Evelyn's POV:

After leaving the orphanage, I went home and headed straight upstairs. I pushed open the wooden door next to the bathroom and walked into my personal storeroom.

I went to the side, brought out an old wooden box, and started tidying up the things in it.

There were only a few pieces of clothing and jewelry in it. They had been courtesy gifts from Kiera five years ago.

Meanwhile, during the five years I'd been with Callum, he had only ever bought me racy lingerie and sex costumes meant to please his wolf.

After tidying up my clothes, I turned around to look at the other items I'd put in the corner.

These items were all gifts I thoughtfully bought for Callum every year using the money I managed to save from my daily expenses. However, I could see that there was already a thin layer of dust on them.

I put the items all into the wooden box, called up the recycling services, and sold everything off for a handful of cash.

Just as I was about to turn and go back into the house, a black car screeched to a halt mere inches away from me after zooming out from the woods, nearly knocking me over.

The door opened, and Callum's younger sister, Lily Wolffang, stepped out of the car in her luxurious leather coat and with a face full of makeup.

Lily saw the recycling truck in the yonder out of the corner of her eye and scoffed coldly. She then looked at me and said, "I guess that's expected from a poor little thing coming from nowhere, peddling off your stuff for pennies. I bet you stole a bunch of stuff from our family for years!"

I looked at Lily calmly before turning to leave.

Lily's smile immediately dropped. She ran up to me and grabbed me.

"Stand there!"

I shook her hand off and ignored her.

Ever since marrying into the Wolffang clan, I had been bending over backward to serve each of them and make them happy. So, this was the first time I had ever shown Lily my cold attitude.

Lily was furious when she saw how I was treating her.

"Are you deaf? I'm talking to you! Can't you hear me?"

Lily had never liked me from the start. She thought that someone from my background was too lowly to be her sister-in-law.

So, throughout the five years, she had been secretly sabotaging me—either by locking me up in the bathroom or breaking all my hunting tools.

Now that I was finally going to be free, I didn't have to bother about trying to please her any longer.

Suddenly, Lily laughed and told me, "You know that Cal's first love is back, right? I bet you've heard of her. Iris Howley. She's the only one who deserves to be with my brother. As for you…"

She gave me a once-over with disdain in her eyes. "You're just a maggot from a lowly clan in the borders. We can finally get rid of you!"

After Lily spoke, another person stepped out of the black car.

This was the first time I had ever seen Iris in person. This was the woman whom Callum couldn't and wouldn't stop thinking of.

Iris had a lovely head of long, golden locks. Her skin was as smooth and flawless as ivory, and she was dressed in a beautiful white dress. Her eyes were deep and mesmerizing, and she gave off an air of elegance.

Iris walked toward me slowly and said in a soft voice, "Lily, you shouldn't speak like this to Ms. Severa. After all, she's Callum's mate."

"Mate?" Lily laughed scornfully. "Haven't I been telling you in the car, Iris, that you're the only one Cal wants? He was the one who gave you all those gifts and presents in the past five years whenever he left the pack. Can't you see how much you mean to him?"

After Lily was done talking to Iris, she then turned to me and barked out her orders. "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and bring Iris' suitcases into the house. Cal agreed to let her stay here."

I simply glanced at the suitcases, ignored them, and walked away.

Lily was so mad that she stomped her feet on the ground.

In the end, it was the driver who had to help them bring the suitcases in. Lily rushed in first to give me an earful, but that was when Callum suddenly walked into the living room.

He hurried toward Iris and gave her a quick once-over. After making sure that she was alright, he then turned to me and said, "Iris' home is still under renovation, so she will be temporarily staying with us."

I looked at Callum silently without saying anything.

Iris, on the other hand, lowered her head and bit her lips. She said in a soft, weak voice, "I don't think that's a good idea, Callum. After all, this is still a den that you share with your mate. If I stay here, Ms. Severa will undoubtedly get upset with me…"

"Don't bother about it," Callum said, interrupting her. "Evelyn has always been an understanding person. She'd never kick up a fuss over such a small thing."

I nearly burst out laughing when I heard what he said.

I didn't show my emotions on my face, however. I just told her in a calm voice, "Of course, I wouldn't. Ms. Howley, you're more than welcome to stay."

It just made sense. This home was going to belong to her eventually, anyway.

####CHAPTER-NAME:

Evelyn's POV:

Callum was worried that Iris still wanted to leave, so he quickly got the maids to bring Iris' suitcases into the largest bedroom in the house, which was the bedroom I shared with him.

"It's already late. What are you still doing, standing here like a dummy? Go and make dinner now! If you keep being a lazy bum then you won't even get to sleep in the maids' quarters!" Lily exclaimed haughtily as she pointed at me.

"Also, Iris likes venison, so you'd better choose the right amount of lean meat for her. Get it?"

