Chapter 3
I kept my eyes open until dawn in my temporary lodging, yet I felt more clearheaded than any morning I'd woken up beside Nathan.
I called a car to return to the villa I'd lived in for four years. The moment I pushed open the door, the searing pain in my chest nearly consumed me.
My favorite cup from the coffee table had been thrown in the trash.
On the sofa I'd carefully selected lay a woman's underwear and dress.
The white stains on the underwear made it clear what had happened last night.
"Sophia likes it this way."
Nathan's voice came from behind me.
Seeing me look at him, a trace of distress crossed his face.
"She came over yesterday and wasn't happy seeing your things. She kept me up all night."
It wasn't until he led me to the storage room that I understood what that sentence meant.
In the corner, all my luggage was piled up like garbage.
The jewelry Nathan had given me was shattered into pieces scattered on the floor.
A pair of mugs we'd made together with our own hands lay smashed to bits.
Nathan sighed.
"They weren't worth anything anyway. Throw them out. Whatever you need, I'll buy you new ones."
Not worth anything?
I looked at a password notebook on the floor, half-burned by fire.
That was my diary.
Ever since I came to Silvermoon Pack at 18, I'd recorded my feelings in that diary every day, hoping to show it to him someday after becoming his mate.
But now, my heart was as destroyed as that burned heart I'd drawn in the diary.
I silently threw all this garbage into the trash bin.
Nathan's brow furrowed instantly.
But I smiled: "You're right. Worthless things that get dirty or broken should be thrown away."
Including my foolish, ill-timed feelings.
I no longer looked at his suddenly ugly expression, lowering my head to take out the contract I'd kept in my bag.
"Nathan, please sign this..."
Before I could finish, Nathan's phone rang.
Sophia's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet storage room.
"Nathan, I'm trapped at Moonlight Bar by some bad guys. Come get me quick."
The emotion on Nathan's face vanished instantly. Without even looking at the document in my hands, he signed his name directly at the signature line.
"Leave on your own. Send me a message when you get there."
After Nathan drove away, I didn't linger for a moment either.
The villa was halfway up a mountain where I couldn't get a ride, so I had to walk down alone.
On the way, Liam messaged me saying he had some things to handle and asking me to wait one more day.
I replied okay, then booked a hotel nearby.
However, just as I reached the foot of the mountain, a figure suddenly rushed out from the shadows of the nearby trees, reeking of alcohol.
It was clearly someone who'd drunk too much.
Before I could react, he lunged at me. One hand roughly grabbed my shoulder while the other tried to cover my mouth.
"Little beauty, all alone? Keep me company..."
His strength was too much. I was knocked to the ground.
His drunk body pressed down hard on me, his alcohol-stinking mouth trying to force itself on me.
"Get off!"
I drove my elbow hard into his ribs while simultaneously slamming my forehead into his nose.
"Aaaah—!" He let out a scream, curling up while clutching himself.
I quickly scrambled up, clutching the bag with the contract tightly.
The drunk lifted his head, face covered in blood, looking at me with eyes full of disbelief and shock.
"No... impossible... your wolf, Shadowblade's Chloe, your wolf has been asleep for so long, hasn't it? How could you... have this kind of strength?!"
He stumbled to his feet and fled quickly.
Only after his figure completely disappeared did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
My knees and elbows burned with pain—scrapes from struggling and falling earlier.
He was right. My wolf had been in a deep sleep due to serious injuries for a long time, only recently beginning to awaken.
But very few people knew about this.
I didn't know who told him, but my instinct told me it was related to Sophia.
So I sent Sophia a message.
[If there's a next time, I'll bite through your throat.]