Chapter 5 The Allergy Setup

• “William, you make it sound so easy.”
• My lips curved faintly. “Why don’t you go do some time too?”
• The words were sharp as wolf fangs.
• This wasn’t the Julie from three years ago who tried so carefully to please him.
• I saw the flicker of shock on his face, like he was meeting me for the first time.
• I didn’t look at any of them again. I turned and left the hospital.
• The second I stepped outside, I rubbed the spot on my wrist where William had touched me.
• The touch made my stomach turn.
• There was only one thought in my mind:
• Divorce. As fast as possible.
• Sharing even the same territory with William was torture.
• That night, I took my medicine and fell into a heavy sleep.
• Half awake, half dreaming, I went back to the prison again, claws, chains, blood smears on the walls when my mania broke, and the child that disappeared inside me…
• I jolted awake.
• The living room door had opened.
• Celine rushed in, travel-worn, her face tight with panic. “You’re just out and already burning up like this? When I got back you were almost at forty degrees… thank God it broke.”
• She handed me water and medicine.
• In that instant, I finally felt something warm, something real, something that wouldn’t betray me.
• A husband couldn’t be relied on.
• A son… had already been guided toward another ‘mother.’
• In this world, the only thing that made me feel safe was a friend.
• I swallowed the pills, my voice low but steady.
• “I won’t give in.”
• Grandma Tina invited me to a family dinner. She’d always been kind to me. I had no reason to refuse and after so many years, I should at least let her know I was alive.
• After resting for two short days, my body felt a little better. But on the day of the dinner, my head was still foggy and heavy.
• Medicine couldn’t fully suppress the restless wolf nature in my blood—on the eve of the full moon, I was extra sensitive to scent, malice, and hypocrisy.
• At dusk, I took a taxi to the Blackwell family house.
• The mansion sat halfway up the mountain. I hadn’t been back in three years, but my wolf still reacted instinctively to the Alpha pressure in this place, wary, on guard.
• At the gate, that familiar Cullinan was parked there.
• He really had come back.
• “Mom, why are you so late? Dinner’s about to start. You walk like a turtle.”
• Rocco poked his head out of the front door, impatient.
• I lifted my eyes, and the next second, two people stepping out behind him blocked my view.
• William. and Ann.
• A family dinner, and he brought her?
• A werewolf family dinner was always a “within the bloodline” ritual. Bringing her was a public humiliation of me.
• Ann smiled at me. “Julie, perfect timing. The kitchen is swamped. Come help with me.”
• I smiled.
• Back then, I used to cook with my own hands just to make sure my husband and son ate well.
• And they commented me as lazy and useless.
• Thinking about it now was pathetic.
• I didn’t move.
• Rocco shoved me. “Mom, hurry up and help Aunt Ann! Don’t wear her out!”
• William was chatting with his mother, Grace, in the living room. He didn’t even look at me.
• I turned and walked toward the kitchen.
• Ann immediately shoved a little dipping-sauce dish into my hands. “This is Rocco’s dipping sauce. I don’t have time, you deliver it.”
• A servant casually pressed the dish on my palm.
• I carried it toward the dining room. The moment I stepped inside, I saw two familiar figures walking down the staircase slowly.
• “Julie, you’re back?” Tina’s voice boomed, my grandma, who still cared about me.
• I lifted my head—
• And the first thing I saw was Evan, William’s younger brother.
• He wore a perfectly tailored black suit. The black ring on his right index finger was cold as moonlight at midnight.
• His aura was that of a high-ranking Beta.
• My fingers tightened for a split second.
• No one expected that the next time I saw him, it would be like this.
• I lowered my voice. “Long time no see”
• Grandma Tina pulled me to sit beside her and talked with me for a while, and only then did everyone head to the table.
• I sat next to William. Rocco sat between him and Ann.
• They really looked like a happy little family of three.
• Halfway through the meal, suddenly—
• “Dad… I feel bad… I’m so itchy…”
• Rocco’s voice trembled. The next second, with a clatter, his plate hit the floor.