Chapter 3

It took me a lot of effort, but I finally convinced Mr. Byrne to give me a second letter of recommendation. This time, it wasn't on paper, but an encrypted email set to self-delete after a set period of time had passed.

Mr. Byrne clearly wanted to give me a push.

I felt grateful and clicked the button to confirm my participation in the closed healer program without hesitating.

The moment the confirmation notice popped up, a new alert flashed on the pack's intranet. It was a livestream link from Lilian.

I opened it and saw fireworks exploding across the night sky, forming carefully designed words.

[May the Moon Goddess grant you all your heart's desires, Lilian Foster.]

I could hear the pack members exclaiming in the background, too.

"Wow! The Alpha is being incredibly kind to Lilian!"

"Did he get half the pack's fireworks here for her?"

"You can do that? This is so romantic!"

Everyone was staring at this display of favoritism, as if they had completely forgotten that tonight was the Moon Goddess Festival. The one who should have been blessed was the future Luna.

The fireworks in the video reached their zenith, so bright they almost poured out of the screen. I didn't close it.

Instead, I walked slowly toward the observatory at the edge of the festival square.

Several ancient stone pillars stood there. They were "Pillars of Prayer" left by past Lunas, used to reach the Moon Goddess during droughts to petition for rain.

I pressed my palm on the cold surface of one pillar, then closed my eyes and channeled my wolf soul's power into it.

I didn't call down a violent storm. That would have been too obvious. I only nudged the water heavy in the air.

Days of bonfires, lanterns, and packed crowds had already loaded the valley sky with enough clouds.

On the screen, fireworks were still trying to spell out Lilian's name. The last word had just begun to light up when…

Rumble!

Thunder rolled across the sky without warning.

Then, heavy raindrops came down.

In an instant, the downpour drowned every firework that hadn't yet launched and sent the crowd on the plaza scrambling for cover. The admiration in the video turned into screams. The camera jolted wildly, then cut off.

I drew my hand back, and the faint glow on the pillar faded. Rain slipped from the ends of my hair. It was a little cold, but it cleared my head.

As expected, my phone started buzzing.

I stepped under the observatory roof before answering.

"Brenda! Was it you? Did you do this?!" Jason's voice was hoarse, tangled with Lilian's broken sobs in the background. "Why did the rain always fall now of all times? It ruined the Moon Goddess's blessing for Lilian!"

I wiped the rain from my face, my voice even.

"Three days before the festival, the priest warned everyone that the air tonight would be oversaturated and there might be a sudden shower. Didn't I tell you to check the weather the day you bought the fireworks?"

He fell silent for a beat before saying, "You... You were just making a casual remark!"

"You ignored what I said and the priest's warning, and insisted on setting off the fireworks for Lilian. Now the weather turns and ruins your plan, and you come to ask me about it?" I retorted.

I felt an ache in my heart. I did love Jason once, after all. Even now, it still hurt when he showed such blatant favoritism toward Lilian.

On the other end, his voice became more frantic and more brutal.

"What are the odds it lines up like this? When did you learn all these dirty tricks? Do you know how upset Lilian is right now? She's soaked and shaking in the cold, her makeup's ruined, and everyone's laughing at her! I'm telling you to stop this rain right now and apologize to Lilian in front of everyone! You don't stop until she forgives you!"

Apologize?

For the rain?

For their ruined romance?

For Lilian's drenched gown and ruined makeup?

In my last life, I probably would have apologized. Even with my heart being torn apart, I would have bowed my head and forced out an apology. For the sake of a few scraps of his attention, I humiliated myself again and again.

But this time...

I let out a quiet laugh, as cool as the rain washing over me.

"From now on, no one is going to make me apologize again unless I truly believe I'm in the wrong. If your fireworks got ruined by the rain, that's just bad luck. Or maybe… The Moon Goddess thought it was too loud. Either way, it's not my problem."

I hung up, ignoring the way his anger spiked on the other end of the line.

Apologize?

No.

I was never the one who should have apologized.

From now on, I was going to love myself more.