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00:05On the night rogue wolves invaded our pack, my husband risked his life to get me out.
00:12Lightning split the sky. In that flash, I saw three huge wolves lunging out of the fog.
00:20Cade shoved me away.
00:24Two rogues hit him from both sides, and the force threw him straight over the cliff.
00:31I threw myself toward the cliff edge. Rain and blood flooded my eyes.
00:37The warriors of Ashford pack. Searched for three months and found nothing.
00:42Everyone said Cade Ashford was dead, but my wolf refused to believe it.
00:46I searched for him for two years.
00:58I crossed every unclaimed territory, trying to catch even one whiff of his scent.
01:03Then, outside a small-town clinic in Montana, I smelled him.
01:08The second that musk hit me, I froze.
01:19But when I pushed the door open, I saw him lowering his head to wipe sweat from another woman's face.
01:27When she looked up, there was a bite mark on her neck.
01:30He was already someone else's mate.
01:33He had lost his memory, and he had lost the bond that belonged to me.
01:42In my last life, I refused to accept it.
01:46I used the power of Ashford pack to bring in a healer, and forced his memories awake.
01:53The day his memories came back, the woman who had hidden him for two years jumped into the Hudson River.
02:01I thought I had won.
02:04I was wrong.
02:08Ten years later, the San Andreas Fault tore California open.
02:12Cade and I were buried under the wreckage.
02:14There was only one gap big enough for one person to crawl through.
02:19He pushed me out.
02:22When the second collapse came, he held my hand through the crack in the stone.
02:26Ring.
02:28These ten years together make up for the ten years before.
02:31We are even now.
02:32We owe each other nothing.
02:34If there is another life, don't make me remember the past.
02:39Let me have her.
02:41My wolf let out a broken howl.
02:46When I opened my eyes again, I smelled disinfectant.
02:49Outside the window was a pine forest.
02:51I had gone back to the day I found Cade.
02:54This time, I chose to honor the life he had forgotten me into.
03:03Alpha Cade has lost his memory.
03:07He only recognizes Victoria, the nurse at the clinic, as his mate.
03:11He refuses to come back to New York with us.
03:14But Luna Eleanor has already contacted a healer.
03:18Before the next full moon, he should be able to remember you.
03:21The same conversation as before.
03:23Only this time, my wolf felt no joy and no anger.
03:27She only lay down and buried her head in her paws.
03:33I shook my head.
03:36Don't wake his memories.
03:38Then I did two things.
03:40First, I submitted a transfer request to the Northern Pack Alliance.
03:44I asked to join the border medical team at the edge of the Arctic Circle for long-term duty.
03:49Second, I took the transfer order stamped by the Pack Elders
03:52and went to see the Luna of Ashford Pack.
03:55I returned the Silver Wolf Fane mate token to her.
03:59Cade had carved it for me by hand.
04:02Luna Eleanor gripped my hand.
04:03But this engagement can't be called off.
04:07Rin, you and Cade have loved each other for so many years.
04:11If you leave, he may never accept a second mate in this life.
04:18I said nothing.
04:19I only opened the projection on my wrist.
04:21In the image, Cade was chopping wood in the small-town backyard.
04:25Victoria wiped the sweat from his face.
04:27They smiled at each other.
04:29Even the mate bond that should never have belonged to them gave off a faint glow.
04:35Rogue's are everywhere up north.
04:38I may not come back alive.
04:39Instead of forcing him to bind himself to an Omega who could die any day.
04:44Let him have the woman he's with now.
04:48I don't want to drag him down again, Luna.
05:05In my last life, after Cade fell from the cliff, I searched for him for two years.
05:12I searched every inch of the Rocky Mountains.
05:16On every moonless night, I tried to feel him through our nearly broken mate bond, but the other end was
05:23always silent.
05:25When I finally found him, I learned that a mixed-blood werewolf nurse named Victoria had saved him.
05:31The mate mark on his neck no longer belonged to me.
05:37I didn't care what he wanted.
05:40I forced him back to New York and made the healer wake his memories.
05:47The day he remembered everything,
05:50Victoria jumped into the Hudson River right in front of him.
05:55From that moment on, a thorn settled between Cade and me, and it never came out.
06:02The mate who once promised to guard the northern snow line with me
06:07became a stranger I could barely face.
06:09Until the earthquake buried us, and he gave me the only way out.
06:14Before he died, all he said was,
06:16We aren't even now.
06:18We owe each other nothing.
06:19He didn't do it because he still loved me.
06:22He did it because he was an Alpha, and Alphas are born to settle their debts.
06:26I said softly to Luna Eleanor,
06:28Cade and I can't go back.
06:33After leaving Ashford Manor, I drove straight to Montana.
06:37When Victoria saw me get out of the car,
06:40she quickly sent Cade to the backyard.
06:43I didn't hide him here on purpose for two years,
06:47she argued.
06:48I swear!
06:49My face stayed blank.
06:51Ashford Pack needs an Alpha like him.
06:53But you kept him trapped in unclaimed land for two years,
06:56and let his wolf soul nearly go dormant.
06:59You knew what you were doing, didn't you?
07:02Victoria bit her lip.
07:03Her eyes turned red.
07:05Rink, I know everything.
07:06His heart has only ever had room for you.
07:10Once his memories come back,
07:11he'll leave me at once and go back to you.
