Chapter 2

As the bonfire blazed in the center of the square, men and women of the pack dressed in colorful garments danced and laughed around the fire. Their joyous voices echoed into the night.

I'd thought I wouldn't see Harken again before the warrior match began, but on this lively night, he walked toward me with Ravyn alongside him.

His steps were unhurried, and a faint smile hung on his lips as if he had the entire world under his control.

I glanced at him once before looking away. I would no longer rush to his side the moment I saw him like before.

I was in a different state of mind right now. After experiencing death and rebirth, the burning passion I once had for him had long since faded.

Harken stopped in front of me. The corners of his lips curled in a mocking sneer as he said, "What's this? Are you finally behaving yourself because you're afraid I'll abandon you?"

He paused and continued, "Keep it up. As long as you behave, do not cling to me, and do not interfere with my affairs, I'll marry you. As for when, that depends on my mood and your performance."

His gaze was full of arrogance as if he was declaring his absolute authority over me.

While he spoke, I remained silent and listened without giving him any response as if he were air. He didn't affect me in the slightest as I continued tending to the sizzling meat on the grill alongside my friends.

My friends were visibly enraged by his disrespect. Their faces flushed with anger as they braced themselves to stand up and defend me.

I quickly touched their arms and shook my head slightly, signaling them not to act rashly.

The way I endured Harken's arrogance seemed to make him more pleased with himself. The smile on his face widened as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace.

The necklace shimmered brilliantly under the glow of the bonfire. The blue gemstone dangling as the pendant was carved to perfection, and its facets shimmered with an enchanting priceless display.

With a tone of superiority as if bestowing a favor, he said, "Today is your Awakening Ceremony, and I missed it because I was out hunting with my friends. This…"

Halfway through his words, Ravyn snatched the necklace from his hand.

Her eyes widened with excitement and delight as she stared at it and marveled. "This necklace is so beautiful! Is it from the prestigious Mistral family of jewelers?"

She held it up to her eyes and studied it closely with admiration and longing in her gaze.

Harken looked at her, and his expression softened. "You have excellent taste, Ravyn. This is indeed a custom design by Finnian Mistral, the Mistrals' renowned jewelry designer. Do you like it?"

Ravyn nodded firmly as her eyes sparkled. Then as if realizing something, she shot me an embarrassed glance and slowly returned the necklace to Harken.

"I like it, but this is supposed to be Ms. Fangar's awakening gift. I shouldn't take it."

Her eyes gradually dimmed with sadness as she whispered, "During my Awakening Ceremony, there was no dinner party or celebration, and no one gave me gifts. I'm jealous that you get so many gifts, Ms. Fangar."

Harken's expression filled with heartache at her pitiful act. Without hesitation, he pulled her gently into his arms and carefully fastened the necklace around her neck—the necklace that was meant to be my gift.

"If you like it, it's yours."

Ravyn looked up with delight. Then, she stole another glance at me in fear and stammered, "B-But this was meant for Ms. Fangar. If you give it to me, what about her?"

Harken shot me a disdainful glance as if I were an insignificant afterthought. "She's had enough. Plus, she'll love anything I give her. Right, Cyra?"

This scene had played out in my past life as well.

Back then, I was hopelessly smitten with Harken, and when he gave Ravyn my gift, I refused to accept it. Without thinking, I reached out to snatch the necklace back, and my friends backed me up after seeing how I reacted.

Amidst the chaos, one of my friends accidentally pushed Ravyn into the fire and left her badly burned. I lost all standing in Harken's eyes from that moment onward.

Like a cruel tyrant, he ordered me to gather all the herbs needed to treat burns and apply medicine to Ravyn every day.

After Father died, he turned more ruthless. He locked me in a scorching chamber where the temperature reached 150 degrees Fahrenheit and forced me to repent a hundred times each day.

In the end, he even stripped my skin to treat Ravyn's scars.

But this time, I wouldn't fight for it. I'd like to see what he'd do without that excuse to guilt-trip me.

Harken wrapped Ravyn protectively in his arms and expected me to make a scene like in my past life, but I continued chatting with my friends about gossip in the pack and remained unfazed as if he and Ravyn had nothing to do with me at all.

I wasn't in the slightest bothered by the two.

Seeing my reaction, he shouted my name through gritted teeth. "Cyra!"

I calmly looked up and met his gaze.

"I'm giving this necklace to Ravyn. Aren't you mad?" He curiously asked as if he couldn't understand my reaction.

"Why would I be? I have plenty of necklaces like this, and it's nothing special to me. If Ravyn likes it, she can have it."

I used to fight for it because I cared, but now that I didn't, the necklace was just an empty trinket to me.

"You're mad?" He pressed and refused to believe my words.

"I'm not," I curtly replied.

"You are," he said with certainty. "You're such a jealous woman, Cyra. I could never accept a wife like that." As he spoke, he shook his head with a contemptful expression.

Harken looked around and bent down to pick up a small pale stone. Then, he tossed it at my feet and jeered. "Here, take this. This is my gift to you. Be sure to treasure it."

The onlookers covered their mouths and snickered at the sight. Their laughter stung like needles against my heart.

I looked down at the stone and then at Harken's mocking expression. For the first time, my Grade S combat instincts were truly activated.

I felt my blood roar and my muscles tense. An urge to tear this ungrateful man to shreds overwhelmed me.

Sensing the shift in my demeanor, Harken smirked triumphantly.

He turned to the others and pointed at me. "See? I told you Cyra is madly in love with me. I gave her a mere rock, and her eyes are now red with delight. If I'd actually given her the necklace, she might've transformed on the spot."

His taunts fueled more laughter from the crowd, but strangely, their jeers calmed me down.

I lifted a cup of liquor and chugged it down in one gulp. The burning liquid seared my throat and burned my stomach, but it also suppressed my volcanic battle instincts.

Then, I bent over to pick up a stone and weighed it in my hand. Step by step, I walked toward Harken.

Seeing me approach, he nervously pulled Ravyn into his arms and warily asked, "What are you doing? You better not try to push Ravyn into the fire again."

I arched an eyebrow and could pretty much confirm he'd been reborn as well. In that case, I could take my revenge without any guilt.

"I won't push her," I said coldly. I'd never pushed her in my past life either.

But since my friends had accidentally done it to defend me, I couldn't just give them away.

"Then why would you…" Harken opened his mouth to speak.

But before he could say another word, I shoved the stone from the ground forcefully into his mouth under the shocked gasps of the crowd.

I'd just awakened my Grade S combat power, and that meant I had tireless strength. I shoved so hard that more than half of the stone went in.

"I don't like your gift. Take it back." I dusted my soiled hands and turned away to leave.

Harken was stunned, not expecting me to treat him so harshly.

He decided to teach me a lesson during the warrior selection trial the next day.

A day later，one minute before the match was about to begin, Harken arrived at a leisurely pace.

Beside him was the delicate and frail Ravyn, who leaned weakly against his shoulder as if she were a spineless invertebrate.

Harken stood below the stage and shot me a look of pure resentment.

I gave the two of them a calm glance before lowering my head to speak a few words to the guard next to me.

The guard took two steps forward, and the crowd's expressions immediately showed eager anticipation.

"Look! Cyra is about to lose her temper. What method will she use this time to win Harken back? Is it a sharp sword or gold coins?"