-Corrine-His sudden presence paralyzed all my senses. I could only stand there at the doorway, my breath caught.“You?” My voice felt strange as if it didn’t come from me. “What are you doing here?”It was just a casual question to conceal the jumble of emotions in my heart. It felt like someone had just burst a balloon and poured a bucket of icy water over my head. I was paralyzed but felt relieved. My anger towards Jerome was extinguished as easily as a candle blown by the cool night wind. The night wind in the form of Andrew.“Are you crying?” He repeated his question, ignoring mine. The tension in his jaw and the sharpness in his eyes showed that the question had only one purpose: that he cared about what happened to me.Or maybe I hoped so.One second, that’s all I had to decide whether to lie or tell the truth.“Yes.”“Who made you cry? Your ex?”He gave me the idea to lie. Although I had been honest with my first answer, I didn’t want to explain about Jerome and his obsession
-Corrine-My knees trembled, and my legs felt weak. My strength vanished, and my entire body couldn’t move as the Lycan stared at me. My stomach churned as I saw Rodd’s lifeless body on the ground. Blood spattered around.He was dead.I thought Jerome’s warning was just a bluff, but he was right. The Lycan was roaming here, and he killed Rodd. He killed a member of our pack.That meant he’d kill me, too.The Lycan held something in his hand. Rodd’s heart.My stomach twisted.The Lycan growled, and his growl snapped me back to reality. I turned around and ran with all my might. I wasn’t sure if I could escape because the Lycan was undoubtedly faster than me, but I wouldn’t let myself die without a fight.I almost stumbled when I turned out of the community house complex. My breath was heavy, and my lungs were on the verge of exploding. Exhaustion and fear blended into one. My head started spinning, and my vision blurred. My mouth moved, whispering words of help without daring to shout
- Corrine -It was Kasey.She was with her new friends, giggling as Kasey pushed my face deeper into the floor. I tried to break free from her, but she grabbed my hair instead, lifted me, and threw me against the door of the toilet cubicle.I braced for the impact with my hands, but it was too late. My face hit the door, and I felt an excruciating pain in my nose and lips.I wiped my nose and found my hands adorned with blood.“Does Trevor know you come to places like this?” Kasey’s voice, one I knew all too well, mixed with a buzzing sound in my ears.I turned around and found her standing not far from me. Her friends leaned against the wall, two sitting on the sink counter. They observed us as if we were putting on an interesting show.“What do you want, Kasey?” My voice was nasal due to my cracked nose. It took a few minutes for my healing abilities to kick in, and I had to get Kasey out of my face before she noticed something odd about me.“Nothing.” Her long earrings swayed as sh
-Corrine-With my chin lifted and back straight, I stepped out of the bathroom. My eyes couldn’t stop searching for Andrew’s presence, but my determination forced me to think about something else—anything to divert my attention from him.I followed Eva to the bar and ordered a bottle of beer. “It’s on the house!” the bartender exclaimed, winking at me. I responded with a half-smile, and as I shifted my gaze to Eva, she grinned.“See? You can catch any guy’s attention,” she teased.We took sips from our respective bottles, and I felt relieved that there was no dreadful headache attacking me like when I drank at Mythic Manor. That place was not for me. Neither was Andrew.Damn. I thought about him again.The hum of the microphone drew my attention to the stage, and I saw someone standing there. Everyone cheered, waving at him.“Who’s he?” I asked Eva.Eva was sipping her beer and took a moment to swallow before answering my question. “Oh, him? He’s the owner of this place. He often orga
-Corrine-He lifted me, his lips still attached to mine.I heard the club owner shout dirty remarks about our kiss that made the audience laugh, but both Andrew and I no longer cared about anything.He carried me backstage, or it seemed like it, and withdrew only to catch his breath.We were immersed in something more than just a kiss. I didn’t know what this was, but it was completely different from any intimacy I had ever experienced before.The thumping music echoed again, its sound muffled by the walls of the corridor trapping us. Andrew leaned my back against the wall. My legs circled his waist as if my life depended on him.His figure looked dark and dangerous under the dim purple neon lights. He smirked as he broke the kiss and stared at me, leaving me breathless.“Is that long enough?” he asked in a voice that sent shivers through my stomach.Without needing to look in the mirror, I knew my lips were swollen, and my face was flushed. My eyes couldn’t look away from him, and I
-Corrine-After uttering those dreadful words, they discussed some other things that I didn’t understand. However, I could deduce that these people were not part of Andrew’s pack, if he had one. They were on equal footing. Several times, mentions of Lycans came up, and it reminded me of my encounter with a Lycan. How its hand pierced Rodd’s chest and pulled his heart.My knees instantly weakened, and my hands trembled as I re-buttoned my blouse.“Corrine?”I jolted and held my breath. My fear-filled mind made me unaware of Andrew’s presence.“You okay? What happened?”He walked closer and extended his hand, but I pushed it away.A glimpse of his eyes showed he knew what was going on. He knew I eavesdropped on their conversation, hearing things I shouldn’t have heard.My heart pounded. Was he going to kill me?“We should go back,” I said, trying to sound composed. “Eva must be looking for me.”“She will understand.”“But today is her birthday. I can’t just leave her.” Then I patted the
-Corrine-My heart raced faster. Initially, I thought it was because I was afraid of Andrew or the answer he might give, but then something within me surged, and I realized something was wrong. Then I heard a voice in my head. Soft growls and purrs. My wolf.My eyes widened, remembering that my birthday was approaching. My wolf could emerge at any time now. There were cases where human-wolf shifters appeared a few days before their birthday.I had to call Trevor. And when he came, he must not see me with Andrew.“I have to go,” I said, no longer caring about Andrew’s response.Andrew frowned and grabbed my hand as I tried to walk away. “I’ll take you back.”I jerked my hand, asking him to let go. “No. I can go back on my own.”Before he could hold me again, I ran as fast as I could. I felt relieved and a bit sad when he didn’t chase after me.*The next day, I woke up with a slight headache and an aching body. Last night, I called Trevor, and he asked me to update him every five minut
-Corrine-I waited for the right opportunity to go to the library because I didn’t want Eva to follow me and find out that I was investigating her family. Maybe I could ask her directly, but I felt she knew no more about her father and stepbrother than I did, except for the fact that they were super wealthy.I zipped up my jacket to the neck and slid my hands into the jacket pockets to ward off the cold air. My breath steamed in front of my face. How quickly time passed, and so far, my college life had been fine, except for my encounters with the Lycan.Thinking about Lycan made me glance around. Many students were still passing by on this cold evening. But the sun was about to set, and this hustle and bustle would gradually disappear. I needed to go back soon before I got trapped in darkness and silence like that time. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I ran into the Lycan again. I doubted he would let me escape once more.But... what if... what if the Lycan turned out to be—“Ouch.
-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