Meeting their eyes, my
At my words, the healer
instantly softened. “Alright, stop scaring the healer. There’s still more treatment to be done.”
sibly relaxed.
After carefully checking me over and confirming there was nothing serious, he respectfully reported, “Alpha Ryder, the Luna only suffered some superficial wounds. Her pup is unharmed and doing well.
“I’ll
Ryder’s
the
herbs to the Luna’s hand. There won’t be even the slightest scar.”
e darkes
As the atmosphere he gave a small nod. I knew he was doing everything he could to keep his fury under control.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, August, the one responsible for all this, swallowed hard. He had never imagined that the she–wolf he once saw as worthless would one day become someone he’d have to curry favor with.
Watching the closeness between Ryder and me, a wave of unwillingness surged in his chest. The possessiveness he had long buried now began to surface.
But he had no right to challenge the werewolf standing by my side. He could only suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Ryder pulled me into his arms, his cold gaze sweeping across the room. The sheer force of his presence made everyone instinctively lower their heads.
But I had seen the softer, sweeter side of him. That sharp contrast only made him all the more irresistible to me.
“What exactly have you all done to my mate for the past few days? I suggest that someone speak up voluntarily. If I have to uncover the truth on my own, I’ll make sure to repay it a hundred times over.”
It was a blatant, undisguised threat.
The guests at the party were all influential figures who had gone to great lengths to secure an invitation. Many of them were hoping to win Ryder’s favor. They weren’t willing to risk his anger over a Beta like August.
Just as someone was about to speak up, August stepped forward first. His face was pale, his voice trembling.
“Mr. Weyland, this is all just a misunderstanding. Sophia was almost my mate before. I only wanted to catch up with her… I didn’t expect things to get out of hand.”
There was a faint trace of jealousy in his tone.
Even though he knew that he shouldn’t have mentioned it in front of Ryder after witnessing his possessiveness, he still did it anyway, because deep down, he wanted to outdo Ryder.
It was his pride, his obsessive need to win. He was lashing out, punishing me for choosing Ryder and not him.
I had always known what kind of selfish person August was. He was the one who gave up on me, yet still expected me to forgive and forget, to keep chasing after him like nothing ever happened.
Furthermore, he expected me to stay single for him too; in his eyes, it was impossible for me to love anyone else but him.
What he didn’t notice was Ryder’s fist slowly clenching at his side. But I did. I could hear the sharp crack of his knuckles as his wrist tightened.
August continued fearlessly, “I’m sure you know just how deeply Sophia once loved me. We shared a long and meaningful relationship. Catching up isn’t exactly unreasonable, is it?”
