Chapter 4

Candice stood in the doorway with one side of her face still swollen.

She walked right in and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Did you know that before you graduated, you actually received an offer to stay at the academy?

"They thought your grades were excellent and wanted to hire you as an instructor."

I abruptly looked up.

"But Eric kept the offer a secret."

She tilted her head and looked at me with undisguised gloating. I could tell there was a hint of jealousy.

"The academy's invitation was sent directly to the pack. He never even let you see it before turning it down."

I froze as memories suddenly flooded back.

I still recalled telling Eric during our final year that I wanted to earn a position as an instructor at the academy.

I wanted to train more warriors for the kingdom.

That way, I could also have more confidence when I eventually became his Luna.

He had stroked my hair and joked that he would wait for me to become his greatest support someday.

I had thought that with my grades, I would definitely get the position.

But in the end, it went to a classmate who wasn't as good as me.

I had been disappointed for a long time. Eric was the one who accompanied me to the frozen wasteland to clear my head. He told me that I would always be the best.

He told me to learn to rely on him because he could support me.

It was also during that trip that we were caught in an avalanche, and Eric nearly lost his life saving me.

In my previous life, I received my mentor's invitation only a month before the marking ceremony.

So I turned it down.

In reality, if Eric hadn't wanted me to stay at the academy, he could have simply told me.

If he had talked to me about it properly, I might have rejected the offer for his sake.

It was just as I had chosen to do in my previous life.

But he had no right to make decisions about my future without my knowledge.

Seeing my pale face, Candice smiled triumphantly before leaving the room.

I sat on the bed without moving. It wasn't until the sky gradually turned bright that I realized dawn had come.

Eric entered with a tray of breakfast and carefully arranged everything for me.

"Why?"

He turned to look at me in confusion.

"What?"

"Why did you make that decision for me? Why didn't you tell me I had received an offer from the academy?"

Eric fell silent.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"Evelyn, you have to believe me. Everything I did was because I love you."

"Love me?"

I almost laughed out loud.

"You call it love when you were sleeping with another shewolf while you were with me?

"You call it love when you wanted me to raise the pup you had with another shewolf?

"You call it love when you ruined my life?

"Eric."

I stared straight into his eyes.

"If all that's true, then your love is truly evil."

Eric clenched his fists before forcing himself to suppress his emotions.

"Evelyn, you're too emotional right now. You need to calm down.

"I've already prepared for the marking ceremony. It's scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

"I hope you can forget all of this, and we can go back to the way things were. What do you say?"

He paused before adding, "I've already notified all your relatives and friends. If you don't show up, your parents will be humiliated."

His tone then softened again.

"Evelyn, I've prepared a surprise for you at the ceremony. Can we start over?"

I looked at his face and closed my eyes.

"Get out."

Eric stood up and looked at me for a moment before turning around and leaving.

Click.

The door was locked from the outside.

I opened my eyes and immediately called my parents.

I told them what I planned to do next and instructed them not to listen to Eric.

He had acted first and informed them afterward, and now he wanted to use my parents to threaten me?

There was no way I would let that happen.

That evening, I climbed out the window and left the villa. I then boarded the train to the academy.

As I watched the lights outside the window fade into the distance, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat.

I had prepared a big surprise for Eric at the ceremony the day after tomorrow too.