Chapter 3

Ailara's POV

At the treatment center, I dutifully arranged everything for Freya.

Meanwhile, she typed away at her phone, telling Lucian about how she was uneasy about being alone with me.

Right before her treatment was about to start, Lucian arrived, having clearly rushed here.

"How are you feeling? Still unwell? I shouldn't have asked Ailara to accompany you here."

His tone was full of concern for Freya, completely ignoring all that I had done for her since we came to the treatment center.

"Don't say that. Although Ailara can be a little cold toward me, she's still done a lot for me."

Her kind, understanding words failed to dispel Lucian's displeasure toward me. Frowning, he retorted disdainfully, "At least she still has some use."

I wasn't bothered by how he looked down on me. All I did was hand over the herbs the healer had given me.

"You should stay here and keep Freya company. The healer says that the presence of someone from an Alpha's bloodline can help stabilize her wolf spirit."

Lucian whipped his head around to stare at me with extreme shock.

However, I didn't linger and turned to leave.

After departing the treatment center, I headed to Morington, one of the neutral territories around. Once our mate bond broke, I would need a place to stay, and a neutral area was my best option.

Following that, I returned home, where I began packing the last of my belongings.

Photos of us, a flower crown, a wolf-fang necklace, a moonstone ring—I tossed every single gift Lucian had ever given me into the fireplace.

As the blazing flames danced about, they swiftly devoured everything until nothing but ashes remained.

…

That night, Lucian came to my room. He swept a casual glance about, only then realizing that something was off.

"Where's the photo of us at our bonding ceremony? Didn't you use to hang it on the wall?"

"I kept it away in the storage room," I answered casually. "The guest bedroom's walls are too small to hang such a huge photo."

Lucian nodded, not pressing the matter. Instead, he instructed me, "The weather's turning chilly. Freya can't afford to be affected by the cold, so remember to prepare some appropriate clothing for her."

Dipping my head in understanding, I immediately logged into a luxury brand's online shop and placed over a dozen orders for Freya.

Lucian smiled in satisfaction at my swift action.

"Ailara, you've been doing quite well recently. Once our pup is born, I'll appoint him as my heir."

Our pup…

The word had a wave of bitterness welling in me. As it turned out, he still didn't know that our pup was gone.

The flashing of my phone screen dragged me out of my thoughts. Glancing at it, I saw that Freya had sent me an audio recording.

The instant I played it, Freya's despondent voice came over the speakers. She was complaining about how her wolf spirit was too weak, so she could never control her transformation.

Lucian comforted her in an oh-so-gentle tone, "Don't stress about it so much. Take it slow. I'll be with you every step of the way."

Once again, I found my mind drifting to past memories.

Back during the early stages of my Awakening, my wolf spirit wasn't fully developed yet, so I had had similar problems with controlling my transformation.

At the time, Lucian had simply watched coldly from the sidelines as I practiced over and over again. Not once had he ever given me any suggestions or tips. On the contrary, he would even say that, as the Luna, overcoming this bit of difficulty was the least I should be able to do.

Now, I realized that when it was Freya having this problem, he suddenly had infinite patience and gentleness to guide her.