Chapter 2

I thought it would take a while for him to reply, but the man called immediately.

"Elara, are you playing games with me?"

"I've been pursuing you for as long as you've had feelings for Kaelen. Your heart is as hard as diamond. Why are you suddenly changing your mind?"

Damien Blackwood was my former mentor and the Alpha King of the Northern Territory.

He had been pursuing me for seven years. Actually, I had almost chosen him once.

But on the night I was about to make that decision, Kaelen gave me hope.

So I gave Damien up.

Faced with Damien's questioning, I lowered my head in shame. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it through. Just pretend you never saw what I said."

Instantly, there was a commotion on his end. The man seemed furious.

"Elara, what do you take me for? Someone you can call when you need and dismiss when you don't? Since you've chosen me this time, don't even think about running away."

"I'm giving you one month to deal with that waste Kaelen. After one month, I'll come and take you myself!"

With that, Damien hung up without giving me a chance to refuse.

I smiled slightly. He was still the same as before.

That night, Kaelen didn't come home.

It wasn't until I was packing during the day that Kaelen returned.

"What are you throwing away?"

My body stiffened. I hid the panic in my eyes and said calmly:

"Just throwing away some unwanted trash."

Kaelen walked over and saw that the box was filled with gifts and clothes he had given me over the years.

"You call these things trash?"

"These items are many years old. They just take up space at home, so I'm donating them to the pack's omega fund in your name."

"This way, it can also earn you some good reputation."

Kaelen, who had been somewhat angry, looked slightly better after hearing this explanation.

The man's lips curved slightly. "I can trust you to handle things properly."

Seeing that Kaelen believed me, I breathed a small sigh of relief, though I felt somewhat mocking.

It wasn't that Kaelen trusted me, but that he didn't want to waste extra time on me.

Suddenly, there was a sound of something breaking behind me.

I turned around sharply and met Seraphina's eyes.

Seraphina was the same as always, with a sweet smile that easily made people lower their guard.

"Alpha Kaelen, Sister, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Kaelen couldn't care less about the broken item. He nervously stepped forward to check if Seraphina was hurt.

Only after seeing she was uninjured did he relax. "It's fine. Nothing is more important than you."

But Seraphina still wasn't satisfied. She stared at me and tilted her head. "Sister, you don't mind, do you?"

My gaze fell on the broken sculpture on the floor.

This was something Kaelen and I had made during a trip together - our only sculpture featuring both of us.

Now it was destroyed by Seraphina.

I knew she had done it on purpose. It was a declaration of war.

If it had been the old me, I would definitely have been angry and said something.

Now, I only said generously: "It doesn't matter."

A flash of surprise crossed Seraphina's face, then she smiled sweetly. "Sister is so generous."

"Alpha Kaelen, since Sister is so generous, she'll definitely agree to my next request."

Kaelen spoke in a tone that brooked no argument:

"Seraphina just returned to the pack, and her parents aren't at the pack house either. She'd be scared staying at the Vance house alone, so let her stay here for now."

"Seraphina has been afraid of the cold since childhood. Your room faces the sun, so let her have it."