1
- 5 weeks ago
- #betrayal
- #secondchance
- #love
- #romance
#betrayal #secondchance #love #romance
Category
šŗ
TVTranscript
00:05On the night, rogue wolves invaded our pack.
00:08My husband risked his life to get me out.
00:12Lightning split the sky.
00:13In that flash, I saw three huge wolves lunging out of the fog.
00:21Cage 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.
00:34Rain 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.
01:35And 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.
02:33We owe each other nothing.
02:35If 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.
02:52I 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.
03:15But Luna Eleanor has already contacted a healer.
03:17Before the next full moon, he should be able to remember you.
03:21The same conversation as before.
03:22Only 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 PAC 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 PAC Elders and went to see the Luna of Ashford PAC.
03:56I returned the Silver Wolf Fane mate token to her.
03:59Cade had carved it for me by hand.
04:02Luna Eleanor gripped my hand.
04:03This engagement can't be called off.
04:07Rin, you and Cade have loved each other for so many years.
04:12If 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.
04:22In 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.
04:35Rogues are everywhere up north.
04:38They 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.
06:10Until the earthquake buried us, and he gave me the only way out.
06:14Before he died, all he said was,
06:16We are even now. We owe each other nothing.
06:20He 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,
06:29Cade 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,
07:16I saw him in the crowd and fell in love with him at first sight.
07:19I waited for so many years.
07:20I never dared to hope I could get close to him.
07:23Then I finally had this chance.
07:25I 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?
08:03Yes.
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,
08:28Sorry.
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.
08:45Go.
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.
08:56He 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.
09:17I 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.
09:37Okay.
09:38Once 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.
11:01Then 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 our 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,
12:03Little 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.
12:22Victoria'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 in the freshly turned flower bed.
12:45The next second, a hard force slammed into me from the side.
12:51I stumbled back.
12:55And my knee hit the stone steps.
12:59Before I could get up, I saw Cade rush over in a panic.
13:02By the time he pulled Victoria out,
13:04Both of them were covered in mud.
13:07But he ignored his own condition.
13:12Victoria, are you okay?
13:14Did you swallow any water?
13:17Did 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 was thrown into the water.
13:30I fell in because I was trying to get it back.
13:33She 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?
13:56Who bullied you?
13:57His alpha pheromones turned heavy at once.
14:01Victoria pressed her lips together and 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 can get into the water
14:26and 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 stomp 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 Rind searched for him
15:14these past two years.
15:16And now Cade wakes up
15:17and wants to complete a mate bond
15:18with a mixed blood.
15:20They loved each other so much back then.
15:22How did it become this?
15:24I was about to step toward the back rows.
15:26When the candles in the church dome
15:28suddenly burst with sparks,
15:31the place fell into darkness.
15:33Screams broke out
15:34and 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
15:42covered my mouth and nose.
15:44Wolf beep.
15:45A poison that could bring
15:47even the strongest alpha to the ground.
15:49Before I could shift,
15:50I lost consciousness.
15:52I didn't know how much time had passed.
15:56Through the haze,
15:58I heard Victoria growling under her breath.
16:01Damn it!
16:01Who told you to move
16:02during the mate ceremony?
16:04I only told you to pretend to kidnap me
16:06and 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,
16:21it had slipped out of her control.
16:24When I struggled earlier,
16:25I touched the kidnapper's silver blade.
16:28It was made for hunting werewolves.
16:30What alarmed me even more
16:31was the leader's accent.
16:32I knew it well.
16:35They were the remnants of the silver dealers
16:37Cade sent to the Silver Council Tribunal last year.
16:40They sold silver bullets
16:41and wolf bait extract to rogue packs.
16:43They had been looking for a chance
16:45to get revenge on Cade.
16:50After a long while,
16:51the kidnappers connected the call.
16:54Cade Ashford,
16:55one is the former mate
16:56who shared a ten-year bond with you.
