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Moon Echo Omega The Pup They Tried to Bury
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
I brought my five-moon-old pup back to my birth den, but the cub from the neighboring territory seized a moment when my guard was down. He carried my son away and abandoned him inside the old cold-iro...
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第1章
I brought my five-moon-old pup back to my birth den, but the cub from the neighboring territory seized a moment when my guard was down.
He carried my son away and abandoned him inside the old cold-iron ice locker at my family's border-trade post.
I searched like a wolf gone feral through the entire night, until some dark instinct finally drew my gaze toward that locker.
When I pulled it open, my son's frozen body made me shatter completely.
I ran desperately to the pack healers, but they declared him gone the moment they laid eyes on him.
After I howled for the Wardens, they traced the scent-trails and found the truth through witness-charm records.
The one who threw my pup into that freezing death was the ten-year-old cub from the Ashfang den next door.
But because he hadn't yet presented—still too young under pack law—he bore no blood-debt responsibility.
They offered me a blood-price of a few hundred thousand in tribute shares and thought that would close the matter.
I refused to accept it. I took up a silver blade, determined to claim vengeance for my son with my own claws.
But halfway there, a massive vehicle struck me and ran over my body again and again.
Only after confirming my life had ended did they leave the scene.
When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to that afternoon when I first arrived at my birth den.
1.
The moment I came back, I felt a strange disorientation wash over me.
Instinctively, I looked down at my arms and found my pup wasn't there. I immediately rushed into the sleeping chamber.
When I saw my baby lying in his nest, reaching his tiny hands toward me, my heart finally settled.
I gathered him up at once and hurried to my older sister's den.
I asked Selene to watch over him for a while.
Then I returned, pretending nothing had happened, acting as if everything was normal.
Because I needed to know what that little monster from the neighboring den truly wanted.
I stayed at my sister's den for a long time, talking about nothing important.
On my way back, I spotted the Ashfang cub standing at the entrance, grinning at me.
The same expression as in my previous life—it made my fur want to rise.
He seemed to recognize me, calling out "Aunt Lyra" in that knowing way.
I nodded at him, my expression complicated.
Perhaps my parents mentioned me often during their conversations with the neighbors, I reasoned.
Just as I was about to climb the stairs, I noticed he was following behind me.
In the dark stairwell, I could hear footsteps that didn't match my own.
Every floor I ascended, he followed one floor behind.
Only when I quickened my pace and reached my door did he finally bounce away toward his own den.
My father opened the door with an anxious expression. "Where did you go this afternoon? Did you take the pup somewhere?"
When I had carried little Evan away earlier, I hadn't told my parents.
I was about to nod when a scream suddenly pierced up from below.
It sounded like my mother's voice.
My heart seized. I immediately ran downstairs and burst into the trade post.
"Mother, what happened? What's wrong?"
When Mara pointed toward the ice locker with trembling hands, I walked over.
I opened it, and when I saw the frozen infant inside, shock struck me like lightning.
I was absolutely certain—Evan was safe at my sister's den.
Then whose pup was this in the locker?
Looking at the body, it appeared to have been placed there sometime that afternoon. Now it was completely rigid.
The face had turned purple, and frost clung to the tiny eyelashes.
It was nearly impossible to make out the pup's features clearly.
My mother had never witnessed anything like this.
Her face went white as bone, and she nearly collapsed in the middle of it all.
She kept asking me if what was in that locker was real.
I didn't know how to answer her.
I asked my father, who had followed me down, to stay by her side and comfort her.
Then I pulled out my communication charm and called the Wardens directly.
During that time, neighbors from all the surrounding dens crowded around the entrance.
They had all heard my mother's scream and come to see what the commotion was about.
I lowered my head, trying to piece together whose pup this could be.
Looking at the features alone, there was an unsettling resemblance to Evan.
But I swore I had never seen this infant before.
And I could say with absolute certainty—
This pup had definitely been placed here by the Ashfang cub.
Suddenly I understood why he had smiled at me like that.