07:14But the day the Pack Healer came for rounds,
07:15I saw him in the crowd and fell in love with him at first sight.
07:18I waited for so many years.
07:20I never dared to hope I could get close to him.
07:23Then I finally had this chance.
07:24I just wanted him to be my mate for a few days.
07:27Just a few days.
07:29I listened quietly.
07:30My eyes moved past her.
07:32Cade stood not far away, staring hard at me.
07:34His eyes were full of warning and territorial threat.
07:37His wolf let out a low warning growl.
07:39Step by step, he moved in front of Victoria and shielded her with his body.
07:44The mate who once shielded me from rogue claws now saw me as the enemy.
07:48I gave a small, bitter smile and said to Victoria,
07:51Don't be scared.
07:53I'm not here to break you two apart.
07:55I'm here to bring both of you back to Ashford Manor.
07:59Victoria sucked in a sharp breath.
08:01Both of us?
08:02Yes.
08:04You're the mate he chose.
08:05If we leave you here, he'll never come with us.
08:08Go pack your things.
08:09Come back to New York with Cade.
08:11The Alpha and Luna know about you.
08:13They won't oppose your bond.
08:15Victoria stood frozen for a long moment.
08:17Then she grabbed Cade's hand and ran back into the house.
08:20Only then did Cade believe I meant Victoria no harm.
08:24His growl slowly faded.
08:26After a while, he said,
08:27Sorry.
08:29I thought you were going to hurt her.
08:31Every feeling he had followed Victoria now.
08:34No one remembered that, when Victoria used to watch him from a distance,
08:39during border medical rounds,
08:40he would tug my sleeve and push me forward.
08:44Go.
08:46As my Alpha mate, make it clear he belongs to you.
08:49Then we would laugh in each other's arms.
08:51He would lower his head and gently bit the mate mark on my neck.
08:55Mine.
08:55He would whisper.
08:57Mine, little wolf.
08:59What a shame.
09:01Cade no longer belonged to me.
09:03I swallowed the bitterness in my chest and took them into the car back to New York.
09:09At Ashford Manor, when it was time to introduce who I was,
09:14the whole room had no idea what to do.
09:16I stepped forward first.
09:18I was the healer attached to your old tactical team.
09:21We patrolled the northern border together for ten years.
09:25You always treated me like your little sister.
09:27You even said that once we came down from the snow line,
09:30you would introduce me to a good Alpha.
09:32Then you lost your memory and forgot all about it.
09:35Cade didn't suspect a thing.
09:36Okay.
09:37Once Victoria settles in, I'll keep an eye out for you.
09:41I lowered my eyes.
09:43My nails dug into my palm.
09:46My wolf gave a small whimper.
09:49In the middle of the night, firelight outside the window woke me.
09:53I opened the door.
09:54In the courtyard, a bonfire burned.
09:56Everything connected to me was in the flames.
09:59The first silver wolf-hunting knife he gave me.
10:02The pack honor medal we earned together.
10:05Each piece turned to ash.
10:07Cade turned his head.
10:08We used to be partners, so there was no problem keeping these things.
10:13But Victoria lives here now.
10:15If she sees them, she may misunderstand.
10:17So I burned them.
10:19I hope you don't mind.
10:20I dug my nails into my palm.
10:22I couldn't let him see how broken I was.
10:25An Omega must never show weakness in front of an Alpha.
10:28Especially one who has already erased you from his territory.
10:31It's fine.
10:32I still have some things in my room.
10:34We may as well burn those, too.
10:37I went back to my room and began taking things out one by one.
10:41The first letter he wrote me.
10:43The lock of wolf fur he left for me on our first full moon night.
10:46I carried the wooden box outside and threw them into the fire one by one.
10:50My wolf curled up in the deepest part of me and keened softly.
10:54The kind of mourning sound an Omega makes after losing her mate.
10:58Cade watched me from the other side of the fire.
11:00He frowned, then quickly forced it down.
11:03He didn't ask.
11:04And I wouldn't tell him.
11:08For the next few days, the courtyard was always filled with the sound of tearing things down.
11:13Cade had once planted lavender all over the courtyard for me.
11:16Now every plant was ripped out and replaced with the red roses Victoria liked.
11:21He also smashed the moonstone wall carved with our names.
11:24The wall that recorded the first time.
11:26Our mate bond appeared.
11:28In its place, he dug a small flower bed Victoria wanted.
11:32The day they planted the seeds, Victoria stopped me in the courtyard.
11:36She lifted her chin and showed me the silver pendant around her neck.
11:40Cade found this wolf fang in the study.
11:42He said he knew at once it was made for his future mate.
11:45He polished it again by hand and asked me for a mate bond.
11:49She shook the wolf fang.
11:50A silver wolf with spread wings was carved into it.
11:54Cade had carved it for me stroke by stroke in a northern snowstorm.
11:58That night, he took the fang from his coat and put it around my neck.
12:02At my ear, he said,
12:04Little wolf, mine, forever mine.
12:07Later, I held that fang while searching for him for two years.
12:12On the day I ended the engagement, I returned it to Ashford Pack.
12:16I never thought it would end up in Victoria's hands.
12:19I nodded.
12:20It's beautiful.
12:21It suits you.
12:22Victoria's face darkened.
12:24But I don't like it.
12:26She took off the pendant and stared at me with sharp eyes.
