LOGIN“I'm not going back.”I placed the invitation to my mating ceremony in Theodore's open palm.“If you truly want to see me happy, Kyle and I are holding our mating ceremony tomorrow. You're welcome to come.”Theodore's face turned pale, and he stumbled back a step.In the end, he only lowered his head before leaving quietly with his parents.On the day of the ceremony, I wore an elaborate ceremonial gown and walked toward the altar with my arm linked through Kyle's as cheers rose around us.From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of someone standing among the wolves below.Theodore stood alone at the edge of the crowd, looking more isolated than anyone else there, while his eyes remained fixed on me with a brightness that never faded.I knew it was him.He had come after all.But I only glanced at him once before looking away and turning toward Kyle beside me.Kyle leaned down and spoke gently.“Bella, I'm going to mark you now. It'll hurt a little, so hold on.”I nodded.The moment h
If this had happened before, his apology might have made me waver, but now, it wouldn't.My gaze fell briefly on the slightly faded ring in his hand.“That was only a token of the alliance between our families. My parents are gone, so that agreement should have ended a long time ago.”Theodore froze for a moment, but he still refused to give up.“What about the letters, Bella? Have you forgotten all the promises we made to each other?”I raised an eyebrow and looked at him with feigned surprise.“What letters? Show them to me.”His head lowered, and whatever he had been about to say died in his throat.From the stiffness in his expression, I knew he had already discovered that I had burned every one of them.I looked away and turned to go inside with Kyle, only for Theodore's voice to follow me.“Bella, this is what's left.”My steps slowed before I finally turned around.Theodore was holding a small glass bottle filled with pale gray ashes.For a moment, I suddenly felt sorry for the
(Bella's POV)When Theodore appeared, I was in the middle of carrying potted plants from the house into the garden.The moment he spotted me from a distance, relief and joy rushed into his eyes.“Bella!”He hurried toward me with his arms already opening, clearly eager to pull me into an embrace, but before he could get close, the servant beside me stepped in front of him.Theodore's expression darkened instantly.“What are you doing? You even dare to stop me?”The servant stayed firmly in front of me without moving an inch.Theodore's anxious gaze shifted to me, and his voice softened.“Bella, don't be afraid. I'm here to take you home.”I said nothing and simply looked at him calmly.His attention snapped back to the servant, his brows drawing together in displeasure.“Who told you to keep Bella here? She's my Luna and the Luna of the Evernight Pack. Get out of the way while you still can.”A voice suddenly came from behind me.“She isn't your Luna.”At the same time, an arm settled
(Theodore's POV)The expressions on Theodore's parents' faces changed, and after a brief silence, his father tried to justify himself.“We've given Bella a home all these years. I'd say we've done enough to repay her family.”“A home?” Theodore let out a cold laugh.“Back then, Bella's parents knew their own pack could be attacked for helping us, yet they still sent part of their forces to support us and called on their wolves to donate supplies.”“Without them, would any of us, or this pack, have survived? And how did we repay that kindness? We made their orphaned daughter live like a rogue in the very pack that owed her family everything!”His parents lowered their heads and fell silent.“Alpha!”A servant came rushing toward him, breathless as he delivered the news.“We found something Miss Bella left behind in the courtyard!”Theodore followed him outside, and the moment he saw the fire pit, a terrible realization struck him.He reached into the ashes, searching desperately for any
(Theodore's POV)The room was almost completely bare, with hardly any sign that anyone had ever lived there, yet the faint trace of Bella's scent lingering in the air reminded Theodore that this had been her room.A bed, a desk, and a narrow wardrobe were all the furniture it contained. The space was so cramped and plain that he could cross it in only a few steps.With trembling hands, Theodore opened the wardrobe as though some miracle might still be waiting inside, only to find it completely empty.“How could this be…”His hand remained suspended in the air, as if he were reaching for the clothes Bella had once kept there even though there was nothing left for him to touch.Only then did it occur to him that he couldn't remember the last time Bella had worn anything new. She seemed to rotate between the same two outfits, and with a jolt, he remembered why, he had been the one who told the servants to give the rest of her clothes to Erin.When Erin first lost his brother, Theodore had
(Theodore's POV)After Bella left, a faint sense of unease began to settle over Theodore.Something about her had felt different lately.His gaze drifted toward Erin beside him, taking in the ring on her finger and the ceremonial gown she was wearing, both things Bella had once treasured as if they meant everything to her, yet she had handed them over to Erin with barely a fight.“Alpha, stop staring at our beautiful Luna and look at the camera.”The photographer's voice pulled Theodore from his thoughts.With a smile, Erin tightened her hold around his arm.Theodore stiffened and was about to discreetly remove her hand when his mother's excited voice reached him.“What a perfect pair. I knew Erin was always the most suitable she-wolf to become Luna.”His father smiled with satisfaction.“Exactly. Theodore and Erin are the pride of our pack.”The hand Theodore had lifted slowly fell back to his side.He didn't want to disappoint his parents, and he didn't want to fail his dead brother







