Chapter 1

"Ginger, it seems like I've killed a she-wolf while driving drunk. "

At 2 o'clock before dawn, as my wolf was unsound and extremely weak due to silver dust somewhere I touched during the day, I received a message from Darcy through mind-link.

This was my 8th year as Darcy's simp, and he showed me his vulnerability for the first time: "Ginger, I don't know what to do. Can you help me?"

My wolf was shocked and at a loss, even though I was rather uncomfortable, I still quickly got up in pain and rushed to the forest where he was.

Along the way, I comforted him while driving and almost crashed into big trees several times.

Finally, I arrived at the lawn between the trees. There was no moon. His electric torch was dim. On the ground lying a female warrior, blood flowing all over her body.

Darcy sat on the lawn, staring blankly at the corpse on the ground. His hoarse growl trembled slightly: "Ginger, what should I do? I don't want to go to jail. Can you help me?"

Looking at his face, I had a momentary dreamy state and forgot to reply.

He stopped growling, stood up somewhat dissatisfied and grabbed me by the hand.

"Ginger, why don't you go to jail for me? I will hire the best werewolf lawyer from the pack to defend you. When you are released from prison, we will held the bonding ceremony."

My wolf was taken aback and I looked at him unbelievably, ‘I…I, Darcy."

I was completely shocked when I heard his request.

Even though I knew I had been nothing more than a fool who loved him unconditionally for the past eight years,

I never expected that he would go so far as to ask me to take the fall and go to jail for him.

I told myself it didn't matter whether he loved me or not, whether he claimed me or not.

But the truth hit harder than I expected—

I was just a cruel joke he never bothered to explain.

My heart clenched, and I felt it—something inside me was breaking, vanishing like mist in the morning sun.

"What? Are you unwilling to? Ginger, didn't you always say that you are the fated mate to me and would do anything for me?"

Darcy's words interrupted my mind. He thought I didn't want to, so his wolf became irritated and started to growl.

I came to my senses and quickly explained to him, "No, Darcy. I will do it! It's just that you said you and I would hold the bonding ceremony. I was too happy to utter a word."

"Are you really willing to go to jail for me and bear the charge of murder?" Darcy repeated it again. His growl sounded a bit complicated.

"Yes, I do." I nodded numbly, even as my wolf trembled with fear.

However, he fell silent for a few seconds before suddenly howling with laughter.

"Come out. I won the bet."

Instantly, many more electric torch lights came from the nearby woods. A group of werewolves emerged. I knew they were all friends of Darcy.

"Darcy, it is amazing! I've seen many simps, but I've never seen one she-wolf who can be more devoted than Ginger."

"Darcy killed a she-wolf, and she will go to jail for Darcy. I'm really impressed by her. Darcy, why don't you show mercy and mark her."

Even the female wolf who played the corpse got up from the grassland and looked at me with extreme pity: "Ginger, Darcy has recently fallen in love with a beautiful she-wolf who happens to know you! But she turned off her scent recognition. Tonight, she made a bet with Darcy that if you want to be Darcy's mate so desperate that you are willing to go to jail for him, she will accompany Darcy and turn on her scent recognition. And they will mate. Yeah!"

I stood there like a fool, alone in the center of the lawn, laughter echoing all around me.

And in the midst of it, I looked at Darcy—the face I once loved with all my heart.

A bitter smile broke through the numbness,

because I knew this would be the last time I gave him even that much.

In the past few years, I witnessed how fast he changed she-wolves. Normally, one every month.

And I, considered to be a hanger-on, had to act as a ass-kisser in order to stay by his side.

In order to prove my sincerity to him, I was on standby almost all day, not only by mind-link, but also trying to please him in various ways.

For example, if he mated with a sexy she-wolf, I would pay for it. If he wanted to drink herbal tea, I would find and bring it to him in the middle of the night. If his wolf was unhappy, I would take all the hit and scold at his will.

In contrast, tonight's gambling game was nothing.

Not to mention, as soon as I saw the lawn, I sensed something wrong.

As a heir to the Alpha King, every wolf in the pack knew him and dared not to provoke him. If he killed someone by accident, there were plenty of ways, other than getting his claws dirty.

Therefore, I finally understood—I was nothing but a fool, laughed at not only by him but by the entire pack.

Today's drama was never about love. It was a show, carefully staged… just to humiliate me.

As their mocking laughter and applause echoed around me, something inside my chest froze over.

I lowered my head, just wanting to disappear. To leave quietly.

But then, a she-wolf slowly stepped out from the crowd and stood in front of me, blocking my way.

She sneered and looked at me, "Ginger, so you have been a simp all these years? Like an egg sucking dog? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it."

This time, the she-wolf that Darcy wanted to sleep with, turned out to be Brigitte.

My stepsister.

"Brigitte, I won the bet. When will you fulfill the promise?" Darcy approached Brigitte, put his claw around her waist and kissed her.

"How about tonight?" Brigitte's claw circled around his chest, while her eyes were still on me: "Ginger, I've known you for all my life. You've always been vain. Are you approaching Darcy just because he is the future Alpha King? You're pretending to be devoted under the guise of sincerity."

Listening to her disdain, Darcy also glared at me with a look of extreme disgust.

I know that Alphas like him never believed in sincerity and firmly believed that my intentions are impure.

In fact, he guessed half right. I did have impure intentions, but not for his position in the pack, but for… that face.

I stared at his face, glowing under the torchlight, unable to look away.

Even now, it still made my heart race.

How foolish—I had clung to a face for eight years, and in the end, it brought me nothing but pain.

"Ginger, why are you staring at me?" Darcy scolded me. "That's disrespectful."

Disrespectful?

What the fuck? I endured excruciating pain from the silver dust and drove all the way here after midnight—only to be mocked by him.

And now I'm the one being called disrespectful?

Really?

On a second thought, how could I present such a terrible version of myself in front of this face.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, an unconscious smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

"What are you laughing at?" Darcy's face twisted, as if that betting on me didn't hurt my feeling made him somewhat unhappy.

I didn't restrain my bitter smile and sighed, "I'm just glad you didn't kill any werewolf. It's great that you're safe and sound."

It was obvious that my answer exceeded his expectations and left him momentarily stunned.

With his friends heckling around him, I continued to laugh, showing anticipation. "Darcy, where's my reward?"