INSTALL
Chapter 9
Three years later, I stood before Silvermoon Pack’s gleaming research building, gazing at my reflection–calm and confident.
I was back, yet not as someone’s mate or subordinate, but as Chief Researcher for a major project signin
While no one would remember how I left in disgrace, they didn’t know that the past, buried in rain, blood, and tears, had stripped away my faith in love and shattered my emotion, dignity, and trust.
I buried those fragments piece by piece in mud mixed with blood and rain, then turned and left, so resolute I didn’t even leave myself the courage to look back.
“Lina,” suddenly, someone called my name.
That voice was low and raspy, broken, like vocal cords scraped by a blade.
I turned around.
Merrick sat in a wheelchair, backlit by sunlight, but that light could no longer hide the haggard pallor of his face.
His left leg was visibly atrophied, his hands gripping heavy metal support bars, his entire frame gaunt to the point of being skeletal
His features were still familiar, but they held the weariness of time and illness, even his eyes somewhat clouded.
“You came back…” he said, his voice trembling, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
That car accident three years ago had left him paralyzed from the waist down, with severe concussion and memory damage. Even Silvermoon Pack, which he had built over half his lifetime, had to be abandoned due to his declining mental capacity and inability to
fulfill his Alpha duties.
Jenna had taken the child back to the pack house to raise.
And Liliane, for fabricating evidence and harming others, remained imprisoned.
He was now alone, even his once–proud edge dulled by time.
I looked at him with neither pity nor anger, but complete calin–like a cold, hard reef after the tide had receded.
After one simple glance without even a hint of a smile, I stepped past him toward the man behind.
That man wore a gray–blue suit, refined in bearing, his gaze gentle as he looked at me, naturally reaching out to take my hand.
He didn’t speak, but stood behind me, shielding me from all the stares.
I leaned into his embrace naturally, my tone light. “Sorry to keep you waiting.
I didn’t look back.
I knew Merrick must have seen the smile that curved my lips.
His hands trembled slightly, as if wanting to reach out but stopping himself. He murmured, “Lina..
He had lost so much, but losing me was the one thing he could never recover from.
I walked away more resolutely because three years had taken ine from rock bottom to the peak.
Now I possessed everything I wanted: dignity, career, love, and freedom–everything but any need for his regret and belated love.
Crave a Spy Thriller
