Chapter 5

As noon approached, Sofia suggested enthusiastically that they visit a natural hot spring on the edge of the territory.

It was said that the spring water contained special minerals that offered minor benefits for relieving muscle fatigue and residual silver toxin effects after battle.

"Damine, I heard the spring's energy has been really active lately. Great for healing wounds. Why don't we all go for a soak? Perfect way to relax." Sofia said, her gaze pointedly sweeping over me.

Damine looked at me, as if to ask my opinion or find an excuse to decline.

But Sofia didn't give him the chance. She stepped forward and latched onto his arm, half-pulling, half-dragging him toward the door. "Sylvia could use it too, right? Let's all go, more fun with a group."

I didn't say anything, just silently followed behind them.

A few young wolves from the pack who were friendly with Sofia came along too.

I rarely participated in purely social events like this and found it hard to join in their loud chatter.

I didn't force myself, so I found a secluded corner away from the group and sat quietly, watching the steam rise and the outlines of the distant forest.

Damine noticed my distance. He walked over holding a cup of freshly squeezed berry juice.

He had just handed it to me and was about to speak when his attention was drawn to a commotion over by Sofia.

Sofia was picking up a stone cup filled with an amber-colored liquid to drink. It was a potent distilled spirit made from some strong root plant, with high alcohol content that could cause discomfort for wolves with sensitive constitutions.

Damine's face hardened. He strode over, snatched the cup from her hand, his voice tight with suppressed anger: "You forgot what happened the last time you drank something this strong? You almost lost control and were bedridden for three days. You want to experience that again?"

Sofia blinked, her face innocent and wronged. She grabbed the berry juice from Damine's hand, the one he'd originally brought for me.

"I took the wrong one, I didn't mean to. This is mine. Thanks anyway." She smiled at Damine, a sly look in her eyes.

Damine's grip tightened on the now-empty stone cup, his knuckles turning white.

But in the end, he said nothing. He just walked back to my side, subconsciously holding out the now-empty cup that still smelled strongly of alcohol to me.

I looked at the clearly displeased man in front of me and the empty cup he was handing me, which had a pungent smell. I didn't reach for it.

I picked up my small purse, stood up, and spoke calmly: "I don't drink this. I'm going to sit by the other spring pool, where it's quieter."

Only then did Damine suddenly realize he'd handed me the wrong cup.

His entire focus had been on Sofia and the strong drink; he hadn't noticed what was in his hand at all.

He started to explain the confusion, but I had already turned and walked quickly toward another, more secluded, smaller spring pool.

The warm, mineral-rich water enveloped my body, soothing some of the fatigue and tension of the past few days.

I leaned against the smooth rock at the edge of the pool, watching the swirling white mist rise and dissipate. My consciousness gradually grew vague.

Maybe I was too exhausted, but I fell asleep without realizing it.

Perhaps because I was used to being alone and in quiet, I didn't hear the increasingly urgent knocking and calls from outside.

Damine called my name several times from the other side of the door without getting a response, and he grew more and more worried.

Finally, he just pushed open the slightly ajar door to the private bathhouse.

Seeing me with my eyes closed, motionless against the pool's edge, his heart skipped a beat. He thought something might have happened to me.

He immediately jumped into the warm spring water, scooping me up horizontally in his arms, eager to check my condition.

Startled by the sudden loss of balance, I woke up, blinking sleepily. Instinctively, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck to steady myself.

Steam from the hot spring filled the air around us. Our skin touched, the rising water vapor creating an oddly charged atmosphere.

Damine looked down at me in his arms, water droplets dripping from his hair. His throat bobbed, and he couldn't help but lean down, as if to kiss me.

Just as our breaths were about to mingle, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the brief tranquility.

Sofia and a few other wolves who had been searching for her arrived. She stood at the doorway, saw Damine holding me, the two of us standing intimately in the spring water, and froze.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, her eyes filled with shock and a betrayed disappointment. She spun around and ran off quickly.

Damine's body went rigid. His first reaction was to put me down immediately, then chase after Sofia without a second thought. He only managed to leave a rushed sentence: "She misunderstood. I have to explain it to her."

Misunderstanding?

He and I were mates bound by pack law and an ancient mark.

Even if we were seen in a more intimate act, what could possibly need explaining to another woman?

But he had already lost his way, still playing the role of Sofia's lover.

That was why his instinct was to explain.

For someone who had once been willingly tamed for love, breaking that habit is not easy.

Watching his hurriedly retreating back, my face remained expressionless, though a hint of bitterness surfaced in my eyes, quickly vanishing. I wrapped a dry pelt around myself and walked to the window for some air. Just in time, I saw Sofia on the empty ground below, hurrying toward the parked SUV.

She yanked the car door open. Damine caught up and grabbed her wrist.

Their heated argument carried clearly across the distance.

"Sylvia passed out in the spring! I was just worried she might slip and choke or get cold! Do you have to overreact like this?"

"Right! She's your bonded mate! What right do I have to be jealous? You should go take care of her! Why waste so much time explaining to your 'ex-girlfriend'?"

"Sofia! Do you have to talk like that?"

"What did I say? Am I not telling the truth?"

A few words back and forth, and they parted on bad terms.

Sofia's eyes were red-rimmed. She forcefully shook off Damine's hand, got into the driver's seat, and roared the engine to life. The tires screeched as she sped away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Left alone, Damine stood frozen for a few seconds, his expression dark.

After that, he quickly got into his own car and sped off in the same direction Sofia had taken.

I looked down at the empty roadside, where dust was slowly settling, and turned silently to the dressing room.

When I came out after changing into dry clothes, I was immediately surrounded by several pack members with anxious faces, pacing agitatedly. One of them spoke in a rushed, panicked tone:

"Luna! Something terrible has happened! We just got an urgent message! Alpha and Sofia were ambushed by those bastards from Shadowfang Pack on their way out!"