- 2 hours ago
لقد عبثوا مع لونا الخطأ
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Short filmTranscript
00:03Damon had his people throw me off the cackle at our mating ceremony.
00:06Vivian's pup needs a father on paper. Once my bond with her is dissolved, I will marry.
00:11Everyone assumed I would wait one more month. After all, I had already waited seven years.
00:16But that very same night, I accepted my family's marriage arrangement.
00:19I flew across the border and left Damon's world. For good.
00:22Three years later, I returned to the old territory with my husband for the ancestral rights.
00:26Ethan was held up by something urgent, so we fly separately.
00:29He sent people from a pack he had acquired three years ago to pick me up.
00:33In the crowd at the arrival gate, I spotted a sign. It bore my pack name, Lena.
00:37I walked toward it. The person holding the sign looked up. It was Damon.
00:40Vivian stood beside him, along with the group of old friends from years past.
00:44They were waiting for me. They didn't know the person they were waiting for was me.
00:47Damon saw me. He startled for a second. Then that self-important smile slid back onto his face.
00:52See? I told you she'd come back. Damon, isn't that your little lapdog, Lena?
00:58Someone in the crowd recognized me. Laughter erupted.
01:01She disappeared for three years and now that Damon's made it big, she comes crawling back?
01:04Dressed like that? She can't even afford a decent outfit? Things must have gone badly out there, huh, Lena?
01:09I glanced down at the heartstone chain on my wrist. The one worth 20 million dollars.
01:14I said nothing. Whenever I used to see Damon, I dressed to perfection.
01:17The most flawless makeup. The most tailored gown. Putting my very best self on display for him.
01:22And now, this outfit was custom-made for me by someone Ethan had commissioned.
01:26Because I was pregnant, and he refused to let me wear anything restrictive.
01:29I didn't need to dress up for anyone anymore, all for comfort.
01:32I also understood what was happening. They only knew my pack name.
01:35They had no idea the person they were here to collect was me.
01:38So they were still mocking me, still unaware of what they were doing.
01:42The silence stretched too long. One of Damon's old friends stepped in to smooth things over.
01:47Lena, it's good that you're back. Damon's actually been looking for you all these years.
01:51The smile on Damon's face stiffened for a beat.
01:54Vivian's pup is starting academy soon. You'll be responsible for drop-offs and pick-ups from now on.
01:58Three years had passed. He was exactly the same.
02:01That sense of entitlement. That air of superiority. I was about to reveal who I was.
02:05Lena, don't blame Damon. He's arranging this for your own good.
02:09The way you've been getting by out there, you don't even qualify to be my personal secretary.
02:14Help me look after my son. No one will look down on you for that.
02:18Damon caught me frowning and assumed I was jealous. A flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes.
02:22Alright, if the outside world didn't work out, stop pretending it did.
02:27Take care of the child. Know your place.
02:30Don't worry. There's no shortage of Omega servant quarters in the house.
02:34He genuinely believed. I had come back because I couldn't let him go.
02:38Look how well Damon's taking care of you. Room and board all sorted. Go on. Thank Damon.
02:44Lena, don't worry. If my son acts up, I'll discipline him myself. I won't let you be mistreated.
02:50Damon let out a cold laugh.
02:51What does she have to be mistreated about?
02:54She vanished over something trivial and now she's back because she couldn't make it out there.
02:59A little hardship is exactly what she deserves.
03:02My heart skipped. Even now, he's still called that. Trivial.
03:05The heavy rain outside Pac Hall is back as he walked in with Vivian.
03:09Seven years. To him, it was just a trivial thing.
03:12The boy who had once carried me across half the territory while bleeding out himself.
03:16Just to keep his promise.
03:17He was long dead. Dead the day he chose Vivian for the first time.
03:21It was all in the past. I didn't need any of that anymore.
03:23I was about to have my second child.
03:26I pressed down every feeling and looked at Damon with perfect calm.
03:29Aren't you here to pick me up? Let's go.
03:32A beat of silence fell over the crowd. Then, laughter exploded.
03:37Wait for you? Who do you think you are? We're waiting for Lena. Do you even know who that is?
03:44Of course I did. That's my name.
03:46Ethan swore never to bond. They say he was waiting for her his whole life.
03:50Everyone in the circles knows, if you want to get close to Ethan, go through his Luna.
03:55There's nothing he wouldn't give up for that woman.
03:57Listening to them describe my own life, I couldn't keep the corners of my mouth from lifting.
04:00Three years into our bond, Ethan's power had only grown.
04:04And his reputation for doting on his Luna had grown with it.
