-Andrew-‘Corrine? Where are you? What happened to you?’Our bond as mates allowed us to communicate through the mind link at any distance. It was something I had only heard of once and had forgotten about because I thought I would never have a mate.Now I was grateful for this ability.‘My family locked me up.’I could almost hear the tears in her voice, and anger once again overcame me.What kind of family locked up their own daughter?‘Did they hurt you?’‘No, no. I’m fine.’‘I’ll come get you.’I heard the panic in her voice as she said, ‘Don’t! They’ll definitely kill you if you come here!’‘I’m not coming alone, Corrine. And they will never catch me.’There was no answer. ‘Corrine? Are you still there?’‘Please, don’t come, Andrew. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m sure my family will release me soon and send me back to Golden Valley. They’re a good family. They’ve never hurt me.’I imagined her face when I heard her begging me like that. Oh, fuck, I missed her already
-Corrine-Before my mom could shift, I jumped in front of her and spread my arms. “Mom, please!” My tears welled up without me asking, and I knew my mom could never see me cry.Her anger died out and was replaced by compassion. “Oh, Corrine—“ She sobbed. “What kind of abyss have you fallen into?”“Mom, he’s my mate.” My hands fell to my sides and clenched into fists. I wanted to hug her, but I was afraid. Afraid that she would suddenly change her mind and pull me away, separating me once again from Andrew.This was a tough situation, and my heart was torn in two. For my mom and for Andrew.“Please, don’t hurt him.” I was very careful when I said that. My hand reached out, about to rub her arm, but stopped midway before I dropped it to my side again.This was the first time I hesitated to touch my own mother.“Are you sure he’s your mate?” My mom’s face was wet with tears, but she was no longer crying. Her hands wiped away the streams of water on her cheeks. There was no smile there, b
-Corrine-I screamed and jumped back, trying to avoid the sudden attack. But the woman’s movements were so fast. She clawed at my arm, tearing at my clothes and skin.Blood rushed onto the carpet, and I winced at the pain.“How dare a werewolf enter this house?!” the woman bellowed. Then she glared at the maid. “How could you let her in?!”The maid seemed to have expected this situation to happen. She looked surprised but kept her calm demeanor. “She’s Mr. Ashbridge’s guest.”The maid’s reply made the woman’s eyes grow wider. She jerked her gaze to me. “You?” The tone of her voice showed disgust that she made no effort to conceal. “What’s your relationship with Andrew?”“I—““She’s my mate.”All three of us were stunned to hear Andrew’s voice. My heart poured relief into my tense body when I saw him appear in the doorway. He looked at me, then his expression hardened at the blood on my arm.In two wide strides, he came over to me, pushed the woman and the maid out of his way, then tou
-Corrine-My stomach tightened at the challenge Leana threw at Andrew.“He has to fight with one of us! Isn’t that the rule for a lycan who wants to join our alliance?”“My niece’s right,” the man said. “She must fight and prove her worth. Whether she deserves to be in this alliance.”So the man was her uncle. No wonder they supported each other.A second that felt like an hour passed as I waited for Andrew’s answer.“Don’t you understand the meaning of the word ‘mate’?” Andrew growled. “She doesn’t have to prove anything because she’s my lover. It wasn’t her who wanted to join our alliance, but I brought her here.”“But—““Once again you make a fuss about this, I’ll kick you out of the alliance,” Andrew cut in firmly. “Isn’t that the rule? That as the leader, I have the right to do that?”“Ever since you replaced your father’s position, I’ve always supported you. But this is what you’re giving me in return?”I could feel the depth of Leana’s feelings for Andrew in the sentence she ha
-Corrine-“Give us a minute.”Andrew stepped back and pulled me with him, then he slammed the door right in Bent’s face. After that, he put his hands on his waist, sucked his lips, closed his eyes, looked away, and then took a deep breath.Without anyone needing to tell me, I knew he was upset. Very, very upset.“What—for fuck’s sake—are you thinking?” he asked in a trembling voice, with the emotions that must have been stirring in his heart. “Do you know who Leana is?”I knew he didn’t mean to look down on me or compare me to Leana to make me feel inferior. But hell, I didn’t like the way he asked me.I folded my arms across my chest. “Do you know who I am?”“Are you a warrior in your pack?” He puffed out his chest and leaned closer, challenging me with his gestures and piercing gaze. “Are you highly trained in combat? Do you, as a werewolf, fight often?”For a moment, I flinched. All the answers to Andrew’s questions were no, I wasn’t a warrior, and I didn’t fight often or highly tr
-Corrine-All eyes were on me as I entered the fighting arena with Andrew.The fighting arena was similar to the gym at my high school in Wesgrove, with a high, curved roof and a large room without partitions. Only here there were no stacks of mats and basketball hoops, but an arena bordered by ropes, similar to a boxing ring.In the center of the arena, I see Leana. She was stretching when I arrived and she stopped to look at me.The murmurs of the alliance members built up around me. Their gazes momentarily made my knees wobble and I could feel their aura as lycans, which I admit was stronger than the aura of the werewolves.My hands clenched and opened, a sign that I was feeling nervous. But I tried to push those feelings aside and instead recalled everything about Leana that Andrew had told me.Besides the fact that Leana was one of the alliance’s top fighters, there was a lot of other information I had received from Andrew. The most useful fact was that Leana was very weak in pro
-Corrine-I woke up to a groan and a jolt of pain.It took me a few seconds to realize that the groan was coming from my lips.My eyes slowly opened and the first thing I saw was Andrew. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on me.“Where am I?”“My room.”He helped me sit and let me catch my breath, feeling the presence of all my limbs.“I thought I was dead,” I muttered as I raised my hand and examined my fingers. I winced as I moved my shoulder and then I glanced at it. That’s when I realized I wasn’t wearing any clothes. I could see a pretty wide scar there.“Leana hurt you pretty bad,” Andrew murmured, following the direction of my gaze. “I thought it would never heal.” He reached out and grasped my hand. “I thought you would never wake up again.”He lifted my hand and brought it to his lips, then kissed it as he closed his eyes.I felt that what he was doing was overly dramatic, but I didn’t understand why he was acting like that. “I’m not dead,” I grumbled. “Sto
-Corrine-As soon as I heard my parents being dragged into this conversation, I sat up. “What?!”Andrew, sleeping next to me, was startled, and he woke up with a wide-eyed look. “What’s wrong, baby?”I ignored him and continued talking to Eva. “What else did he say?”“Um—he said that you should read the letter and contact him as soon as possible.” Eva cleared her throat. “Is everything okay? Are your parents in danger?”I wanted to say that my parents were fine, but I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t impossible for Jerome to do something to them, and Trevor couldn’t do anything if none of the pack members defended him either.The news about me running off with a lycan must have spread within the pack and I was sure they all hated me now instead of sympathizing with me because I had found my mate.“I don’t know,” I said then, trying to be at least one bit honest with Eva. “I’ll come to pick up the letter. When do you finish classes?”After Eva gave me her schedule for today, we ended the convers
-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