12:29Before it gets destroyed,
12:31why not let it help me with one little thing?
12:37Before she finished speaking,
12:39she suddenly turned and threw herself into the muddy pit
12:43in the freshly turned flower bed.
12:45The next second,
12:47a hard force slammed into me from the side.
12:51I stumbled back
12:55and my knee hit the stone steps.
12:58Before I could get up,
13:00I saw Cade rush over in a panic.
13:02By the time he pulled Victoria out,
13:04both of them were covered in mud,
13:06but he ignored his own condition.
13:11Victoria, are you okay?
13:14Did you swallow any water?
13:16Did the stones cut you?
13:18Victoria shook her head and pouted.
13:21Tears rolled down one by one.
13:24I'm fine.
13:26It's just that the wolf fang you gave me
13:28was thrown into the water.
13:30I fell in because I was trying to get it back.
13:34She opened her hand.
13:35The pendant was gone from her neck.
13:41Cade, Ashford Pack doesn't want me here.
13:44She sobbed.
13:46Can we go back to the small town?
13:49At least no one there will bully me.
13:51Cade let out a low growl.
13:53Who threw your wolf fang?
13:55Who bullied you?
13:57His alpha pheromones turned heavy at once.
14:01Victoria pressed her lips together
14:02and said nothing.
14:04She only stole a timid glance in my direction.
14:08Cade looked over coldly.
14:11It wasn't me.
14:13You know what you did.
14:16Cade left those words behind.
14:18Then he lifted Victoria into his arms
14:20and gave a nearby Gamma a look.
14:24Whoever threw the wolf fang
14:25can get into the water and find it herself.
14:36The Gammas grabbed me
14:37and threw me straight into the flowerbed pond.
14:43I fought to climb back to shore.
14:45Then another foot stoned me down into the mud.
14:52Although the Luna and Alpha King of Ashford Pack
14:54were still distant towards Victoria,
14:56they couldn't fight Cade forever.
14:58A mate ceremony was set at an old church
15:00facing the Atlantic.
15:01Most of the guests were pack warriors
15:03who once fought with Cade and me,
15:05along with healers sent by the allied packs.
15:07When Victoria and Cade walked to the altar,
15:10everyone kept looking at me.
15:12We all saw how hard Rin searched for him these past two years.
15:16And now Cade wakes up and wants to complete a mate bond with a mixed blood.
15:20They loved each other so much back then.
15:22How did it become this?
15:23I was about to step toward the back rows.
15:26When the candles in the church dome suddenly burst with sparks.
15:30The place fell into darkness.
15:33Screams broke out and the crowd fell into chaos.
15:36I took two steps back.
15:37Then someone grabbed my wrist from behind.
15:40A rough cloth soaked with wolf beep covered my mouth and nose.
15:44Wolf beep.
15:45A poison that could bring even the strongest alpha to the ground.
15:49Before I could shift, I lost consciousness.
15:52I didn't know how much time had passed.
15:56Through the haze, I heard Victoria growling under her breath.
16:00Damn it!
16:01Who told you to move during the mate ceremony?
16:04I only told you to pretend to kidnap me and pin it on Wynne.
16:07Who told you to take her too?
16:09You useless idiots!
16:11You ruined my whole plan!
16:13My mind slowly came back.
16:15I understood everything at once.
16:18Victoria had framed me again.
16:20Only this time, it had slipped out of her control.
16:24When I struggled earlier, I touched the kidnapper's silver blade.
16:27It was made for hunting werewolves.
16:30What alarmed me even more was the leader's accent.
16:32I knew it well.
16:35They were the remnants of the silver dealers Cade sent to the Silver Council Tribunal last year.
16:40They sold silver bullets and wolf bait extract to rogue packs.
16:43They had been looking for a chance to get revenge on Cade.
16:50After a long while, the kidnappers connected the call.
16:54Cade Ashford.
16:55One is the former mate who shared a ten-year bond with you.
16:58The other is the mate you accepted after losing your memory.
17:02Which one do you want alive?
17:05Let her go.
17:06Cade said, each word hard.
17:08Touch one hair on her head, and I'll erase you from this world.
17:12He meant her.
17:13He meant Victoria.
17:15I closed my eyes.
17:16Tears slid down.
17:17There was nothing to be surprised about.
17:20I should have accepted Cade's choice long ago.
17:22My wolflonger howled.
17:24She'd simply given up.
17:26The kidnapper leader suddenly laughed.
17:28Did you really think I'd let you choose?
17:39The next second, Victoria and I were shoved into a box.
17:46As the lid closed, I heard them throw something heavy with silver hooks into the bottom.
17:53The whole box was lifted to saltwater lake.
17:57Silver was a curse to werewolves.
18:03I reached into the hidden pocket on my thigh and pulled out a folding knife.
18:07Since returning from the north, I had never gone anywhere without it.
18:11I drove the blade into the crack between the boards.
18:14Lake water rushed in with splinters of wood.
18:16My right leg, the old injury from the northern border, began to spasm under the water pressure.
18:22But I couldn't stop.
18:23I pried open a narrow gap in the box.
18:25I pulled Vittornia down, still unconscious from the drug, and dragged her upward while kicking with one leg.
18:31The air in my lungs was almost gone.
18:34At the last moment, my wolf came out.
18:36She bit Victoria's collar and used all her strength to pull her up.
18:41When we broke the surface, I was almost out of strength.
