Hogan’s POV It was a jest. The delicious meat I ate last night was only because I was hungry. That’s what I thought not until I had her food again. When I was living alone, I only ate bland meat that I hunted myself. It tastes like my life. Bland, raw, disgusting, and worthless. I never felt happy during my meal. But this woman’s cooking changed my perspective. I had long forgotten my childhood days with my parents. I was always looking forward to my mom’s cooking and the time when we would eat together in front of one table. I thought I had erased everything. For I feel like I don’t deserve to remember good memories because of this damn curse. Chewing the tender meat, I lifted my eyes towards the woman eating silently across from my seat. She kept on fidgeting her fingers. Her mouth opened, closed, opened, closed, opened, and closed several times as if she wanted to open an argument but failed to do so. Feigning ignorance, I lowered my head and had another spoonful of the savo
Elizabeth’s POV “If you stay here, you will regret it.” “W-Why?” “YOU WILL GOING TO DIE IF YOU LIVE WITH ME. MY CURSE WILL KILL YOU.” There was a chilling atmosphere when he dropped those words, and I could hide my befuddlement at this. ‘I was afraid of his curse when we first met. Weirdly, I don’t feel like that anymore.’ “I don’t care,” I answered Hogan. I packed my gaze with the truth, wanting to sear this moment into his mind and hope later, he would accept my answer. He glanced down, expression flat, something he had dubbed the Hank effect. “What do you mean that you don’t care?” he said. Hogan’s eyes were stone-cold and serious. Though he left more debate unspoken, his gaze was doing plenty of yelling. “I…” I said while pointing to myself, “I think I am cursed either.” A tornado touches down on his face and his brows. Lightning strikes over his red stormy eyes. “Ever since my mother died, the people around me have stolen what’s mine. I lived a life full of misery. Ma
My wolf warned me as soon as I opened my eyes. ‘You are in danger, Elizabeth.’ I sat up gasping silent words, and when I turned my head to the side, I saw the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack staring down at me. ‘He abducted me in front of Hogan’s house after forcing me to sleep.’ With my heart in tremor, I asked him, “Alpha of Blood Moon Pack, why did you do that?” “Philip,” he said, sitting down to meet my gaze. “My name is Philip. You can call me by my name, Elizabeth.” This man, Philip, had his usual friendly gaze, but behind those tricky expressions, he is dangerous. “It was me who brought you to Hogan’s house,” he confessed. ‘He did?!’ Then, there’s a possibility that… “Did you team up with my stepsister?!” I asked hysterically. He rubbed his chin and hummed. “Ahhh, so it was your stepsister who brought you into our pack by force. We went to your pack to find Hogan’s mate. They gave you, so I brought you to Hogan as his gift.” A silent growl vibrated in my throat. Lo
“You have Philip’s scent with you,” he said. “Explain to me why you smell like this." My heart stopped beating temporarily and then began to hammer against my chest violently. I felt like my life flashes before my eyes. In my terrified mind, I tried to explain. First, I need to deny. “Ahhh, so that man is Philip?” I asked. He only frowned. “B-Before, when I got lost in the woods, I bumped into a strong man. He has brown hair and blue eyes. The man was roaming around. I said I got lost and asked for directions. He gladly helped me.” When Hogan didn’t reply, I spoke again. “Is he Philip? Do you know him?” “He is the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack.” I already knew that, so I pretended to be shocked. “R-Really? Oh my god. I didn’t know anything and yet I talked to him without respect.” A judicial knot marred his forehead. He looks even more confused than when he asked me why I smelled like Philip. “That man,” he mumbled, “he never came near my house before.” I am not sure what
[“Tell me what Hogan ate yesterday.”]Just in case I saw it wrong, I rubbed my eyes.[“Tell me what Hogan ate yesterday.”]But the content of Philip’s letter remained the same.‘The first thing that Philip wanted to know is the food Hogan ate yesterday?’ Even my wolf confirmed that I didn’t see the wrong words.“If he wanted to kill Hogan, why would he ask this question?”I don’t know. It was difficult to know what was on Philip’s mind unless I cracked it open. ‘I wish I could.’ Bugged by this, I looked around.‘What if someone saw me meeting with Philip yesterday and wrote this letter to trick me?’ On second thought, it might be Philip’s way to test me if I would come here today and follow his orders just like I promised before we parted ways.‘Nothing would change if this was Philip or not. Your life is in danger. You should write an answer,’ My wolf persuaded me to act right away.And so, with the pen that I brought with me, I wrote the correct answer.[“Hogan ate bear meat yest
“Are you really looking forward to the day when I had to leave you?”I know already that Hogan and I would not live together forever.We were ready for that from day one.It was supposed to be normal to hear from him that someday soon, I had to leave his side.Even so, I felt bad and sad.It was so selfish of me to feel wrong when I asked Hogan many things, and he provided what I needed to survive.But I’ve done what I shouldn’t have done. I asked him the question, and now while I was looking into his red eyes, I waited for his answer, hoping that it could explain why my heart was in pain.“I am not driving you away, Elizabeth,” he said. The end of his intonation was soft, and gentle as if he purposely softened his rough voice when he called my name.Hogan leaned closer. Although he did not touch my shoulder, I felt so protected by his reassuring gaze.“You are a good woman,” he said. “And that’s more the reason why you don’t deserve to die.”I raised my eyes, observing his. For the f
The archery lesson will start today.I was so excited that I woke up earlier than usual and began my routine exercise.“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one…”As I wrapped my left arm around the bent leg and gently turned my torso, I noticed that Hogan was glancing at me while he was stretching.Since he was looking, I felt more vigorous, like a student who wanted to boast to her teacher.When I jumped up and down, swinging my arms, I did it energetically as if to show off to Hogan that I am prepared enough to start our new training.Hogan peeked at me, turned around, and tried to hide the smile. He was laughing at me, but I didn’t feel annoyed at that.As a matter of fact, I prefer seeing him smile.Hogan was cold and expressionless when we first met. But nowadays, I noticed that he smiled more often than before, which is a good thing.I finished my routine exercise in a flash, and it was surprising that I didn’t feel tire
On the verge of giving up, Hogan's rough voice came from behind. “Your movements were tense." A huge body overlapped mine as Hogan stood close. His chest rested on my back. And when he stretched his sturdy arms, I was locked in between. 'He’s too close.’ “The reason why you kept on messing up is because of your upper body’s posture. Keep your shoulders down,” he whispered, and his baritone voice bounced left and right in my ears. It sent shivers from my skin to my spine, and down to my toes. I wanted to move away, but I was rooted in my spot. “Bring the bow up to shoulder height. Like this,” he said, guiding my shoulders. I inhaled sharply, and when I did, Hogan’s earthy and minty scent penetrated my nose. It reminded me of a calm sea, but my mind was far from being serene. “Your arm should be fully extended, and turn away your elbow as much as you could,” Hogan said, pulling the wrist gently. He drew the bow back in a straight line that my hand touched the side of my face.