04:06Vivian had always had a talent for flaunting other people's lives in my face.
04:09At the Blood Summit auction, Ethan won a heartstone chain for his Luna.
04:14Value? $20 million.
04:17Every female on the continent envies that woman.
04:23It's... this one.
04:25Everyone was staring at the chain on my wrist.
04:27Damon grabbed my hand and leaned in for a close look.
04:30Replica. Which delivery boy Omega bought you this?
04:34Wearing garbage like that in public, shameless.
04:37I pulled my hand free. I traced my fingers over every stone on the chain.
04:41The day Ethan clasped it onto my wrist, he murmured in my ear,
04:44Don't ever take it off.
04:45I smiled. Damon saw my smile. His pupils contracted sharply.
04:48He lunged forward and ripped the chain from my wrist.
04:51I hadn't been ready for it.
04:52He got away with it. The thing Ethan gave me had just fallen into Vivian's hands.
04:56Nice weight. Definitely more refined than the fake I bought.
04:59But I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like this in public.
05:03Or could it be...
05:04Lena? Are you Lena?
05:06You're the legendary Blood Summit Luna?
05:09The laughter that broke out was deafening, because it was absurd.
05:12Ethan was the strongest Alpha on the continent.
05:14And I, three years ago, was the broken Omega Damon had driven out of Pack Hall.
05:19No one could possibly connect the two.
05:21Vivian tossed the chain in her palm, weighing it.
05:24Lena, I'll buy this off you. Double the price.
05:27Give it back. That was a gift from Ethan.
05:34Shut up.
05:35Damon towered over me, eyes burning with irritation.
05:38You think you can drop Ethan's name just like that?
05:41Spreading rumors about a connection with him in a place like this?
05:44Are you trying to get me killed?
05:46Lena, do you have any idea?
05:48Getting to receive Ethan's Luna was a chance a thousand people fought over.
05:53Damon's pack was acquired by Ethan three years ago.
05:56We all survive on his goodwill now.
05:58If you spread lies here, you'll bring ruin down on every single one of us.
06:02I slowly raised my hand, and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.
06:06Slowly turned my head, and looked Damon directly in the eyes.
06:10Damon's brow furrowed.
06:11Something in his gaze flickered with unease.
06:14He thought I was the Lena he remembered.
06:16He thought I would cry, beg, explain.
06:19He didn't know.
06:20The way I looked at him now, was the same way I'd look at a dead man.
06:23Vivian caught the way Damon was looking at me.
06:25She immediately pointed a finger in my face.
06:28Lena, you ungrateful wolf!
06:30Damon already agreed to take you in, and this is how you act?
06:34Even if you resent him, you don't get to use this kind of revenge!
06:38I had a strange sense of déjà vu.
06:41Three years ago, it was exactly like this.
06:43No matter what happened, Vivian would twist the truth and feed it to Damon.
06:47In the beginning, Damon would still yell at Vivian for it.
06:50Later, he started echoing her words to come after me.
06:52Just like now, Damon bit out.
06:54Jealous.
06:55But he didn't keep going.
06:56He went quiet for a moment.
06:58Then reached into his jacket.
06:59Placed a check in front of me.
07:01Two hundred thousand.
07:02The posture of charity.
07:04The expression of charity.
07:06He genuinely believed this was the greatest dignity he could offer me.
07:09Out of respect for what we once had, I won't do anything to you.
07:13Take the money.
07:14Go buy yourself something decent to wear.
07:16If you don't want to look after the child, I'll find you a respectable position in a few days.
07:20Since Ethan acquired my pack, this amount means nothing to me.
07:24I looked at that check.
07:25Looked at his face.
07:26Giving charity.
07:27Under the stunned stares of everyone around us, I pushed it back.
07:31Retrieved the chain from Vivian's hand.
07:33No thank you.
07:34I don't take things from strangers.
07:36I'm a stranger?
07:38Lena, what the hell does that mean?
07:40Since the relationship is over, it's better we don't associate.
07:43I wouldn't want my husband to get the wrong idea.
07:47Damon's expression shifted.
07:50He glanced at Vivian and that knowing look crossed his face.
07:52He thought I was trying to make him jealous.
07:55In three days, Ironcrest Pack is hosting a Blood Moon Gala in Ethan's honor.
07:59I'll take you.
08:00Give you a glimpse of how the other half lives.
08:06Though you'll need to find yourself something decent to wear first, or else...
08:09No thank you.
08:11Damon's face darkened.
08:12Lena, I hope in three days, you'll still feel this confident.
08:17I walked out of the arrival gate without looking back.
08:19Fresh air flooded my lungs.
