I woke up in the small room and looked around. Elaina and Max aren’t here. But the bruises on my thighs were evidence of a memory that I had forgotten for a moment.
‘Wasn’t it just a dream?’
“Did you wake up?”
I looked up and saw Georgina. She went inside with a bowl of water and a clean towel. Georgina sat down.
“Elaina did a lot today, didn’t she?”
She did. My stepsister beat me more than the last time.
“I am sorry, Elizabeth,” Georgina said. Tears welled up in her eyes. “If only I am strong enough to save you, I will.”
“Georgina.”
“Yes?”
“Did Max and Elaina come back?”
Her eyes widened and subsided.
“You didn’t remember? Elaina came back.”
“Alone?”
“No. She came back and you…”
The sound of her melancholy voice gave me an ominous feeling.
“I did what?” I asked, holding her arms.
She peered straight into my eyes and uttered, “You rejected Max, Elizabeth. You said it yourself.”
In a second I sank into the deep sea and the whole world suddenly disappeared. Now that Georgina told me what happened, the memories I’ve forgotten come back like a tsunami.
[“I don’t like Elizabeth. She’s too frail and skinny. Compared to your sexy body, she’s nothing but a stick! There’s only you in my life, Elaina. I only love you.”]
[“Since we made a deal, it’s your turn, Elizabeth. Reject Max as your mate.”]
[“I, Elizabeth from the Black Lake pack, rejected Max as my mate.”]
It’s all coming back to me now. Those memories weren’t a dream but a sorrowful reality!
The weight of the grief was crushing my soul as I cried a river. I feel like my heart has been ripped out and I’m hollow inside now.
My mate was my top priority and my world. But to him, I am not even an option. Just a worthless ugly mate.
I cried so hard, not knowing how much time had passed. When I calmed down, I didn’t feel anything. No pain. No sadness. No jealousy. Just numb.
“Elizabeth, let’s go to the pack’s hospital. You need treatment as soon as possible.”
Georgina’s words came into my ear, but I hardly processed them. Even so, I stood up and let her take me to the hospital.
“You have a lot of wounds and bruises, Elizabeth,” Doctor Pilgri, the doctor of the Blue Lake Pack said after she saw my body.
I lowered my head and pursed my lips.
“Don’t tell me that you had these because you clumsily fell. Someone did this to you. Am I right?”
Dr. Pilgri was accustomed to my injuries. And every time she asked me if I am being abused, I always answer the same thing.
“No,” I murmured. “No one did this. It’s my fault.”
Dr. Pilgri heaved a sigh. She started to heal my wound as carefully as possible.
“Ahhh!” I winced in pain. But compared to the pain I felt when I learned that Max cannot be my mate anymore, this is nothing.
“You should learn to be honest,” Dr. Pilgri whispered. “Your father loves you so much. Many love you, Elizabeth. We love to see your bright side again.”
I bet that isn’t going to happen.
After getting treated, I went back to the house.
“No! Mom! I would die if I accept this! Please! Save me!”
From the door, I could hear Elaina’s loud sobs. She was boastful, arrogant, and confident when she was dealing with me a moment ago. But now, she was crying like a crazy woman?
Curiosity hit its peak. I opened the door and quietly stepped in as if I didn’t want to wake a sleeping monster.
Elaina was kneeling on the floor while holding my stepmother, Betty. ‘What’s happening?’
Why would I care? Until now, my blood was boiling when I recall how Elaina stole my mate. It is better not to attract attention and go to my room as peacefully as possible.
With steps as light as feathers, I walked back to my room while hearing Elaina’s frantic cries. I glanced at her for the last time before reaching the door to my room, never knowing I would regret looking back.
Elaina met my eyes.
I froze, like prey in front of a beast.
“You!” Elaina’s eyes sparked Malice when she called me before running towards my side.
I stepped back, but her hands reached mine.
“W-What?” I asked, trembling.
“You want to get married, right? Right?” Elaina asked me in an excited voice.
There were tears in her eyes, but her beam was crooked. I could tell the mischief underlying her expression which I saw for the first time.
“Y-You know I just rejected M-Max,” I uttered nothing but the truth.
“No. It’s not Max. He is more powerful than him! That man was the brother of the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack! Hogan!”
H-Hogan? The cursed rogue of the Black Moon Pack!
Now I figured out why Elaina was crying desperately!
“Marry Hogan for me! If you do, I will set you free. Please! I will leave you alone if you marry Hogan!”
My whole body twitched at Elaina’s offer. It was my dream to get out of her clutch.
