Chapter 4

Toby brushed off his words like a joke, clapping a hand onto Logan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. What’s mine will definitely never change.”

I watched as the warmth instantly drained from Logan’s eyes, turning them ice-cold. The moment Toby turned his back, Logan clenched his hand into a tight fist, crushing the cigarette butt directly into his palm. Though his face remained an emotionless mask, the veins on his arm bulged with a fiercely restrained rage.

The display was far sexier than the rich blend of scents clinging to him.

It was thoroughly captivating.

Once the party wrapped up, we made our way back into the main lobby, where the front desk staff began handing out room keys for the night. Chloe gleefully snatched up the keycard to a king-size room, but Toby’s face twisted into an ugly grimace the moment he saw the single keycard handed to Logan and me.

He covertly yanked Logan aside, his voice dropping into a harsh, displeased hiss. “Logan, don’t you think you’re crossing the line here?”

“What?” Logan countered smoothly.

“Are you seriously planning to sleep in the same room as Serena tonight? Go back to the front desk right now and have them split you guys into two rooms!”

“What’s the big deal about sharing a room for one night?” Logan asked, his voice dripping with cool indifference. “You claim to know me so well, and you’re entirely convinced I despise her. So why are you worrying?”

Toby choked, a wave of guilt flashing across his features. “I mean, yeah, that’s true. But you’re both young, strong, and you’re only a fake couple. What if things get out of hand? Serena might be dull and boring compared to Chloe, but visually... she’s still highly attractive.”

Logan’s brows knitted with sharp displeasure, clearly repulsed by the casual way Toby evaluated me. “What do you mean, fake couple?”

I chose that exact moment to step forward, causing Toby to instantly shut his mouth. Logan didn’t waste a single glance on his brother; he simply took my hand and led me straight into the elevator.

The moment the hotel room door clicked shut behind us, Logan pinned me against the wood and captured my lips in a deep, breath-stealing kiss. When he finally let me go, he stared intently into my eyes.

“Do you know something, Serena?” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “In my heart, you are the absolute perfect mate. You don’t need to be compared to any other female werewolf.”

I blinked in surprise, realizing he was quietly addressing the insults Toby had thrown at me downstairs.

“When our actual anniversary rolls around, I promise to plan a celebration a hundred times grander than this,” he continued softly. “And I’ll give you a romance and a rare surprise that you’ll never forget.”

Our anniversary?

I lowered my eyes. He and I didn’t have an anniversary.

“Right, you have amnesia,” he whispered, gently tilting my chin up so I was forced to meet his deeply devoted, serious gaze. “Our anniversary is on your birthday.

“It’s the exact day I fell in love with you at first sight, and the day I finally confessed my feelings.”

“You have no idea how ecstatically happy I was the moment you agreed to be with me. I waited years for that single day.”

He pulled me tightly into his arms, softly weaving a beautiful, vivid narrative of our supposed love story. It was incredibly romantic, detailed, and deeply moving. It didn’t feel like a hollow lie; it felt like a sacred scenario he had replayed and fantasized about millions of times in his own mind.

A sudden, electric jolt coursed straight through my entire body.

In that breathtaking moment, I finally understood.

Logan—the werewolf who had grown up composed, fiercely self-disciplined, and who had deliberately kept his distance from me for as long as I could remember—why would he ever agree to such an absurd, insulting request from his younger brother? Why did he seamlessly know every single one of my preferences, habits, and boundaries?

He had never despised me.

The only thing he truly despised was the version of himself that wasn’t allowed to love me.

I looked up at him and smiled. “I’m really glad you told me all of this.”

This time, I didn’t offer a shred of resistance. I willingly let him sweep me off my feet and carry me into the bedroom.

Separated by only a single wall, Toby found himself completely consumed by a profound sense of unease. Even as he watched Chloe slip into a scandalous, provocative nightgown right in front of him, intentionally trying to seduce him, he couldn’t summon a single ounce of arousal.

Instead, Logan’s chilling warning kept echoing ruthlessly in his ears: “Haven’t you heard? Fated mates can change.”

“No way!”

Toby snapped to his feet, barking an order into his phone. “Wake everyone up. Tell them to get down to the lobby. Right now! Immediately!”

Nobody had any clue what kind of manic episode had suddenly gripped him. All I knew was that when we arrived, Logan looked completely lethal. Striding past the other werewolves, he marched straight up to Toby, his voice dripping with pure irritation.

“What the hell is your problem?”

The rest of the pack members gathered in the lobby were visibly exhausted, half-asleep and thoroughly miserable. They were only holding back their immense fury out of sheer respect for Logan’s and Toby’s high status. Seeing Logan step into his authoritative role as the Alpha heir, they immediately chimed in.

“Yeah, Toby! It’s been half an hour. What the hell are we supposed to be waiting for?”

“She’s here!” Toby shot to his feet, his eyes lighting up with manic excitement as a witch walked through the front doors. “This is the most powerful witch in the entire waterfall region. I have something I need to confirm right this instant.”

With a sharp gesture, he pointed the witch directly toward me.

I instinctively tightened the fabric of my silk robe, which secretly concealed a galaxy of Logan’s dark, possessive hickeys underneath.

The witch pulled out a crystal ball and began chanting under her breath. Within seconds, a brilliant, blinding aura of silver and deep purple light saturated the glass orb.

“A silver soul for the host,” the witch murmured, her eyes wide. “And a purple aura for the mate.”

I knitted my brows in confusion. The witch scanned the bewildered crowd, her eyes darting frantically. “Purple... purple... where is the purple?”

Her gaze swept right past Toby, whose face was practically bursting with arrogant anticipation.

“Ah! Found him!”

The witch’s eyes locked firmly onto Logan. She pointed a trembling, ecstatic finger directly at him and shouted to the room, “He carries the purple aura! He is the fated mate! The omnipotent purple!”

The moment the words left her mouth, every ounce of color instantly drained from Toby’s face, leaving him deathly pale.