08:21The nausea in my stomach finally began to ease.
08:24Three years ago, my family had pressured me to cross the border for an arranged marriage.
08:28I held out against it and ran to Damon, begging him to complete our bond first.
08:33Make it a done deal before anyone could interfere.
08:36As you wish.
08:37He agreed.
08:37Then at the doors of Pack Hall, I didn't just find him.
08:40I found Vivian waiting beside him.
08:43Vivian's pup needs to be registered.
08:44I have to complete the bond with her first.
08:47One month.
08:48Then I'll come for you immediately.
08:49It's only for the child's sake.
08:51Don't read into it.
08:52I watched him walk into Pack Hall with Vivian on his arm.
08:56That night, I set out.
08:58One month later, I married Ethan.
09:00A year after that, Leo was born.
09:02Just a few days ago, I confirmed I was carrying a second.
09:05If not for accompanying Ethan back for the ancestral rites.
09:08I would never have set foot on this land again for the rest of my life.
09:12Let alone, run into him at the arrival gate.
09:15Three days later, I put on a light layer of makeup.
09:17The same custom soft fabric dress.
09:19I went to the Blood Moon Gala alone.
09:22The moment I walked in, Damon spotted me.
09:27A light flickered in his eyes.
09:28That familiar, self-satisfied curve pulled at the corner of his mouth.
09:32Said you wouldn't come, but here you are.
09:36Body doesn't lie.
09:40Though if you want me to look twice, you could at least dress the part.
09:44For an occasion like this, what you're wearing...
09:47I stepped around him and kept walking.
09:49He grabbed my arm.
09:50I'm talking to you.
09:55Our seats are over here.
09:56Where are you going?
09:58I looked calmly toward the far end of the hall.
10:00That's your seat.
10:02Mine is over there.
10:04Following my gaze, Damon saw the head table.
10:06The Alpha's seat.
10:07The Luna's seat.
10:08His expression changed.
10:10Vivian's eyes turned vicious instantly.
10:12She fixed her glare on the chain at my wrist and raised her voice.
10:16Lena!
10:17How did you get in here?
10:18Are you here to cause trouble?
10:20Walking in with that chain.
10:22Are you trying to humiliate the Luna?
10:25Tonight is Ethan's first time bringing his Luna out in public.
10:29Rogue woman.
10:30Get out!
10:31Every guest in the room turned to look.
10:33Someone glanced at Damon.
10:34Damon Alpha.
10:35Do you know this person?
10:36Damon straightened his cuffs, perfectly composed.
10:39No.
10:40One word.
10:41Clean.
10:41Final.
10:42Vivian lifted her chin immediately.
10:45Take off that chain and get out!
10:47She reached for it.
10:48I stepped aside.
10:50But someone deliberately tripped me from behind.
10:52I fell.
10:54Vivian planted her foot on my wrist.
10:56The chain.
10:57She tore it free with brute force.
11:00The gem scattered across the floor like a shattered constellation.
11:04Drag her out.
11:06Pain screamed through my wrist.
11:07Bone deep.
11:08I'm Ethan.
11:11His what?
11:12His mistress?
11:13Who do you think you are?
11:17She backhanded me again.
11:18I lay against the middle of the floor.
11:20When I came back here, I hadn't planned to settle scores with anyone.
11:23There was no point.
11:24But now, she had struck me twice.
11:26She had destroyed something Ethan gave me.
11:28She would pay for both of those things.
11:30Everything she was capable of losing.
11:32She would lose it all.
11:34Damon crouched in front of me.
11:36He reached out as if to touch the wound on my wrist.
11:39I flinched away on instinct.
11:40He looked at me coldly.
11:42Are you done making a scene?
11:44You came in that outfit, wearing that chain.
11:48You missed me, didn't you?
11:49You wanted to make me jealous.
11:51Just say the word and I'll give you what you want.
11:53Damon.
11:54I raised my eyes to meet his.
11:55You're finished.
11:57Damon frowned, about to speak.
11:59The atmosphere in the gala shifted.
12:00Every guest began composing themselves.
12:03Pressing toward the entrance, Damon leaned down and murmured to me.
12:06Ethan's here.
12:07Behave yourself.
12:09Vivian and I have already dissolved our bond.
12:11I pressed my nearly crushed wrist.
12:13Looking at his face, I felt nothing but revulsion.
12:16Whether you two dissolve your bond or not, what does that have to do with me?
12:21Then, the doors opened.
12:23Ethan walked in, carrying Leo.
12:27The moment Leo entered the hall, he squirmed to get down from Ethan's arms.
