A year later.
It was a spring afternoon. Sunlight streamed through the blinds in my study.
Lydia sat across from me, sipping her tea, a strange look on her face.

“Cassia, there’s something I think you should know,” she said, setting down her cup. “It’s about Zane.”
I didn’t look up from the report I was reading.
“Their child was born,” Lydia said, pausing for effect. “But…”
“But what?” I asked, my voice flat.
“The baby… it was born with Wolf Soul Decay.”
My hand froze.

Wolf Soul Decay. An extremely rare genetic disease.
The child’s wolf spirit slowly fades away. Without treatment, they never survive their first winter.
“The healers say he needs water from the Spring of Life to be saved,” Lydia continued. “But that water…”
“Costs eighty thousand gold pieces,” I finished for her.

Water from the Spring of Life held the purest life energy.
But it was incredibly rare and cost a fortune.
“For the man Zane is now, eighty thousand gold… it’s an impossible sum.” Lydia shook her head.
I finally looked up at her. “And?”
“They fought about the money constantly,” Lydia said, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. “Zane blamed Dahlia’s weak, common bloodline for the sickness. Dahlia called him useless because he couldn’t even afford the medicine.”
I could picture it perfectly.
The once-sweet couple, revealing their ugliest selves under the weight of reality.
“I heard one of their fights got really bad,” Lydia lowered her voice. “Zane pushed Dahlia, and she fell down the stairs.”
“Was she hurt?”
“Just a sprain. But…” Lydia’s eyes held a complicated look. “After that, things got even worse between them.”
I nodded for her to continue.
“One night last month, Dahlia ran away.”
“Ran away?”
“Yep. Just left a note.” Lydia pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her bag. “It said: ‘I’m tired of being looked down on by every wolf in this city.’”
I looked at the note. The handwriting was rushed and frantic.
I could imagine the desperation and anger she must have felt.
“And the baby?”
“He didn’t make it through the winter,” Lydia’s voice grew heavy. “He passed away last month.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
An innocent life, gone just like that.
“Zane went crazy looking for her,” Lydia went on. “He searched everywhere he could think of, even traveled to other cities.”
“Did he find her?”
“He found her three months later,” Lydia’s tone turned strange. “In the underground fighting pits of a border city.”
That was the most lawless place in the werewolf world.
A chaotic mix of different clans and outcasts.
“What was she doing there?”
“She was draped on the arm of some vampire noble,” Lydia sneered. “The vampire was ancient and hideous, but filthy rich.”
“Dahlia was wearing a stunning gown, covered in glittering jewels. She was smiling and laughing, having the time of her life.”
I closed my eyes, the image forming in my mind.
“When Zane saw her, he just snapped,” Lydia said, a thrill in her voice. “He grabbed her by the hair and started beating her like a madman.”
“And then?”
“The vampire’s bodyguards beat him to a pulp,” Lydia shook her head. “They beat him until he was spitting blood, but he wouldn’t let go of her.”
“While they were hitting him, he just kept screaming at her. That she had to pay for what happened to their son.”
“The city guard finally showed up and broke it up.”
“And Zane?”
“He was just lying there on the ground, spitting blood and laughing,” Lydia said, a strange mix of emotions in her voice. “It was the kind of laugh that sent a chill down everyone’s spine.”
I was silent for a long, long time.
Eighty thousand gold pieces.
Their so-called “true love” wasn't even worth that.
When their child's life was on the line, they chose to fight and blame.
When life got hard, Dahlia chose to run and betray. That was their love.
That was the love Zane had thrown me away for.
“Cassia?” Lydia looked at me, worried. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I shook my head. “Just thinking.”
Night fell.
After Lydia left, I sat alone in my study.
The candle on my desk burned quietly, its orange flame dancing in the dark.
I stared at that flickering light, my thoughts drifting.
For a moment, I thought I was eighteen again. The moon was bright, and a thousand moon-moths danced in the night sky.
A young Zane stood before me, his eyes full of love.
“Cassia, I swear to the Moon Goddess, I will love only you for the rest of my life.”
His voice was so sincere, so gentle.
I thought we would be like that forever.
The candle flame wavered. I blinked. The room was empty.
Some people, once you lose them, are gone forever.