The Alpha Watched Me Burn

A rugged SUV drove toward me, and I hurriedly raised a hand to flag it down. The driver took one look at me and immediately frowned. "No, no. I'm not taking you. There's so much blood on you. I'll never be able to get it out of the seats!"

I was trembling from the pain, but I fumbled through my wallet and pulled out a thick stack of bills, shoving it into his hand. "Three times the fare. Please, take me back to the city."

The driver hesitated for a long while before finally letting me into the car, though he clearly was not happy about it.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally made it home. I staggered through the door, and the moment my mother saw the state I was in, she rushed over in a panic. She reached out as if to touch me, then stopped herself, her voice breaking. "Goodness! How did you get hurt this badly?"

She immediately dug out the special herbs and dressings we kept for emergencies, then carefully began cutting away my ruined sun-protective cloak.

The fabric had stuck to my raw, damaged flesh. Every time she peeled away another piece, my body jerked involuntarily from the pain. I bit down hard on a pillow and did not make a sound. Even the wolf soul inside me had begun to writhe restlessly in agony.

My hybrid body was suffering from both sides at once. The werewolf's powerful healing ability had been suppressed, while the vampire side's vulnerability had been magnified to its fullest extent.

My mother's hands trembled violently as she grabbed her phone and hurriedly called Stephen. "Stephen! Didn't I tell you Aveline was a werewolf-vampire hybrid? Vampires are naturally vulnerable to sunlight. As an Alpha, there's no way you didn't know that! How could you let her get burned by the sun to this extent?"

Stephen's voice came through the phone, calm and unhurried. "Mrs. Steinberg, you're overreacting. She's not a pure-blooded vampire. Much of her fear of sunlight is psychological. Rosalind's only trying to help her overcome it. As for the burns, some herbal treatment will take care of them. No need to make such a big deal out of it."

My mother was so furious that tears streamed down her face. "That is an inherent weakness of her bloodline, not some kind of fragility! Just because werewolves aren't afraid of the sun, do you think everyone is like you? Large areas of her skin have been burned away! Do you really think a little herbal treatment will make this go away?"

"I left the cloak outside beforehand. She rushed out to get it." Stephen's voice turned cold. "I was willing to speak to you civilly because of Aveline, but if you're going to make a scene and do nothing but blame me, there's nothing left for us to discuss."

The call ended.

My whole body was burning. My vision went black, and I slipped into a hazy, feverish stupor. Through the fog, I could only vaguely feel my mother repeatedly replacing the cool towel on my forehead, quietly sobbing beside me.

I had no idea how many hours passed before I suddenly opened my eyes. My entire body felt feverish and weak, leaving me barely able to move.

My phone lit up.

Stephen had sent me messages. 'Your mother called and gave me an earful. You told her everything, didn't you? Did you put anything on your wounds? Stop throwing a tantrum. Everything I did was for your sake.

'Do you really want to live your entire life being afraid of the sun? The pack is holding a celebration banquet tomorrow night for the Spring Hunt. Come over and apologize to Rosalind, and we'll put this whole thing behind us.'

The corners of my lips twitched, but my heart had already gone cold. 'Rosalind did this to me, and he still expects me to apologize to her?'

I numbly opened my social media app.

Rosalind had posted a new update just one minute ago.

In the photo, candlelight flickered across an elegant restaurant. Stephen carefully cut her steak while the two of them gazed at each other across their exquisite meal, the atmosphere intimate and tender.

The caption read: 'He actually managed to get a reservation at my favorite private restaurant!'

Several pack members teased them in the comments.

'Alpha is way too good to Ms. Warwick! We've been fighting tooth and nail just to get a table at this place.'

Stephen himself replied, 'Someone worth it naturally deserves the extra effort.'

I gave a bitter laugh and touched the wolf-fang pendant hanging around my neck.

It had been passed down to Stephen by an Elder during his Alpha succession ceremony. It had also been the token of our relationship.

I yanked it hard, and the cord snapped.

I lowered my eyes and tossed the pendant I had once treasured more than anything into the trash can, where it landed among the bloodstained gauze.