Chapter 2

When Kieran carried Cecelia out of the mansion, I was still slumped on the floor with blood trickling down my neck from the back of my head. I watched his retreating figure, so urgent and panicked. Yet, he never looked back once.

Suddenly, I remembered how he used to be just as anxious about me.

Back then, I had just arrived in the Northern Pack territory and was working as an apprentice at an herbal medicine shop, studying plant remedies while earning my keep.

The first time Kieran saw me, I was being harassed by some street thugs, and he stepped in to save me. During the fight, his arm was slashed by a silver blade, and the silver poison quickly spread through his bloodstream.

Fortunately, I had learned about herbs that could neutralize silver toxicity, so I stayed awake for three days and nights caring for him until the poison was completely purged.

After that, Kieran began appearing outside the shop more frequently.

I was working late one night when he walked in and handed me a black credit card. He said, "Come with me. You don't need to work this hard anymore."

I was stunned for a moment before pushing the card back to him. "No, thank you, sir. I work hard for my living, and I don't find it burdensome."

He stared at me quietly for a long time, then handed me a business card instead. "My name is Kieran Wolfe, and I'll be back tomorrow."

Sure enough, he returned the next day in a black Maybach. Seeing that I was busy, he waved his hand and bought out our entire stock of herbs just to have dinner with me.

Over the next three months, Kieran did many outrageous things to pursue me.

When I refused his roses, he had fresh bouquets flown in daily to fill the entire shop.

When I refused to ride in his luxury car, he walked with me through the muddy, filthy streets of the poor district to see me home.

When I said we were not from the same world, he crouched beside my dirt-covered herb boxes, personally helping me clear dead leaves and debris.

He stood in that shop for three whole months. Every time I refused him, he would come back a second time, a third time, a fourth time, and so on.

It was not that I never felt my heart flutter, but I was too aware of the gap between us. I could not and did not dare let myself fall for him.

However, that changed when he shielded me from acid thrown by a rival business, leaving a horrific scar across his back.

Even as he was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, he smiled at me and said, "Elise, now that I'm scarred, you'll have to take responsibility for me."

I tenderly touched that wounded flesh as my tears fell onto his burning skin.

After I agreed to be with him, he spoiled me beyond reason.

When I cut my finger while gathering herbs, he called his private healer in the middle of the night. When I casually mentioned liking a certain cupcake, he bought the entire bakery for me. When I had period cramps, he would stay up all night rubbing my stomach.

Once, I tripped and scraped my knee slightly. He was so heartbroken that his eyes turned red as he carried me to the hospital, his hands shaking the entire way.

I laughed through my tears, telling him I was a healer myself, so why were we always going to the hospital?

However, Kieran argued, saying, "Healers can't heal themselves. It looks like a surface wound, but who knows if there's a bacterial infection or bone damage?"

He even insisted on getting a CT scan and having the best healers treat me.

I looked down at the pool of blood beneath me and suddenly laughed, and the sound was bleak.

Later, I took a cab to the hospital, alone. The healer saw how severe my injury was and immediately began stitching and bandaging the wound. By the time they finished treating me, I had lost so much blood that I was dizzy and could barely stand.

I had just stumbled out of the examination room when someone grabbed my wrist roughly.

"Elise! Cecelia almost miscarried. Yet you still wouldn't stop? You followed us to the hospital to cause more trouble?"

Kieran's voice was tight with rage. His brow was furrowed deeply, and his eyes held a bone-chilling coldness. He still carried Cecelia's suffocating perfume scent on his clothes.

"I came to the hospital, but not for her." I pointed to my freshly bandaged forehead. "I was injured too, and I couldn't treat it myself."

Kieran's expression froze. He finally noticed the strong scent of blood on me, masked by antiseptic, and the thick gauze still seeping red.

"Kieran, you said that once she delivered the pup, you'd take me away," I said, looking at him as my nose began to sting. "But now, do you even see me anymore?"

Kieran's frown deepened as he reached out tenderly to touch my wound. "What happened here?"

"You pushed me," I said calmly, dodging his touch. "I hit the bookshelf. To you, it was just a casual shove, wasn't it?"

Kieran's pupils contracted as he recalled the force he had used in his moment of rage. For a human, it could have been fatal.

He pulled me into his arms guiltily. "Elise, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just afraid something would happen to Cecelia. She's carrying the pack's future. If anything went wrong, the Elders' Council would never forgive us, and our departure would be delayed again..."

I let him hold me while staring blankly at the sterile white ceiling. I had heard these excuses too many times before.

"I understand," I said, pushing him away. "Go take care of her."

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist again. "Elise, no matter what, you have to believe that I only love you. Everything I do is to help us escape this prison as quickly as possible."

He touched my bandage gently and said, "I'll have Brad drive you home, and don't let the wound get wet."

Brad Pennyworth was his butler.

Kieran released my hand and, as he walked away, said, "When I get home, I'll bring you your favorite cranberry cupcakes."

With that, he headed toward the VIP room at the end of the corridor, where Cecelia was being cared for by the pack's finest healers.

I stood there watching him disappear into the distance. Suddenly, I laughed, and tears began streaming down my face.

"I don't believe you anymore..." I whispered to the empty air and to my own dying heart. "Kieran, I will never believe any of your promises ever again."