13

In the silence of the night, the phone rang. Zara didn’t open her eyes out of reflex, she reached toward the nightstand and grabbed her phone.

The moment she realized it was Declan calling, it was already too late.

She had already answered.

Zara could only surrender to that automatic movement. For years of living in Jordan Pack territory, whenever Violeta found out she hadn’t picked up the phone, the woman would come looking for her to “talk” in a tone that was never truly gentle. 

Because of that, Zara had grown used to living on alert twenty-four hours a day, like a wolf that slept with one ear still awake.

And besides that, whenever Declan was outside the pack territory with Marina, he often called Zara in the middle of the night.

Most of the time he only asked trivial things things that sounded insignificant, yet hurt like a small wound scratched over and over again. Like how to ease stomach cramps when a she-wolf was on her moon cycle, what brand of pads was good, or how to make nutritious soup taste better. 

Even something as stupid as how to cook tomato eggs, should you stir-fry the eggs first or the tomatoes first?

Half-asleep, Zara was often forced awake by Declan’s calls only to listen to that Alpha attentively learning from her so he could take care of another female.

At first, she felt confused. But little by little, she got used to it, used to swallowing bitterness without complaining, used to being a “guide” for the man who was supposed to be her protector.

And because of that, she became even more aware of the difference between herself and Marina in Declan’s heart.

With heavy, drowsy eyes, Zara stared at the phone that was already connected, guessing that this call, too, would have something to do with Marina.

Since it was too late to regret it, she pressed the phone to her ear and asked in a casual tone, “Why? Is there a problem?”

Out there, Declan stared at the call that had been answered so quickly, his brows knitting together. That speed made it seem as if Zara was always waiting beside her phone just to answer him like an obedient Luna, or like a subordinate with no right to refuse.

Declan let out a low chuckle, then gave a short command. “Turn on all the lights in the villa. Then come down and open the door.”

Still confused, Zara answered honestly, “I’m already asleep. The door code hasn’t changed, and the light switches are still in the same place.”

Zara glanced at the clock.

It was already three in the morning.

It was something Declan could easily do himself. Yet he still ordered her to do it, as if her existence was meant for nothing but carrying out an Alpha’s commands.

Maybe Declan truly had gotten used to treating her like a servant. But right after that, Zara understood the reason.

“Marina’s already asleep. I don’t have any extra hands to do it,” Declan said flatly.

His tone was calm, but to Zara, those words struck like lightning.

Her mind went blank. The small wolf inside her seemed to freeze. Without realizing it, Zara climbed out of bed and walked to the window.

Through the gap in the curtains, she saw Declan step out of the car, then circle around the hood to open the passenger door. Carefully, he lifted Marina already asleep in the front seat and carried her into his arms, as if she were something fragile and precious.

Marina was like a tame kitten, searching for a comfortable position against him. One of her hands slipped into Declan’s coat and pressed to his chest, right above the steady beat of the Alpha’s heart.

Declan’s body stiffened for a second, his wolf instincts clearly stirred. But in the end, he didn’t push her away. His steps remained steady, as if that touch belonged there.

Cold seeped through Zara’s entire body.

All she could do was smile bitterly.

They hadn’t even officially severed the bond, yet Declan was already bringing that woman into their home into the territory Zara had once guarded with everything she had, keeping it warm, keeping it alive, keeping it worthy of being called a den.

So by refusing to sign the bond-severing documents, wasn’t he simply forcing Zara to leave with nothing?

“Zara, I’m giving you two minutes.” Maybe because Zara didn’t move right away, Declan’s voice turned impatient, sharp like an Alpha commanding his subordinate.

Zara snapped back to herself.

Without hesitating anymore, she rushed downstairs. Just as Declan ordered, she turned on the lights, then ran to open the door.

Because she was moving too fast, her knee and toes slammed hard into the corner of the wall. Pain shot straight up into her head. But Zara didn’t dare stop.

Declan was a man who always meant what he said.

If he said two minutes, then after those two minutes passed, punishment would be waiting. Whether it was freezing her bank card, pressuring her family, or humiliating her in front of the pack Declan always had a way to make her suffer without leaving a mark she could protest.

Enduring the pain, Zara finally opened the door.

Declan didn’t even look at her.

He simply carried Marina past Zara, climbed upstairs, and entered his own bedroom, the Alpha’s room without the slightest concern that on that threshold stood a woman still bound to him yet never truly chosen.