18:45With the last bit I had, I pushed Victoria onto a floating log.
18:49You need to live.
18:50If she lived, then the life he had rebuilt after forgetting me would have a peaceful ending.
18:55I pushed the log toward the shore a few more strokes.
18:58Then the old wound in my right leg flared.
19:00I had gotten it three years ago on the northern border, when I shielded a litter of wolf mobs from
19:04the rogue attack.
19:05A silver shard had been stuck in the bone ever since.
19:08The healer said it could never be removed.
19:10My whole leg went numb.
19:12Lake water poured into my mouth and nose.
19:15I sank toward the bottom.
19:18Fine.
19:19Let it end here.
19:21My wolf buried her head in her paws.
19:23She was finally tired.
19:25Ten years on the snow line.
19:27Two years of searching.
19:28One failed mate bond.
19:29Now she could finally sleep.
19:31Before my mind went dark, I thought I saw some reach a hand toward me.
19:35That hand wasn't Cade's.
19:39When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was a wide stretch of ceiling.
19:43A young pack healer leaned over me.
19:46Thank the goddess.
19:47You finally woke up.
19:48You were unconscious for three whole days.
19:51My voice was dry and rough.
19:54The woman who came in with me?
19:55How is she?
19:57Alive.
19:57Just some scratches.
19:58Her alpha mate booked the entire top floor VIP isolation ward the second he alived, and he hasn't left her
20:04side.
20:04But you, she said with a frown, if we hadn't arrived when your bond signature went wrong, we might not
20:10have saved you.
20:11The mate mark on your neck has cracked.
20:13I froze for a second, then smiled in relief.
20:16My mate mark had cracked.
20:18That only happens when an omega and alpha formally break their bond.
20:23He had made his choice.
20:24My wolf had finally let go for real.
20:28Just then, the ward door opened.
20:30Wren.
20:31I looked up.
20:32When I saw the figure at the door, my tears broke free.
20:35Alexander came to my bed and pulled me into his arms.
20:37I couldn't reach you, so I followed the clues from the Northern Alliance.
20:41Come on.
20:41Big brother is taking you back to Boston.
20:43My brother was the current alpha of Crestmore Pack, one of the oldest packs in New England.
20:48Ever since I returned from the northern border, he had wanted me to go back to Boston to recover.
20:52I had delayed going home again and again because of Kay.
20:55Alexander carried me onto a private plane.
20:58The plane broke through the clouds and flew north toward New England.
21:03I wiped away my last tear and said goodbye in my heart.
21:06Cade, I'm letting you and Victoria have your mate bond.
21:09From now on, we'll never meet again.
21:12All of Ashford Manor was talking.
21:15The future alpha of Ashford Pack had brought in a shifter healer to make sure Victoria wasn't traumatized by falling
21:22into the water.
21:23Cutting it in half isn't good.
21:24After her treatment, Victoria sweetly asked to cut a silver moon fruit in half and share it with Cade.
21:30Victoria, in our pack's old tradition, sharing a cut silver moon fruit means a bond is breaking.
21:36Cade's voice was indulgent.
21:38We survived so many hard days in Montana.
21:41I just want to live safely with you until the next full moon, and the one after that, and every
21:46one after that.
21:46As soon as he finished speaking, a strange memory flashed through Cade's mind.
21:51A figure was crouching in front of him.
21:55The girl took a bite of the silver moon fruit he held to her lips, then casually pushed the half
22:00-eaten piece into his mouth.
22:02When the version of him in memory realized what he was biting, his eyes turned red.
22:07Sharing a cut silver moon fruit means a clean break in packed tradition.
22:10In the memory, his voice turned stern.
22:13We dodged so many silver bullets together in the north and crossed so much rogue territory.
22:17Don't you want to complete our mate ceremony safely under the full moon?
22:20The girl laughed at how serious he was, but he couldn't see her face.
22:26Cade, are you really that scared we won't make it to the end?
22:29Scared?
22:30The Cade in the memory buried his head in her neck, pressing against the mate mark that belonged to him.
22:35I'll never give anything the chance to tear us apart.
22:38Mine, little wolf.
22:39Forever mine.
22:40Cade pressed a hand to his chest.
22:43The man in that memory loved that girl with his whole heart.
22:47Who was she?
22:48Was it Ring?
22:50A familiar irritation rose in him, stronger than ever before.
22:55He remembered the kidnapping on the day of the mate ceremony.
22:58The moment he saw Wren and Victoria thrown into the deep lake together, his heart clenched.
23:03Before his mind could think, his body had already jumped into the water.
23:08He saw Wink drag an unconscious Victoria to the surface and push her onto a floating log.
23:13Then Winn sank straight into the deep water.
23:16Reason told him to save Victoria first.
23:19She was his mate.
23:20Gammas from Crestmore Pack were at the ceremony.
23:23Someone would save Wren.
23:24But as his body moved closer to Victoria, his wolf roared inside his chest.
23:29Instinct pulled his hand toward the darkness below.
23:32This wasn't right.
23:33Cade told himself that.
23:34Even if Wren had been on his old tactical team, she shouldn't matter this much to him.
23:39His parents and Winn herself had both said he only treated her as a sister.
23:42But if the girl in that memory really was Wren, then what exactly was she to him?
23:48I'm going to check on Wren.
23:50Cade stood up.