12:30The moment the cherub-faced little pup touched the ground.
12:33Every eye in the room was pulled to him.
12:35Damon turned to me abruptly.
12:37Lena.
12:39As long as you stop provoking Vivian, I can forgive you for disappearing three years.
12:43I'll give you a chance.
12:45Bear me a child.
12:46A child that belongs to us.
12:48I paid him no attention.
12:49I was looking through the crowd, trying to catch Leo's eye.
12:53Leo's gaze swept the room.
12:54Then, locked, he broke free from Ethan's hand and charged toward me.
12:58Crashed into my arms.
12:59Mama, what happened to you?
13:02Who did this?
13:03Why is there so much blood on your hand?
13:06That one word.
13:07Mama.
13:08And the entire gala went still.
13:11The guests who had stood by cold-eyed while I was struck, their faces all changed at once.
13:17Leo held on to me, eyes going red.
13:20I crouched to meet him at eye level.
13:23Cupped his round little cheeks in my hands.
13:26Mama is fine.
13:27Whoever dares to treat Mama like this.
13:31I was about to reassure him when I felt the pressure from behind.
13:34Not an ordinary approach.
13:36It was Ethan's.
13:37The kind that felt like a mountain moving.
13:39The kind that made the air itself go still.
13:41The crowd parted automatically.
13:43I didn't need to turn around to know he was furious.
13:45Since I'd gotten pregnant with our second, he'd have kept me physically tucked against him if he could.
13:50If it hadn't been for the urgent matter, he never would have sent someone else to pick me up.
13:54I lifted Leo into my arms.
13:56Turned around.
13:57Ethan was standing there.
13:58His gaze dropped to the bloodstain on my wrist.
14:01Then to the marks on my face.
14:03His eyes went dark.
14:07Leo slipped out of my arms and ran to Ethan.
14:09Daddy, someone hurt Mama!
14:11Let's go get revenge!
14:15Lena, tell me what happened.
14:18One moment I'm away and you're already hurt.
14:21Which blind fool did this?
14:22I'm fine, Ethan.
14:25Lena, I'm your mate.
14:27If something wronged you, you don't have to carry it alone.
14:30We can't let anyone hurt Mama!
14:33Maybe it was the pregnancy.
14:34Maybe I'd held it together for too long.
14:36My voice came out with a tremor I hadn't planned for.
14:39You weren't there and they all went after me.
14:42At that moment, Leo's eyes caught something on the floor.
14:45He bent down and picked up a single gem.
14:47Daddy, isn't this part of the gift you gave Mama?
14:52Ethan took the stone and turned it over.
14:54On the back, two letters were engraved.
14:57E. L.
14:59Turn on every light.
15:04Every light in the gala blazed on.
15:06Ethan tilted my face toward him.
15:10They actually dared to do this to you.
15:13We can't let them get away with this.
15:15I didn't know if it was the pregnancy, but my emotions kept slipping past my defenses.
15:20You weren't there and they all went after me.
15:25The people who had followed to the arrival gate to mock me.
15:28Their legs were shaking now.
15:30They were finally putting it together.
15:33The woman in the custom soft fabric dress three days ago.
15:37The woman with the heartstone chain on her wrist.
15:40The woman who kept insisting she was Ethan's Luna.
15:43She hadn't been making it up.
15:45Every word she said had been true.
15:50Just then, Vivian's follower Jade stepped forward.
15:54Lena, are these two actors you hired?
15:57Not bad performances, honestly.
16:00Want Vivian to help you find an agent?
16:02Though, since you can't even afford a decent outfit these days.
16:06I have one I've worn before.
16:07I could give it to you.
16:08Save you the embarrassment.
16:10Jade had arrived last.
16:11She hadn't seen Leo throw himself into my arms.
16:14She had dressed to kill tonight.
16:16Hoping to catch the eye of a powerful mate.
16:18The fastest route to a powerful mate in these circles.
16:22Was to win Vivian's favor.
16:24And the most effective way to win Vivian's favor.
16:27Was to make my life miserable.
16:30So she opened her mouth.
16:32No one in the room laughed.
16:34Everyone was staring at her like she'd lost her mind.
16:37Jade began to panic.
16:39She turned to Ethan and tilted her face upward, trying to be coy.
16:43The man next to her, he's not bad looking.
16:45If you're willing to leave Lena, I might consider keeping you.
16:49Keeping.
16:50Ethan.
16:51I nearly laughed out loud.
16:56Ethan started laughing.
16:58That kind of laugh.
16:59The rare one.
17:00Where it curls up at the corners and he can't quite stop it.
