005

CHAPTER FIVE

Knox’s POV

Have you ever lived in a world with no color?

Just grey.

That was how I had been living… at least for as long as I could remember. The world had been grey ever since she left. It was without color, and it felt as though she had taken the colors away with her. Not just the colors, but also my senses.

But I didn’t think that was enough compensation for her.

She should have taken my life too, made it an eye for an eye. Yet living wasn’t any better for me either. It had been hell, so maybe she would have preferred it this way.

And I didn’t hate her. I hated myself even more for not suffering enough.

“But this life…” I whispered before trailing off when I caught sight of something strange on the street.

Even though I couldn’t see the person’s face clearly, something about them felt familiar.

But my assistant’s voice jolted me out of my trance.

“Alpha,” Jason called softly from the driver’s seat, and I hummed in response.

Jason was the son of my father’s butler, and we had grown up together. He knew me more than I knew myself. He was the only person who knew my deepest secrets... the secrets that could threaten my position as the Pack’s Alpha if anyone ever found out.

“I have something to report,” he said, and I shot him a hard glare because he very well knew what day it was today.

“Can it not wait?” I asked.

He shook his head slightly, and I already had a vague guess what it was about. Those elders again.

They were the only ones bold enough to openly challenge me.

Everyone knew Alpha Knox Blackwood as a ruthless Alpha no one dared to oppose, but what they didn’t know was that my position was constantly threatened from within.

I had become Alpha after my parents died, before I could even finish high school. But because I could shift, and my wolf was stronger than any wolf in the pack, I was allowed to succeed my father.

Yet that succession had never been peaceful.

Attacks came from every direction within the court. Every move I made was monitored by the council of elders, all waiting for me to make one mistake so they could hand the pack over to my uncle. Those greedy old men.

“I’m sorry, Alpha, but your uncle has called for another council meeting tonight,” Jason said carefully. “They want to discuss your dismissal as Alpha.” I chuckled coldly. Same old tricks.

“Really?” I muttered. “And what reason is he using this time?”

Jason hesitated.

“He… he said that since you still haven’t honored the pack by producing an heir, then you are no longer fit to lead.”

“Those greedy monsters!” I roared as Magnus, my wolf, stirred violently inside me, trying to take control. He hated it whenever anyone threatened our position.

“I’m sorry, Alpha,” Jason apologized quickly. “I couldn’t find a way to dismiss the meeting.”

I shook my head slowly and leaned back against the headrest of the car seat, trying to think of a solution.

But eventually, I gave up. I would handle them in my own way.

“Should I just kill him?” I muttered darkly.

Jason looked visibly shaken by my words, but before he could respond, the car screeched to a stop at the edge of the mountain.

My heart skipped painfully. Just like every year on this exact day, I had returned to this place.

“We are here, Alpha,” Jason announced as he quickly stepped out to open the car door for me.

I got out of the car holding a bouquet of purple roses since they had been her favorite.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I stared at the starry sky above.

“It looks like it’s going to rain,” I murmured as I began walking up the mountain.

Each step felt unbearably heavy while memories of that night flooded my mind again. A shiver ran down my spine as I relived those memories.

Not that I had ever forgotten. But the look on her face when she stared at me…

“I’m here,” I whispered softly as I stopped in front of the remembrance stone.

My eyes became misty as I stared at her name engraved into the stone.

I didn’t know what to say.

So I simply placed the bouquet down and bowed my head silently.

“You must have been cold.”

A chilly wind swept through the mountain, disturbing the stillness around me, and moments later, droplets of rain began falling against my face.

“Don’t you think it’s funny?” I murmured bitterly. “It’s raining again… just like the day we met.”

The rain poured harder, soaking through my clothes, but I didn’t move.

I stood there for a long time until I suddenly noticed something shielding me from the rain.

Jason stood beside me holding an umbrella over my head.

“I just thought I should come to you,” he said quietly. “The rain is pouring heavily and... ”

“Don’t you think she gets drenched whenever it rains too?” I asked softly.

Jason immediately understood what I meant, so he slowly lowered the umbrella.. I didn’t deserve protection. I was a monster who deserved to rot in hell.. I doubted she would even want to see me standing there like that.

And that realization suddenly made me feel like I shouldn’t have come at all.

“Let’s go,” I muttered quietly.

But my steps halted when I heard a distant voice crying for help.

Even though the sound was faint beneath the heavy rain, I could still hear it clearly.

My hearing was ten times sharper than the average werewolf’s. Maybe that had been my consolation for losing my other senses.

“Do you hear that, Jason?” I asked.

Jason paused and focused carefully. The rain had drowned out most of the sound, but after a few seconds, he nodded.

“Should I go check?” he asked immediately.

I shook my head.

If there was one thing I hated, it was meddling in other people’s business. As long as something didn’t directly concern me, I preferred looking the other way.

“No,” I replied coldly. “I’m sure whoever it is can handle themselves.”

“But I can sense rogue wolves nearby and... ”

He stopped immediately when I turned to glare at him.

“I’m sorry if I offended you, Alpha,” he apologized quickly.

“No,” I muttered bitterly. “You didn’t offend me. It’s not your fault you ended up with an incompetent Alpha who can’t recognize faces or smell anything.”

I brushed past him afterward. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help. But if I stepped into that situation, there would only be bloodshed.

I might even end up killing the very person asking for help because I couldn’t tell friend from foe anymore.

I was nothing more than a blind Alpha pretending he could still see.

What was the point of having eyes when I couldn’t even recognize faces properly?

It had happened once before. I refused to let history repeat itself. I started walking downhill while Jason hurried ahead to open the car door for me.

But his hand suddenly froze when another desperate cry echoed through the mountain.

“Help!”

The voice rang louder this time.

Magnus shifted restlessly inside me, urging me to investigate, but I ignored him.

Magnus had always been a righteous bastard.

Unlike me.

But I was the only reason both of us were still alive. I couldn’t allow anyone to discover our disability.

I had no connection whatsoever to whoever was screaming. There was no reason to risk everything for a stranger.

“Let’s go, Jason,” I ordered as I stepped into the car.