Chapter 2

I stood behind the palm tree, my entire body freezing cold.

So my ten years of companionship were nothing but charity in his eyes.

The night I nearly got killed by rogues trying to save my sister Eirlys had become evidence of my uncleanliness in his mouth.

Memory yanked me back ten years to that chaotic night.

Wind whipped at my loose hair. In a daze, I was transported to that cold, rainy border dusk a decade ago.

I was nineteen. Eirlys, who grew up with me in the orphanage, had been lured to the northern border by three wandering rogues.

No one at the orphanage cared if we lived or died. The police didn't take it seriously.

I clutched the money I'd saved from six months of part-time work, bought the cheapest bus ticket, and chased after her to the border alone.

When I crept into the warehouse, Eirlys was tied to a pillar, her face badly swollen, her clothes torn to shreds.

Three rogues surrounded her, taunting her with vile words.

My vision went red. I grabbed a rusty steel pipe by the door and charged in, swinging wildly at them like a madwoman.

As an Omega, I was no match for three adult Alphas. I was quickly kicked to the ground.

Fists and feet rained down on me. The pain was excruciating.

But I shielded Eirlys behind me, gritting my teeth, refusing to retreat even half a step. Even if I died, I couldn't let them touch my sister.

Just as the lead rogue raised his club to smash my head, the warehouse door was kicked open.

"BANG!"

Sean stood at the entrance with Black Pack's border patrol. His black tactical uniform was soaked with rain, his eyes cold as ice.

He merely raised his hand, and the guards behind him rushed forward, pinning the three rogues to the ground.

He walked up to me and paused.

I was covered in injuries, my face smeared with mud and blood. Though I was trembling with fear, I still shielded my sister behind me.

When I looked up at him, tears mixed with rainwater streamed down my face.

He crouched down and reached out to wipe the mud from my face: "It's okay now. You're safe."

He brought Eirlys and me back to the border camp, found us clean clothes, and called the medical officer to treat our wounds.

I sat by the campfire, watching him crouch in front of me, cleaning the wounds on my hands.

"You're an Omega, and you dared to break into a rogue den alone? Have a death wish?"

He looked up at me, his eyes carrying a hint of reproach, but more than that, undeniable emotion.

I bit my lip, my voice hoarse:

"Eirlys and I both grew up in an orphanage. No parents, no one to care about us.

She's my only family. I couldn't lose her."

His hand cleaning his gun suddenly froze. He looked up at me.

For the first time, the sharp edge in his gaze softened, replaced by something indescribable.

That night, he gave Eirlys and me his room while he and his team stayed in tents outside, keeping watch all night.

Everyone in the camp knew Sean never let anyone into his room. We were the first.

The next day when he returned from patrol, he had a handful of milk candies and wildflowers picked from the roadside:

"The herder's kids gave these to me. Brought them for you to try."

The usually cold Alpha's ears turned red as he handed me the flowers.

I stayed at the camp for five days. He avenged us, wiped out that group of rogues, and even found Eirlys a proper office job in Chicago, renting a small apartment with a balcony for her.

The day I left, he leaned against his SUV, looking at me with a deep, serious gaze: "Elara, come back to Chicago with me."

"From now on, Black Pack will be your support. Anyone under my protection—no one in Chicago will dare touch them."

He paused, reaching out to ruffle my hair. The gesture was dominant yet gentle. "I'll give you a home."

In my nineteen years, no one had ever said such words to me.

Orphanage kids were always abandoned. No one cared if we lived or died.

I looked into his eyes, nodded, and tears fell.

He removed the wolf fang pendant he'd worn for over a decade from his neck and personally placed it around mine.

"This is for you. When I'm not around, it'll protect you in my place."

On my first birthday back in Chicago, he—an Alpha—personally baked me a cake.

Back then, he sat across from me, smiling:

"From now on, I'll bake you a cake every birthday. We'll be together forever."

The memory receded like a tide.

Ten years.

He lured me in with the promise of home, dulled my claws with Black Pack's protection.

In the end, he joined others in mocking my origins and questioning my purity.

I steadied myself against the cold wall and slowly straightened up.

I glanced one last time at the man laughing and chatting in the main seat, then without hesitation, threw the pendant around my neck into the trash.

Sean, it was you who let go first.