17:04He had always been particular about my safety.
17:06Over the years, anyone who tried to get close to him either vanished or ended up on the far end
17:11of the continent.
17:12He wasn't angry.
17:14He simply found her amusing.
17:16In the way one finds someone who has used up their borrowed time, Jade sensed the shift in the room
17:22and tried to press herself closer to Vivian.
17:25Vivian immediately gave her a slap that sent her to the floor.
17:28Jade, are you trying to die?
17:30You dare offend Ethan and his Luna?
17:33Do you have a death wish?
17:34Jade clutched her face, slumped on the marble murmuring.
17:38Lena is Lena.
17:39She's really the Luna.
17:41I offended.
17:42I...
17:43Ethan was notorious across the continent for being fiercely protective of his mate.
17:48Jade's mind went to what might be waiting for her.
17:50Her whole body began to tremble.
17:53Someone in the crowd gasped.
17:55All eyes moved to the hem of Jade's dress.
17:58She had wet herself from fear.
18:00Ethan gave a slight frown.
18:02His guards understood without a word and dragged her out.
18:06Damon and Vivian's faces flushed a deep, mortified red.
18:10Everyone in the room knew that Jade's words had always followed wherever their hearts pointed.
18:17The healer Ethan had summoned was treating my wounds.
18:21The antiseptic touched skin.
18:23I hissed through my teeth.
18:25Just that one sound.
18:27And Ethan and Leo both looked up with murder in their eyes.
18:31You can't even apply medicine without hurting her?
18:33The healer's hands began to shake even harder.
18:36I pretended to glare at them.
18:38Lena?
18:39Mama?
18:40Father and son both shrank back, looking aggrieved.
18:44I sighed.
18:46The healer is helping me.
18:47Stop terrifying her.
18:49The healer visibly exhaled.
18:51After her examination, she addressed Ethan.
18:54Alpha Ethan.
18:55The luma is unharmed.
18:56And the pup in the womb is safe as well.
18:59The wound on her wrist is fairly deep.
19:02I'll use the finest medicine available and do my best to ensure it heals without scarring.
19:07Ethan went quiet.
19:09Said nothing.
19:10Only I knew.
19:12This was what it looked like when he was truly, deeply furious.
19:17Damon, the one most responsible for all of it, was finally beginning to feel afraid.
19:22He never could have imagined that the Omega he had thrown away had become the mate of the man above
19:29him in every hierarchy that mattered.
19:33Ethan stood beside me and swept a slow gaze across the room.
19:37I'd like you all to volunteer what happened in the past few days.
19:42If I have to find out on my own, he paused, everyone present may not die pleasantly.
19:48Damon's complexion shifted.
19:50He was the first to speak.
19:53Ethan Alpha, this is all a misunderstanding.
19:56As Lena's former intended mate, I was simply catching up with her.
20:00The glass in Ethan's hand let out a faint, precise crack.
20:03Damon didn't notice and kept going.
20:05Ethan Alpha must know how much Lena used to love me.
20:09Catching up is only natural, isn't it?
20:12The glass shattered.
20:13Ethan's hand was covered in blood.
20:15I ached just looking at it.
20:16Damon, stop flattering yourself.
20:18I tended to Ethan's hand while I spoke.
20:20In this life, I have only ever loved Ethan.
20:23Say anything else to drive a wedge between us and don't expect me to stay civil.
20:27Ethan looked down, watching me bandage his hand.
20:30And then he smiled.
20:32Lena, you just said I'm your favorite.
20:35I was speechless.
20:40Damon's expression turned wounded.
20:43Lena, Vivian and I have dissolved our bond.
20:46He opened his mouth again.
20:48That pup could call you mama going forward too.
20:50You only married Ethan to spite me, didn't you?
20:53I understand.
20:53I don't mind.
20:55As long as you're willing to come back, everything I can give you, none of it is less than what
20:59he offers.
21:00As long as you're willing to come back and be my son's nanny.
21:03Leo, sitting nearby, slowly set down his fork.
21:05He studied Damon for a moment.
21:07Nanny?
21:08My mama is a little princess at home.
21:11You think you're worthy of making her a nanny?
21:15Mama will only ever have me and my little sister.
21:17Two children.
21:18Your pup of unclear wargences has no business being connected to my mama.
21:22You're not as handsome as my daddy.
21:24Not as tall either.
21:25And you smell the kind of broke that gets into your eyes.
21:29The guests around them burst out laughing.
21:32Damon's face went purple.
21:33At this moment, Vivian had completely lost what remained of her composure.
21:37She heard Damon say,
21:39Let Lena be the child's mother.