“Elaina was right,” stepmother, Betty, added. “You need to save your sister. We cannot lose Elaina in our family. You should sacrifice, Elizabeth.”
They can’t lose Elaina, but they are willing to lose me?
I was fuming both in anger and terror. How could they ask me this ridiculous request?!
“No,” I said, pulling my hands from Elaina. “I am sorry, Elaina. But I don’t want to marry someone in your place.”
The smile on Elaina’s lips twisted in the wrong way. Her eyes dilated full of madness! She then pushed me hard, and I fell on the ground with my remaining wounds.
“Argh!”
“I was wrong,” Elaina uttered. “It was very kind of me to ask a favor. I don’t need to hear your opinion. All I can do is force you.”
She nodded her head and chuckled evilly.
“Right!” She shouted and pointed at me. “Elizabeth, YOU WILL MARRY HOGAN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!”
The chill haze of my suspicion began to crystallize.
‘If I stay here and let her do what she wants, Elaina might force me to marry Hogan.’
Feeling the rising tide of fear from my head to toe, I stood up and ran inside my room.
“Where are you going?! Elizabeth!”
As soon as I went in, I locked the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Elaina frantically knocks.
“Open this damn door! Elizabeth, come out!”
I covered my ears and stepped back until I slumped on my bed.
‘Everything will be alright. All I need is to wait for Dad. Dad will help. Dad will…!’
I endured listening to Elaina’s rants and curses all night.
Hours passed.
I don’t hear Elaina anymore.
“But Dad is still not here.”
I picked up my phone and looked at my dad’s contact number. My hand gripped the phone as I hesitated whether I would call him or not.
Ting!
My phone vibrated, and my heart dropped. With a gasp, I looked at the screen and saw an unregistered number.
Wondering who it might be, I opened the message.
[“Hi Elizabeth. It’s me, Max. I messaged you because there’s something you need to know. The truth is Elaina lied to me today. She took that video out of a joke. I felt so guilty for you, Elizabeth. And I want to make you feel better. Can you come and meet me tonight?”]
Max’s POVMy mate is the most beautiful werewolf in our pack.Although her body is thin and she has no curves at all, I still feel excited to sleep with someone as beautiful as her.“Forget the body. I can endure it as long as she’s pretty.”Having that thought, I planned to have a date with her today.Knock knock.I looked at the door where I heard a knock. I walked forward.The next thing that happened took me by surprise!Elaina is here! And now, she’s wearing a sexy red dress, and gave me the most alluring wink and smile I’d ever seen!It was a total boner.“E-Elaina. Why are you here?”“Hi Max.”Her sexy voice was enough to awaken my sexual appetite. I’ve been pursuing Elaina’s body for years, and yet, she never agreed despite my effort.‘But she’s taking the initiative to come to me today with that fucking gorgeous body?’ Licking the corner of my lips, I sneered at her.“What’s up, Elaina? I didn’t expect that you would come and meet me.”“Is there something wrong with meeting
Elizabeth’s POV[“Hi Elizabeth. It’s me, Max. I messaged you because there’s something you need to know. The truth is Elaina lied to me today. She took that video out of a joke. I felt so guilty for you, Elizabeth. And I want to make you feel better. Can you come and meet me tonight?”]Hope.At some point, I stopped believing that there would be hope for me. Because the moment I do, Elaina will appear and steal everything.But this time, I wanted to believe Max.The wolf inside me suggested calling the number to confirm that it was Max, not Elaina. I didn’t know calling someone would take much courage because my hands right now were trembling as I dialed his number.Kring! Kring! After three rings, the person from the other line answered.[“Elizabeth?”]‘This voice! I know it is Max!’ I felt so happy to hear his voice as I began to hope that things will turn out better.“M-Max. It’s you.”[“Yes, it’s me. Elizabeth, I am so sorry for hurting you. Right now, I don’t know how to face
Hogan’s POV As I walked in the middle of the forest, the sound of shattered glass emphasized the leaves being crunched under my feet. Tonight, I will go and report the border security situation to Philip, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. I always travel alone on the way to Philip’s house. But tonight, I felt lonelier than before. The forest has dark shadows of the voluminous trees and puzzled bushes. When I looked up, I saw the moon in the sky. It was so beautiful, a headlifter and an enchanter. But the beautiful moon, which was the core of life for werewolves like me, wasn’t enough to ease my sorrow. In times like this, I remembered certain people, who were huge parts of my life. Yet guilt, disappointment, and hatred filled the void of our histories. The longing to see them again was like a bitter pill that was hard to swallow. Mainly because I was the one to blame for it. 'It was my fault.' My friends died because of my curse. This loneliness and deep hatred to myself w
