Chapter 6
Vivian barely made it beyond pack borders before encountering the rogue werewolves who had been waiting for her. Ryan had
placed a bounty on them, and they were badly injured.
Seeking revenge, they tore her apart. Her screams echoed for a long time.
When I heard the news, I felt little satisfaction.
I knew that all the cruel things she had done were merely her way of displaying Ryan’s love for her. But he didn’t truly love either
of us. He only loved himself.
He barely acknowledged Vivian’s death and didn’t even mention arranging a burial. He was too consumed with discovering where
my body had gone.
But I was already dead. Even if he found me, what difference would it make?
He finally remembered the corpse Leo had carried that day. He sent messengers to inquire where I had been buried. While waiting
for a response, he paced anxiously.
Leo couldn’t care less about Ryan’s desperation. He deliberately prolonged his answer until Ryan was ready to confront him
personally before finally sending a reply.
“I’m pleased you finally used that walnut–sized brain of yours to remember Tiana. Back then, you didn’t even try to stop me from
taking her away. What’s the point of searching for her now?
“Tiana doesn’t want to see you. Go back to your precious first love. Isn’t that more fulfilling?”
Leo’s words shattered Ryan. He knew every accusation was true. The undeniable truth made his pain even worse.
Leo was right. I didn’t want Ryan anywhere near my grave.
After all, he had ignored my pleas for help and chosen to comfort another woman in the next room as if I were less than a
stranger.
It wouldn’t bring me peace even if he visited my final resting place. I would only feel insulted.
He released a painful howl, the sound sharp and agonized, echoing through the night.
But regret that comes too late is the cheapest thing in the world. Nothing he felt could stir my emotions anymore.
I had loved him to death. I had loved him enough.
I once believed he would love me forever, so I kept forgiving him no matter how cruel he was.
Our first meeting had felt like destiny. That day, I had been reprimanded by my adoptive father and left Shadow Ridge to clear my
thoughts.
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Chapter 6
As I walked, I lost my way. There was no one around to offer directions.
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As twilight fell, my steps slowed, and an unfamiliar fear gripped me. Then, the bushes rustled, and a young werewolf around my
age emerged.
The moment I saw him, my heart raced, and warmth flooded my body. I caught his unique scent, and my heart trembled. He felt like the missing piece of me, drawing me in irresistibly.
In that instant, I understood what it meant to meet one’s true mate.
The young werewolf across from me blushed too. He scratched his head nervously and spoke in a gentle voice, “What are you doing out here so late? It’s dangerous. You should go home.”
I lowered my gaze and stared at my feet, too shy to meet his eyes. “I got lost…”
He stepped closer, smiled, and extended his hand. “Then I’ll take you to my pack first. I’m Ryan Silverstone, son of the Silver Moon Pack’s Alpha. What’s your name?”
From that day forward, his name was carved into my heart. We spent more and more time together, and I even invited him to visit Shadow Ridge.
He never once mentioned Vivian. I was so entranced by the joy of finding my mate that I believed we only had each other. But after our wedding, after I became Silver Moon Pack’s Luna, Vivian returned.
From the beginning, I sensed something unusual between them. He cared too much about Vivian, and she would deliberately approach him just to provoke me.
Perhaps I was too naive, or perhaps I trusted him too much. That was how I ended up here.
1 felt my spirit growing even lighter.
Later, Ryan relinquished his position as Alpha. He admitted his guilt before the entire pack and transferred leadership to another werewolf.
He spent his days secluded in the house we once shared, doing nothing but drinking.
Alcohol dulled his senses and allowed him to see the one person he wanted but could never reach. Whenever he closed his eyes, he murmured my name.
And when he was occasionally sober, he would try to recreate the life we once had–preparing my favorite meals and setting the
table.
I sat quietly across from him, watching as he placed food on the plate before an empty chair. I knew then that he had truly lost his
mind.
When I was alive and loved him, he treated me with disdain. Now that I was dead, he acted as if he couldn’t breathe without me. Time couldn’t be rewound, and the dead couldn’t return. It was nothing but cruel irony that he pretended to care for me now.
Chapter 6
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He took another sip of his drink, his vision blurry as he spoke to the empty chair, “The first time I saw you, you reminded me of
Vivian. She was heartless, but I couldn’t let her go.
“But the longer I was with you, the more I realized how different you were. You were too good… I couldn’t even tell who I truly
loved anymore.
“By the time I figured it out, it was too late. I was wrong, Tiana. I was guilty, I wanted you to be my Luna forever. I was wrong…
Please, come back to me.”
He cried for himself, but it didn’t move me. If he had told me from the beginning that he only saw Vivian’s shadow in me, I would
have preferred to spend my life alone rather than letting him mark me.
It was beyond disrespectful. It was disgusting.
But now, I had no choices left.
I turned away expressionlessly, unwilling to look at him any longer.
His regret, his confessions, his imagined future with me–none of it mattered. All I felt toward him now was quiet exhaustion.
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