-Corrine-Did I hear it wrong?Mrs. Ashbridge caught the expression drawn on my face. Then she sighed. “I knew it. Andrew didn’t tell you anything?”Slowly, I shook my head.“He’s just like his father. Likes to keep his problems to himself.” Mrs. Ashbridge folded her arms across her chest and moved her head toward her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s talk somewhere more comfortable.”*The clink of spoons against cups filled the silence of the night. A dim chandelier was lit above the dining table, where I sat. Mrs. Ashbridge was making tea while I stared blankly at the swimming pool through the large glass doors in front of me.This house was not only large but also beautiful. There was a feminine touch I couldn’t find in Andrew’s mansion. It also gave me a kind of warm tranquility.“Here you go.”Mrs. Ashbridge thrust a cup of tea in front of me, then she took a seat on the other side of the table. We both looked at the pool and the moon hanging high in the sky, perfectly round in the sil
- Corrine -"You didn't greet your mother first?" Rebecca interrupted.I automatically pushed Andrew away, feeling guilty towards Rebecca."Hi, Mom," Andrew greeted her, but his gaze remained fixed on me."How did you know I was here?""I tracked the car." He tousled my hair. "Why did you leave without telling me anything? Is there something wrong? I thought you were going back home and—"There was the sound of a chair sliding, and I peeked past Andrew, finding Rebecca standing up. "Seems like you two need privacy," she said with a smile. "I'll go back to my room.""Yeah, get some rest," Andrew replied.I lightly hit his arm and gave him a look that roughly meant, 'Be nice to your mother'.Andrew then glanced over his shoulder. "Good night, Mom."Rebecca approached Andrew and rubbed his back. "It's good to see you." Then she looked towards me. "Good night, Corrine. Thank you for keeping me company in the conversation.""Anytime, Rebecca," I replied. "Thanks for the tea."After that, s
-Corrine-Immediately after I posed that question, I regretted it.I shouldn’t have cared about Leana and her spiteful mouth. I should have kept that one thing a secret, or better yet, treated it as a lie and then forgotten about it.My hands were clenched in my lap. Fear gripped me.Time stretched long between my question and Andrew’s answer.“Know that I love you,” he said. His gaze was sorrowful. “I know we’ve just met. There’s not much you know about me, but I love you, Corrine.”“So—“ I swallowed hard. “—is it true?”The world seemed to turn upside down as Andrew said, “Yes.”I couldn’t contain my shock. My body trembled, and my chest tightened. “No—“Before I could move or do anything I might regret later, Andrew held me in place. He grasped both of my hands, placing them on my lap. His eyes locked onto mine.“Corrine, please, listen to me.”“I can’t—““I don’t want to blame you, but you asked for honesty from me... and I’m giving it to you. Now please listen to my explanation,
-Corrine-If only Andrew wasn’t my mate, I would accuse him of lying right away and drive him away from me. But I was sure he was not lying, and my conviction made the pain in my chest now even more suffocating.My pack did such a despicable thing just for wealth. There was nothing more disgusting than that, and the worst part was, without realizing it, I became part of that cruelty. Although I didn’t know about this beforehand, I was a part of the pack, which indirectly made me the same as them.It seemed my current condition was weakening my mental defenses, and Andrew could hear everything inside my mind. He touched my hand, releasing my embrace, and then stood up. “It is not your fault, Corrine. You have nothing to do with this.” Now it was his turn to try to calm me down. He pulled me into his embrace and gently stroked my head before leaning it against his chest.“Have you finished avenging them now that you’ve killed them?” I asked, softly. I waited for a few moments before dec
-Corrine-Trevor’s words hurt more than any silver weapon ever could. I stopped in my tracks as he closed his mouth, shifting the hatred from his words to his eyes. I couldn’t believe he could hate me this deeply… as deeply as he once loved me as his sister.“Trevor…” I reached out, intending to touch him. But fear of rejection haunted me, and I pulled back. “I hope you didn’t mean what you just said,” I finally said.Trevor said nothing and turned to leave. I waited until he got into his car, hoping he would look back at me once more, so I could be sure that some affection for me remained in him.But until his car drove out of the parking lot, he didn’t look at me once.I never expected to pay such a high price just to be with my mate.*If I thought my encounter with Trevor was the worst thing to happen to me today, I was terribly wrong.When I finally returned to Andrew’s mansion, the first person I saw was Leana. She seemed fully recovered, standing there arrogantly, staring at
-Corrine-The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard my mother’s scream was to shift and run towards Wesgrove. My hand gripped my phone so tightly that my knuckles turned red and hot. My mind went blank. This was all my fault. Now I had to go and save my mother or—The phone rang again, pulling me out of the dark thoughts that had momentarily misled me. Andrew’s name appeared on the screen.“Andrew.” My voice cracked when I said his name. “Andrew, my mom—”“I know. Eva told me. That’s why I called you.”“I have to go back to Wesgrove and—”“Don’t.”“But, my mom—”“Corrine, listen to me,” Andrew called my name, but I kept talking. He then called my name several times again. He sounded firm yet calm, and I found myself swayed by the mood he created. “Breathe, baby. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”I did as he instructed. I closed my eyes and focused on each breath I took. “Now, will you listen to me?” he asked after we were silent for a few moments.“Yes.”“Good.” I hear
-Trevor-I recognized madness when I saw it. And now I saw it in my mother’s eyes.“Mom?” Hesitantly, I called her.And when she turned her head towards me, and a smile crept onto her lips, I knew she was planning something… and it was not a good one.It was Jerome who answered my question.“Your mother came to me with a great plan,” he said. He glanced at my dad’s hand on his shoulder, and reluctantly, my father retreated.“What plan?” My dad asked, and then he shifted his gaze to my mom. “What plan, Miriam?”Dad only called Mom by her first name when he was demanding an explanation or when they were in a serious conversation. And I never liked hearing it because it always meant something bad.Mom’s earlier courage seemed to dissipate the moment she made eye contact with Dad.Her voice trembled slightly, and she repeatedly looked away as she said, “I want our daughter back.”Blood rushed to Dad’s face, making it flush with anger. “She chose to leave us for that worthless boy, and you
-Andrew-I didn’t wait for them to attack me first. As soon as my transformation was complete, I jumped up and pounced on the werewolf that was closest to me.I sank my sharp teeth into his neck and tore it apart.Blood gushed out, soaking my mouth and face.Instantly, the werewolf collapsed.I wasn’t sure if he would die right away, but at least I have one less opponent.“Kill him!” I heard Jerome exclaim before he shifted and, along with the other werewolves, attacked me.I didn’t know how they knew this secret passage after all the years I’d passed through it without a problem.Maybe they deliberately made me think that this was a safe, secret route.I couldn’t possibly fight them all at once, but I could still immobilize them and then escaped from here.Too bad I couldn’t fulfill my promise to Corrine.My hands and feet moved swiftly, ripping and punching, kicking and dodging.These werewolves were good at fighting, but they couldn’t be as flexible as lycans because they had to mo
-Corrine-Was that—?I narrowed my eyes as I walked closer.“Andrew?”Andrew smiled at me and extended his hand.“Corrine.”His voice sounded different—softer than usual, unlike his usual self. He reached out, silently urging me to come closer.It was difficult to step into the battle arena while wearing a dress and holding a bouquet of roses. When I finally managed to stand before Andrew, I realized he was dressed in a black suit with a matching black shirt.“Did you just come from a funeral?” I asked, frowning.Andrew laughed. “Do I look that miserable? Would you prefer me to wear nothing at all?”My face heated instantly. “What is this? You scared me.”Andrew reached for my free hand, intertwining his pinky finger with mine.“I love you, Corrine,” he said.I blinked, feeling both flustered and confused. “Yeah… I know.” I had no idea what to say. My response made him chuckle.“I love your confidence and your determination, how you never give up, no matter how many obstacles stand in
-Corrine-After talking with my family and Andrew, and after much contemplation, I decided to take a break from college. Everything that had happened left me falling behind, and I couldn’t catch up—not right now.There wasn’t much I did during my time off. I studied to make up for what I had missed and reviewed my lessons. Other than that, I spent my time training with Leana. Day by day, my fighting skills improved—but so did Leana’s. So I wasn’t sure when I would actually surpass her. Maybe someday.Everything was normal—almost boring, even—until one morning when I woke up and found that Andrew was no longer beside me.I reached out across the bed and opened my eyes to an unusual emptiness. Normally, Andrew never left before I woke up. He would always hold me and say good morning.But this time, he wasn’t there.“Andrew?” I turned toward the window, then sat up and scanned the room.The bathroom door was open, and there was no sound from inside—which meant Andrew wasn’t there.Did so
-Andrew-I stood in front of Rebecca’s door, a bouquet in my hand. I didn’t know what kind of flowers she liked, so I bought her pink roses.Come to think of it, I knew nothing about my stepmother. We never really talked after my father passed away.“Andrew?”I was just about to knock when Rebecca opened the door. We were both surprised, but she looked more shocked than I was.“Hey.” I gave a small smile and handed her the flowers.“For me?” Rebecca looked confused as she took them.I nodded, then observed her appearance. “Are you going somewhere?”“Yes—” She glanced down at her outfit. “Yes!” she answered again, a little louder. “I’m meeting a friend.” Then she looked past me, toward the driveway, as if expecting someone to arrive.“So… what brings you here?” Rebecca threw an awkward smile. Even though she tried to hide it, I could tell she was uneasy—like my visit was the last thing she wanted.“I want to talk to you.”“About what?”“Father.”Rebecca fell silent. “Andrew,” she began