21:41She picked up a fork and lunged at Leo.
21:46You little bastard!
21:47I'll kill you!
21:48The moment Vivian charged at Leo, I released Ethan's hand and threw myself over Leo.
21:53Son, are you...
21:55Okay, the word never came out.
21:58Before I lost consciousness, I saw Leo's face.
22:01Panicked.
22:02Pale.
22:03I wanted to tell him, don't cry.
22:05The words didn't come.
22:07Everything went dark.
22:10The sharp smell of antiseptic pulled me back.
22:13White ceiling above me.
22:15A patient's gown.
22:17Mia was sitting at the bedside.
22:19The moment she saw my eyes open, she threw herself at me.
22:22Lena!
22:24You're finally awake!
22:26If you'd slept any longer, those two little demons of yours would have torn the whole territory apart!
22:31My first instinct.
22:33I pressed a hand to my stomach.
22:35Mia understood immediately.
22:37Relax.
22:38You and the baby are both perfectly fine.
22:40The doctor said it was the shock combined with the pain from your wound that made you pass out.
22:44Yeah.
22:44That Vivian is absolutely unhinged, going at Leo with a fork!
22:49Where are Leo and Ethan?
22:51Safe.
22:52Both of them.
22:53You were still too reckless.
22:55With that many guards around, it wasn't your turn to step in.
22:59That's Leo.
23:00I know, I know, your precious little pup.
23:03That little creature is vicious enough on his own.
23:06He didn't need protection.
23:08Where are they now, the two of them?
23:10Mia's eyes lit up.
23:12Gone to avenge you.
23:15I got there after you'd already passed out, but I pieced together what happened from the people around.
23:20After you went down, Leo picked up the fork from the floor and drove it straight through Vivian's palm.
23:27He's three years old.
23:28I have no idea where he found the strength.
23:31Ethan had also learned by then what happened at the arrival gate three days ago.
23:35That Damon slapped you.
23:37That he tore off the heartstone chain.
23:39The way they all humiliated you.
23:41He knew every detail.
23:43Then he had his guards hold Damon down and had the hand that struck you cut off.
23:49Leo watched the whole thing without blinking once.
23:53Such a little tyrant.
23:55Vivian.
23:55Ethan had someone bring in a crate of gemstones and told her to swallow them all.
23:58He said exactly this.
24:00Since you love taking things that belong to others so much, I'll give you your fill.
24:03The gems are yours.
24:04So is the man.
24:06She swallowed.
24:07She refused.
24:08So they brought in her son.
24:11She swallowed a lot.
24:12When she was half dead from it, Ethan had someone carve up her face, severed the tangents in her son's
24:19hands, and had her thrown into international waters.
24:22The guests who stood there and watched you get beaten, every single one of them left with a scar on
24:26their wrist.
24:26So they'll remember the cost of looking away while the Luna was being humiliated.
24:30Oh, and one more thing.
24:31Ironcrest pack officially dissolved.
24:32Everything Damon had.
24:33Starting today.
24:34Gone.
24:38Though Damon was supposed to go into international waters, too, but Vivian threw herself at the guards to buy him
24:44time.
24:45So he ran.
24:47Ethan and Leo are looking for him now.
24:52The trade wasn't hard to guess.
24:54Damon must have told Vivian something about her son.
24:57A mother's love will make her capable of anything.
25:00Vivian had swallowed that many stones.
25:03She wouldn't survive long.
25:05The only thing she had left to hold onto was that child.
25:08A heaviness settled somewhere in my chest.
25:10My son was already so good, and Ethan was turning him into something else entirely.
25:15I was about to ask more questions.
25:17The door to the ward was shoved open.
25:19Two figures.
25:20One tall.
25:21One small.
25:23Leo elbowed Mia aside and launched himself toward the head of my bed.
25:27Lena, you're finally awake.
25:31Where does it hurt?
25:34Everyone who wronged you.
25:36I've already taken care of it.
25:39I'd only been unconscious for one night,
25:41but the two of them looked like they'd lost me for decades.
25:46I'm fine, Ethan.
25:48Stop worrying.
25:49I turned to Leo.
25:51Son?
25:52Did Daddy scold you?
25:53Leo paused.
25:54His little mouth puckered and tears came.
25:57No!
25:58Daddy didn't scold me.
26:00You're lying.
26:01I couldn't stand it when Leo kept things from me.
26:04But he held his ground.
26:06Knowing Ethan's temperament, Leo had definitely gotten an earful.
26:10I pulled Leo into my arms.
26:12Then I shot Ethan a look.
26:13Ethan froze in place.