In the clan, it was always the job of lowly maids to clean and prepare hunted prey for food. Yet, ever since marrying Callum, I had done everything by myself.

Callum was a very picky eater who would only eat my cooking. Even if he was a very hard customer to please, I still did everything to satisfy him even if I was dead tired.

However, this time, I just looked up at them faintly and said, "I can't."

They were understandably shocked, since this was the first time I had said no. Callum frowned hard and looked at me, displeased. I could tell that he was getting angry at me.

I was just about to explain myself when Iris suddenly turned red in the eyes and bit her lower lip.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't even be here. I'm just causing trouble in the pack as soon as I get back. I shouldn't have asked Ms. Severa to make dinner for me. I should just leave…"

Then, she turned as if she wanted to go upstairs to retrieve her suitcases and leave, but Callum stopped her. "Don't leave. This has nothing to do with you."

Callum then turned toward me and said in a low, seething voice, "Didn't you just say that you were fine with her staying? What kind of attitude is this now?"

I lifted my bandaged arm and showed it to him. I still answered him calmly, "I hurt myself the last time I went hunting for you. I can't move my fingers at all."

Actually, I wasn't hurt. It was just that both I and my wolf were not in the best mood now, and we didn't want to make dinner for anyone.

Also, my contract with Callum was already up, so I didn't have to waste any more of my time and energy on him.

That was why I decided to bandage my arm up and use it as an excuse to get myself out of cooking for them.

At once, the tension in the air rose.

I had always been the one in charge of all the cooking and cleaning at home. So, the maids would all leave the house on the dot when they were done for the day.

As of now, I was the only one who knew how to cook. None of them knew how, and we were also out of fresh ingredients anyway.

Even if we were to get the maids to come back, it would be too late by the time they prepared dinner for us.

Lily frowned unhappily and said, "Why didn't you tell us earlier that you were hurt? You were trying to starve us on purpose, weren't you?"

Lily wanted to continue, but Iris pulled her back. "Lily, don't make things difficult for Ms. Severa," she said in an understanding voice. Then, Iris turned to Callum and said, "I'm not very hungry yet. Why don't we go out hunting together? Didn't you like bringing us out to hunt for prey when we were little?"

Iris' suggestion managed to ease the frown on Callum's face. He nodded before turning to me.

Then, he spoke in a demanding voice, "If that's the case, you will come along with us. You know which kind of deer would be the tastiest."

I scoffed inwardly. Callum was such a cold-hearted creature that he didn't even care that I had supposedly hurt myself.

We clambered into the car and set off together.

On the way, Callum held Iris by her waist and stayed close to her as they chatted about their memories of hunting together when they were young. Lily would chime in their conversation every now and then.

The three of them continued to chat excitedly among themselves, completely forgetting that I was also there with them.

Just as they were laughing about something, Iris suddenly looked back at me and said with a smile, "Sorry about that, Ms. Severa. It's not that we're ignoring you on purpose. It's just that you don't exist in our memories."

It wasn't just their memories that I didn't exist in. Soon, I wasn't going to exist in their future either.

I just hummed softly and closed my eyes.

We soon reached the wood, and Callum gave out directions for us to hunt.

I was told to go down a dark and narrow path on my own while the other three went together.

While passing by a brook, I looked at myself in the reflection of the water. My long hair was unruly and splayed all over my back. My face also looked tired and weary.

Iris had also been in another marriage for five years, but she still looked as fresh and lively as ever, while I only looked exhausted and done with life.

I just had to hold on a little more before I was finally free.

"Evelyn, this way! Now!"

Callum's low voice suddenly rang out in the dark of the night as he barked out an order at me.

They had managed to catch a deer and were summoning me over to cut it up for them. After all, this was a very bloody, messy, and tiring job, and none of them had ever done it before.

"Use that good arm of yours to cut up the meat for us. It's only lowly werewolves like you who know how to do it anyway," Lily added haughtily.

I thought that since I was going to leave anyway, I didn't want to get into an argument with them if I could help it. So, I bent down, getting ready to serve Callum his last meal before I left.

Suddenly, Iris seemingly stepped into a trap that the hunters set up to kill werewolves like us.

With a wish, countless silver arrows suddenly shot toward us.

"Callum, watch out!" I cried.

In the split second that I called out to him, Callum had already shot toward Iris like a dark shadow and pulled her into his arms, hugging her securely in his embrace. The silver arrow whizzed right past the both of them.

However, that left me right in the center of the arrow's trajectory.

Before I could even react, the first silver arrow pierced deeply into my shoulder.

"Ahh!"

The inexplicable pain began to spread.

####CHAPTER-NAME:

Evelyn's POV:

"Damn, that hurts so much!"

Even more silver arrows were flying toward me. I quickly moved out of the way, but I still got struck by a few more arrows.

My wounds were burning, and the pain was indescribable. My wolf howled loudly in pain and agony.