-Corrine-Trevor had told me everything about his conversation with Eva at Mythic Manor a couple of nights ago. I understood why he made that decision. Eva would be the one most hurt if they stayed together and then, one day, Trevor met his mate.Even though I hated seeing Eva sad, this was the best thing for her.“So, do you plan on looking for your mate?” I asked as we drove to Moon Dust for a dinner invitation from our parents. It was a shame Andrew couldn’t join us—he had some family business to take care of.“Not for now.” Trevor shrugged. “I’m enjoying my time alone.” Then he glanced at me. “And I want to spend more time with you, you know. After everything that happened, we barely hang out anymore.”“Yeah.” I nodded in agreement. “You also promised to train me so I could beat Leana.”“Hey, I never promised that,” he argued, “beating Leana, I mean.”“You, too?”“What?”“Because Andrew said the same thing when I asked him to train me to defeat Leana.”“She’s an incredible fighter
-Trevor-I thought I would be able to breathe for a moment and ignore this whole love triangle problem. But these two girls gave me no choice but to keep thinking about it.Honestly, I wasn’t really interested when Corrine invited the four of us to spend the night out somewhere. But since I was a good big brother and wanted to see my sister happy, I agreed.I deliberately took the wheel to avoid Eva and Leana, but the Moon Goddess knew I couldn’t avoid them forever.As soon as we got out of the car and walked toward the race area, Eva and Leana immediately trapped me between them. Corrine often said I was dense, so I tried to break the awkwardness with a joke—but not a single one of them laughed.It seemed I had made the wrong move.“Look at them, flirting and all,” Leana grumbled as she watched Corrine and Andrew walking ahead of us. “Life must be so great when you’ve already found your mate.”“I heard you used to like Andrew?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I even had t
-Corrine-This was also an issue I had been thinking about since yesterday. With the attack and kidnapping incident, the battle to determine the next Alpha had been postponed. I had already expected that Dad would bring this up sooner or later.I hadn’t discussed this with Andrew yet, but I had already made up my mind.“I’m not going through with it,” I said. With both hands tucked into my pants pockets, I looked at Dad, Mom, and Trevor. “Let the pack know that I’m stepping down, and they can fight among themselves to determine the next Alpha.”Andrew placed a hand on my shoulder, making me turn to him. “Are you sure?” His voice was gentle, without any concern or disapproval. He truly just wanted to know if I was certain about my decision.I smiled at him and nodded. “Yes.” Then, I turned back to my family. “After everything that’s happened, I just want to live a peaceful life. At least until I graduate from college—” I briefly glanced at the campus building. “—and if you’ll have me,
-Corrine-When I said that almost all of my problems were solved, this was the one that remained unresolved. I didn’t know why my mother suddenly wanted to meet me and Andrew after everything she had said and done to us, but I hoped this was a good sign.For everyone’s safety and comfort, we didn’t meet at Moon Dust or Andrew’s mansion, but instead in Golden Valley.Andrew and I arrived first and headed straight to Houghton Commons. We chose a quiet spot outside, near a large shady tree. The weather was quite windy today, so most people preferred to sit indoors.I pulled my jacket tighter around me and waited, occasionally glancing toward the entrance.“You seem nervous,” Andrew said. I turned to him and frowned, trying to see his eyes behind the sunglasses he was wearing.“Are you not?”“Why should I be? She’s your mother, not mine.”“Right. But she’s going to talk to us, not just me. You still remember how much she hated you—so much that she even worked with Jerome to—”The distant
-Corrine-The next morning, when I opened the window and looked at the clear blue sky, I still couldn’t believe that it was all over.All of my problems were solved—well, most of them—but the danger had passed, and I could finally live in peace.I stretched out my hands and inhaled the fresh scent of the trees, closing my eyes and letting my body soak in the warm sunlight.I smiled, and my smile turned into a wide grin when I felt Andrew behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the crook of my neck.“Morning,” he whispered in my ear before giving it a soft bite.I rested my head against him. “Morning.” My voice was hoarse. I closed my eyes and took in the scent of his shampoo lingering in his messy hair. “Did you finish your business yesterday?”Last night, after dropping me off at the mansion, Andrew had left to return to the forest. He wanted to make sure everything was truly settled, including mobilizing the lycans to search for Gary’s body. Andrew wanted to see wit
-Corrine-Something held my foot. My body jerked, suddenly stopping mid-fall before swinging in the air.“Corrine! Hang on!”I tried to look up and saw Andrew. As much as I was relieved that he had found me, we were still in danger.Andrew’s hand gripped my ankle tightly. He was using all his strength to pull me up. There was nothing I could do except stay still and let him try to save me.Relief washed over me like cold water, bringing down my adrenaline as Andrew successfully pulled me to safety. He immediately hugged me, repeatedly calling my name.“I’m sorry, Corrine. I’m sorry, baby, I’m late.” His face was buried in my hair, and his lips pressed kisses against my ear and cheek.With trembling hands, I cupped his face and looked into his eyes. “You’re not late.” I smiled weakly. “You saved me.”We stared at each other in silence for a few moments before both of us burst into laughter. Laughter that born from the lingering fear of facing death and the joy of having survived it.“I