Chapter 1

Father said I burned my brain when I was little, so I don't understand many things.

But I know I was mated to a wonderful Alpha.

He always complained that I was stupid, but he loved pinching my cheeks and saying I was so silly it made people want to protect me.

Later he went off to fight the rogue wolves, promising to return by autumn.

But I waited and waited. I waited until all the leaves fell, only to have my mate's cousin bring back his cold identification tags.

Every day I ran to the memorial stone on the back mountain to talk with him, bringing him freshly picked wild berries.

Until that day, when I accidentally overheard by the window—

"There are plenty of ways to repay a debt. Why did I have to mate with a fool!... She clings to me all day long. I've been annoyed for ages."

"This arrangement is much better. I'll take care of my brother's mate for him, and you help look after that fool. Everyone wins."

That's when I realized he had come back long ago.

If he truly found me annoying, he could have just told me directly.

Why did he have to fake his death and deceive me?

The next day, Father came again to ask if I wanted to find a new mate.

I nodded gently, pulled off the white mourning flower I'd worn for a year, and threw it into the stove.

————————————————————————————————————————————

I was washing freshly picked wild berries by the stream. The bright red berries rolled around in my basket.

"Silly Thea, your mate died over a year ago. Why are you still wearing that white flower?"

Aunt Margaret stopped her washing and glanced at me sideways.

"How would she remember the date? Her brain got burned," Elder Ruth said as she passed by with her basket, sneering. "A cursed fool who brings misfortune to her mate..."

The two of them burst into laughter.

I angrily grabbed a wild berry and threw it at them. "I do know the date!"

After Connor left, I went to sit by his memorial stone on the back mountain every day.

Each time I went, I would place a blade of grass there.

Of course I knew the date!

Suddenly my basket tilted, and all the wild berries rolled into the stream with a splash.

I frantically tried to catch them, soaking my sleeves completely. The cold water made me shiver.

Their laughter grew even louder.

"Here." Helena, who ran a small food stand, crouched down and helped me retrieve the floating berries one by one. "Don't mind them."

Her eyes were red—either she had just been crying or was about to cry.

Ever since her mate passed away in battle, her eyes always seemed to be red like this.

I smiled at Helena, and she sighed.

"Silly girl, you lost your mate at such a young age. How can you still smile?"

I tilted my head and thought about it.

Lost my mate?

I think I heard people mention those words on the day of Connor's memorial ceremony too.

They said Helena and I were the same—we had both lost our mates and would never see them again.

I was sad about this for a long time.

But later I discovered that I could go to the back mountain every day to chat with Connor, telling him about all the interesting things happening in the pack, one by one.

Before, when he was around, he always complained that I talked too much. Now he could quietly listen to everything I had to say.

This was actually quite nice.

"Thea's back?" When I returned home, Eleanor was drying bedding in the courtyard. She waved at me with a smile when she saw me enter. "Caleb brought some honey dates from town. I saved half a package for you."

My eyes lit up. Honey dates!

Connor used to buy them for me often.

Eleanor knew I loved them and always saved the biggest and sweetest ones for me.

"Eat slowly, don't choke." Eleanor watched me with a smile. "Tomorrow let's go to the market and get you some new fabric to make clothes. You've been wearing mourning clothes for over a year now..."

She suddenly stopped talking, as if remembering something. Her eyes grew slightly red, and she turned and went into the house.

I happily finished half the package of honey dates in the courtyard. Just as I was about to go inside and thank Caleb, I suddenly heard hushed voices from inside the house.

"Connor, Thea is your properly mated partner after all..."

Connor?

Why was Eleanor calling Caleb "Connor"?

Caleb's name was clearly Caleb!

I tiptoed closer to the window.

"Mother, keep your voice down." It was Caleb's voice. "Don't let that little fool hear us."

Little fool...

Connor used to love calling me that...

My fingertip suddenly stung—I had accidentally pressed it against a wooden splinter.

"It's been over a year, and she still runs to your memorial stone every day... This can't go on forever." Eleanor lowered her voice.

"If she wants to go, let her go. Why do you care?"

"But... if it weren't for her saving you back then..."

"There are plenty of ways to repay a debt. Why did I have to mate with a fool!"

That voice suddenly rose, then quickly dropped again. "She clings to me all day long. I've been annoyed for ages..."

"I always envied my brother for being able to mate with someone as virtuous as Vivian. This arrangement is much better. I'll take care of my brother's mate, and you help look after that fool. Everyone wins."

Eleanor sighed. "If Thea ever finds out, she'll be heartbroken again..."

"She's a fool. How could she possibly figure it out?" Connor chuckled coldly. "Even now, she still smiles and calls me 'Caleb' whenever we meet."

The sweetness of the honey dates suddenly rose in my throat, making me feel sick and want to cough.

I crouched down and hugged my knees, watching the ants coming and going in the cracks between the stones. My eyes felt a little sour.

If he found me annoying, he could have just told me directly.

Why did he... have to fake his death?