Elizabeth’s POV Slowly and reluctantly, I opened my eyes. I blinked several times to clear the hazy vision as I scrutinized my surroundings in confusion. Then, I found myself in an unfamiliar dim place. The moonlight shone through the window, brightening the room. And when I looked in front of me, bells rang inside my head. In front of me, I saw a tall man with black hair, tanned skin, and sharp eyes. He was so handsome that I caught myself in awe. Thanks to his strong aura, I snapped myself. I crawled backward and protected my body with all my might. “W-Who are you? W-Where am I?” He opened his lips and answered my question right away. “My name is Hogan. You are in the Black Lake Pack.” As soon as he said those, I remembered the last thing I heard from Elaina before I lost consciousness. [“Hurry up, Max. The Blood Moon Pack people are here. We need to send this bitch as soon as possible.”] If he is Hogan and I am in the Blood Moon Pack, then… “B-Black Lake P-Pack? And yo
I woke up after losing consciousness for the second time. And the experience was awful. Elaina and Betty used to beat me whenever they liked. But today, the torture felt longer than before. My mate, Max, rejected me. Elaina and Max forced me to go to the Blood Moon Pack. I tried to escape but met three rogues in the middle of the dark forest. And now… “Now, I am…” I sat up and looked around. ‘I am back at Hogan’s house.’ I tried to move. When I stepped onto the wooden floor, my eyes went to my legs. There was a bandage wrapped around my leg and a stick to support my recent injury. The only one who would treat this is the person who brought me here. “Hogan.” Everything was vivid in my memories. Hogan came to save me from the rogues. Even if I bit his arm, he took me back and treated my wounds. ‘Why would he do all of these?’ “Did he really save me or just like those bastards, he wanted my body?” Remembering the last thoughts I had before I lost consciousness, I recalled
“Do you want to eat this?” I looked at the deer leg which was tantalizing me to grab and eat it. What stopped me from doing so was Hogan himself. Even if he seems harmless right now, it was tough for me to forget the blood he smeared on his hands when he killed the rogues. “N-No. I am fine. I don’t need it.” Hogan blinked a few times. He then withdrew his hand and placed the deer leg back on the plate. Regret came after I avoided his gaze. Is it really because I fear him? Or is it because of the trauma that my stepmother and stepsister clawed at me? Whatever the answer, lamenting was futile. I already refused to eat the meat. And now, Hogan probably ate everyt… No. When I looked back, Hogan was gone. But there are still remaining pieces of meat on the plate he left. My eyes cored at meat. It invited me to come closer and have a bite. My mind opposed the idea, but my feet walked forward anyway. Shortly, I arrived near the table and in front of the tempting food. ‘Hogan won’t
Elizabeth’s POV I was ready to spend a sleepless night. But when I woke up, I felt betrayed by my expectations. “I… I fell asleep.” Saying it once doesn’t feel enough, so I repeated it again. “I. FELL. ASLEEP.” My first night inside the cursed man’s house was long. I thought it would be impossible for me to sleep since Hogan was with me under the same roof. But to my surprise, it wasn’t scary at all. The birds chirped. My eyes looked at the window, gazing upon the blue sky of the clear morning. The sun was out long before. I guess it is already 9 in the morning. “That was a long sleep.” If I ever woke up this late in our house, Betty would nag at me, saying that I should move my lazy ass up. I would start preparing breakfast and cleaning around while my stepsister was still in her sleeping beauty mode. I lived like “Cindeluna”, a werewolf children’s story where the female lead served her stepmother and stepsisters as a maid. ‘I am not in our house. I should stop thinking abou
Hogan’s POV It was a jest. The delicious meat I ate last night was only because I was hungry. That’s what I thought not until I had her food again. When I was living alone, I only ate bland meat that I hunted myself. It tastes like my life. Bland, raw, disgusting, and worthless. I never felt happy during my meal. But this woman’s cooking changed my perspective. I had long forgotten my childhood days with my parents. I was always looking forward to my mom’s cooking and the time when we would eat together in front of one table. I thought I had erased everything. For I feel like I don’t deserve to remember good memories because of this damn curse. Chewing the tender meat, I lifted my eyes towards the woman eating silently across from my seat. She kept on fidgeting her fingers. Her mouth opened, closed, opened, closed, opened, and closed several times as if she wanted to open an argument but failed to do so. Feigning ignorance, I lowered my head and had another spoonful of the savo