's just an amulet! I'll find you an identical one in a few days!" Jason brushed it off dismissively and turned right back to inspect Ethan’s cheek. He had completely forgotten that on the day of our mating ceremony, he had held that very amulet and sworn to protect me on my mother's behalf for the rest of my life.
During dinner, Ethan scooped all the best meat into his own bowl and deliberately spat into my plate. Jason and Margaret acted as if they saw nothing, dining together like a tight-knit family of four, while I sat there like an unwanted ghost.
After dinner, Jason approached me with a document in hand. "Sarah, to process Ethan's pack induction, we need the deed to the hunting grounds under your name as proof of status. Sign here so we can wrap this up quickly." I took the parchment and moved to flip to the front, but Jason pressed his hand down over mine. "Sarah, don't you trust me? Just sign it."
In the past, I never doubted a single thing he did. But now...
"Are you certain this document is only for proving status for his adoption?" I asked loudly.
"Don't worry, Sarah. When have I ever lied to you?"
Watching him treat the paper like a prized treasure, I lowered my head and memorized the look on his face. Later that afternoon, when I checked, the document had already been carefully stashed away by him.
That night, Ethan threw a tantrum, crying that he wanted to sleep with Jason. Jason turned to me with an apologetic expression. "Sarah, Ethan is still young. Could you sleep on the floor for just one night? Just tonight." Before he could finish, I turned and walked away. That bed disgusted me anyway.
Waking in the middle of the night, I overheard Jason and Lisa whispering in the adjacent tent.
"Jason, when can we finally be together out in the open?"
"Soon. The supplies are almost completely transferred. Once the family gathering is over and I secure the hunting grounds, we can kick her out," Jason chuckled under his breath. "My mom can't wait either. She's been dying to openly spoil her grandson."
I clenched my fists in the dark. If that was their game, they had only themselves to blame for what was coming.
第4章
When we arrived at the assembly grounds, we walked inward together. Ethan suddenly shoved me aside and grabbed Jason's hand. "I want to walk in with Mommy and Daddy!" He flashed me a smug, defiant grin, while Jason merely patted his head affectionately. "Sarah, he's just a kid. Don't take it to heart. We'll head inside first."
I stood frozen in place, staring at the silhouettes of their happy family of three, swallowed by pure revulsion.
Stepping into the hall, unaware pack members immediately stepped up to offer congratulations. "Alpha Jason, are these your mate and son? What a handsome couple, and the pup looks so sharp!" Lisa smiled and offered her thanks, while Jason chuckled without correcting them. Margaret stood beside them, grinning from ear to ear with a doting tenderness I had never once seen directed at me. But the moment her gaze landed on me, the smile vanished instantly. "What are you standing there like an idiot for? You're in the way. Go help out if you have nothing to do."
I didn't move an inch.
"Get moving! You can't even pop out a pup and all you do is cause trouble. If you won't work, get lost!"
Clutching the evidence in my hand, I reminded myself to endure just a little longer—not everyone had arrived yet. A good show required a full audience.
Silently carrying a tray of food, I walked past Lisa when she suddenly stuck out a foot. The scalding broth spilled over my clothes, but Lisa shrieked first, cradling her wrist where a few stray drops had splattered. "Jason, it hurts so much!" Jason rushed over immediately, blowing gently on Lisa’s arm with deep concern. "Sarah, why can't you pay attention to what you're doing? Let's go rinse it first." He threw an annoyed glare my way and frowned. "Go change your clothes quickly; the ceremony is about to start. Don't be so clumsy next time."
Ignoring the judgmental stares around me, I bore the sting and stepped aside. *Hold on, just hold on,* I told myself. That shameless pair was about to pay dearly.
By the time I changed and stepped back out, the gathering was already underway. Jason was on the platform delivering his speech: "Thank you all for attending our family assembly. Due to my mate's physical condition, we have been unable to produce an heir since our mating." Sympathetic glances turned toward me, but I kept my head down, remaining silent. "Ethan's arrival is a gift from the Moon Goddess, our future anchor. Everything I own will be passed down to him."
Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. Someone presented a bouquet of wild blossoms onto the stage. Jason took them, dropped to one knee, and handed them to Lisa. "I cannot thank you enough for bringing this child into the world. You are welcome to visit him whenever you wish, and he will always honor you as his mother." Lisa blushed, accepting the flowers as the cheers grew louder.
Watching their interaction on stage, I felt a dizzying illusion that I was watching a mating ceremony. Jason followed the crowd's gaze and looked toward me, casually calling out that it was time for me to join them on stage. I walked forward step by step as Jason instructed, "Lisa has gifted you a child, and you must repay her kindness properly. Now that you have a son, everything must revolve around him. You can't be as willful as before. Since you've never raised a child, you'll need to consult her often..."
Hearing this, I let out a cold laugh, stepped up, and shoved him aside. Turning toward the crowd below, I projected my voice clearly for every single person to hear: "Consult her? I don't think that will be necessary. I will have my own biological children in the future. But as for why I couldn't conceive for seven long years—I'm sure everyone gathered here today would be very interested to know the truth!"