Chapter 4

Walking out of the manor, I wandered aimlessly down the street.

A drizzle began to fall from the sky, pattering softly onto the trees beside me.

The walk somehow brought me to the former grounds of the Werewolf Academy.

Gwen was a grade ahead of me.

At the time, she’d wait up for me and come get me, afraid it wasn’t safe for me to walk home alone after my classes ended late.

Soon after, another wolf started trailing behind us.

Gwen often said with a smile, “Harris is here to walk you home again.”

But at that time, I didn't dare to confess my feelings to him. It was my sister who encouraged me to pursue the wolf I liked.

Mustering the courage, I told Harris how I felt.

His silence stretched long, so long that I was ready to walk away. That was when he said yes.

Since then, Harris had become a part of my life. He became a constant presence in Gwen’s, too.

It made me wonder if the sweet scent I’d picked up on Harris was because he was near Gwen.

I had to stop myself there.

Some distance ahead, Harris’ car passed me.

The direction he was going wasn’t where he handled pack affairs, nor was it to the Moon Temple.

I flagged down a cab and instructed the driver to follow behind Harris.

My voice trembled when I spoke to the driver.

Deep down, I already knew the answer. However, I was reluctant to face the truth.

The black SUV drove out of the city, passing along the mountain forest road in the western suburbs, before finally stopping in front of a private manor built against the hillside.

I was taken aback.

In the nine years Harris and I had been together, I didn’t know he had another residence away from our shared home.

I stepped out of the car. As soon as I approached the gate, raised voices reached my ears.

“What did Grace mean by those words?” Gwen’s voice shook. “Harris, you promised me. You said she’d never find out. You can’t hurt her!”

Harris, his back rigid, said, “No. Grace is just feeling down. I sounded her out. She suspects nothing.”

Gwen sighed in relief as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m never coming back here again. We must stop this.”

Out of nowhere, Harris chuckled and looked at Gwen. He uttered, “Stop this?

“We built this manor together. You planted the roses in the yard. The training grounds, the observatory, the sauna… Every inch of this place holds our memories.

“Gwen, can you honestly stand there and tell me you’re ready to bury all of this?”

Gwen bit her lips, unable to stop her tears.

A heartbeat later, she threw herself into Harris’ arms, and they locked in an embrace.

The air was thick with the bitter scent of longing and reluctance, sucking the life out of me.

Standing outside the gate, I felt like a stranger intruding on someone else’s territory.

I couldn’t catch whatever they were talking about thereafter.

A deafening ringing filled my ears.

Only then did I notice that crimson roses lined the entire wall surrounding the courtyard.

Every corner of this place whispered of the life they'd built together.

It was a life I’d never even known existed.

Memories surfaced one after another.

During the Winter Moon Festival four years ago, Gwen and Harris had both told me they wouldn’t be back due to work, so I was left to my own devices.

Two years back, Harris talked about going to the pack where Gwen was working to discuss a partnership with the Alpha there on her birthday.

With the truth laid bare before me, I struggled to breathe.

I returned to the manor, not even calling them out on their lies.

Now wasn’t the time.

I packed my suitcase bit by bit, preparing for my departure.

Harris came home late that night. His clothes smelled of rain.

The scent of his emotion was bitter grief.

Spotting me, he squeezed a smile and approached me. “You’re still up?”

Met with my silence, he nuzzled my forehead. “This morning was my fault. I grabbed the wrong jam. It won’t happen again, so don’t be mad at me, okay?”

I chuckled and uttered tenderly, “It doesn’t bother me.”

As relief washed over Harris, he shuffled my hair and went into the shower.

The moment the door closed behind him, the smile on my face disappeared.