Chapter 2

Nora came back to herself and said softly, in that delicate, sweet voice she practiced, “I’ve been a little dizzy these past couple of days. I’m scared I’ll drop the bowl and dirty the Alpha’s territory.”

Liam held her gaze for a few seconds. A werewolf’s perception is sharp. He seemed to sense something just slightly off.

Nora swallowed. I saw the flash of panic in her eyes, fear that her disguise would be torn open, fear that the wolf inside Liam would recognize she wasn’t his real mate.

How ironic.

The night she stabbed my heart with that dagger dusted in silver powder, she was afraid I wouldn’t die so she even twisted it with calm, practiced cruelty. That viciousness was nowhere to be found now.

Nora changed her tune, guilt and nerves making her words rush. “I—I’ll get it for you.”

Liam withdrew his gaze and walked toward the dining room. “No. If you’re not feeling well, rest. A mate doesn’t need to force herself.”

I froze.

In two years of marriage, I’d never once heard him tell me to rest.

And now, after I was dead, I was hearing it finally.

But it was strange, too. I’d always been born weaker than most wolves. Yet after those first few months at Black Moon manor, I’d rarely been unwell. Werewolves heal fast. Most things passed quickly.

We’d shared a bed for two years. Even if our bond was faint, it existed. I gathered my courage, drifted close to his ear, and called his name, trying to get him to go to Laurel Cottage Settlement and bring me out of that place.

Mable was gone.

The only person in this world I ever truly cared about no longer existed.

I wasn’t willing to die like this. But honestly, the life I’d lived, always careful, always reading faces, always trying not to offend anyone in the Pack… it had exhausted me.

That ice-cellar room was too cold. I always couldn’t stand cold even as a werewolf. Though as a spirit, I wanted somewhere with moonlight. A wolf spirit needs moonlight to be nourished. Without it, you fade until there’s nothing left.

And when I died, I heard them talking about buying a silver-blade bone grinder to “deal with” me, so they could dump me into the depths of Mist Wood Forest bit by bit.

Just hearing it terrified me. If I ended up with no body left at all, my soul wouldn’t even have anything to cling to. I might as well have been thrown into the forest as a child at least then I could’ve died whole and rested under the moon.

But Liam didn’t react. He simply took the bowl the servant handed him and began to eat. His tone stayed flat as he asked, “I heard you’ve been going out a lot lately?”

My eyes lit up.

In Black Pine Valley, aside from Ember Hide Pack’s Laurel Cottage Settlement, I didn’t know anyone from any other Pack.

The day I was married off, my parents told me clearly: if I wanted Mable’s old land not to be taken back, I’d better keep Liam happy. As long as Ember Hide stayed firmly attached to Black Moon, no one would touch Mable’s territory.

A she-wolf married out belongs to her mate’s Pack. Her birth Pack has no right to interfere. They told me I didn’t need to return to Laurel Cottage Settlement again.

So after I moved into Black Moon manor, aside from occasionally patrolling near the woods around Greystone Town, I barely interacted with the outside world at all. No wonder Liam thought it was odd.

Nora answered obediently, “The temperature swings have been big lately. A lot of people in the Pack caught a chill, so I went back to check on my parents.”

Parents.

The word dragged me back to the moment she killed me.

I fought, desperate to protect myself. The weak wolf power in my blood let me break free for a heartbeat.

Then Mom and Dad lunged in. Patricia afraid I’d hurt Nora, Stanley helping her without hesitation. They bound me with rope laced with silver powder, pinning my limbs down.

The instant the silver touched me, my strength collapsed. My wolf power was suppressed. I went limp, forced to watch the silver-laced dagger piercing my heart.

Liam didn’t say anything about it now. He only said, almost casually, “Being stuck at home is boring. Getting out for a walk is fine. Just don’t go too deep into Mist Wood Forest. There are hunters’ traps.”

Hope sank in my chest.

Liam was cautious, suspicious, observant, a terrifying Alpha with instincts like a blade. And yet he hadn’t noticed anything wrong. Worse, he said things he’d never once said to me, actual concern.

On our wedding day, my parents smiled at Liam like obedient dogs. They told him I was being sent to Black Moon as payment for Ember Hide’s betrayal, that he could do whatever he wanted with me, hit me, punish me, even kill me. Ember Hide wouldn’t complain.

Liam never treated me as a punching bag. But he was an Alpha. Most of his mind was on Pack matters. He didn’t like going out much, and he wasn’t good at speaking feelings out loud.

So aside from the bonding ritual required by the Pack marriage, we rarely had any real conversation.

After he finished eating, the two of them went back to the master bedroom together.

Nora sat on the bed after washing up, her face full of expectation. She was desperate to solidify her position by securing the Alpha’s bond.

Liam leaned down toward her. The pressure of his wolf, his pure Alpha dominance, made Nora tense without even meaning to.

Then Liam’s communication stone lit up. An urgent message came in about Pack business.

He ended the call and started changing clothes, preparing to head out to the territory border to deal with a conflict.

I wasn’t surprised. As Liam, he was always like that. Pack matters could pull him out at any moment.

Nora’s face flickered with displeasure, but the moment Liam turned back, she forced it into a sweet, meek smile.

“You smell too strongly of fragrance,” Liam said, frowning. “You were fine before.”

A wolf’s sense of smell is ruthless. The artificial scent on Nora’s skin made him uncomfortable.

Nora stared at Liam’s back as he walked out. For a second she looked stunned, then she lifted her hand to sniff herself only to find nothing.