Chapter 2 Under the Floodlights

The next day at noon, Stephen came to see me, carrying nothing more than an ordinary jar of herbal ointment.

When he saw me wrapped in layers of gauze from head to toe, his eyes widened slightly. Surprise and concern flashed through his eyes, but as if remembering something, he suppressed those emotions almost instantly.

"Mrs. Steinberg is making a mountain out of a molehill," he said, his tone dismissive. "You only have a few superficial burns. Why did she have you wrapped up like this?"

He walked over to the bed and tried to stroke my head. But I turned my head away, avoiding his touch.

His hand froze in midair, and his expression immediately hardened. "Aveline, there has to be a limit to your temper. Rosalind may have gone about it a little too directly, but she was only trying to help you. Not only did you refuse to appreciate it, you even had Mrs. Steinberg call and chew me out."

He set the jar of herbal ointment heavily on the bedside table. "You're coming to the celebration banquet tonight. Rosalind has only just joined the pack, and she doesn't know many pack members yet. If you refuse to show her this much courtesy, everyone in the pack will think you're narrow-minded. Just make an appearance. Don't make things difficult for me."

I quietly stared at the werewolf in front of me—the Alpha who had once cherished me as though I were the most precious thing in the world.

The burns covering my body continued to stab with pain, and even breathing took effort. I used my last strength to speak my mind. "Stephen, let's end this."

Stephen's expression darkened instantly. "What did you just say? Did you hear yourself, Aveline? Are you threatening me with a breakup over a few superficial burns? I can't spend my entire life revolving around your hybrid weakness. If you're going to be this sensitive and fragile all the time, how long do you expect anyone to keep accommodating you?"

"It wasn't a threat." My voice was faint, and I instinctively tried to move away. But he had already lost all patience. He stepped forward and seized my injured wrist.

"Let go… It hurts."

A bolt of agony shot straight through my head. My vision went black, and my legs gave out beneath me. I collapsed onto the floor, cold sweat instantly soaking through my back.

However, he did not loosen his grip in the slightest. Looking down at me sprawled helplessly on the floor, he said coldly, "Suck it up! You're going to that celebration banquet tonight, whether you want to or not. I have never indulged anyone's bad temper. Even if I have to drag you there by force, I'm taking you to apologize to Rosalind."

I had no strength left to resist. I could only let him change me into a loose-fitting, high-collared robe. But even if the fabric looked loose enough, whenever it brushed against my raw, damaged skin, the pain still felt unbearable.

…

On the way to the banquet, I curled up in the back seat, my face deathly pale. Stephen sat beside me, yet he never once asked how I was feeling.

The celebration banquet was being held in an outdoor courtyard.

There was no sunlight at night, but to create the right atmosphere, the organizers had installed numerous powerful floodlights around the venue. The lights emitted intense ultraviolet radiation, and to me, the damage was no different from standing beneath the midday sun.

Three years ago, when Stephen had pursued me, he had carefully learned every restriction and vulnerability caused by my unusual physiology. He could not have been unaware, yet his expression remained cold and hard.

He half dragged, half hauled me toward the area where the floodlights were most concentrated, then forced me down into a chair. "Sit here quietly and reflect on what you did. Don't cause any more trouble. I'm going over to accompany Rosalind through the banquet proceedings."

With that, he turned and strode away.

The harsh lights struck my skin like red-hot irons, searing my flesh over and over again. Within seconds, the burning pain had erupted across my entire body once more.