In the past, with Silas’s protection, no one dared to approach me.
But now that he was gone, it was my responsibility to protect myself.
At Harper’s words, my heart warmed, and tears welled up in my eyes.
I was afraid Harper would be even more worried if she saw my tears, so I quickly replied with an “okay” and pushed her to continue the ceremony.
After exchanging rings and popping champagne at the reception, the mating ceremony was coming to an end. The rest of the mating ritual would be done tonight, under the full moon, with just Damian and Harper and their wolves.
I was relieved the day could end happily for Harper and Damjan, watching as they mingled with all their guests, smiles of mated bliss on their faces. Their faces had to hurt by now from smiling so big for so long.
Everything had gone off without a hitch-other than the earlier mishap. The next thing I needed to do was to deal with Roman…
I followed the car with Damian and Harper in it, sent them off to their new house, and then took a taxi home.
As I opened my closet, rustling through the rack for a hanger,
a bank card fell out.
It was the card I’d given to Harper. She must have secretly put it in here, da mn her.
I picked it up, shaking my head but still smiling a little.
Harper was such a kind and gracious person. She only knew how to give and never asked for anything in return. She didn’t even want to take advantage of Damian.
He had paid the down payment for their new house, and she would pay for the renovation. Even if her name wasn’t on the title since it was purchased before they mated-and only members of a pack could buy homes on pack land-Harper would still pay the loan with Damian without complaint or regret.
I had always thought of her as a generous older sister, always making people feel warm and fuzzy however she could.
I gripped the plastic card tightly, thinking about how, after tonight, I would be gone.
If there was no word left for Harper, I worried she wouldn’t be oble to move on, to let go.
It took two pieces of paper, front and back, to write down every single little thing I wanted to say.
After I finished writing, I put the bank card and my letter into an envelope, then wrote on the back “To Harper.”
I took out another piece of paper, wanting to write something for Griffon. But I didn’t know what to say. It was as though everything had frozen up inside of my brain, and everything I wanted to say turned into nothing.
In the end, I only wrote three words, alongside his name. I put down the pen, folded the letter, and put it in my desk drawer.
After I was gone, Harper would likely come to clean up my belongings. When that time came, she would find everything.
With this out of the way, I took a handful of medicine. Tonight’s task was heavy, and I had to stabilize my body. Otherwise, all my efforts would be in vain.
Opening the locked desk drawer, I took out the small bottle of sleeping pills that I’d saved for this night. After putting the sleeping pills, the fake contract, and a dagger into my bag, I took out my phone and booked a hotel room I went to the hotel to decorate it first and then texted Roman the address.
[Mr. Starke, Room 2088 of the Windmere Hotel. I’m waiting for you.
I thought Roman would come straight over when he got my message, but strangely, he replied with a question mark.
I frowned. Didn’t he agree to get the contract tonight?
Just as I was about to text again, my phone buzzed with another message.
[Wait for me.]
Dismissing my doubts, I put down the phone and took out the sleeping pills and a winegla*s.
I clutched my dagger and carefully crushed the pills with the tip of the blade.
Last time, I had planned to fight Roman to the death, but I hadn’t prepared enough. This time, I was ready for the big,
bad wolf.
I didn’t want to be played by Roman any longer, nor did I want to involve Harper.
Therefore, I had no other choice but to kil l him.
I finished crushing the sleeping pills, picked up the bottle of wine I’d brought with me, filled the winegla*s, and hid the dagger under a pillow on the bed.
Then I turned off the light and sat on the sofa, waiting for Roman to arrive.
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Despite putting on a calm, brave face, my hands trembled.
I was nervous and scared. But I had made it this far, there was no choice but to keep going through with my plan.
Putting down the bottle in my hand, I took a deep breath to attempt to composure my shaking hands and nerves. I walked to the door and slowly opened it.
The man at the door wore a gold-bronze mask, covering his whole face.
As soon as I saw him, I knew something was wrong.
I tried to close the door, but he put his hand on it, his wolf strength too much for me to push back against.
He forced his way in, then turned off all the lights.
The room instantly fell into darkness. My night vision was no match for a wolf shifter’s night vision; he had a clear advantage. I could only see his dark figure from the light outside the window.
My body shook uncontrollably. The man was not Roman!
Actually…based on his height and build, he looked a little like Griffon.
However, Griffon smelled faintly of pine, while this person had a strong, cedarwood smell.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness a little more, and I was able to make out a bit of his appearance.
Griffon had always been meticulous about his appearance, making sure his hair was flawlessly styled, only wearing the finest business suits as befitting of an Alpha of his power and stature. This man had messy hair and wore a w hite shirt and brown pants, casual clothes that Griffon would never wear.
Lastly, there was a tattoo of a ferocious dragon on his collarbone.
Griffon would never get a tattoo,
If it wasn’t Roman or Griffon.. who was this and what did they want from me?!