23:51He had only taken two steps when a hand grabbed the hem of his shirt.
23:55Cade looked down and met Victoria's red eyes.
23:58Cade, if you go to her, does that mean you don't want me anymore?
24:02Don't be scared.
24:03I just need to ask her a few things.
24:05He softened his voice.
24:07My chest hurts.
24:09Was Cade starting to remember something?
24:11If he really went to see Wren, would he still treat her the way he did now?
24:14Victoria didn't dare to think any further.
24:17Cade saw through her act at once.
24:18But he still went along with it.
24:20He let her throw herself into his arms,
24:22patted her back, and rang for the healer.
24:28This scene had happened more than once.
24:30Every time he showed any sign of wanting to find Wren,
24:32Victoria used illness to pull his attention away.
24:35After enough times, Cade understood.
24:36Victoria was afraid of Wren.
24:38But if Wren was really only his former co-worker, his sister,
24:41why would Victoria be this nervous?
24:43A ridiculous thought came to him, and he killed it at once.
24:46If he and Wren had really been mates in the past,
24:49how could she tolerate him being with Victoria now?
24:51He silently brushed the hair from Victoria's forehead,
24:54fully aware that she wasn't asleep.
24:56Victoria was the mate he recognized now.
24:58Even if he found Wren and cleared up their past,
25:01what would that change?
25:02It would only hurt Victoria again.
25:05Cade made up his mind.
25:08After that, he never mentioned looking for Wren again.
25:12But if Wren really had been his lover,
25:14then what did it mean to her that he fell in love with Victoria after losing his memory?
25:18When he drifted off again, Victoria complained,
25:21Cade, you're not listening to me again.
25:24Don't you love me anymore?
25:25Sorry.
25:26Then do you remember what I just said?
25:28He shook his head.
25:29Victoria sighed.
25:30I keep having nightmares lately.
25:32Can we go to that old church outside town and ask the priest to pray for us?
25:36I heard it works.
25:37Cade nodded.
25:39Okay.
25:39They went to the old stone church in upstate New York.
25:42Cade asked for a cross charm for Victoria.
25:45According to the old church rules,
25:47the believer had to place the blessing box in the shrine at the top of the bell tower.
25:52Only then would the ritual be complete.
25:55The bell tower was high.
25:58Climbing it required professional gear.
26:02I'll come back safely.
26:04Cade patted Victoria's shoulder.
26:07He tucked the blessing box into his inner pocket,
26:09checked the safety buckle and climbing rope at his waist,
26:12and climbed the stone wall with his bare hands.
26:14At 30 feet up, he could still hear Victoria warning him through tears.
26:17At 150 feet, the wind swallowed every sound.
26:20At 300 feet, a shard of memory exploded open.
26:23Alpha Cade used to prepare these for wind all the time.
26:27He often saved smoked meat from the northern border to trade for the berry jam she liked.
26:32We all saw it.
26:35It was casual gossip from a healer at the northern outpost.
26:38Back then, he had ignored it.
26:40Now every word was clear.
26:42When he reached the top of the bell tower,
26:44he placed the blessing box in the shrine.
26:47He turned to descend,
26:49and the safety buckle at his waist suddenly clipped.
26:53Cade fell straight down.
26:56The deep pool behind the church swallowed him.
27:01On the churning surface,
27:03shadows of purple-blue plants flashed past his eyes.
27:07Lavender.
27:08The gates of memory burst open.
27:13It was a northern dusk after the shelling had stopped.
27:15Lavender bloomed outside the medical station.
27:18A girl held a bunch of lavender in an empty shell casing she used as a vase.
27:22Soad still marked her face.
27:23You always say the north is too cold and has no color.
27:26The girl said with a smile.
27:28If we ever face another winter with no flowers,
27:30I'll plant a whole courtyard of lavender for you.
27:33He reached out to wipe the ash from her cheek.
27:38Cade struggled in the water,
27:39not for air but to push away the fog and see her face.
27:42After a long time,
27:44just before his mind went blank,
27:45he finally saw her clearly.
27:46Those bright blue eyes full of laughter.
27:50It was Wynne.
27:52Wynne.
27:54He murmured her name.
27:56The moment the lake swallowed him completely,
27:59all the sealed memories rushed back.
28:02Cade was taken to the best shifter recovery center on the east coast.
28:06The attending healer found it strange.
28:08His vitals showed he was out of danger,
28:10and his wolf soul was unusually active,
28:12but he still wouldn't wake up.
28:14When the Luna and Alpha King of Ashford Pack arrived,
28:17they tore into Victoria,
28:18who was waiting beside him.
28:19I said long ago that you were trouble,
28:22but Cade was completely bewitched by you.
28:25If we hadn't listened to Wynne
28:27and gave up on waking Cade's memories,
28:29if we hadn't brought you back to the manor,
28:31how would this have happened?
28:32Luna Elenother sat on the chair.
28:34When Cade was with Wynne,
28:36things like this never happened.
28:38If only we hadn't listened to Wynne.
28:40Wynne.
28:41That name echoed again and again in Cade's mind.
28:44A figure rose in his memory.
28:46Cade.
28:47The girl stood at the edge of the pack territory,
28:49surrounded by lavender,
28:50and looked back at him with a smile.
28:52The mate's ceremony is about to start.
28:55Let's go.
28:56But just as his fingertips were about to touch her,
28:59her figure shattered.