The pure silver tips of the arrows were eating into my flesh, making it feel as though I was burning all over. I couldn't even get back on my feet anymore.

"Evelyn!"

After the ambush was over, Callum finally released Iris and walked toward me. There was a slight panic in his eyes. "Does it hurt? I'll bring you to the wolf doctor at once!"

I looked up at him. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even get a word out.

"Oh my god, Iris! You're terribly hurt!" Lily suddenly screamed.

As soon as Callum heard that, his attention was immediately drawn to Iris. He then rushed back toward her and saw that she had a few faint scratches on her arm.

It sure seemed like she was "terribly" hurt.

Iris pulled her arm away from Callum and shook her head, her eyes turning red.

"I'm fine. Ms. Severa's wounds look more serious than mine. Get her to the wolf doctor first."

As soon as Lily heard that, she immediately stood up for Iris. "Cal, why are you still hesitating? Iris got hurt by the silver arrows! Don't you know how dangerous it is? What if she gets a terrible infection?"

Callum frowned. Finally, he looked back at me with a briefly conflicted look.

"Iris has a weakened immune system, so I can't let anything happen to her."

Callum spoke lightly, but I heard every single word he said.

The next moment, Callum picked Iris up and spoke to me without even looking back. "Tend to your injuries by yourself. I'll tell the medics to pick you up in a bit."

I watched as the three of them disappeared into the night, feeling a blunt yet pounding pain in my chest. My body still felt as though it was being consumed by fire as the pain intensified. Still, I gritted my teeth and stubbornly refused to let myself shed any tears.

A while later, the wolf medic finally arrived. He looked at me pitifully as I was close to death. After wrapping my injuries up in some simple gauze, he then brought me to the wolf hospital for emergency treatment.

Wounds caused by silver-tipped weapons didn't heal easily. The doctor was stern as he attended to my cuts and wounds, saying, "These are considered very serious silver wounds. Luckily you managed to wrap them up with gauze in time.

"It's also sheer luck that you don't seem to be having an infection anywhere, even internally. However, you'll need to constantly take medications so that your wounds don't scar permanently."

"Such a poor thing! I heard that Mr. Wolffang rushed Ms. Howley into the hospital and booked out the most expensive ward for her."

Two nurses passed by, and I heard them whispering among themselves.

"She just got a tiny scratch or two, but yet, he still insisted on getting the best wolf doctor in the hospital to treat her."

"Isn't that right? I heard that he stayed with her the whole time and even postponed his meeting with the heads of the other clans."

"If only I had a boyfriend who liked me as much as he likes her!"

"Haha! Keep dreaming, silly. A man like him would only appear once every million years or so!"

…

Once every million years or so?

I chuckled to myself.

A man who abandoned his heavily wounded wife to attend to his first love with barely a scrape on her skin? Sure, a man like him would only appear once every million years indeed.

After the wolf doctor was done bandaging me up, I thanked him and walked out of the hospital alone.

At that moment, I received an email notification on my phone. I opened it up and saw that it was a message from the university I was going to attend, informing me that I had been accepted into their program.

The email reminded me that I should have all of my forms and identification documents with me during enrolment.

After so many years, I was finally taking the first step to leave the Wolffang clan and their territory behind. I was doing this for the sake of my freedom.

As soon as I got home, I headed straight for my treehouse which was just a while away. This was my private, personal hiding place that nobody else knew of.

The moon shone brightly through the windows of my treehouse. It was very beautiful and ethereal.

I sat down, grabbed a pen, and put up with the pain as I started filling up my forms for my intake.

This was the very first time I was communicating with the world using my own identity instead of as Callum's wife.

With every blank space I filled in, I knew that I was going to be facing even more hardships and challenges on the way. However, I had to do this to escape this suffocating marriage and no longer rely on Callum's protection anymore.

For three whole days, I never left the attic in my treehouse. I used all the time to fill out every form needed for my enrolment into university.

When I finally turned my phone back on again, I instantly received countless missed calls and text message notifications. Each call and text were from the same person—Callum.

I was puzzled. Why would Callum be trying to find me like a maniac?

Just then, Lily happened to call me.

"You fucking bitch! Where the hell are you? Cal's going crazy because of you!" Lily screamed. She sounded like she was making fun of me as she continued, "You're hella delusional if you think that doing this will make Cal care more about you. In your damn dreams, bitch! He belongs with Iris!"

She hung up before I could even get a word in.

I was long used to Lily's barrage of scathing and humiliating words. However, I just didn't know why Callum would be looking for me so frantically. Was it to determine if I was dead or alive after that ambush of arrows? Or, was it to officially tell me that he was kicking me out of his house?

I even had a thought that I must be mistaken, because Callum would never spend any of his time looking for me. However, the 108 missed calls on my call log proved otherwise. It seemed as though Callum was really desperate to find me.

####CHAPTER-NAME: