My body, which had been leaning against the door, tumbled to the side due to gravity when the door opened. The movement also dislodged my pup, who finally left my embrace and rolled into a corner. 

Thick layers of dust covered my stiff corpse, making it look like a mummy. 

Ethan frowned heavily at the sight, but he still performed a routine examination of me and my pup’s vitals out of occupational habit. 

The cloying stench of blood hit Toby with such force that he instinctively recoiled, his hand flying to his nose. The oppressive heat had already begun its grim work, accelerating the decay of our corpses. He stood outside the basement, refusing to take another step inside. 

“What the heck is Joyce doing? She’s stunk up the whole basement!” he complained. 

Barney lowered his head, not daring to make a sound, and simply glanced at Ethan from time to time. 

Ethan took off his gloves with a solemn expression on his face. “It’s confirmed that Luna Joyce and her pup are dead, Alpha.” 

Toby’s cursing cut off abruptly, and he stopped pinching his nose. “They’re dead?” 

He walked right up to Ethan and stared steadily at him, but Ethan avoided his gaze and pointed at the already decomposing body. 

“I’ve ascertained that Luna Joyce died from excessive blood loss, Alpha, but the pup will need to be sent to the hospital to determine the cause of death.” 

After saying that, Ethan bent down and wiped the blood off my face with his gloves. 

The paleness of my face and the grayish discoloration of my body formed a tragic contrast, and my arms had stiffened in the way they had been posed while carrying my pup. 

Overall, it painted a creepy yet funny image, and Toby barely glanced at it before bursting into laughter. “When did you and Joyce hook up, Ethan? Don’t you know that seducing the pack Luna is a grave offense?”