29:01Only her sigh remained in the air.
29:03Cade, we can't go back.
29:06Cade's eyes flew open.
29:08Rink!
29:09Cade, you're awake!
29:10Victoria was overjoyed at first,
29:12then broke into sobs.
29:13You finally woke up!
29:14If you hadn't woken up,
29:16your parents would have blamed me forever!
29:17I would have hated myself too!
29:19I should never have let you climb the bell tower for me!
29:22Cade looked at her face.
29:23The first thing he asked was,
29:24Where is Wynne?
29:25Victoria froze, then bit her lip.
29:27You're still bringing her up?
29:28You were in the hospital for so long,
29:30and she never came once.
29:32A woman like that only came close to you
29:34because you were the heir of Ashford Pack.
29:36Now that you're badly hurt,
29:38she hides far away.
29:39Why think about her?
29:40She isn't like that!
29:41Cade cut her off.
29:43If she didn't come,
29:45it's because she's angry.
29:47Thinking of everything he had done to Ryn,
29:49while he had no memory,
29:51he pulled out the eye-view needle in near panic
29:54and headed for the door.
29:56Victoria hugged him from behind.
29:58At that moment, she saw the clarity in his eyes.
30:01He remembered everything.
30:02It was happening again.
30:04Whenever Wynne appeared,
30:05there was no room for anyone else in his eyes.
30:08Victoria lowered herself and choked out,
30:10Cade, I'm sorry.
30:11I misunderstood, Ryn.
30:13Maybe she really had a reason
30:14for throwing my wolf fang pendant.
30:16Maybe the kidnap at the mate ceremony
30:18really wasn't her plan,
30:19but you're still badly hurt.
30:21Once you're discharged,
30:22I'll go to Boston with you
30:23and apologize to her, okay?
30:25Cade understood exactly what she meant.
30:27He plied her fingers from his waist one by one.
30:30The people who kidnapped you
30:32at the seaside mate there,
30:33Amal, weren't hired by Wynne.
30:34If she wanted to hurt you,
30:36she wouldn't have saved you
30:38when both of you were thrown into the deep lake.
30:40She sank
30:41because her old injury flared while saving you.
30:44He closed his eyes.
30:45Victoria,
30:46I don't want to dig into how you found me
30:49under the Rocky Mountains
30:50and brought me back to Montana
30:52after I lost my memory.
30:53Victoria's expression cracked piece by piece.
30:56What are you saying?
30:58Cade looked at her one last time,
31:00pulled free from her hand,
31:02and strode out.
31:04If you go to Boston for her,
31:07then what am I?
31:08Panic rose in his chest.
31:10He had asked himself that same question
31:12before he recovered his memories.
31:14If Wren really was his lover from the past,
31:18then what was he to her now?
31:20He had lost his memory,
31:22carried another woman's bite mark on his neck,
31:24and completed a mate bond with Victoria
31:26under the moon goddess's witness.
31:30A traitor,
31:32an unforgivable traitor.
31:33She was the mate he had sworn
31:35under the full moon
31:35to protect with his life,
31:37and now he had hurt her that deeply
31:39with his own hands.
31:41After returning to Ashford Manor,
31:43Cade knelt directly in front of his parents.
31:48Father, mother,
31:49tell me Wren's exact address in Boston.
31:51I've got to beg her to forgive me.
31:54Enough!
31:54Luna Eleanor couldn't take it anymore.
31:56Even if you fly there
31:58on a private jet right now and beg,
32:00she won't come back.
32:01She didn't want to become your burden.
32:04That's why she convinced us
32:05not to restore your memories
32:06and chose to go to Boston herself.
32:10Burden.
32:11Cade repeated.
32:13Luna Eleanor closed her eyes,
32:14then finally told him,
32:16Wren wouldn't let us tell you.
32:18But you should know what she did for you.
32:21When we first found you in Montana,
32:23she had already accepted
32:24a long-term border healer assignment
32:26from the Northern Pack Alliance
32:28to the Alaskan Icefields.
32:31She came to us
32:33with the transfer order
32:34signed and stamped
32:35by the Alliance elders
32:36and asked to end the bond.
32:39She said your heart
32:40only had Victoria now.
32:42She said she should leave
32:43while you didn't remember her,
32:45so you and Victoria
32:46could keep your mate bond.
32:48She said the best choice
32:50wasn't to let you spend
32:51the rest of your life
32:52dragged down by her.
32:53Cade froze on the floor of the foyer.
32:55The Alaskan Icefields,
32:56a border assignment,
32:57let them have their bond.
32:59His stomach twisted in pain,
33:01he murmured.
33:03How is that possible?
33:05Wren had clearly promised
33:06to guard the Northern Snowline with him.
33:09Suddenly,
33:10his vision went black
33:11and he fell down the steps.
33:13Before his mind disappeared,
33:15he looked at the little flower bed
33:17of red roses in the courtyard
33:19and felt,
33:19in a daze,
33:21that it should have been
33:22full of lavender.
33:24The next time I saw Cade
33:25was the day
33:26I went to the Pack Medical Center
33:27in Boston
33:28to check my right leg.
33:29He had lost a lot of weight.
33:31His eyes were bloodshot
33:32from too many sleepless nights.
33:34His alpha scent
33:35wasn't hidden at all.
33:36Healers and warriors
33:37who passed him
33:38stepped away on instinct.