26:16Unmistakably guilty.
26:18Mama, I won't ever let you get hurt again.
26:21This time it was my fault.
26:23I'm sorry, Mama.
26:25My heart dissolved completely.
26:27Protecting Leo is something Mama is meant to do.
26:31Mama isn't blaming you.
26:33Mia took Leo out.
26:34Just Ethan and me left in the ward.
26:39He was insistent on checking my wounds himself.
26:42Ethan, the doctor already bandaged everything.
26:45He bent down anyway and blew softly on the wound.
26:50Lena, I promise there won't be a next time.
26:54All right, I believe you.
26:56I hold my life very dear, Ethan.
26:59Because I still have a whole lifetime to spend with you.
27:02His eyes smiled.
27:03Like a child's.
27:05Ethan and Leo absolutely insisted I stay in the healer's den for observation.
27:10A whole team of healers examined me from every angle.
27:13Multiple times.
27:15Only when every indicator came back normal did they clear me for discharge.
27:20Leo, pass Mama.
27:21Lena.
27:22It's me.
27:23I was packing up, facing away from the door.
27:26My hands went still.
27:27I turned around.
27:29Damon.
27:33His face was still swollen.
27:35His whole body covered in wounds.
27:37But he had made himself presentable.
27:39He was wearing the dress shirt I had given him years ago.
27:42The one he had once said was ugly.
27:45Cheap looking.
27:46What do you want?
27:47He had slipped past Ethan's guards to find me.
27:50He had to have connections.
27:52I couldn't afford to act rashly.
27:53Don't be afraid.
27:54I'm not here to hurt you.
27:55Damon seemed to read the caution in me and spoke quickly.
27:58I just...
27:59Just what?
28:02Lena, I still love you.
28:04When I think about you bonded to another male, carrying his children,
28:08I can't bear it.
28:09We can start over.
28:13Start over, Damon.
28:15When you drove me out of Pack Hall and made me the laughingstock of the entire pack,
28:20did you think about today?
28:23You come to me now with talk of love?
28:26Don't you find that revolting?
28:28Vivian was carrying my pup.
28:30I couldn't just...
28:31Just abandon the situation.
28:34And...
28:34You wouldn't have wanted a child growing up without a father.
28:38I laughed coldly.
28:39Children fall out of the sky, do they?
28:41If you'd kept control of yourself, how would you have accidentally gotten someone pregnant?
28:47And here you still are, making excuses for your own failures.
28:51The number of females you've been with?
28:53I've lost count.
28:55What makes you think I would ever come back?
28:57You're rotting meat.
28:59Why would you think I'd ever want to smell that again?
29:03The door flew open.
29:04Guards surged in and pinned Damon down.
29:07Ethan was the last one through the door, his expression black as char.
29:12Damon.
29:14Not dead fast enough, apparently.
29:17After confirming I was unharmed, he waved a hand and had the guards drag him out.
29:21As Damon was hauled away, he turned his head back.
29:25Ethan, you think she actually loves you?
29:29She only married you because of me!
29:31Ethan's fist connected.
29:33Damon went silent.
29:36He wasn't unaware of what I'd done to shield him.
29:39These years since we bonded, he'd carried a quiet insecurity inside him,
29:43always feeling like I didn't love him quite enough.
29:46I watched his back as he left the ward.
29:49It ached somewhere in me.
29:51As for Damon, I wanted him erased from my life entirely.
29:55That night, back at the pack lodge, I stood in the corridor for a while,
30:00just drifting in my thoughts.
30:03Wedding portraits from our bonding ceremony hung along the wall.
30:06In the photo, Ethan had eyes only for me.
30:09In the photo, my expression was distant.
30:13Back then it was still an arranged union.
30:15I hadn't fully opened my heart yet.
30:17But over these years, I had long since fallen for this man.
30:22Completely.
30:24I lifted one of the frames from the wall.
30:26On the back of the frame.
30:28Photographs.
30:29Covering every inch.
30:31All of me.
30:32Only me.
30:34Starting from high school.
30:35One of me handing out flyers at the academy entrance.
30:38Another taken after my secondary school graduation.
30:40Walking home alone.
30:41He had loved me.
30:43Long before I ever knew who he was.
30:45Footsteps from the far end of the corridor.
30:48Ethan was coming back.
30:49He saw me sitting on the settee, holding those photos.
30:52His footsteps stopped.
30:54He came forward.
30:55Like a child who knew he'd done something wrong.
31:00Lena, how did you-
31:02I looked up.
31:02If you liked me that much,
31:04why didn't you come find me sooner?