16:58The other is the mate you accepted
17:00after losing your memory.
17:02Which one do you want alive?
17:05Let her go.
17:06Cade said,
17:07each word hard.
17:09Touch one hair on her head
17:10and I'll erase you from this world.
17:12He meant her.
17:13He meant Victoria.
17:15I closed my eyes.
17:16Tears slid down.
17:18There was nothing to be surprised about.
17:20I should have accepted Cade's choice long ago.
17:23My wolf longer 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,
17:41Victoria and I were shoved into a box.
17:46As the lid closed,
17:48I heard them throw something heavy
17:50with silver hooks into the bottom.
17:53The whole box was lifted a saltwater lake.
17:57Silver was a curse to werewolves.
18:03I reached into the hidden pocket on my thigh
18:06and pulled out a folding knife.
18:07Since returning from the north,
18:09I 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,
18:18the old injury from the northern border,
18:20began 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,
18:27still unconscious from the drug,
18:28and dragged her upward while kicking with one leg.
18:31The air in my lungs was almost gone.
18:34At the last moment,
18:35my wolf came out.
18:36She bit Victoria's collar
18:38and used all her strength to pull her up.
18:41When we broke the surface,
18:43I was almost out of strength.
18:45With the last bit I had,
18:46I pushed Victoria onto a floating log.
18:49You need to live.
18:50If she lived,
18:51then the life he had rebuilt after forgetting me
18:53would 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,
19:02when I shielded a litter of wolfmoaps from a 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,
19:32I thought I saw some reach a hand toward me.
19:35That hand wasn't Cade's.
19:39When I opened my eyes again,
19:41the 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.
19:49You 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.
19:59Her alpha mate booked the entire top floor VIP isolation ward the second he alived,
20:03and he hasn't left her side.
20:04But you?
20:05She said with a frown.
20:06If we hadn't arrived when your bond signature went wrong,
20:09we might not have saved you.
20:11The mate mark on your neck has cracked.
20:13I froze for a second,
20:14then 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.
20:25My 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,
20:33my 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,
20:46one of the oldest packs in New England.
20:48Ever since I returned from the northern border,
20:50he had wanted me to go back to Boston to recover.
20:53I had delayed going home again and again because of Kay.
20:56Alexander carried me onto a private plane.
20:58The plane broke through the clouds and flew north toward New England.
21:02I 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.
21:13All of Ashford Manor was talking.
21:15The future alpha of Ashford Pack had brought in a shifter healer
21:19to make sure Victoria wasn't traumatized by falling into the water.
21:23Cutting it in half isn't good.
21:25After her treatment,
21:26Victoria sweetly asked to cut a silver moon fruit in half and share it with Cade.
21:30Victoria, in our pack's old tradition,
21:33sharing 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
21:44and the one after that and every one after that.
21:47As soon as he finished speaking,
21:48a 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,
21:58then casually pushed the half-eaten piece into his mouth.
22:02When the version of him in memory realized what he was biting,
22:05his eyes turned red.
22:07Sharing a cut silver moon fruit means a clean break in packed tradition.
22:11In the memory, his voice turned stern.
22:13We dodged so many silver bullets together in the north
22:15and 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,
22:22but 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,
22:32pressing 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?
22:49Was it Ring?
22:50A familiar irritation rose in him,
22:53stronger 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,
23:02his heart clenched.
23:04Before his mind could think,
23:05his body had already jumped into the water.
23:08He saw Wink drag an unconscious Victoria to the surface
23:11and push her onto a floating log.
23:13Then wind sank straight into the deep water.
23:16Reason told him to save Victoria first.
23:19She was his mate.
23:21Gammas from Crestmore Pack were at the ceremony.
23:23Someone would save Wren.
23:24But as his body moved closer to Victoria,
23:27his wolf roared inside his chest.
23:29Instinct pulled his hand toward the darkness below.
