Chapter 2

In the end, John was forced back inside by the two of them.

The moment I returned to my bedroom, I drank the antidote. The restoration of my mind link put my mind at ease. I immediately linked with the pack and submitted a request to the Elder for permission to travel beyond pack territory.

At 8:00 pm, Dad arrived home and cooked dinner.

John came to my bedroom to call me for dinner. Noticing that I was giving him the cold shoulder, he let out a helpless sigh. "You aren't still mad at Lily, are you? You know what she's like. Even though she seems careless, reckless, and boisterous, she genuinely cares about you."

Lily joined our pack with her parents when she was 18 years old. During her first pack hunt, she'd made an unforgettable debut. She had taken my place and joined John and Jason at the top of the rankings, making the three of them the strongest members of the younger generation.

A werewolf, who had never gotten along with me, had slithered over after seeing the rankings and whispered sarcastically in my ear, "A certain someone has been acting all high and mighty just because she has two older brothers.

"Well, look who's become a joke now. From now on, you won't even be able to hold onto third place!"

Lily, who had happened to be passing by, overheard them and immediately picked a fight with them. Both of them had ended up having their parents called in because of it.

However, I had been drawn to Lily's personality, and we'd ended up becoming best friends. From then on, our trio became a squad of four.

Even after we came of age, the four of us remained in the same unit. That was until I suddenly realized I was slowly being pushed out of their world.

John reached out and pulled back the blanket I had pulled over my head. "That's enough. Get up and have dinner first."

I was indeed hungry. Even though I was still upset, I climbed out of bed, washed my hands, and went to eat.

At the dining table, John casually brought up, "Lily discovered a Moonlight Spring that can cleanse and soothe wounds caused by poison. She said she had no idea the Witch's Potion would have such long-lasting effects.

"She was worried that you might still experience some lingering side effects after taking the antidote, so she hopes the Moonlight Spring will help alleviate them."

I was about to turn him down when Dad suddenly chimed in, "I've heard other werewolves in the pack mention it too. The Moonlight Spring has incredible healing properties. So, you should go, Monica. I remember how envious you were when you watched the adults soak in the Moonlight Spring when you were little.

"Unfortunately, all the previous Moonlight Springs had dried up. Go take a soak now while not many people know about it and before you have to wait in line with the rest of the pack."

Since he had said so, the refusal died on my tongue.

After dinner, the sheer volume of messages that came through our four-way mind link gave me a headache.

Lily was agonizing over which herbs to bring to the Moonlight Spring the next day. Each herb had a different effect, and she shot down her own ideas as fast as she came up with them.

John and Jason couldn't see eye to eye either. The two of them argued back and forth for more than 100 messages.

Lily huffed. "Who asked you two to pick anyway? I sent those options so Monica could give me her opinion!"

Then, she cautiously added, "Monica, you aren't mad at me anymore, are you? I promise I'll never do something like that again."

Jason immediately answered on my behalf, "Don't worry. Monica isn't that petty. You practically cured her terrible sense of direction. She can't thank you enough. Isn't that right, Monica?"

Lily believed him and sent me another message, urging me to choose one of the herbs for her.

Jason tagged me in the group chat. "Monica, don't you think purifying grass suits Lily better? Even if she hasn't been burned by silver powder, applying more of it can still strengthen her resistance against silver powder."

After reading that message, John sat down beside me and grumbled, "The full moon competition is a pack trial. Who on earth would dare use silver powder? Jason, you idiot, what the hell is on your mind?

"Lily's form is sloppy, and she can never dodge incoming attacks. It'd be better to bring lupine heartroot so she can use the Moonlight Spring to boost her defense."

"That's for team competitions! Lily doesn't even need lupine heartroot to win the youth singles. There will be competitions outside the pack in the future too!"

"Monica, we're siblings who live under the same roof. You have to take my side!"

I abruptly changed the direction of the conversation and asked John, "How did you guys even get these herbs? When did you collect them? Why don't I know anything about them?"

John was busy replying to Lily's messages through his mind link. Without even looking up, he blurted out, "During that hunt. Weren't you with us that day? How did that slip your mind already?"