It was a smile of triumph.
Thinking back to my previous life, if I hadn't sent my son to my sister's den in time...
第2章
The pup lying frozen in that cold-iron ice locker might once again be Evan!
Terror gripped me, every hair on my body standing on end as my wolf instincts screamed danger.
Then I spotted him in the crowd—the neighbor's cub, wearing a mask of innocent curiosity.
I moved before I could think, crossing the distance and seizing his wrist in an iron grip.
"Tell me—was this your doing?!"
I remembered him well. Kieran Ashfang. An unranked cub showing all the signs of feral-leaning aggression, the kind that made even grown wolves uneasy.
He yanked his arm free, his face twisting into a wounded expression.
"Auntie, what did I do wrong? Why are you grabbing me?"
Only then did I realize every wolf in the gathering had their eyes fixed on me.
Still, I couldn't stop myself from snarling at him. "You know exactly what you've done!"
"The Wardens will be here soon. I suggest you confess before they arrive!"
This was a life we were talking about—a precious life.
A pup, no less. Frozen to death in that cursed locker.
Even if this wasn't my Evan, I couldn't pretend nothing had happened!
Kieran's mother appeared at the scene.
The moment Vanessa Frostveil saw me gripping her son, she shoved me hard.
"You worthless she-wolf, what do you think you're doing to my pup?!" she spat.
"He killed someone. What do you think?" I shot back.
A flash of panic crossed Vanessa's eyes.
She immediately denied her son had killed anyone, accusing me of making wild accusations.
I grabbed her arm and dragged her to the ice locker.
"Open your eyes and look!"
Vanessa barely glanced at the frozen form before turning away.
She demanded to know what proof I had that her son was responsible, telling me to stop spreading lies.
I kept my expression hard, my gaze boring into her.
"The den has scent-trail records. How else would I know?"
I was bluffing. Our border-trade post had no such thing.
But Vanessa seemed to know our family's den inside and out. She told me not to bother with deception.
Whether we had recording charms or not—she knew better than I did.
What I hadn't expected was my mate, Darius Nightclaw, suddenly bursting through the door.
He grabbed my shoulders with crushing force, looking like his very soul had been ripped from his body.
"Where is he? Where's our pup?!"
"I told you not to travel alone with him. I warned you not to leave pack territory!"
My mate's accusations left me bewildered.
His reaction mirrored exactly what had happened in my previous life, but the pup in that locker wasn't ours.
Why was he so certain the frozen body was Evan?
I didn't reveal the truth. Instead, I decided to play along.
"Aren't you supposed to be on pack business in the outer territories?"
"My duties finished early. Is it wrong for me to worry about you handling our pup alone?"
"Looks like I was right to worry—you've gotten our Evan killed!"
His voice cracked with anguish, his face contorting with grief.
Then he turned his fury on my parents. "My son is dead, and you share the blame!"
My mother and father stood frozen, never imagining the frozen pup could be Evan.
Hearing Darius's words, my mother's wail of grief echoed through the den. She nearly collapsed several times.
My father remained motionless, unable to process what he was hearing.
"Give me back my son!!"
Darius howled at my parents like a wounded beast.
Then he whirled on me, eyes blazing red. "You're the one who killed him!"
"If you hadn't brought Evan back to your birth-den, would this have happened?!"
Strangely, I felt myself growing calmer.
I watched my mate's performance—the tears, the despair, every emotion displayed so perfectly.
But my instincts whispered that something was deeply wrong.
Whose pup was really in that ice locker?
I had taken Evan to my older sister Selene's den. So where had Kieran gotten a pup to put in that freezer?
I looked at Darius steadily. "You haven't even looked at the pup in that locker. How can you be so certain it's our son?"
第3章
"Do I even need to look? I heard about it just moments ago!"
"Heard from whom?"
Seeing that I intended to dig deeper into this matter, his demeanor shifted to irritation.
He turned the questioning back on me. "Can you stop trying to change the subject?"
"You were the one who brought Evan here. Now that something has happened, you still want to point claws at me?"
