Chapter 2

Eleanor Winslow's POV

Vivian spoke again, her voice small and shaky. "But Ms. Eleanor looked at me so frighteningly today… Did I do something to upset her?"

"Don't be scared." Elliot's voice remained impossibly gentle. "I'm here. She won't dare touch you."

A bitter taste filled my mouth as I stood outside the door.

I hadn't even seen Vivian today. In fact, I went out of my way to avoid her whenever possible.

But somehow, Vivian always found a way to cross my path. Either she would appear before me with tear-filled eyes, begging me not to be mad at her, or she would suddenly stumble and fall for no apparent reason.

I could be standing several feet away without so much as brushing the hem of her dress, and somehow, in their eyes, I was still the monster waiting for an opportunity to hurt her.

There was a soft rustle of fabric from inside the room. It sounded as though Leon had moved to sit beside Vivian.

He murmured something too quietly for me to make out.

Vivian suddenly laughed through her tears. "Leon, you're always like this. The second I start crying, you forget how to talk properly."

Leon laughed with her.

So Leon could soften when a girl cried.

He could lower his voice and comfort someone. He could even make her smile again.

He simply had never done any of those things for me.

"If Ms. Eleanor becomes Luna, do you think she'll throw me out?" Vivian asked timidly.

"She has to choose one of us as her mate," Leon said, his voice gentle. "Whether she chooses Elliot or me, we'll protect you."

Vivian sounded uneasy. "But what if she gets angry because of me and chooses some other werewolf just to spite you?"

Elliot scoffed. "Who else could she possibly choose? Everyone in the pack knows she won't even go to a ball. Where would she have met another werewolf?"

"No werewolf would put up with her temper and entitlement," Leon added calmly. "Especially not one worth having."

I stood frozen outside the door.

It felt as though I'd been plunged into ice water, the cold seeping all the way into my bones.

"Don't worry about it, Vivian." Elliot seemed determined to cheer her up. "Did you like the birthday present I gave you?"

"I did." A shy note slipped into Vivian's voice. "The bracelet was beautiful. But how did you know I like sapphires, Mr. Elliot?"

Elliot chuckled. "I remember everything you like."

Vivian let out another soft chuckle, her voice turning wistful. "I'll never forget the valley you took me to for my birthday last year.

"There were so many fireflies that night that they looked like more stars than the sky could hold. And when I made my birthday wish, both of you were sitting right beside me. It was the best birthday I've ever had."

My heart clenched.

So that was the "urgent business" Elliot and Leon had to take care of on my birthday last year.

They had taken Vivian to a valley to see the fireflies.

While I spent the entire night clutching my phone, waiting for even a simple birthday message from either of them, they had been by Vivian's side, helping her celebrate hers.

I closed my eyes as all the little things I'd deliberately overlooked began resurfacing.

Whenever Elliot brought home souffle for me, there were always three flavors. One was my favorite, orange. The other two were strawberry and caramel.

He always claimed the bakery had thrown them in for free. Yet for some reason, he never once let me have them.

The night I fell sick, Elliot stayed by my bedside until morning. I'd always thought it was because he cared about me. Now I understood.

Vivian had been scheduled to work the night shift, and Elliot had stayed with me so she wouldn't have to lose a night's sleep.

Then there was Leon.

I'd always told myself he was simply cold by nature and treated everyone with the same indifference.

But whenever Vivian passed behind him at dinner, he would instinctively shift aside to give her more room.

Whenever she approached the hallway carrying a tray of tea, his steps would slow ever so slightly.

The signs had always been there.

I'd simply never wanted to see them.

"Mr. Elliot, Mr. Leon... you both treat me so well." Vivian began to cry again. "Ms. Eleanor will be upset if she finds out..."

"Everything we've done for you, it's only because we wanted to," Elliot said quietly.

Then his voice hardened.

"As for Eleanor Winslow, if I didn't owe her father for taking me in and raising me, I would never agree to become her mate."

Leon picked up where he left off. "Once one of us becomes Alpha, you'll never have to worry about pleasing her again."

Outside the door, I fought back the sting behind my eyes.

So that was how they felt.

Becoming my mate was apparently such an unbearable sacrifice that they had to console themselves with the thought of repaying my father's kindness.

Fine.

If being with me was such a burden, I wasn't going to force either of them to keep playing along with this charade.

After all, Elliot and Leon weren't my only choices.