"That photo. Don't misunderstand,"

Frank stammered.

"Her father passed away. Before he died, he entrusted Julia to me. I'm the only family she has left in this world."

I listened in silence.

Frank's actions had long since crossed the line.

At first, Frank's care for Julia was nothing out of the ordinary. He made sure she had a roof over her head and food to eat.

But as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, his involvement in her life grew increasingly invasive.

He meddled in her every decision, from the clothes she wore to the friends she made.

I thought about the fact that in just a few days, I would be leaving this place, this pack, and Frank behind. There was no point in holding back anymore.

"Don't worry about me misunderstanding. You just keep taking good care of Julia..."

"What's wrong with you? Julia sees me as nothing more than an older brother. Do you think she's as promiscuous as you?" Frank lashed out.

He was right in a way.

Julia was nothing like me. I had been so naive, so blindly in love with Frank that I had allowed him to manipulate me, to use me.

I had been following his every command.

My eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that..." he said, his voice softening, but it was too little, too late.

In that moment, a surge of courage welled up within me.

"Frank, I..."

Frank's phone, shattering the tense silence.

Frank snatched up the phone.

The voice on the other end, Julia's, echoed clearly in the stillness. "Frank, I'm in such agony. I have a fever... I'm so dizzy, I can barely stand," she whined.

"Hold on, Julia. I'm on my way," Frank replied.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the nearest piece of clothing, a tattered old shirt that reeked of his and Julia's shared scents, and hastily pulled it over his head.

As he reached for the doorknob, he paused for a fraction of a second, as if suddenly remembering my presence. "Julia's sick. I have to go," he muttered.

Before I could utter a single syllable in response, the door slammed shut behind him.

The next morning, I roused from my slumber to a cacophony of noise that seemed to pierce through the fog of my sleep.

My head throbbed with a dull ache, and I massaged my temples in a futile attempt to ease the pain as I groggily made my way out of bed and towards the stairs.

As soon as I reached the top of the staircase, the sight that greeted me in the living room was nothing short of chaos.

The once - orderly space was now a disarray of toppled cardboard boxes, their contents - clothes, trinkets, and other personal items - spilling out haphazardly across the floor.

Frank was hunched over, straining to heave a large, cumbersome suitcase across the room.

Beside him, Julia stood with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. She flitted about the room.

"Careful, careful! That box has something breakable in it," she cooed.

I froze in my tracks, rooted to the spot by shock and disbelief.

Frank, sensing my presence, looked up.

Our eyes met for a brief, charged moment, and I saw a flash of panic in his gaze.

But just as quickly as it had appeared, his expression hardened.

Julia, on the other hand, skipped over to me with an air of nonchalance. "Oh, darling!" she exclaimed, her voice overly cheery. "Frank was so worried about me living alone. He thought it would be better if I moved in here. Now we can be like sisters, looking out for each other. Isn't that wonderful?"

I turned my gaze back to Frank. But he refused to meet my eyes. "Julia's health is delicate," he mumbled.

"Having someone around to take care of her gives me peace of mind."

I couldn't stand another second of Julia's presence.

Without a word, I turned on my heel.

But just as I took my first step, Julia let out a sudden shriek.

Her body lurched backwards, arms flailing wildly in the air.

In a seemingly desperate attempt to regain her balance, her hand shot out and latched onto a precious crystal wind chime that I had carefully hung.

Each crystal was inscribed with runes that captured the essence of our travels together, and instead of chimes, small photo charms dangled, displaying memories of Frank and me on our adventures.

With a loud "crash," the wind chime hit the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.

Julia immediately followed up with a piercing scream of pain.

Frank, drawn by the noise, rushed to Julia's side.

He gently lifted her up, cradling her in his arms as if she were the most fragile of beings.

Frank turned to me, his face contorted with anger.

"Sally, why can't you just leave Julia alone?!"

"Frank, please don't be mad at Sally. It's my fault. I shouldn't have come here and disrupted your lives. I'm such a burden," she sobbed, her voice quivering. As she spoke, she leaned further into Frank's embrace, a subtle smirk flickering across her face for a split second. "Sally, apologize to Julia right now!" Frank demanded.

I glared at Frank .

"Which eye of yours saw me do this?!"

Frank's brows knitted together in a tight knot.

"You've done this kind of thing too many times! Your jealousy is out of control. Every time Julia is around, you turn into a different person. Who else could it be but you?!"

Julia stood to the side.

