Kevin’s POV
When we bid farewell to the Blue River Tribe hunter and his son, he gave Anna a silver leaf. Curious, Anna examined the silver leaf, “There’s a ‘U’ engraved on the back. What is it?”
“It’s a pass for free entry to Utopia,” I said.
Zachary looked at me in surprise, “Y-you know about it? sir. Have you been to Utopia too?”
I didn’t answer him, and he continued, “Ten years ago, when I was a young and vigorous wolf, skilled in battle, I traveled out of curiosity about the supernatural world. Due to a fortuitous encounter, I saved a human female merchant. Her convoy was attacked by vampires during a journey in the south. Later, she gave me this silver leaf, and that was when I learned about a mysterious town far to the northeast, called Utopia.
Since then, I’ve been searching for a map to Utopia, meeting many people to piece together this information.”
“Was the female merchant a resident of Utopia?” Anna asked.
Zachary shook his head, “I’m not sure about the details. They didn’t reveal much. On the second morning of staying at the inn, she and her convoy left. But they had unique clothing, very fashionable.”
“I heard that entering Utopia requires a resident ID. Zachary, you gave me this silver leaf. How will you and Tony enter Utopia?”
“Don’t be polite, Miss Anna. You saved my son, and I have no way to repay you. This silver leaf is my only reward for you.”
On the way back to the Blue River Tribe, Liam drove the carriage outside, and inside, it was quiet with only Anna and me.
Anna studied the silver leaf with her hazel eyes, eyes blankly. I looked at her delicate profile, the slightly loose and curled golden hair, looking adorable, wanting to touch it.
I guessed she must be very curious about that place.
“Now that you have a Utopia pass, would you like to go and see? I can take you,” I offered.
“No need, Kevin. We agreed that you could only stay in the Blue River Tribe for a month, and now it’s been 20 days. In 10 days, please leave with your Beta on your own,” Anna remained guarded and alert towards me.
“Don’t worry, Anna. I just want to be friends with you.”
“Friends?” She frowned.
“Yes, even if you don’t want to be my mate, we’ve been together for so many days, and aren’t we already friends?”
She hesitated for a moment, said nothing, and then looked out the window.
To be honest, I was lying. I didn’t really want to be friends with her. I wanted her to be my Luna, my wife.
Yes, I can now say with certainty that Anna is Ella, the girl I’ve been looking for.
Since the day we left the hunter’s house, Ella couldn’t resist tasting the purple fruit. That’s when I knew her true identity. Ella has been fascinated by poisonous herbs since childhood, unable to control her habit, just like many years ago in the Blood Moon Tribe when she couldn’t resist tasting the toast smeared with bloodroot juice. Habits are not easily changed, and although she disguised herself as someone else, she couldn’t escape my eyes.
Guessing this truth excited me greatly, and I couldn’t sleep for a night. Then the next day, I asked Beta Liam to go to the Blue River tribe’s market to inquire about the identity of Anna Edwards. Sure enough, all the evidence pointed to her being Ella.
I thought about exposing her on the spot, bringing her back to the Blood Moon Tribe, but my wolf Eric advised me to calm down. It revealed a painful truth that I had to face: Ella hated me. She preferred to lie and impersonate someone else rather than face me. She didn’t want me to entangle her. So, I changed my strategy. I was willing to act like I knew nothing, not expose her, and then stay by her side to atone for the mistakes I had made.
My gaze remained fixed on Ella’s direction. She ignored me, and I quietly admired her. As long as I could stay by her side, even if it meant sitting quietly like this, I was satisfied.
“Kevin, can you look away? It makes me very uncomfortable,” Ella shifted, trying to distance herself from me.
“Well, the beautiful scenery in your eyes is the flowers and birds outside the window, but the beautiful scenery in my eyes is you, Anna. You can’t deprive me of appreciating beauty,” I pretended to joke.
“Kevin, please stop with your playboy talk. I’m not buying it. If you want to flirt, you can find other women.”
She glared at me, and I chuckled.
“Really sad, I’ve never said that to any other woman.” I pretended to be hurt, and then she snorted, no longer paying attention to me.
This quiet moment alone made me reminisce about our childhood.
Ella speaking surprised me; her voice was actually very pleasant, I enjoyed talking to her.
I first met her when I was 5. Beta Ariana brought her to my father’s birthday banquet. She was a mute little wolf, always standing alone in the corner. I didn’t pay much attention to her at that time until she was bullied by a group of young she-wolves at the age of 8. They pushed her to the ground, scattering the herbs in her basket all over the place. Her small figure calmly got up without crying or fighting back, like a doll without emotions, but the resilience in her eyes touched me.
I scolded those young she-wolves, and from then on, I often saw her and her mother in my father’s camp. Later, she liked to follow me, preparing various herbs for my physical fitness.
Sadness welled up in my heart; I had shattered her love with my own hands.
I cleared my throat, wanting to talk to Ella again, when a horse neigh sounded, and the carriage stopped.
“Alpha, we’ve arrived at the clinic,” Liam opened the curtain, poking his head in.
“Okay,” I said helplessly.
Outside the clinic, Camila was talking to two middle-aged she-wolves, leaning on a cane.
“Oh, my granddaughter is back. Let’s not chat for now,” Camila said goodbye to the she-wolves and approached Ella, looking her up and down with concern. “Thinner and paler, Anna, what happened?”
“Nothing, Grandma. You don’t have to worry. Tony’s illness has been cured.” Ella didn’t mention the blood exchange, probably not wanting Camila to worry.
“That’s good. You’ve always been outstanding,” Camila said proudly, then warned me and Liam, “Have you been bullying my granddaughter? She looks much worse than when she left.”
“No, no, Grandma Camila, Alpha would never harm Miss Anna,” Liam explained quickly.
“I’m sorry; not taking care of Anna properly is my negligence.” I interjected, in fact, protecting Ella’s safety had become my responsibility.
“Grandma, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat something delicious,” Anna changed the subject, and Camila, concerned, touched her face, “Alright, I’ll cook you Wujig Chicken Yam Soup. I’ll replenish you soon.”
Watching the girl and the old lady huddled together, my heart couldn’t help but warm. It seemed that this old woman from the Blue River Tribe really treated Ella as family, and I was grateful for her care for Ella over the years.