As the moonlight was stained with bloody wax and turned into festering wounds, the tip of Alyssa's boot was crushing the seventh wolf fang. Foul-smelling mucus oozed from the cracks in the stone and flowed down the cellar steps in a stream - the fishy and sweet smell mixed with the rusty smell of the silver wolf fetus' blood was exactly the same as the secretions of the thorns in Kane's heart.
"It's your turn, little beauty." Lucien's emerald ring flickered on the top of the altar. The night shadow wolf crawling at his feet suddenly jumped up, biting through the hem of Alyssa's cloak with its sharp teeth. The soul-controlling crystal in the beast's pupils burst, and the dark red lines under the fur formed a complete crown of thorns, which was more exquisite than any replica she had ever seen.
Alyssa's thorn birthmark burned under her ribs. When she was forced to thrust the taming whip into the wolf's throat, her dying wail suddenly turned into a baby's cry. The wolf's corpse twitched and golden thorn patterns emerged, resonating with the carvings on Cain's bedposts, shaking the altar candles to the ground.
"Blood feeding is not a game." Lucian's claws opened the wolf's belly and took out the still-beating heart. He pressed the organ into the groove in the center of the altar, and blood stains crawled along the silver wolf rune all over the stone surface - at the end of each line was a miniature crown relief, greedily sucking the energy of the sacrifice.
Alyssa's Eclipse Flame burned silently in her palm. As she pretended to wipe her bloody cheek, the flame swept across the base of the altar, illuminating the densely packed finger bones of babies - a miniature model arranged in the shape of the Wailing Wall, with Cain's birth runes engraved on each joint.
"It's time for the main course." Lucien suddenly pulled her braid. Alyssa leaned back, and the back of her head smashed the wooden board of the secret compartment - three silver wolf cubs were soaking in it, and emerald fragments were stuck in her eye sockets. Her birthmark suddenly grew, and vines climbed up her skull along her spine, reflecting the sacrificial illusion of the first king in the pupil of her right eye.
The fifth Night Shadow Wolf was pushed into the altar. Sparks from the beast's front paws splashed onto Alyssa's thorn brand, suddenly triggering a change in the Eclipse Flame. The blue flames rushed into the altar groove, reversing the blood-feeding energy and transferring it back to the wolf corpse - the beast was resurrected, and the golden thorn pattern suddenly turned, nailing the corner of Lucien's robe to the stone surface.
"Good girl, you will be punished!" The young lord laughed crazily and tore his clothes. The crown tattoo on his collarbone was bleeding, blending with the altar runes to form a thorny shackle. Alyssa took the opportunity to touch the bottom of the secret compartment, and her fingertips touched the silver ring left by her mother - the indentation on the ring face perfectly matched the groove in the center of the altar.
As the moonlight deflected through the iron bars of the skylight, the entire altar began to tilt. Lucien's emerald ring suddenly exploded, and the fragments pierced into the eye sockets of the resurrected wolf corpse. The beast roared and pounced on Alyssa, but the eclipse flame in her palm pierced through its skull - the burning wolf brain solidified into Kane's face in mid-air, with golden blood flowing from the corners of its mouth.
"My brother's pet is disobedient." Lucien's claws pierced the altar curtain. Alyssa rolled over to avoid the blood feeding container, and the blue-black liquid splashed on the Wailing Wall model - the baby's finger bones suddenly came alive, crawling all over her calves and biting out fine blood holes.
The sound of a black iron scepter knocking could be heard from deep in the cellar. Alyssa's birthmark twitched violently, and vine patterns formed an escape route under her skin. When she pressed her mother's silver ring against the crack of the altar, golden thorns suddenly grew from the wolf's eye sockets, wrapped around her ankles and pulled her towards the blood feeding core.
"This is where the contracted bride should be!" Lucien tore open the seventh wolf's chest. Alyssa struggled to see the marks on the inside of the beast's ribs - it was her erased birth date, and the edge was surrounded by the diagram of the silver wolf's forbidden technique for the twins' sacrifice.
As the moonlight was completely swallowed by blood, the altar's groove suddenly turned over. Alyssa fell into the hidden chamber, landing on a pile of faded marriage documents. When she used the eclipse flame to illuminate, the firelight reflected the blood-stained murals on the wall - Lucian was placing a crown of thorns on her head as an infant, and Cain was holding a bloody umbilical cord in the shadows.
There was a roar of chains breaking outside the dark room. Fluorescent blue blood oozed from Alyssa's birthmark, drawing a crooked escape symbol on the ground. When she grabbed her mother's silver ring and smashed open the secret door, the last thing she saw was Lucien pressing the golden heart of the altar wolf corpse to the tattooed crown on his collarbone.