23:32This wasn't right.
23:33Cade told himself that.
23:35Even if Wren had been on his old tactical team,
23:37she shouldn't matter this much to him.
23:39His parents and Wren herself had both said he only treated her as a sister.
23:42But if the girl in that memory really was Wren,
23:44then 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?
24:15Victoria didn't dare to think any further.
24:17Cade saw through her act at once.
24:19But 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.
24:37Victoria 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.
25:06Cade 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.
25:38Cade 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.
25:56The 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,
26:10checked 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.
26:19At 300 feet, a shard of memory exploded open.
26:23Alpha Cade used to prepare these for Wyn all the time.
26:27He often saved smoked meat from the northern border to trade for the berry jam she liked.
26:33We 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.
26:48And 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, shadows 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.
27:16Lavender 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.
27:24You 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,
27:31I'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.
27:47Those 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.
28:20I said long ago that you were trouble,
28:23but Cade was completely bewitched by you.
28:25If we hadn't listened to Wynne and 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.
29:04Cade, 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!
29:18I 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,
29:26then 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?
29:41She isn't like that!
29:42Cade cut her off.
29:44If she didn't come,
29:45it's because she's angry.
29:47Thinking of everything he had done to Wynne,
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,
29:59she 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 Wynne.
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 theremo
30:33weren't hired by Wynne.
30:34If she wanted to hurt you,
30:37she wouldn't have saved you
30:38when both of you were thrown into the deep lake.
30:40She sank because her old injury
30:43flared while saving you.
30:44He closed his eyes.
30:45Victoria,
30:47I 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.
31:15If 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.
31:31A traitor,
31:32an unforgivable traitor.
31:33She was the mate he had sworn under the full moon
31:36to 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,
31:49Mother,
31:49Tell me Wren's exact address in Boston.
31:52I've gotta beg her to forgive me.
31:54Enough!
31:54Luna Eleanor couldn't take it anymore.
31:57Even if you fly there on 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 not to restore your memories
32:06and chose to go to Boston herself.
32:10Burden.
32:11Cade repeated.
32:13Luna Eleanor closed her eyes, then 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 a long-term border healer assignment
32:26from the Northern Pack Alliance to the Alaskan Icefields.
32:31She came to us with the transfer order
32:34signed and stamped by the Alliance elders
32:36and asked to end the bond.
32:39She said your heart only had Victoria now.
32:42She said she should leave while you didn't remember her,
32:45so you and Victoria could keep your mate bond.
32:48She said the best choice wasn't to let you spend
32:51the rest of your life dragged down by her.
32:53Cade froze on the floor of the foyer.
32:55The Alaskan Icefields, a border assignment,
32:58let them have their bond.
32:59His stomach twisted in pain, he murmured.
33:03How is that possible?
33:05Wren had clearly promised to guard the Northern Snow Line with him.
33:09Suddenly, his vision went black, and he fell down the steps.
33:13Before his mind disappeared,
33:15he looked at the little flower bed of red roses in the courtyard
33:19and felt, in a daze, that it should have been full of lavender.
33:24The next time I saw Cade was the day I went to the PAC Medical Center in Boston
33:28to check my right leg.
33:29He had lost a lot of weight.
33:31His eyes were bloodshot from too many sleepless nights.
33:34His alpha scent wasn't hidden at all.
33:36Healers and warriors who passed him stepped away on instinct.
33:40Why are you in Boston, too?
33:42I looked behind him.
33:43Aren't you supposed to be in 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 your wolf soul was unstable because of battlefield trauma,
33:57so you were sent back home long ago.
33:59I came to apologize.
34:02I froze for a second before realizing that he had recovered his memories
34:06and used Ashford connections to look into me.
34:09But I didn't understand what he wanted by coming here.
34:11After a moment of silence, I shook my head.
34:14You didn't need to fly all the way to Boston for this.
34:16I know Victoria matters to you, I said calmly.
