Chapter 2

Mia immediately gave me a positive answer.

She said that the Alpha of Northwind Pack was completely different from the other hypocritical Alphas in the southern region.

Apparently, the Alpha didn't care about the wolf's bloodline or their strength. If a wolf had nowhere to go, the Northwind Pack doors were always open to them.

I heaved a sigh of relief and felt my tension easing away.

As it turned out, I wasn't going to be truly without options anyway.

Just as I ended the call and put my phone away, I felt a hard chest slamming up against my back.

I smelled the familiar scent of cedar in the air and knew that it was Carlson.

His brows were furrowed as he glared down at me, sounding impatient as he interrogated me.

"Who were you talking to on the phone? What is this about a shelter?"

I felt my heart drop into my stomach. However, I quickly calmed down after that.

Carlson had only heard bits and pieces of my conversation. He hadn't managed to overhear everything.

So, I lowered my eyes and got rid of all the emotion in my eyes before coming up with an excuse.

"Oh, it was Mia. She invited me to watch a movie about a shelter and asked me if I was interested."

The doubt in Carlson's eyes quickly disappeared. His lips curled up in a sneer as he scoffed and said, "Nonsense. You should stop being friends with shady hooligans like Mia. She's only going to corrupt you."

He then paused for a bit and resumed his cold demeanor.

"The surgery is scheduled in three days. I will be bringing Selena home to take care of her in the meantime. It's more convenient that way."

Then, he seemed to suddenly think of something, and his voice got even colder as he ordered, "Also, get rid of the stupid stars in your room and make sure Selena never finds out about them. I don't want any misunderstandings to happen."

Stupid stars.

So, that was what he thought about those memories.

I smirked lightly and self-deprecatingly.

When Mom and Dad died in the battle, I nestled in Carlson's arms, sobbing hard and asking him if there was anything I could do to bring them back, how to be strong so that I wouldn't continue getting bullied, and what I should do so that Carlson would always like me.

Back then, Carlson wiped away the blood smears and tears from my face and said, "The Moon Goddess will grant your three wishes once you've managed to fold 1000 paper stars, Ayna."

I believed him.

Ever since getting a crush on him, I wrote down all of my unspoken love, affection, and dependence on Carlson onto the tiny paper slips before folding them day after day into paper stars and collecting them into a glass bottle.

After 15 years, I had finally finished folding all 1000 of them.

However, the very person who wove this fairytale for me had long forgotten that promise a long time ago.

"Fine. I'll throw them away," I said, my voice dry and hoarse, going with everything he said.

Carlson seemed very satisfied with my obedience.

"Smart. At least you know what's good for you."

Then, he turned and left.

I went home and pushed open the door to the second bedroom, my eyes widening as soon as I saw Selena seated on my bed and holding the glass bottle of stars in her hands. She was happily unfolding the stars one by one, reciting aloud the words I'd written in a drawn-out voice.

"Carlson called me pretty today. I was happy for the entire day."

After reading it aloud, she threw the slip onto the floor and clicked her tongue in disapproval. "What touching, unrequited love, Ayna."

I clenched my fists and suppressed my anger.

"You're not even going to pretend to be blind anymore?"

Selena didn't seem to panic even though I'd caught her red-handed. Instead, she slowly looked up and waved the glass jar at me.

Her right eye was wide open, and it looked clear and bright. There was no sign of blindness whatsoever.

"So, you knew all along," she said with a malicious grin on her face.

I stared at her intact eye and found it ridiculously absurd.

"You already have all of Carlson's love, Selena. Why are you still pretending to be blind? Why won't you just leave me be?"