Chapter 4

When Lira got back, I was already curled up on the animal hide mat. I had ordered a huge bag of cured meat and roasted nuts, and I was watching a video of the pack discussing healing techniques while I ate.

"Hey, Lira, do you want some? This fruit-flavored cured meat is delicious," I said.

Lira swatted my hand away at once. "Has your brain gotten infected with silver venom? How can you even eat at a time like this? That jerk Dylan has betrayed you!

"The she-wolf that keeps coughing beside him is his stepsister! She's the mate that he bonded with at the ceremony today! I heard that she's got a fatal disease and that completing the ceremony with Dylan was her dying wish!"

It was strange, but I didn't care at all. I handed Lira a piece of fruit-flavored cured meat.

"Oh, how dramatic! And then what?" I asked sarcastically.

Lira opened her mouth and swiped the cured meat away. She chewed on it while glaring at me.

"Your mate, whom you haven't bonded with yet, switched to a different she-wolf behind your back and even held the ceremony. Aren't you bothered about that at all?" Lira asked.

I kept munching. "Oh, how juicy!"

I tossed two more into my mouth.

"Infected with silver venom, the rekindling of an old flame, a change in mates… this plot is almost as good as the Night Legends. However, I don't know him at all. He can bond with whoever he wants," I simply said.

Lira ignored me and got into gossip mode at once. She poured out everything she had found out over the past few days from the warriors.

Dylan had been traveling around Northia with the she-wolf called Jocelyn. He said that it was a trip to fulfill their wishes. He had held a grand bonding ceremony for her and danced with her during the Moon Goddess Festival. He had sworn that they would mate again in the next life.

Now, everyone in the pack called him devoted and said that he was a model of loyalty.

Lira curled her lips in anger. "Are you just going to forget it?"

"I can't remember him, and I don't know him. His existence is like that of an ant to me. Why should I get into a conflict with a werewolf that I don't know?" I replied.

Lira was rendered speechless, but she did not give up. She bought the video records of the ceremony from someone else.

Under the lights of the Moon Goddess Festival, Dylan held Jocelyn's hand and led her over the Moonlight Altar. They swore oaths to each other with the blessing of the pack, and they held each other and kissed, looking inseparable.

The beauty of the moonlight during the Moon Goddess Festival made the ceremony seem ethereal.

Lira bounced on the couch indignantly. "Those flowers are the Moonblooms that we only managed to pick after I searched with you at the border for half a month! It's a token of trust that represents a promise to never commit betrayal! How could he turn around and give it to another she-wolf?"

I was startled for a moment.

All the decorations in that ceremony had been designed by me, from the lights to the flowers. I had stayed up all night to choose them.

Lira criticized Dylan harshly, "Is he crazy? You only just forgot about him, and he turned around immediately to take someone else's hand! That isn't a loyal mate! He even made your wolf disappear too! You must get revenge!"

I spread my hands helplessly.

"How touching. His stepsister is sick and is about to die, and her first love is staying with her until the end."

Lira continued to watch the news closely. She told me that they were going to the Sacred Raine Cliffs in Northia for their honeymoon, while also stopping by the Caydian Orchard. It was rumored that it was the place where true mates during ancient times would travel to together.

As for my wolf, I knew she hadn't disappeared or been sealed away. She was just temporarily in a deep sleep.

I continued to study and do experiments, and my days were mundane and uneventful.

However, occasionally during experiments, I would feel a sudden pain in my chest. Tears would slide down my cheeks and drip off my chin.

I shook my head briskly and continued working. Since I had forgotten it all, it didn't matter.

…

21 days later, my phone suddenly began vibrating wildly.

I tapped on it and saw a barrage of intimate photos of Jocelyn and Dylan. They included the entire ceremony, their honeymoon, and everyday photos of them.

There was also a disgusting message attached. "Thank you for giving us your blessing, Mel. Dylan rushed over to your place the moment he got off the plane, and I didn't have time to develop these photos for him. I'll have to trouble you to do it on my behalf."

I was flummoxed.

Was she crazy? Was I just part of some kind of weird game they were playing?

I couldn't help it, and I replied at once, "Are you sure that a doctor who can treat silver venom is what you need right now? Do you want to go and get checked by a psychiatrist while you're at it?"

I deleted the photos as I cursed her. My hand ached from all the deleting.

I was even going to take them to the psychiatric clinic in the east. It was renowned as a place for treating those who had lost their minds.

I was furious, so I sent those insane messages and photos to Lira immediately so that she could criticize them with me.

We were happily insulting them when the door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang.

Dylan, the person we were criticizing, was standing right in front of me.

"Melody, I love you. But she needed me more back then."

"But that’s over now. I’m back, and we can finally be us again."