34:19So when I chose to let you two be together, I never planned to take revenge.
34:23Cade tried to grab my wrist.
34:25Wren.
34:26You're saying this out of anger, right?
34:28You hate that I chose Victoria when I lost my memory.
34:31You're angry that I wronged you and hurt you for her.
34:34So you're saying this to hurt me and make me suffer, right?
34:38But before his hand touched me, another hand reached from behind and brushed him away.
34:43Cade.
34:44Cade Ashfield.
34:46I can't believe you still had the nerve to show up here.
34:49Julian was my brother Alexander's most trusted friend
34:52and the future Alpha King of North Gale Pack.
34:55His Alpha presence pressed low in the air.
34:58I held his wrist.
34:59Julian, is the car at the door?
35:01Let's go back to the apartment.
35:03I pulled him toward the exit, then turned back to Cade.
35:08Cade, I'm really not angry with you anymore.
35:10And I don't need anything from you.
35:13Live well with Victoria.
35:14That's the best answer you can give me.
35:22I meant it.
35:24In the earthquake rescue in my last life, Cade pushed me out.
35:28Even if he said it was to repay the ten years before, he truly saved my life.
35:33Many of the choices I made in this life were only to repay that debt.
35:36Since I was the one who chose to let him go, there was no resentment left.
35:40I was happy with my life now.
35:41I didn't want to be disturbed.
35:44On the day Julian and I held our mate ceremony at Trinity Church in Boston,
35:49we received gifts from the Ashford couple and our old friends from the northern border.
35:54Among them was an anonymous transfer of a massive fortune.
35:58It was all the equity Cade owned in the Battlefield Healer Fund he had helped created.
36:02Along with the transfer agreement came a pair of mate tokens carved from silver wolf fang.
36:10Julian threw them into the trash.
36:20Under the priest's guidance, I looked straight to Julian's eyes.
36:25I, Wren of Crestmore Pack, accept you, Julian of Northgate Pack, as my mate.
36:30From this day on, in fortune and hardness, in wealth and poverty, in sickness and health,
36:34I promise to love you and cherish you until death parts us.
36:37When I finished, Julian bent down and placed his new mate mark over the old bite scar on my neck.
36:43A bond spread through my blood.
36:46My wolf closed her eyes and accepted it in peace.
36:53At that moment, in the last row of the church, someone's eyes went completely dim.
37:02Through countless nights of silently watching Wren, Cade had asked himself more than once.
37:07Should he use the power of Ashford Pack to take Wren back by force?
37:11Should he keep her by his side no matter what?
37:13Even if she hated him and despised him, at least she would be where he could see her.
37:18Especially after he saw a street photo of Wren smiling at Julian.
37:22Possessiveness hit him hard.
37:24His wolf roared inside his chest.
37:27Mine.
37:28Mine.
37:28Still mine.
37:30But whenever he remembered the cold sweat on Wren's forehead when her old injury flared,
37:35Caden would tremble.
37:36Then he would put down the encrypted phone where he had already typed the order.
37:40Proud Wren hated letting anyone see her in pain.
37:42But she never pushed Julian away at those times.
37:45She would even lean her head quietly on the New England Alpha's shoulder.
37:49When she was with Julian, the light in her eyes and the curve of her smile were open and free.
37:55There was no guard in her.
37:57No shadow.
37:58He couldn't take that happiness away from her.
38:01Cade still remembered why he had fallen for Wren in the beginning.
38:04He had only wanted the girl who fought beside him in the war zone to keep smiling like that forever.
38:09That was all.
38:10Now she no longer loved him.
38:11He couldn't give her the peace she wanted.
38:13Then at least he shouldn't destroy the mate bond she had now.
38:18Let it be.
38:20He told himself that countless times.
38:23Once she completed her mate ceremony, he would step back with dignity.
38:27But when that day truly came,
38:29Cade finally understood what it meant to be unwilling.
