Chapter 3
That night, back at the pack house, I came down with a high
fever. Even my wolf felt unusually weak and withdrawn.
Every bone in my body ached. For a moment, I almost
couldn’t remember where I was.
A cool towel was placed across my forehead. Poppy, the dog
Ronan and I raised together, was licking the back of my hand.
slowly opened my eyes. Ronan was sitting right at the edge
of my bed.
His brown hair was a mess, and there were heavy dark circles
under his eyes.
Seeing me awake, he shrugged in relief, his voice hoarse.
“You’re finally awake.”
He picked up the pills and a glass of warm water from the
nightstand and held them out to me. “Take your medicine.”
I took the pills, and he put the glass down.
Do you know how worried I was?”
‘I called you all night, Seventy–three times. Not once did you
pick up. I sent mind links, and there was no response.”
“I almost thought you’d been taken by rogues again.”
Three years ago, before we became mates, I was tricked into
following a senior pack member to a remote territory.
It was a human trafficking den run by rogues.
When Ronan couldn’t reach me, he practically turned the
entire territory upside down looking for me.
He finally found me behind a locked iron door.
He pulled me into his arms so tightly I could barely breathe.
‘Don’t ever trust strangers again. Just trust my words, I will
never lie to you.”
That night, I believed it to be true.
I had always thought Ronan was the safest person in the
world.
Ronan reached out and gently stroked my forehead. “I didn’t
think things through yesterday. I shouldn’t have made you
wait in line that long for nothing.”
“But the Starfall trip was Sera’s prize from our bet. She wasn’t
feeling well and didn’t want to stay, so I wasn’t going to force
her.”
He checked the temperature of my forehead, his tone
softening, “As compensation, I booked a table at the
Moonriver Grill tonight.”
“Didn’t you always want to go there to see the river view?”
I had brought it up full of joy on our anniversary.
At the time, he hadn’t even looked up. “It’s just eating some
food. Why waste money going to a place where everyone
takes photos?”
Now it had become a piece of candy laced with poison.
I swallowed it, just like swallowing that fever–reducing pill.
I said, “Okay.”
At eight that evening, in Moonriver Grill, the server walked
over for the third time to refill my water.
“Miss, when is your companion arriving?”
“He said he’s on his way.”
Two hours earlier, Ronan had already sent a message to tell
me he had left.
sent Ronan a message. [Where are you?]
No reply.
The message was sent out, but went completely unanswered.
Two hours after his promised arrival time, my phone finally
lit up.
Ronan: [Don’t wait for me. I’m not going.]
Ronan: [Someone casually gives you a promise, and you
eagerly wait for hours, without even the most basic
judgment.]
Ronan: [Zoe, you trust others too easily. This is the third
lesson I’m giving you.]
I stared at the screen. A bitter laugh spilled from my throat.
At this moment, my phone buzzed again.
This time it wasn’t Ronan, it was Sera. She uploaded a new
photo on her PackNet account.
A photo of the river view at night, with two silhouettes
standing under the moonlight.
The caption read: [Cold night, but the right company makes it better.]
I liked it. Then I sent a message to Ronan. [Ronan, let’s break our mate bond.]
Then I put down my phone, feeling surprisingly relieved.
I called the server over.
“Just serve the food. I’ll be eating alone.”