Chapter 4

Blake’s expression stiffened for a moment before he took a step toward me.

“Erica, when did you get here?”

I ignored him and turned to leave.

“Erica!” Blake frowned and grabbed my arm. “Can you not do this?”

I finally turned back to face him.

“What exactly am I doing?”

Blake looked at me helplessly.

“She only got upset because she overheard our conversation. As the Alpha, I couldn’t just leave when she might be in danger.”

“Even if it hadn’t been Lydia today, I would have done the same thing for any other she-wolf and her pup.”

He explained patiently, his tone carrying the certainty of someone who believed his reasoning should be enough.

Don’t overthink it.

They both kept telling me not to overthink it.

Of course I wouldn’t. Connor would be here soon, and I would be leaving this place for good.

When I gave him no response, Blake assumed I was still sulking.

His lips tightened as he lectured me.

“I’ve really spoiled you too much. I always thought you knew how to be reasonable, so how did you become like this? If you keep acting this way, how are you supposed to fulfill your duties as the Luna of this pack?”

Yet being the Luna of this pack had been a role he forced upon me in the first place.

Lydia chose that moment to speak.

“Luna, please don’t misunderstand. This is all my fault, and I’ll leave right away. But there’s one thing I want to ask of you. Please don’t be angry with Blake, all right? He was injured not long ago, and he has so much pack business to handle. He’s already exhausted.”

Lydia stepped closer and took my hand. Her voice was humble, but the contempt and challenge in her expression were impossible to miss.

I was about to tell her to let go when, in the next instant, she suddenly stumbled as though something had tripped her and pitched forward.

If Blake had not reacted quickly enough to catch her, Lydia would have fallen from the watchtower.

“Ah! It hurts.”

She clung tightly to Blake’s arm, her voice weak and trembling.

“Alpha, please don’t blame the Luna. She didn’t mean to push me. I’m the one who made her angry.”

Blake immediately crouched down to examine her swollen ankle.

Then he shot to his feet and glared at me with accusation blazing in his eyes.

“Erica, why do you have to keep going after her? She already apologized to you and was about to leave, so why did you still have to shove her?”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“I pushed her?”

Blake answered as though the conclusion were obvious.

“There were only three of us here, and the two of you were standing right next to each other. If you didn’t push her, how could she suddenly fall for no reason?”

His voice grew colder.

“Won’t you be satisfied until everyone around you is miserable?”

A dull pain spread through my chest, and suddenly I realized there was nothing left for me to explain.

The man I had spent six years beside did not trust me at all. In his eyes, I had somehow become someone cruel enough to deliberately hurt another woman.

Arguing with him was pointless now.

Lydia hid behind Blake, satisfaction gleaming in her tear-filled eyes.

Blake studied my expression and seemed to realize something was wrong.

“Erica…”

I did not answer him and instead turned my gaze toward the distance.

I could feel it now—the pull of my own blood.

At that exact moment, the ground across the entire territory began to shake violently.

Blake’s expression changed at once, and his hand moved to the weapon at his waist.

A man radiating such terrifying power that the air itself seemed to tighten strode into the territory.

His gaze swept across the chaotic scene before finally settling on me.

The lethal coldness in his eyes softened the moment he saw me.

He walked closer, gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from my forehead, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Erica, don’t be afraid. I’m here now. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

It was Connor, the brother I had not seen in six years, and tears instantly blurred my vision.

Connor’s eyes darkened as he finally turned his attention to Blake, his voice cutting like a poisoned blade.

“So you’re the one who kept my sister prisoner for six years?”