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For the next five minutes, the two of them stood in silence. The silence stretched further as Beth's eyes swept over Akira, who was still covered in blood. She couldn't believe that this blood had come from her body on the same day the full moon appeared in the sky. It was no coincidence. No coincidence at all.

Beth tried to convince herself that it might just be a coincidence, but deep down, she knew it was not. Being an avid reader, she had read a lot of books, and she realized that what had just happened to Akira was something similar to that of a human menstrual cycle.

For a split second, she didn't blink as the thought gathered in her mind. Her fingers suddenly started to tremble with fear, and her heart raced with panic.

What had happened to Akira was human menstruation. But for werewolves, they do not experience it. Instead, when the monthly or yearly moon rises, most she-wolves go into heat and hunt for mates to fuck them.

Beth's mind wandered as she thought about it. Werewolves do not have menstrual cycles, no matter how vast her knowledge was. She swallowed hard, her gaze hardening on the stained bed and mattress.

“P-p-p-ure. Alpha bloodline,” Beth gasped in whispers, grabbing Akira's attention.

Akira stared at her, confused by her friend's expression. This was the first time she had seen blood gush from her body–such a thick and sticky kind.

“What?” Akira asked, seemingly confused by Beth's shocked expression.

Beth's lips loosened and parted, but no words came out. Her gaze darted to the bed, then back to Akira's trembling hands, and finally to the dark, sticky pool of blood on the mattress, which was still very fresh.

Beth shook her head, refusing to believe her thoughts. “No, no, no, it can't be.” She walked around the bed while Akira watched in awe.

No, it can't be. She's not a pure Alpha bloodline. Beth shook her head again, refusing to accept her thoughts.

She had read a lot of books to acquire knowledge, and she could tell that Akira wasn't a normal wolf like everyone else. Only pure Alpha bloodlines have a menstrual cycle every full moon, just like the one that appeared in the sky today. They don't see the flow of blood every month like humans; instead, they only see it once in a long time. This was Akira's first time witnessing it since she had gotten her wolf– Apparently it only occurs for those who have fully embraced their wolf. However, they go into heat more frequently with the monthly phases of the moon. Akira had gotten her wolf late; she wasn't with her family for grooming on how to force it out faster. Since she had gotten her wolf, there had been no main full moon–this was the first.

“What is it, Beth?” Akira panicked. “You are scaring me.”

“No…” Beth continued whispering, shaking her head more to herself than to Akira. “No… no, this–this isn’t possible.”

Her mind flipped through everything she had ever read, every scrap of lore and dusty book she had poured over in stolen hours. Werewolves didn’t bleed like this. Not unless they were injured, not unless there was a wound to heal. Their cycles didn’t come like humans', not marked by blood, but by the raw pull of heat when the moon claimed them.

Except–for the stories. She thought of the kind that spoke of a bloodline so old, so untainted, because they had always mated not just within their royal bloodlines but also within their species.

Beth swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. Pureblood Alpha. The words burned in her brain. Only the purest of the pure–the royal lines–had that reaction under a full moon, no matter how many pups they had born.

And not just any full moon. The true moon. The one that comes once in a decade.

Her stomach twisted. If she was right, Akira wasn’t just any basic wolf. She was of pure Alpha bloodline.

And not just something else, but the kind of bloodline the Northerners were looking for as a blood host for the feral Grand Alpha king, just as she had heard.

It had been more than two decades since they had been searching for a pure bloodline, as their blood was said to stop the Northerners from going feral after transformation.

Beth's heart dropped to her stomach, and her eyes flickered to her friend Akira. If those rumors were true, then Akira was not safe in the Northern pack.

Beth took a shaky step forward, her eyes locked on Akira’s face. “You're an Alpha pureblood.”

Akira swallowed hard at the mention of the Alpha pureblood. She didn't know much about it, but she had heard her mum mention it once or twice, boasting about being one. However, she never cared to delve into what it meant. There was little time for such unimportant details when she had been smuggled into the pack at night for holidays and taken out a few days later to the southern pack.

Akira blinked at Beth, confused, knitting her brows. “What? I don’t–Beth, I don’t understand what’s happening to me. I’ve never... this has never–” She stopped, her voice cracking. She glanced down at herself, at the blood smeared across her thighs, the scent of it hanging heavy in the air, both metallic and primal. Her stomach churned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Beth didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her mind was racing. Over two decades of searching for a pureblood line, and there had been one sitting here in their pack. Anyone who brought her to the Alpha council would be rewarded handsomely.

“You’re... an Alpha,” Beth said at last. “Not just any Alpha. You’re pureblood. A direct line–your bloodline hasn't been tainted…”

Akira’s eyes widened, a flicker of fear crossing them. Then she chuckled. “No. No, I’m not–how could I be? I know my pack.” She lied. The last thing she wanted was for anyone there to know her real identity.

“Yes, you are!” Beth snapped, her voice rising with sudden anger.

Though it wasn’t clear if she was angry at Akira or the truth itself. “This–this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Do you hear me? Only them. Only the females born into the royal bloodlines. The rest of us can only read about it.”

Akira’s breath came quicker, her chest tightening as her heartbeat increased. No, she couldn't let Beth catch her. “I said I am not! Why the hell would I lie to you?”

Beth’s hands trembled as she gestured toward her. “You’ve been hiding. That’s why you never talked about your pack.”

“Stop lying Akira!”

“Do you even realize what would happen if the wrong ears heard about this?”

“That would only happen if you speak!” Akira told her. Their eyes met, and the silence stretched.

Beth stared at her, eyes hard but wide. Suddenly, the door banged open, and they both gasped as Thalia walked in without notice.

Neither of them had time to turn before Thalia was already halfway into the room. Always rude, she rolled her eyes before opening her mouth.

“What the fuck are you two still doing here?” she barked. “Madam Estelle wants to see–”

Thalia froze once her gaze narrowed to the mattress. Her eyes darted from the bed, to Beth, then to Akira.