33:40Why are you in Boston, too?
33:42I looked behind him.
33:43Aren't you supposed to be
33:44in New York with Victoria?
33:45Where is she?
33:47Cade's pupils tightened.
33:48Wren.
33:49He said hoskily.
33:51I checked your transfer file.
33:53The Alliance told me
33:54your wolf soul was unstable
33:55because of battlefield trauma,
33:56so you were sent back home
33:58long ago.
33:59I came to apologize.
34:02I froze for a second
34:04before realizing
34:04that he had recovered
34:05his memories
34:06and used Ashford connections
34:08to look into me.
34:08But I didn't understand
34:10what he wanted
34:10by coming here.
34:11After a moment of silence,
34:13I shook my head.
34:14You didn't need to fly
34:15all the way to Boston for this.
34:16I know Victoria matters to you,
34:18I said calmly.
34:19So when I chose
34:19to let you two be together,
34:21I never planned
34:21to take revenge.
34:22Cade tried to grab my wrist.
34:24Wren.
34:26You're saying this
34:26out of anger, right?
34:28You hate that I chose Victoria
34:30when I lost my memory.
34:31You're angry that I wronged you
34:33and hurt you for her.
34:34So you're saying this
34:35to hurt me
34:36and make me suffer, right?
34:37But before his hand
34:39touched me,
34:40another hand reached
34:41from behind
34:42and brushed him away.
34:44Cade Ashfield,
34:46I can't believe
34:47you still had the nerve
34:48to show up here.
34:49Julian was my brother
34:50Alexander's most trusted friend
34:52and the future
34:53Alpha King
34:54of North Gale Pack.
34:55His Alpha presence
34:56pressed low in the air.
34:57I held his wrist.
34:59Julian,
35:00is the car at the door?
35:01Let's go back
35:02to the apartment.
35:03I pulled him
35:04toward the exit
35:05then turned back
35:06to Cade.
35:08Cade,
35:09I'm really not angry
35:09with you anymore
35:10and I don't need
35:11anything from you.
35:13Live well with Victoria.
35:14That's the best answer
35:15you can give me.
35:22I meant it.
35:24In the earthquake rescue
35:26in my last life,
35:27Cade pushed me out.
35:28Even if he said it was
35:29to repay the ten years before,
35:31he truly saved my life.
35:32Many of the choices
35:33I made in this life
35:34were only to repay that debt.
35:36Since I was the one
35:37who chose to let him go,
35:38there was no resentment left.
35:39I was happy with my life now.
35:41I didn't want to be disturbed.
35:44On the day Julian and I
35:46held our mate ceremony
35:47at Trinity Church in Boston,
35:49we received gifts
35:50from the Ashford couple
35:51and our old friends
35:53from the northern border.
35:54Among them was
35:55an anonymous transfer
35:56of a massive fortune.
35:57It was all the equity
35:59Cade owned
35:59in the battlefield healer fund
36:01he had helped created.
36:02Along with the transfer agreement
36:03came a pair of mate tokens
36:05carved from silver wolf fang.
36:10Julian threw them
36:11into the trash.
36:12I didn't care.
36:20Under the priest's guidance,
36:22I looked straight
36:23into Julian's eyes.
36:25I, Wren of Crestmore Pack,
36:27accept you, Julian of Northgate Pack,
36:28as my mate.
36:29From this day on,
36:31in fortune and hardness,
36:32in wealth and poverty,
36:33in sickness and health,
36:34I promise to love you
36:35and cherish you
36:36until death parts us.
36:37When I finished,
36:38Julian bent down
36:39and placed his new mate mark
36:41over the old bite scar
36:42on my neck.
36:43A bond spread
36:45through my blood.
36:46My wolf closed her eyes
36:48and accepted it in peace.
36:53At that moment,
36:55in the last row of the church,
36:57someone's eyes
36:57went completely dim.
37:02Through countless nights
37:04of silently watching Wren,
37:05Cade had asked himself
37:06more than once,
37:07should he use the power
37:08of Ashford Pack
37:09to take Wren back by force?
37:11Should he keep her
37:12by his side no matter what?
37:13Even if she hated him
37:15and despised him,
37:16at least she would be
37:17where he could see her.
37:18Especially after he saw
37:19a street photo of Wren
37:20smiling at Julian.
37:22Possessiveness hit him hard.
37:23His wolf roared
37:25inside his chest.
37:27Mine.
37:27Mine.
37:28Still mine.
37:30But whenever he remembered
37:31the cold sweat
37:32on Wren's forehead
37:33when her old injury flared,
37:34Caden would tremble.
37:36Then he would put down
37:37the encrypted phone
37:37where he had already
37:38typed the order.
37:40Proud Wint hated
37:40letting anyone see her in pain.
37:42But she never pushed
37:44Julian away at those times.
37:45She would even lean her head
37:47quietly on the New England
37:48Alpha's shoulder.
37:49When she was with Julian,
37:51the light in her eyes
37:52and the curve of her smile
37:53were open and free.
37:55There was no guard in her.
37:57No shadow.
37:58He couldn't take
37:59that happiness away from her.
38:01Cade still remembered
38:02why he had fallen for Wren
38:03in the beginning.
38:04He had only wanted
38:05the girl who fought
38:05beside him in the war zone
38:07to keep smiling
38:08like that forever.
