It had always been safe. Besides, the Moon Necklace was not an ordinary object that could be easily misplaced. The reason was that the Moon Necklace was a sacred artifact of an ancient sorcerer whose greatness was legendary, passed down from generation to generation with the utmost care and respect, and only their descendants could use the Moon Necklace because its power was closely tied to their souls. Therefore, it was impossible for Rowena to lose the Moon Necklace without noticing. Of course, she would notice if something happened to the moon necklace. In fact, she should have been able to sense any abnormality when the Moon Necklace disappeared from her.
But in reality, Rowena didn’t feel anything. For days, her feelings had been normal, peaceful as usual. Especially a few moments ago, she hadn’t felt anything strange at all.
So, it was understandable that Rowena needed some time to digest the situation. She pondered what was happening, gazing intently at Usher before shifting her focus to the half-moon pendant necklace.
Rowena held her breath with the conviction that it was indeed her moon necklace, one of her moon necklaces to be exact. There was no longer any doubt about the authenticity of the necklace Usher was wearing. Because of this, she could feel the power emanating from the half-moon pendant necklace, and thanks to this, one of her confusions was resolved. It was only right that Usher could find her whereabouts, even passing through his magic fortress without damaging it. His magic fortress recognized the moon necklace.
Unfortunately, one answered mystery left another mystery. Then another question arose in Rowena’s mind. How did Alpha Usher get the moon necklace? And where was his pair of necklaces now?
Usher’s answer didn’t solve Rowena’s confusion. On the contrary, it made her even more confused, and a thought crossed her mind.
Rowena shivered as her heartbeat increased. She tried to dismiss the possibility, but finally gave up. So, she gathered her strength to ask. “Tell me. Are you from the future?”
Rowena’s heart quickened. Her blood surged. Then Usher’s answer made her feel as if her soul had left her body.
“Yes, Rowena.”
Rowena closed her eyes. Now there was nothing left to ask. All her confusion was gone.
“Rowena.”
It took a moment for Rowena to recover from the shock. Then she froze and nodded once. “I see, it seems something happened to bring us together in the future, Alpha.” She took a long breath. “Now tell me, what actually happened?”
Usher told everything without exception. Nothing was kept from Rowena, including the all-out attack by the Nimbria Pack. He died, and it was thanks to Rowena that he was saved.
The air felt trapped in Rowena’s chest. She could barely breathe as Usher’s story stirred her emotions. Tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head repeatedly. “It can’t be.”
“That’s why, Rowena,” Usher said after he had told her everything. He looked hopefully at Rowena. “Please, help me.”
Rowena nodded repeatedly; her eyes filled with tears. “I will help you, Alpha. I will definitely help you.”
From Usher’s story, Rowena understood that all future tragedies were caused by Mireya’s deception. She used potions to control Usher, making him oblivious and indifferent to everything.
Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult for Rowena to concoct antidotes for each potion. So, she said, “Come back tomorrow, Alpha. I will prepare the antidote for you.”
After the unexpected encounter, Rowena hurried back home. Her body was still shaking. She was still shaken. But she didn’t want to waste any time.
Rowena went to the ritual room. She opened the wooden cabinet filled with various dried herbs and other ingredients. She took everything out and placed it on the long wooden table. She hastily checked everything, and a glass bottle slipped from her grasp.
The glass bottle fell to the ground. Its contents spilled everywhere. Rowena jumped, her body reflexively dodging the shards, but a moment later she froze.
Rowena stood still. She looked for a moment at the shards of glass and the herb powder that had littered the floor. But instead of immediately cleaning up the mess, she took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
It was a rebuke. Rowena interpreted it as such. She felt reprimanded by nature for her uncontrollable panic. She felt reprimanded because the calm that had always comforted her was disturbed by her overwhelming anxiety.
After a moment, Rowena slowly crouched down. She touched the herb powder and gathered the shards of glass. At the same time, a serene smile of reassurance spread across her face. Then she said to herself, “Calm down, Rowena. Everything will be fine.”
Rowena continued to concoct the antidote after she felt calm again. She gathered all the necessary ingredients and mixed them in a large wooden bowl. Then she added extracts of nightshade flowers and mandrake root. When everything was homogeneously mixed, she cooked it on a wooden stove.
An unmistakable aroma filled the air. Smoke billowed around. The atmosphere in the ritual room changed, as if a magical energy permeated the place.
Rowena stirred the potion until it was dry while chanting incantations. Then she poured the potion into another container. She let it sit for about an hour to completely remove any remaining moisture before pounding it into a powder and storing it in a glass bottle.
Relief lit up Rowena’s eyes when the antidote was finally ready. She smiled and clasped the vial to her chest. It seemed as if she had said many prayers, hoping that the antidote would fix everything before it was too late. Now all she had to do was wait until the time came for her meeting with Usher.
Rowena left her home as the sun was setting. Her destination was the same as yesterday, and when she arrived, she found Usher waiting for her.
“Rowena.”
She approached Usher and handed him the antidote without a preamble. “This is the antidote, Alpha. You just need to make sure your current self consumes it. It’s best to take it before noon, and if you’re lucky, you’ll wake up from the influence of Mireya’s potion.”
“Thank you, Rowena.”
*