38:32If he hadn't fallen from that cliff in the Rocky Mountain thunderstorm and lost his memory,
38:37Wren would have been the future Luna of Ashford Pack.
38:40If he had seen through Victoria's act during those two years in Montana,
38:45maybe Wren would have waited for him a little longer.
38:47After thinking it over and over,
38:49the person he should blame most was still himself.
38:52He clenched the pair of silver Wolffang tokens that Julian had thrown into the trash
38:56and that he had dug back out, then rushed out of Trinity Church in Boston.
39:01After returning to New York,
39:03he didn't go back to Ashford Manor.
39:06He went straight to the century-old stone church where he had fallen.
39:10In the confessional,
39:12Cade lowered his head before the priest.
39:16If I spend the rest of my life and everything I own atoning before the silver goddess,
39:23is there still a chance for me?
39:25The priest looked at him through the wooden lattice.
39:29Cade,
39:30sin begins within the self,
39:33and so does redemption.
39:35You ask for atonement.
39:37How do you know this pain isn't where it begins?
39:40At first, Cade didn't understand what that meant,
39:42until one ordinary late night.
39:44He found the recovery journal Witt had shared in the old healer circle from the northern border.
39:49Sleep hit him all at once.
39:50In the dream, he watched another life unfold as an outsider.
39:53In that life,
39:54the Ashford couple forced him to leave the small town in Montana.
39:57He recovered his memories earlier than he had in this life.
40:00But soon,
40:01Rin's battlefield trauma got worse.
40:03He heard myself say to her,
40:05We've been through life and death.
40:08Pain won't break us.
40:10No matter how hard the road ahead is,
40:12I'll walk it with you.
40:14The words sounded sincere,
40:16but only the watching Cade knew that when he said them,
40:19a shadow had already settled in his heart.
40:21The day his memories came back,
40:23Victoria jumped into the Hudson River in front of him.
40:25His endless gentleness towards Winn
40:27was only his way of paying back a guilt he could never repay.
40:30He used every connection the Ashford family had,
40:34and took Winn across the country for treatment behind her back.
40:37But no one knew that after every visit to a medical specialist,
40:41he would go alone to an old church on a quiet corner in Manhattan
40:45and light a prayer candle for Victoria.
40:48He prayed to the silver goddess to let her rest after the moonlight.
40:52He prayed that in her next life,
40:55she wouldn't be dragged into this mess again.
40:58He prayed that they could have a different ending.
41:02A distant voice sounded beneath the church dome.
41:06As you wish.
41:15The scene changed.
41:17After Winn left with the agreement to end their engagement,
41:20she calmly stopped the plan to wake his memories.
41:27Cade woked with a start.
41:29He pressed a hand to his left chest.
41:32The pain there had long gone nerm.
41:36He tried to smile,
41:37but the muscles in his face froze.
41:43Tears fell.
41:45So that's it.
41:47I've already lived a second life.
41:50It was his arrogance and blindness.
41:54He had failed to see his own heart.
41:56He had confused love with guilt.
42:02Everything that hurt now was exactly what he deserved.
42:10The next morning,
42:11Cade went to the priest again.
42:14I want to stay at the monastery
42:16and atone for the past.
42:18The priest made the sign of the cross over his chest.
42:37Cade donated every asset under his name
42:40and stayed in that old church.
42:45Every day,
42:47he swept the courtyard,
42:49sorted healer relief supplies bound for overseas war zones,
42:54and guided believers who came to pray.
43:02He no longer used any connections to ask about when.
43:05Only during morning and evening prayers,
43:08he knelt before the cross in silence.
43:12He asked only that she spend this life far from danger and illness,
43:17safe and at peace.
43:18He asked only that for the rest of his life.
43:21He asked only that for the rest of his life.
43:22He asked only that for the rest of his life.
43:22He asked only that for the rest of his life.
43:22You