Chapter 3

“Can’t you stop getting jealous over nothing?”

“Otherwise, I won’t dare tell anyone that you’re my future mate.”

Every one carried that familiar, slightly condescending tone of reprimand.

As if I had done something wrong again.

As if I were making a fuss over nothing again.

As if I were supposed to lower my head and apologize again.

I read them twice.

Then I smiled.

He had no idea that just moment, I had already decided that I would no longer stay behind to become a warrior with him.

Instead, I would go to the Northern Pack and become a herbalist Wolf.

It was the most decisive decision I had ever made in my life.

When I returned home, I began clearing out everything that reminded me of him.

A large stack of movie ticket stubs, a jar filled with folded paper stars, and more than a dozen birthday cards.

His handwriting on the cards had been crooked and childish. The way he addressed me had changed from “Monica” to “Sweetheart.”

I put everything into a large cardboard box.

On the bedside table was a little ceramic figurine he had made himself—a badly shaped little wolf.

At the time, he had said it looked like me.

I held the little wolf in my hand for two seconds.

Then I threw it into the box, too.

The cardboard box was almost full.

I didn’t seal it right away.

I could tell a story about every single thing inside.

That jar of handmade stars was because of a legend in our pack.

It was said that couples who collected a thousand handmade stars would receive the Moon Goddess’s blessing and never be separated.

So he had stayed up for several nights, proudly presenting the jar of stars to me.

And that moonstone necklace had been his prize for winning the Spring Hunt Festival.

In front of the entire pack, he had put it around my neck himself.

The box was filled to the brim with traces of him.

Fifteen years of traces, from the age of three to eighteen.

It was also my entire youth.

My phone suddenly rang.

It wasn’t a call.

It was a notification from a social media platform.

I opened it and saw that Sophia had just posted something.

There were two pictures.

The first showed a hotel room, with dim lighting and white sheets.

The second was a close-up of a wristwatch.

I recognized the watch at a glance.

I had saved three months of living expenses to buy it for Edward’s birthday last year.

He had loved it when he tried it on.

He had hugged me tightly and said, “This is my favorite birthday present this year.”

Sophia captioned the post:

“He said he was drunk and insisted that I take him to the hotel. I’m exhausted.”

A flood of comments followed.

“May the Moon Goddess bless you two! You make such a perfect match!”

I stared at the photos for a few seconds.

Then I walked back to the cardboard box and wrapped the sealing tape around it three times.

I carried it downstairs and threw it into the trash bin outside the villa.

When it landed inside, it made a dull thud.

Then everything went silent.

For the next few days, Edward didn’t call me once.

He didn’t send me a single message either.

And I was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

A week later, Ron messaged me privately, inviting me to attend his birthday party.

He was Edward’s best friend.

The two of them had been inseparable since childhood.

I could roughly guess what he wanted.

I told him I was busy and didn’t have time.