"Please, don't fight because of me. It's all my fault. I'm such an unlucky fool. I couldn't even keep my balance and now I've caused this huge mess..."

Frank instantly stepped in front of Julia, pulling her behind him and gripping her hand tightly.

He turned to me, his eyes ablaze with a fury.

"I must have been completely blind! How could I have been so stupid to not see your true, vile nature before? You're so malicious, you can't even tolerate the smallest thing!"

Julia, not content with just causing a rift, continued her over - the - top act. She cried out in pain.

With a tender yet urgent motion, Frank scooped Julia up in his arms, carrying her as if she were the most fragile of porcelain dolls.

Suddenly, a searing, excruciating pain tore through my lower abdomen. I doubled over, gasping for air.

I need to visit the hospital.

For a long time, the continuous use of contraceptive pills had thrown my body into a state of disarray.

Nights were a torment, as I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. And when I did manage to catch a few moments of slumber, I would be jolted awake by searing hot flashes and drenching sweats, as if my body were being consumed by an internal inferno.

I dragged myself to the hospital.

But as soon as I crossed the threshold of the hospital doors, in the middle of the bustling hospital lobby, was Frank, cradling Julia in his arms with a tenderness .

Julia, like a clinging vine, nestled against Frank's chest, her arms gently looped around his neck.

Our eyes met.

Julia began to wriggle in Frank's arms.

"Frank, put me down," she cooed.

"You're hurt. Don't move,"

Then, as if only just noticing my presence, he turned to me and asked. "What are you doing here? Are you sick?"

"Menstrual cramps," I replied tersely.

Frank fell into a brief moment of thought.

"I'll have my assistant get you some hot cocoa," he finally said, his voice carrying a hint of his old concern.

"Frank, it hurts so much," Julia murmured.

I clutched the newly - obtained medicine in my arms and began to make my way slowly along the hospital corridor.

Suddenly, a piercing alarm shattered the relative calm.

The entire hospital erupted into chaos in an instant.

An urgent announcement blared over the intercom, revealing that a severe equipment malfunction in one of the operating rooms had caused an electrical short, triggering a small but dangerous fire.

Pungent smoke began to billow through the corridors, and the once - orderly crowd transformed into a panicked mob.

People scurried in all directions like frightened animals.

I fought to keep my footing, but the force of the panicked crowd was too great.

Amidst the chaos, I spotted Frank and Julia.

Frank's sharp werewolf eyes quickly found me in the throng.

"Sally!" he shouted.

For a fleeting moment, hope flared in my chest, and I looked at him with pleading eyes, my instincts yearning for the protection of my mate, despite our broken bond.

"Julia, stay close to me. Sally can handle herself..."

Frank called out.

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Julia's hand, he pushed through the crowd with relative ease as he tried to carve a path to safety for her.

Julia clung to him.

The acrid smoke thickened, coiling around me like malevolent serpents.

My vision blurred, and each breath became a struggle, as if I were inhaling fire instead of air.

I opened my mouth the cacophony of screams and the crackling of the fire. But my cries were swallowed up by the overwhelming noise, lost in the chaos of the panicked crowd.

I was left with no choice but to rely on my own strength.

I fought to push through the surging mass of bodies as I sought to find a way out.

I wriggled through the narrow gaps between people, my muscles straining with the effort.

The world around me seemed to spin, and I felt on the verge of collapse.

Finally,the hospital's security teams and firefighters managed to gain control of the situation.

The flames were extinguished, and the panicked crowd began to settle. I stood there, exhausted and battered, my body covered in sweat and soot.

As I looked across the room, I saw Frank and Julia, safe and unharmed. Frank still hovering protectively over Julia.

Alone in the house, the echoes of the day's chaos still reverberated in my mind.

The sound of the front door opening jolted me from my reverie.

Frank stepped in.

In his hand, he held a cup of steaming hot cocoa.

For a brief moment, it was as if we were back to the way we used to be. "Are you okay after the fire today? Does your stomach still hurt? Drink this while it's hot,"

I took the cup from him, my fingers brushing against his.

I inserted the straw and drained the cocoa in one long gulp.

Suddenly, my skin erupted in a rash of angry red welts.

He had forgotten I'm allergic to cocoa.

"Let's have dinner together tomorrow," I said.

Frank looked taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise.

For a moment, he seemed lost for words, but then he quickly regained his composure and nodded.

I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly.

I needed to find some allergy medicine.

As I walked away, I could feel Frank's eyes on me, but I refused to look back.