Chapter 71

**TWNikolai.I did not understand why I wanted Vena here.The thought had irritated me ever since I left her room, yet despite that irritation, I still found myself waiting for her inside the piano room like some restless idiot unable to sit still.I never let anyone here.No one except Miriam, and even then only to clean under strict instruction not to move anything unnecessarily. The other maids avoided this place entirely because they knew how protective I was over it.This room belonged to memories and to the ghosts of my past.And somehow, for reasons I could not explain, the idea of Vena sitting inside it did not feel wrong.I sat quietly on the sofa with a glass of whiskey resting loosely in my hand while moonlight spilled softly through the tall windows. The room was darker now than it had been years ago, emptier too, stripped of the warmth it once carried.My gaze lingered on the piano keys.And before I realized it, the memories came from when I was six years old.The room t

Chapter 72

Vena.By the time I made my way downstairs the next morning, the soreness in my body had only grown worse. My breasts ached in that dull heavy way that made every movement feel uncomfortable, and despite how much I had slept, exhaustion still clung stubbornly to me..I could already hear voices before I even reached the kitchen..When I stepped inside, I found Miriam standing at the center of the kitchen island with Sasha and Elena crowded around her. Sheets of paper were spread everywhere. Miriam looked over one of the pages while Sasha leaned over the counter, tapping her pen repeatedly against the paper.“We also need to order more floating lanterns this year,” Sasha said seriously. “Last year there weren’t enough and half the younger wolves started fighting over the extras.”Miriam nodded immediately as she scribbled down the note. “You’re right. Double the order this time.”“And more candles for the eastern hall,” Elena added. “The white ones specifically. The others burned too qu

Chapter 73

Vena.The garden barely resembled the place I had first stepped into more than a month ago.Back then the pathways had been swallowed by weeds, the flower beds choked with dying roots and overgrown vines. Now, even though there was still so much left unfinished, life had slowly begun returning to it. The stone paths were visible again, the trimmed hedges no longer looked wild, and flowers had begun blooming.It still was not perfect.But it was alive again.I stood near one of the restored flower beds, watering the white camellias carefully as the late evening sun filtered softly through the trees above. Their petals had finally started opening properly this week, and I could not stop the small smile that spread across my face as I looked at them.“You’re growing fast,” I murmured quietly to myself.The watering can felt heavier than usual in my hand. My body had been sore all morning, and the ache in my chest still had not completely faded. Even bending down repeatedly to pull weeds e

Chapter 74

Nikolai.By the time I returned to the mansion that night, every muscle in my body ached.The sparring session with Ivan after work had been unnecessarily brutal, even by our standards. My shoulder throbbed faintly where he had slammed me against the training wall earlier, and the bruising along my ribs was already beginning to darken beneath my shirt. Normally neither of us held back much during training, but tonight there had been something sharper behind Ivan’s attacks.And I knew exactly why.But I didn't care, my mother’s death anniversary was in two days.I loosened the collar of my black shirt slightly as I stepped into the lobby, already preparing myself for the usual silence waiting inside the mansion.Instead, laughter echoed through the house.I stopped immediately.My brow furrowed as another sound followed it.Singing. Very bad singing actually.I glanced briefly at the time on my watch. The maids should have gone home nearly an hour ago, which meant there was only one pe

Chapter 75

Nikolai.The office overlooked my pack territory.Floor to ceiling windows stretched across the far wall, giving a perfect view of Thornmoon below. Usually the view helped me think. Usually it reminded me exactly why every decision I made mattered.Today it did nothing.Because no matter how many reports sat open across my desk, my mind kept returning to one sentence.“You’re still as handsome as the first time I met you in House Rose.”I leaned back slowly in my chair, my jaw tightening as the memory replayed again.The words ‘..the first time I met you in House Rose’ bothered me most.As if she had seen me before and even worse in human lands.As if there had been another meeting long before the day I captured her and brought her back to my house.I stared out toward the skyline again, my thoughts growing darker the longer I sat with them. At first I had tried convincing myself Vena had simply been drunk and confused. Maybe she meant the day we met at the border in my land. Maybe sh

Chapter 76

Vena.I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck.My head pounded painfully the moment I opened my eyes, and even the soft morning light filtering through the curtains felt too bright against them. A nauseating heaviness settled inside my stomach while my entire body felt weak and sluggish beneath the blankets.I groaned softly before pressing a hand against my forehead.What the hell happened last night?I couldn't remember anything and the more I tired, the more another sharp throb of pain shot through my head.“Oh…it hurts,” I muttered weakly. A knock sounded against my bedroom door before I could think further. “Come in,” I called out hoarsely.I forced myself upright carefully, though the movement immediately made dizziness sweep through me. By the time the door opened, I was barely sitting properly against the headboard.Miriam stepped inside carrying a glass of water in one hand and a small plastic pharmacy bag in the other.The moment she looked at me, she sighed deeply.