I lingered at Mia's place until mid-morning. I figured that by this time, Ron must have left early to kill bandits.

When I opened the door, I found him sitting by the bed, his back to the door.

Sunlight streamed in from outside, casting his broad but unusually stiff shoulders. Hearing the noise, he slowly turned his head.

My heart skipped a beat.

He hadn't left.

Ron seemed to have stayed up all night, looking haggard, with a faint blue shadow under his eyes and slightly red rims.

When he saw me, a glimmer of light seemed to flash in his dark eyes, but it quickly vanished, and his gaze sank into weariness.

"Where did you go?" He spoke, his voice a little hoarse.

"Where I go is none of your business."

I've seen through him. I don't want to keep up this boring marriage.

I headed for the wardrobe to pack my clothes. Ron followed, and when he saw me packing, he asked, “Are you leaving?”

His face suddenly changed, looking like he was about to fly into a rage.

This makes no sense to me. “I can go wherever I want. Why do you keep asking?”

I kept packing, shoving clothes into the bag.

Ron suddenly squatted down and pulled out all the clothes I had just packed.

I stuffed them back.

He pulled them out again.

In the struggle, he grabbed my wrist.

"Stop!" Ron stopped me. I wanted to break free, but for some reason, my body went weak, and I had no strength. A strong dizziness hit me.

Ron must’ve noticed something was off with me. He cupped my burning face, urgency in his voice, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

However, my vision of him gradually blurred.

Ron pressed against me, sniffing hard, his warm breath making me itch all over. I tried to push him away, but I couldn't muster any strength.

Ron checked almost my entire body before finding a clear snake bite mark on my ankle. "How did you get snake venom?"

"Wha... what snake..."

Before I finished speaking, a strong dizziness completely took away my consciousness.

In a half-asleep state.

A soft touch and an itchy sucking sensation came from my ankle.

I looked down and saw Ron bending over, holding my foot, sucking out the snake venom for me.

I wanted to push him away, but the snake venom struck again, making me weak all over, and my consciousness faded.

When I woke up again, I was lying on Ron's strong chest. My ankle felt cold; someone had applied herbs at some point.

Ron had me wrapped in his arms, and I couldn't move.

Still angry from last night, I pushed him away.

"Don't touch me."

Ron looked a little surprised, but he let go obediently. Instead, he stroked my ankle.

"Does it still hurt?"

"How did you get bitten by a snake?"

Last night, I stormed into the forest and drank wine; I probably didn't remember being bitten at all.

It took a whole night for the poison to take effect; I had thought it was just the aftereffects of drinking.

"None of your business." I was still upset.

Even so, Ron was just trying to act like a mate. Putting on such a show, for whom?

"Irene, can you stop being so unreasonable?" Ron said helplessly. Seeing I didn't want to talk, he got up and left.

I immediately turned around, not looking at his leaving back. It's better that Ron left, so he wouldn't pretend in front of me. But for some reason, tears still fell from the corners of my eyes.

So unworthy.

I won't shed such unworthy tears again.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, I felt hot all over, as if a red-hot iron was pressed against me. I opened my eyes suddenly; a familiar scent surrounded me. Ron had me tightly in his arms from behind.

Didn't he leave?

How did he come back?

My heart suddenly beat fast.

His breath hit the nape of my neck, making me itch all over.

Ron noticed I was awake, and his hand around my waist slowly moved up. He leaned close to my ear and asked me, "May I?"

These words stunned me. Before, I would have kissed him like crazy; it was rare for him to take the initiative. Now, thinking that he had kept himself for Kate for so long, I felt annoyed. After all, Kate used to be his best friend.

Until I became Ron's mate, she gradually stopped associating with him.

With these thoughts, the discomfort grew stronger, and bitterness stuck in my throat. It's like Kate gave Ron to me.

Who needs that?

"Ron, you don't have to do this."

"You don't have to pity me; I don't need it."

With that, I got up and put on my clothes immediately. I didn't see Ron trying to stop me—but he forcibly held back his outstretched hand.

I left without looking back.

Before I knew it, I walked to the training ground.

This familiar training ground brought back memories.

In the past, young, promising werewolves from various packs would come here for training. That year, Ron stood out among many werewolves.

He was tall, with a more perfect body than his peers, and his muscles were like a carefully carved work of art.

At that time, he planted a seed in my heart.

I cannot deny the truth—Ron's body is admittedly good.

But so what? If he doesn't want to, there are plenty of young, strong werewolves in the world.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I immediately sent for the servant. "Immediately bring all the strongest warriors in the pack to train with me!"

The servant hurried to obey, and after a while, three of the strongest young warriors, summoned in haste, took off their shirts at my command.

Sunlight shone on their strong chests.

I deliberately spoke loudly, my eyes sweeping over them without restraint.

But Ron's more perfect body kept flashing in my mind, making me distracted.

Somehow, word reached Ron's ears.

At the entrance of the training ground, that familiar tall figure appeared, exuding a cold aura.

I pretended not to see him, but my heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.

Ron's face was as dark as rain, his gaze sweeping over the three strong young men. Finally, it fixed on me. An invisible pressure filled the air; the three warriors fell silent, frozen in place.

"Continue!" I forced myself to stay calm, but my hand holding the bow trembled slightly. He strode over. The air seemed to be sucked dry. He stopped in front of me, his tall figure completely overshadowing me, bearing the bloody aura of the battlefield.

"Irene!" His voice was low, suppressing emotion.

I turned around suddenly, about to lash out at him with harsh words.

But the moment I saw his action, all words got stuck in my throat.

He, Ron, the supreme Alpha of the Thunder Pack, in front of everyone, suddenly tore off the laces of his shirt. The clothes tore open, were roughly pulled off, and thrown on the ground.

His honey-colored skin glowed in the sun, and the muscle lines forged by years of war were smooth. His abs were well-defined, leading down to a tight waist.

An aggressive pressure came over me.

I held my breath, my mind going blank.

He stepped forward, his hot breath hitting my face.

"Is this what you wanted to see?"