Silent Revenge

Philip did not come back until nightfall. He was holding a steaming deer heart in his hands.He carefully placed it on a plate and set it in front of me. "I went hunting in the forest and got a moose. Eat it while it's hot."I stared at the fresh deer heart, stunned, and felt a wave of emotion rise in my chest.I never fully recovered from an injury I got from when I was young, see. After I got with Philip, he often hunted fresh moose for me. He always gave me the deer heart, which had the most energy, to help me regain my strength.He had done this for five years. He always hunted it himself. He never let anyone else do it for him."Are you still mad? I booked the boat tickets. You don't have to worry anymore."He looked at me with a careful smile."Grace, there is one more thing—I could only get one first-class ticket. The other is economy. There weren't enough seats. Can you switch seats with Laila and let her and Ray sit in first class?"I stared at Philip, speechless. He lo

However, the mate bond between us has not been completely dissolved yet.After the family dinner, I would slip the bond-breaking potion into his drink. Once he drank it, there would be nothing left between us.The cruise ship docked safely at the Black Rose Pack's pier. As soon as Philip finished loading the luggage into the car, Laila ran over panickingly, holding Ray in her arms. "Ray's stomach hurts. What if something's wrong?"Philip checked him over quickly, but found nothing obvious. "We should go to the nearby healer's hut. Better safe than sorry."He lifted Ray into the car, then turned to me with guilt in his eyes. "Grace, can you take the luggage back to the villa for now? I'll take Ray to the healer."Without waiting for my answer, he pulled all the luggage from the trunk and placed it on the ground. He then helped me out of the car and planted a kiss on my forehead."Go ahead and rest at the villa. We'll be back soon. Thank you."With that, he sped away, leaving me standing

Philip raced through the streets with Ray in his arms, bursting into the healer's place.The healer gave Ray a full check-up and eventually said, "He's fine. Just a few bruises."Philip let out a deep breath of relief.Ray gave Laila a smug wink behind Philip. Laila flashed him a proud thumbs-up before turning to Philip with a wounded expression. "I always knew Grace never liked Ray, but I never thought she'd actually lay hands on a five-year-old pup. She went way too far this time."Philip frowned, troubled. He felt Grace had crossed a line, too.He was just about to comfort Laila when a sharp, stabbing pain hit him in the chest—the mate bond. However, it vanished as quickly as it came.Philip blinked in confusion, covering his chest with a hand.What was that?The pain passed, so he brushed it off and picked Ray up again. He and Laila left the healer's place and returned to the villa.Philip had no intention of reaching out to Grace first. He figured she owed Laila an apolog

I woke up in a strange villa."You're awake," greeted a gentle voice. "Are you hurting anywhere? You've been unconscious for three days."It was Ryan, the kind stranger who had taken me to the healer's place before.I offered him a weak smile and said, "Thank you. You saved me again."Then my hand moved to my flat stomach. "The baby—it's gone, isn't it?"Ryan's silence was all the answer I needed.A single tear rolled down my cheek. I closed my eyes and said nothing more.…The afternoon sun was warm. Ryan took me out in a wheelchair for some fresh air by the beach."Your family's been going crazy looking for you these past few days," he said. "Do you want to contact them? If not, I can help you leave."His words stirred something in me. I turned to him. "Why are you helping me?"We were strangers. He had no reason to save me twice, let alone offer to help me escape now.Ryan looked down, something unreadable in his eyes. "Someone once helped me like this. If she were in my

After Ryan found out I had truly let go of Philip, he started spending more time at home.His mother often grumbled to me, "Ryan keeps stealing you from me! We were supposed to go to an auction together today, and he swiped my invitation!"Still, no matter how much she complained, she would happily push me toward him and wink, "Ryan, take good care of Grace, okay? And tonight—no need to come home early."It was not difficult to tell Ryan liked me.At the auction, he placed a high bid and won a moonstone necklace just to give it to me.When he handed it over, I did not take it.Instead, I asked, "Ryan, your feelings make me nervous. I didn't even know you before you saved me, but you act like you've known me forever. Have we met before?"He looked at me gently and asked, "Do you remember the boy you dragged out of a swamp in the forest ten years ago?"I paused and looked at him in shock. "That was you?"Back then, I had gotten lost in the forbidden forest during a gathering. I