31:07You let me waste all those years tangled up with someone like Damon.
31:12The photographs are beautiful, by the way.
31:14I love them.
31:15Lena, you're not angry?
31:17Angry about what?
31:19I was watching your life without you knowing.
31:21I'm not right in the head.
31:23You are not not right in the head.
31:25When I look at these,
31:27all I feel is love.
31:29So much of it.
31:30The man who was almost never anything but composed,
31:33his eyes filled with tears.
31:34Lena,
31:35I never dared hope you'd love me.
31:38I only ever wanted you to stay by my side.
31:42There you go again,
31:44talking nonsense.
31:45You are all I see, Ethan.
31:48Every part of me.
31:50I had looked into his past afterward,
31:52abandoned by his birth parents as a child.
31:56His file wrote it simply.
31:59Foundling.
31:59Origin unknown.
32:01A foster father took him in,
32:03but never learned how to show warmth.
32:05In school,
32:06he was quiet.
32:08So quiet,
32:09no one dared approach him.
32:11Classmates gave him a nickname behind his back.
32:13The mute wolf.
32:14He never fought back.
32:16Every day,
32:17he sat alone at the farthest corner of the cafeteria,
32:20a single bowl of plain rice,
32:21no side dishes.
32:23Reading this,
32:23my eyes went hot.
32:24And then,
32:25I remembered something I had almost forgotten myself.
32:28Back in high school,
32:29I once cut through the neighboring academy
32:31and glanced into their cafeteria.
32:33I saw a boy.
32:35Sitting alone.
32:36Too thin.
32:38Uniform hanging loose off his shoulders.
32:40In front of him,
32:41just a bowl of white rice.
32:43All around him,
32:44students laughed and shoved.
32:46Not one looked at him.
32:47He was like an extra person this world had left over.
32:49I walked in.
32:51Pulled a handful of meal vouchers from my bag.
32:54The ones my mother gave me to treat friends with.
32:57Slapped them down on his table.
32:58Hey.
33:00From today on,
33:01you're under my wing.
33:02Lena's crew.
33:03Consider this your initiation fee.
33:04The boy lifted his head.
33:06Slowly.
33:07His eyes were dark.
33:09Dark like a well that had never seen sunlight.
33:12I got embarrassed,
33:13scratched my head,
33:14and ran off.
33:15I never even asked his name.
33:17And that boy
33:17turned out to be Ethan.
33:21I sat there shaking.
33:22Ethan lifted his head.
33:24Lena?
33:25Back then,
33:26were you wearing a washed out blue jacket?
33:29He froze.
33:29I watched his face change,
33:31inch by inch.
33:33Shock.
33:34Disbelief.
33:35Something raw enough to break.
33:36You...
33:37You remember?
33:38He dropped to his knees in front of me,
33:40like his legs had given out.
33:41I thought you'd forgotten long ago.
33:44I thought
33:45all these years
33:46it was only mine to carry.
33:51He reached into the inner pocket
33:53against his chest,
33:54drew out a worn leather wallet,
33:56opened it.
33:57Inside,
33:58a single meal voucher.
34:00Yellowed.
34:02Soft at the corners
34:03from being rubbed between fingers.
34:05Over and over.
34:06This one's
34:07the last.
34:08The others,
34:09I couldn't bear to spend them.
34:10They expired.
34:11Only this one,
34:12I kept on me.
34:13Always.
34:14Every time I felt like
34:15I couldn't go on,
34:16I'd take it out and look at it.
34:17To tell myself,
34:18once,
34:19in this world,
34:19there was a girl
34:20who thought I was worth
34:20the price of a meal.
34:22My tears fell onto
34:23the yellowed voucher.
34:24What I had called
34:25a single moment
34:26of soft-heartedness
34:28was the light
34:29that had carried him
34:29through his entire adolescence.
34:32I lifted his face,
34:33looked into those same dark eyes
34:35from the cafeteria corner.
34:37Ethan,
34:38from today on,
34:40it's my turn to watch you.
34:43And this time,
34:45you're not allowed
34:45to make yourself small anymore.
34:47He didn't speak,
34:48just buried his face
34:49in my palms.
34:50Warm,
34:50wet,
34:51falling,
34:52one drop at a time.
34:53This man,
34:54who never bowed his head
34:55in front of the entire pack,
34:57was crying into my hands
34:59like that boy
34:59no one ever saw.
35:05Hugh,
35:06J pane,
35:06take her face right.
35:06I saw don't figure it out.
35:06This man else,
35:06he saw it.
35:07He was preparing you
35:07to shoes as a man and
35:07you작 by the other
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