LOGINCHAPTER TWENTY Two – You Don’t Have to Tell MeStella’s POVSleep refused to come.No matter how many times I closed my eyes, Kelly’s voice continued to echo inside my head.Every word she had read from my diary replayed over and over again, making the embarrassment feel just as fresh as it had a few hours ago.I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket closer around myself.It didn’t help.With a quiet sigh, I climbed out of bed and slipped into a light sweater before leaving my room.The pack house was unusually peaceful.Most of the lights had already been turned off, leaving only the soft glow from the wall lamps to guide my way through the long hallway.I walked downstairs without making a sound and stepped outside.The cool night air brushed gently against my face.For the first time since dinner, I felt as though I could finally breathe.The garden stretched quietly beneath the moonlight.Flowers swayed gently in the breeze, and somewhere in the distance I could hear water fl
CHAPTER TWENTY One – The Page She Never Wanted Him to ReadStella’s POVI really want to avoid him as much as possible, but it’s impossible, he doesn’t want to be apart from me.So I sat with him at the dinning table.Dinner was quieter than usual.The long dining table that had felt so intimidating when I first arrived at the pack house had slowly become familiar. I no longer felt nervous every time I sat there, although I still found myself sitting a little straighter than necessary whenever the servants walked in with another dish.Tonight, however, my mind was somewhere else.Every few seconds, I found myself thinking about my diary.Kelly still had it.I had searched for another chance to speak to her, but she had disappeared shortly after our conversation.She had not returned the diary, she had not changed her mind and the deadline she had given me was growing closer.“Stella.”Jaxon’s voice pulled me back to the present.I looked up quickly.“I’m sorry.”“You’ve barely touche
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – The DistanceJaxon’s POVI woke earlier than usual the next morning.The sun had only just begun to rise, casting a soft golden light through the tall windows of the pack house. Most of the servants were still moving quietly through the halls, preparing breakfast before everyone else woke up.I stood by the window in my room for a few moments, staring at the training grounds outside.Usually, mornings cleared my thoughts.Today, they only reminded me of Stella.The conversation with the elders.Kelly’s behavior.The championship.Everything seemed to be happening at once.I rubbed the back of my neck before leaving my room.By the time I reached the dining room, breakfast had already been placed on the table.I expected Stella to be sitting there.She wasn’t. I frowned. She was rarely late.Ever since she had moved into the pack house, she had always been awake before everyone else.I glanced toward one of the housekeepers. “Has Stella come downstairs yet?”The wo
CHAPTER Nineteen Y – The Missing DiaryStella’s POVBy the time the tailor finished taking my measurements, almost an hour had passed.I thanked him politely before making my way upstairs.For the first time that afternoon, I felt strangely relaxed.The fitting had gone much better than I expected. The tailor had never once looked at my body with pity or judgment. He had simply done his work, asked a few questions, written down my measurements, and left.It was such a small thing, yet it made me realize how used I had become to expecting people to laugh at me.I slowly climbed the stairs and walked back toward my room.All I wanted now was to finish writing in my diary.Whenever my thoughts became too heavy, writing always helped.It felt as though every fear became a little smaller once it was written on paper.I pushed open my bedroom door and stepped inside.The room looked exactly the way I had left it.The curtains swayed gently in the afternoon breeze.The bed was neatly made.N
CHAPTER EighteeN – The DiaryStella’s POVThe pack house felt unusually peaceful that afternoon.For the first time in several days, there were no reporters waiting outside the gates, no hockey players arguing in the hallway, and no elders arriving with another meeting for Jaxon.The silence was comforting.I stood by the bedroom window for a while, watching the wind move gently through the trees outside.It reminded me of home.Not because my old home had been peaceful.It hadn’t.But because whenever life became too difficult, I always found myself searching for a quiet place where nobody expected anything from me.I let out a slow breath before turning away from the window.My eyes fell on the small drawer beside the bed.For a moment, I simply looked at it.Then I walked over and slowly pulled it open.Resting inside was a blue notebook.My diary, a faint smile appeared on my face, It had been with me for years.Whenever I was happy, I wrote in it, whenever I was afraid, I wrote
CHAPTER Seventeen – AgainJaxon’s POVThe drive back to the pack house was quieter than usual.Most of the players had already gone home after the team selection, but the conversations from the arena still lingered in my mind.Some had accepted my decision without hesitation.Others had walked away the moment I refused to remove Stella from the team.None of that bothered me.Anyone who believed a teammate’s worth should be measured by appearance instead of determination had no place wearing my team’s jersey.As I parked the car in front of the pack house, I glanced toward Stella.She had spent the entire journey looking out of the window.She had spoken only when necessary, answering my questions with small smiles that never quite reached her eyes.I knew those smiles.They were the kind people wore when they were trying to convince everyone, including themselves, that they were fine.We stepped inside together.The pack house felt calm after the noise of the arena.A few members of







