Chapter 2

I approached the center of the campfire, and Yves was visibly taken aback to see me.

"Why are you here?" He frowned slightly, as if he hadn't expected me—who should have been resting by now—to show up here.

I shook the sobering potion and my phone, indicating that it was his text that brought me here.

Renee, standing beside him, immediately clung to Yves's arm and said coyly, "Alpha, I was only worried you'd feel unwell after drinking, so I used your phone to ask Luna Tiffany to bring the sobering potion. You won't blame me, will you?"

Yves' tightly knitted brows instantly relaxed.

Strangely, even after seeing Renee's provocation and Yves' indulgence, I didn't feel my heart stir. My wolf didn't whimper either—she was just deathly quiet.

I swept my gaze over the excessively close distance between them and said, "So, you don't really need me. Can I leave now?"

"Tiffany, are you jealous?" Yves smiled lazily. "Renee and I just signed a big deal with another pack. We're just using the campfire party to celebrate. Don't overthink it."

I shook my head and silently handed him the sobering potion.

Upon seeing that I didn't react, Yves' expression turned slightly disinterested. He then announced the party was over and that everyone should head home.

He ignored Renee's attempts to keep him and walked up to me in a few steps. He kissed my forehead, saying, "Alright, don't be mad, my Luna. Let's go home together."

His scent and warmth enveloped me. My wolf started rolling inside me restlessly at that. I could feel her conflicting emotions, because they were mine too.

My wolf couldn't understand why Yves could hurt us so deeply and yet still use the most intimate gestures to get closer to us.

But I knew why. It was because Yves loved me. However, his love was far too fragile, so fragile that in the face of anything, I was always the first to be sacrificed.

As I walked forward, lost in thought, Yves suddenly yanked me back.

I felt my heart pound in shock, and only then did I notice a speeding car had nearly grazed me as it passed.

If not for Yves, I probably would have been hit.

"Don't you know to watch where you're walking? What if you got hurt?" he snapped.

Yves' tone carried urgent reproach as he tightly enclosed my hand in his warm palm.

In a daze, I remembered how he used to hold my hand like this whenever we hunted through the dangerous Shadow Forest. It had been so long since I felt this warmth that I found myself feeling uncomfortable with it.

Just after crossing the street, I calmly pulled my hand back.

…

The next morning, I packed my things, preparing to head to the pack's headquarters to handle unfinished business.

However, Yves slipped his arm around my shoulders and offered with a smile, "I'll take you."

I had slept very late last night and was indeed running short on time now, so I didn't refuse him.

But when I opened the passenger seat door, a wave of Renee's sickly-sweet pheromones hit me.

The car's seat cushions had been replaced with fluffy white ones, and there was also a cute little wolf plush sitting on the seat.

A small metal plaque was stuck on the back of the passenger's seat, engraved with the words, "Renee's exclusive seat".

It was extremely ironic that the Alpha Yves, who had always had a strong sense of territory, actually allowed these things to appear in his car.

These childish and domineering decorations were clearly displays of blatant provocation from Renee.

I felt my heart, which had only just begun to thaw, instantly plunge back into an icy abyss.

I told myself not to harbor any more unrealistic fantasies. It would only make me look more pathetic.

A flicker of unease crossed Yves' face as he explained, "Renee is very young, and young she-wolves like these things. Don't take it to heart."

I opened my mouth, wanting to say to him, "Yeah, I'm not young anymore, but didn't I give you the best years of my youth?"

But in the end, I said nothing. I knew even if I did, the only reply would be to not make a big deal out of it.

With him, my emotions were always easily dismissed, as if they were utterly insignificant.

I tactfully opened the back door of the car and didn't touch "Renee's exclusive seat".

"Drive," I said.

"You haven't had breakfast yet, right?" Perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, Yves handed me a box of milk from the glove compartment.

When I glanced up, I saw the compartment was filled with all sorts of snacks and dried fruits.

I recalled that Yves had an extremely strong territorial instinct and would never allow anyone to leave the scent of food in his car.

One time, my lips had turned pale, and I felt weak all over due to overtraining and exhaustion. I just wanted to take a sip of honey water, yet he coldly refused, saying, "The scent of food isn't allowed in my car."

Yet now, he could so easily indulge in Renee.

I shook my head, declined the milk, and turned to look out the window. I didn't want to glance at him even once more.

For the first time, I understood what it felt like to no longer be loved.