38:09That was all.
38:10Now she no longer loved him.
38:11He couldn't give her
38:12the peace she wanted.
38:13Then at least he shouldn't
38:14destroy the mate bond
38:15she had now.
38:17Let it be.
38:20He told himself
38:21that countless times.
38:23Once she completed
38:24her mate ceremony
38:25he would step back
38:26with dignity.
38:27But when that day
38:28truly came
38:28Cade finally understood
38:30what it meant
38:31to be unwilling.
38:32If he hadn't fallen
38:33from that cliff
38:34in the Rocky Mountain
38:35thunderstorm
38:35and lost his memory
38:36Wren would have been
38:38the future Luna
38:39of Ashford Pack.
38:40If he had seen
38:41through Victoria's act
38:42during those two years
38:43in Montana
38:44maybe Wren would have
38:45waited for him
38:46a little longer
38:47after thinking it
38:48over and over
38:48the person he should
38:50blame most
38:50was still himself.
38:52He clenched the pair
38:53of silver Wolffang tokens
38:54that Julian had thrown
38:55into the trash
38:56and that he had dug
38:57back out
38:57then rushed out
38:58of Trinity Church
38:59in Boston.
39:01After returning
39:02to New York
39:03he didn't go back
39:04to Ashford Manor.
39:06He went straight
39:07to the century-old
39:08stone church
39:09where he had fallen.
39:10In the confessional
39:11Cade lowered his head
39:13before the priest.
39:17If I spend the rest
39:18of my life
39:18and everything I own
39:19atoning before
39:20the silver goddess
39:23is there still
39:24a chance for me?
39:25The priest looked
39:26at him through
39:27the wooden lattice.
39:28Cade
39:29sin begins
39:31within the self
39:32and so does
39:33redemption.
39:35You ask
39:36for atonement.
39:37How do you know
39:38this pain
39:38isn't where it begins?
39:40At first
39:41Cade didn't understand
39:42what that meant
39:42until one ordinary
39:44late night
39:44he found the recovery
39:45journal Wit had shared
39:46in the old healer circle
39:47from the northern border.
39:49Sleep hit him
39:49all at once.
39:50In the dream
39:51he watched another life
39:52unfold as an outsider.
39:53In that life
39:54the Ashford couple
39:55forced him to leave
39:56the small town in Montana.
39:57He recovered his memories
39:58earlier than he had
39:59in this life
40:00but soon
40:01Rin's battlefield trauma
40:02got worse.
40:03He heard myself
40:04say to her
40:05We've been through
40:06life and death.
40:08Pain won't break us.
40:10No matter how hard
40:11the road ahead is
40:12I'll walk it with you.
40:14The words
40:14sounded sincere
40:15but only the watching
40:17Cade knew
40:17that when he said them
40:18a shadow had already
40:19settled in his heart.
40:21The day his memories
40:22came back
40:22Victoria jumped
40:23into the Hudson River
40:24in front of him.
40:25His endless gentleness
40:26towards Wynne
40:27was only his way
40:28of paying back
40:28a guilt he could
40:29never repay.
40:30He used every connection
40:32the Ashford family had
40:33and took Wynne
40:35across the country
40:36for treatment
40:36behind her back.
40:37But no one knew
40:39that after every visit
40:40to a medical specialist
40:41he would go alone
40:42to an old church
40:43on a quiet corner
40:44in Manhattan
40:45and light a prayer candle
40:46for Victoria.
40:48He prayed
40:49to the silver goddess
40:50to let her rest
40:51after the moonlight.
40:53He prayed
40:53that in her next life
40:54she wouldn't be dragged
40:56into this mess again.
40:58He prayed
40:58that they could have
40:59a different ending.
41:02A distant voice
41:03sounded beneath
41:04the church dome
41:06as you wish.
41:15The scene changed.
41:17After Wynne left
41:18with the agreement
41:19to end their engagement
41:20she calmly stopped
41:21the plan
41:22to wake his memories.
41:27Cade woked
41:27with a start.
41:29He pressed a hand
41:31to his left chest.
41:32The pain there
41:33had long gone Nurm.
41:36He tried to smile
41:37but the muscles
41:38in his face froze.
41:42The ears fell.
41:45So that's it.
41:46I've already lived
41:48a second life.
41:50It was his arrogance
41:52and blindness.
41:53He had failed
41:54to see his own heart.
41:56He had confused
41:57love with guilt.
42:02Everything that hurt now
42:04was exactly
42:04what he deserved.
42:10The next morning
42:11Cade went
42:12to the priest again.
42:14I want to stay
42:15at the monastery
42:16and atone for the past.
42:18The priest made
42:18the sign of the cross
42:19over his chest.
42:25I'm in.
42:27The road to redemption
42:28begins in the heart
42:29and is proven
42:31through action.
42:37Cade donated
42:38every asset
42:39under his name
42:40and stayed
42:41in that old church.
42:45Every day
42:46he swept the courtyard.
42:48Sorted healer relief
42:50supplies bound
42:50for overseas war zones
42:54and guided believers
42:56who came to pray.
43:02He no longer
43:03used any connections
43:04to ask about when.
43:05Only during morning
43:06and evening prayers
43:08he knelt
43:08before the cross
43:09in silence.
43:12He asked only
43:13that she spend
43:14this life
43:14far from danger
43:15and illness
43:16safe and at peace.
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