Chapter 3

Selene POV

The room was very quiet, so quiet I could hear the clock ticking. But his voice kept repeating in my ears.

I hate you.

My chest felt like something was gripping it tightly. Every breath hurt. Before, every time we fought, I could always feel Michael. Whether angry or irritated. At least I knew he was there. But now there was nothing. The other end of the bond was empty, like a piece had been torn away.

Nyx curled up in the depths of my consciousness, tail drooping, "Doesn't Alpha want us anymore?"

I didn't answer.

"He used to come see us every day." Nyx's voice got smaller and smaller. "Even when Selene was asleep, he would secretly come see us."

I closed my eyes, my throat tight, "Stop talking."

"But I miss Alpha." Nyx said.

My breathing stopped for a moment. Because I missed him too.

I wanted to know what he was doing now, wanted to know if he would regret it, wanted to know if he would come back before dawn like before. But my phone lay quietly on the nightstand, nothing there.

I stared at the ceiling for a long time, finally threw off the covers and sat up. Continuing to lie there would only make me overthink, better to work.

The Healing House at 4 AM had almost no one, the motion sensor lights in the corridor lit up one by one following my footsteps.

The air was filled with the mixed smell of herbs and disinfectant, the most familiar smell to me, and what had accompanied me the longest these years. But somehow today it made me nauseous.

I picked up the record board, forcing myself to focus on work. Organizing data, checking potion ratios, recording experimental results. One thing after another, not letting myself stop. Because as soon as I stopped, I would think of Michael.

"Selene." Nyx suddenly spoke, her voice muffled, "Alpha isn't here either."

My movements froze, then I slowly closed my eyes, "We don't need him."

But when I said it, even I didn't believe it.

Time passed bit by bit, the entire Healing House slowly waking up. And I had been staring at the same page of data for almost ten minutes without reading a single word.

"You look worse than a corpse." A cup of coffee was placed in front of me. I looked up to see my friend Chloe the omega frowning at me, "You weren't here all night, were you?"

"I went home." I lowered my head to continue flipping through materials.

"Liar." She unceremoniously pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. "Your dark circles are almost to your chin."

I was too lazy to explain. The coffee was a bit hot when I drank it, my tongue tingling but it made me more alert.

Chloe stared at me for a few seconds, then narrowed her eyes, "The Alpha again?"

My hand holding the coffee cup paused slightly, I didn't answer. And Chloe obviously already had her answer.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "When will you two stop torturing each other?"

"This is between adults." I said quietly.

"Wrong." Chloe tapped the table with her finger. "This is between two people with relationship brain."

I almost choked on my coffee, and Chloe finally showed some satisfaction. But that expression quickly disappeared as she pushed another file in front of me. I suddenly had a bad feeling.

Chloe rubbed her temples. "We have a problem."

I opened to the first page. Experimental materials, equipment costs, potion consumption. Rows of numbers pressed down, making it hard to breathe. My brow slowly furrowed, "Not enough funding again?"

"Not 'not enough again'." Chloe rubbed her temples. "Almost gone. Six weeks at most."

I looked down at the report again, my fingers unconsciously tightening. That meant the wolfsbane suppressant project would be forced to suspend. That was three years of my heart and soul, and one of Storm Pack's most important medical projects.

"Shit." I cursed quietly.

Chloe looked at me and suddenly smiled, "Actually there's a simple solution."

I didn't even look up, "No."

"I haven't said it yet." Chloe said, spreading her hands, "Find Michael. A word from the future Alpha could solve this problem."

The air instantly turned cold. I stopped holding the file, "Not needed."

"Selene..."

I raised my voice to interrupt her, "I said it's not needed."

The healing house suddenly became quiet. Chloe looked at me and didn't continue the topic. And I didn't want to explain, because the last thing I wanted to do right now was bow my head to Michael, even if I really couldn't hold on.

I was looking at data when suddenly my chest hurt sharply, the file in my hands fell directly to the ground. I was stunned, because that familiar scent appeared. Michael.

Nyx was already so excited she stood up, tail wagging frantically, "I knew Alpha would come find us!"

My breathing stopped for a moment. Because the bond that had been sealed all night suddenly vibrated, like a huge stone thrown into a calm lake. My heart started beating wildly.

Was he coming to explain? Maybe he regretted it?

I tentatively sent consciousness toward the other end of the bond. No response. "Michael?"

The next second, it was like something crashed hard into the bond barrier. Pain and sorrow, an extremely intense emotion came from the other end of the bond. So intense it was suffocating. Before I could even react, tearing pain came from my chest, as if someone had ripped my heart open.

I staggered back a step. My knee hit the table corner hard, "Ah!"

It wasn't my emotion, but it felt more real than my own emotions. Pain. Sorrow. Despair. That emotion rushed madly into my body, flowing through the bond into the depths of my soul. I even tasted blood.

"Alpha!" Nyx suddenly let out a shrill whimper. She was trembling, tail tucked tight, ears flattened, curled up like an injured pup, voice trembling, "Selene... I hurt so much..."

"Alpha is crying." She started crying, her voice trembling. "Make him stop... please... I don't want Alpha to suffer like this..."

I pressed my chest, almost unable to breathe, my eyes inexplicably hot. Clearly those emotions didn't belong to me, but my body seemed to be collapsing with him. I gripped the table edge tightly, my fingertips losing color from the force.

"Michael, respond to me." I desperately sent consciousness toward the other end of the bond.

My heart beat faster and faster. An ominous premonition slowly crawled up my spine. Because Michael wasn't this kind of person. Even if he said he hated me last night, even if he sealed the bond. If I actively contacted him, he wouldn't be completely unresponsive. But now, there was nothing. Not even anger or disgust. Only terrifying dead silence.

And the next second that emotion suddenly disappeared, the entire bond fell back into dead silence.

Nyx curled into a ball, tears streaming. "Selene, I'm scared... what happened?"

"It's okay." I immediately denied it, but my voice was paler than ever.

"Selene?" Chloe was startled by my expression, "What happened?"

"Something's wrong." I grabbed my phone from the table, my fingers almost unable to hold steady. I dialed the number I knew by heart.

Almost the moment the first ring sounded, the phone was answered.

He said very softly, "Grandpa returned to the Moon Goddess."

And the other end of the phone fell silent again. I could only hear his suppressed breathing, like he was desperately controlling something. He spoke in a low voice, "Don't hang up."

I heard a broken syllable, like some words were about to spill out but were forcibly swallowed back by him. It made my heart suddenly tighten, because for the first time I heard fragility in Michael's voice, "Wait for me. Selene."