Chapter 2
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Chapter 2
Whispers rippled through the pack.
And then I saw her.
Shirley – Alpha Freddie’s precious fated mate. The one he cradled like she’d break if the wind blew too hard. The one he never made suffer, not even once.
I took a step forward and met her trembling gaze. My voice was calm.
“I never stood in your way, Shirley. I didn’t bind your hands or block your path. If you wanted to help him, no one stopped you. I merely stated the truth–different fields require different expertise. Or do you need
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my permission to play the hero?”
The murmurs around us faltered.
While I had once stood close to Alpha Freddie, I’d never clung to him. I’d never claimed him.
The truth was clear now: I hadn’t prevented Shirley from helping. That seed of doubt- planted by Old Luna Kate–had nothing to do with me.
Pack members began whispering again, this time with a sharper edge.
“Didn’t Shirley say she’s a vet? If it’s a snakebite, why didn’t she act faster?”
“Every second counts with venom… Was she
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just standing around so Queenie would take the blame?”
“She’s trying to win Alpha Freddie over. Maybe she wanted Queenie to mess up first.”
Shirley’s face flushed pale beneath her makeup. She stammered, cornered, eyes darting for an escape.
“N–no, it’s not like that! I just… I thought Queenie liked Freddie, and… I didn’t want to upset her…”
She lowered her lashes, voice trembling, tears glimmering on the edge. Once again, she played her favorite role–the gentle, innocent.
The tension in the crowd eased. Just like
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that, her show softened their judgment.
I didn’t bother fighting it.
Lowering my eyes, I said coolly, “I’m not interested in stealing anyone’s spotlight. Please, Shirley–go ahead. Save him.”
Alpha Freddie stared at me as though he didn’t recognize the woman standing before him. His wolf’s energy trembled under his skin.
But Shirley didn’t hesitate anymore. She grabbed a tourniquet from her oversized bag and wrapped it tightly around Freddie’s leg, just above the bite.
“This looks like a Deinagkistrodon acutus bite–extremely venomous. We need to
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extract the venom and inject antivenom now!”
I nearly snorted.
One glance at the bite and she could identify the exact species? She wasn’t a vet.
Then Shirley hesitated. “But… I don’t have the tools…”
A beat passed. Then, with dramatic flair, she dropped to her knees, clenched her jaw–and pressed her lips to the wound.
The crowd gasped in unison.
Every wolf in the Crescent Pack knew sucking venom by mouth was outdated, risky, and borderline suicidal. But that didn’t
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matter here. This wasn’t about medical protocol–it was about performance.
Shirley was risking her life for her mate. Or so they believed.
And me?
I stood still, arms crossed, watching the curtain rise on a play I’d already seen before.
No wonder Alpha Freddie hated me for saving him in our past life. Because I had ruined this scene. I had stepped into a role that was written for Shirley. I took away her chance to shine.
Back then, I was the one closest to him when he got bitten. I jumped in, did what I could. I asked for help, even asked Shirley directly if
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she knew anything.
She said nothing.
No one did.
And because of that hesitation, Freddie’s leg was permanently damaged. I tried to help… and they blamed me for it.
They believed I robbed Shirley of her moment–her glory. That I stole the heroic image of her saving her destined mate. And when she never got that chance, they buried me in their resentment.
But thinking back now… how did a venomous snake even end up on that beach in the first place?
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On Crescent Pack territory?
A rare species like that–so close to where Freddie would be?
It was staged. All of it. A perfectly crafted setup for Shirley’s grand entrance.
And I had ruined it.
No wonder Alpha Freddie never forgave me.
I turned my back on them and walked toward the far end of the beach, where the surf met the jagged rocks.
Go ahead, Alpha Freddie. Play your part. Let her be your shining savior. That path is yours to walk now.
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I won’t be following.
Everyone was too busy watching Shirley’s breathless sacrifice to notice me slip away.
Everyone… except him.
Freddie’s eyes scanned the crowd through the pain, through the daze–and landed on my retreating figure. He opened his mouth, as if to call out, but the venom in his bloodstream swallowed the words before they could form.
Moments later, Shirley pulled out a syringe and injected the antivenom she’d conveniently brought along.
Before Freddie could even mutter a thank you, Shirley collapsed dramatically into his
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Gasps and cries rang out. Freddie panicked, cradling her like she was made of glass.
And me?
I kept walking, barefoot on the hot sand, away from the wreckage of my past life.
Freddie’s voice broke behind me.
“Where’s the ambulance?! Why hasn’t it arrived yet?!”
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