I shook my head, keeping my expression calm.
"I'm not trying to accuse you. I'm simply curious."
The moment those words left my lips, my mate struck me across the face with an open palm.
"You cold-blooded, selfish she-wolf! All you ever think about is yourself!"
"No—your entire den is the same. May you all meet cursed ends!"
Darius had convinced himself that my family's carelessness had caused our pup's death.
The time, the place, the words he spoke—all of it mirrored my previous life exactly.
The only difference was the frozen pup. It wasn't my Evan.
Every move Darius made filled me with suspicion.
Outside, neighboring wolves were being held back, all demanding to know what had happened.
I ignored them and informed my mate that I had already summoned the Wardens.
First, we needed to find the one responsible for this killing.
He accused me of acting out of guilt.
In his eyes, I was clearly the killer. What was there to argue about?
My parents adored Evan even more than I did.
They constantly urged me to bring the pup home so they could spend more time with him.
When they learned the pup was gone, their grief matched my own.
Yet my father could only offer comfort to Darius. "Darius, blame us. This has nothing to do with Lyra."
"If you need to rage, direct it at us. We're the ones who failed you."
Darius looked at them with a smile that held no warmth.
Those eyes of his had turned utterly cold and dark.
"If you hadn't kept pressuring her to bring Evan back here, would any of this have happened?"
"This is your fault from the start. None of you can escape responsibility!"
I could bear no more and cut him off. "Are you finished? If so, wait for the Wardens to handle this."
"And then what? Will the Wardens bring my Evan back to life?"
"He was only five moons old! Give me back my pup!"
My mate's behavior grew stranger by the moment.
From the day I birthed Evan until the day I brought him to my parents' den, Darius had barely interacted with him. He had scarcely held the pup more than a handful of times.
This made me doubt whether he had ever truly loved our child. So why was he so agitated now?
My father sighed heavily, clearly drowning in self-blame.
I wanted so badly to tell them that Evan wasn't dead.
I had sent him to my older sister Selene's den. He was probably sleeping peacefully at this very moment.
But Darius's abnormal reactions told me something was deeply wrong.
When I turned my gaze back to Kieran Ashfang, I found him watching me with a strange half-smile.
That demonic stare sent an involuntary shiver down my spine.
I forced myself to remain calm.
I spoke to him in an even tone. "I hope you'll come forward and admit what you did."
Kieran immediately ducked behind his mother, appearing nervous.
But I knew it was all an act.
In my previous life, his family had only paid blood-price. They never once offered an apology.
And this little demon faced no consequences under pack law.
He continued his life as if nothing had happened.
Still attending training with other cubs. Still playing without a care.
The worst part was his claim that he had placed Evan in the cold-iron ice locker because he was imitating something he saw in a story-telling.
I didn't care whether he had learned it from some tale or not.
All I knew was that my Evan was gone, while the true killer walked free!
Vanessa Frostveil shielded her son, glaring at me with fury in her eyes.
She looked ready to bare her fangs at the slightest provocation.
My own mate sided with outsiders, telling me to stop evading responsibility.
I turned my gaze toward the entrance of the trading post and spotted Eldon Stonebriar, the elderly pack elder who served as our territory's boundary-warden. He leaned heavily on his carved walking staff, his silver-streaked fur visible at his temples where age had touched him.
Around his neck hung a memory talisman—an oath-charm that recorded everything his eyes witnessed.
His family had given it to him because his mind sometimes wandered these days. The enchanted crystal could relay his location and surroundings back to his kin in real time, keeping him safe when he patrolled alone.
I approached him with careful respect, dipping my head slightly. "Elder Stonebriar, might I borrow your talisman for a moment?"
We were all denmates in this territory block, and the old wolf agreed without hesitation.
I carried the memory talisman back into the trading post. The moment Darius and Vanessa saw what I held, their expressions darkened.
It didn't take long for me to call forth the stored images—there it was, clear as moonlight: Kieran Ashfang carrying an infant into the trading post.