Chapter 3

I returned to my apartment in the outer circle and stuffed the moonstone bracelet my mother left me into my bag.

Suddenly, familiar footsteps and voices echoed in the hallway.

It was Ethan and Zoe.

“Will Lila cause a scene if she finds out her application was actually returned by you?” Zoe’s voice was laced with a hint of mockery, and unmasked smugness.

Ethan snorted lightly, “Cause a scene? What does she have to do that? Besides, I rejected her application for your sake, didn’t I? I couldn’t let you freeze in some outer circle place.”

I tightened my grip on my bag’s strap, my fingers turning white from the pressure.

Accidentally, my elbow knocked into a nearby storage cabinet, creating a dull thud.

“Who’s in there?” Zoe’s voice immediately became cautious.

I quickly hid behind the shelves, hearing Ethan’s footsteps as he approached the door.

“No one, it might have been the wind moving the shelf,” he paused and added, “By the way, next time you see Lila, make sure to tell her how cold the outer circle gets in the winter and how scary it is at night, so she’ll leave on her own.”

Zoe responded sweetly, “Got it, Ethan! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she sees reality and stop mooching off the Pack.”

Their footsteps gradually faded away.

I had just peeked out from behind the curtain when I met Zoe’s gaze as she turned back.

She glared at me, her eyes suddenly as cold as ice, and rushed over to grab my bag.

“You were eavesdropping on us?” she demanded.

She yanked at the straps of my bag, and my mother’s bracelet fell to the floor with a sharp clink.

She stepped on it, grinding her heel into it, laughing cruelly.

“Who do you think you are? You don’t deserve to be in the Pack! Dream on!”

I bent down to pick it up, but she kicked my knee hard, and I nearly collapsed to the ground.

“Don’t bother picking it up! It’s just in the way!” Zoe stood above me, arms crossed. “Ethan said it. You’ve been an outsider all along, and sooner or later, you’re going to be kicked out of Storm Ridge Pack! You don’t deserve to have this bracelet!”

“This is my mom’s! It has nothing to do with you!”

Ignoring the sharp pain in my leg, I forced the bracelet out from under her shoe and wiped away the dirt and scratches with my sleeve.

Zoe’s anger flared when I dared to resist.

“It has nothing to do with me? You’ve been living in this room for seven years, and now you want to steal my spot in the inner circle? Have some shame!”

I clenched the cleaned bracelet tightly in my hand and slung my bag over my shoulder, trying to walk past her.

But she stepped forward, blocking the doorway. “Trying to leave? Leave the Pack’s things behind!”

“I’m taking my own things. Why should I give them to you?” I stared at her. “Ethan rejected my application, and here you are, making things worse. What do you want from me?”

“What do I want?” Zoe asked arrogantly. “I want you to leave! If you’re gone, I won’t have to move to the outer circle, and Ethan won’t have to worry about your pathetic little problems anymore!”

Before I could respond, Ethan’s voice came from outside. “Zoe, why are you taking so long? We need to go to meet the Elder.”

Zoe instantly changed her expression, running out. “Ethan, she was trying to steal Pack supplies! I stopped her.”

Ethan walked in, glancing at the backpack in my hands and then at the marks on the floor. His brows furrowed.

“Lila, stop picking on Zoe. She’s simple and pure, she means no harm. If there’s a problem, we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“I’m picking on her?” I gripped the bracelet tightly, my voice trembling. “You reject my application, let her bully me, and you still want me to ‘talk about it tomorrow’?”

“Ethan, seven years ago, you found me and said you would take me home. Is this what you meant by home?”

Ethan avoided my gaze, his tone suddenly stiff. “I have my reasons, the Elders are pressuring me. Zoe can’t adjust to life in the Outer Ring. Just bear with it a little longer…”

“Bear with it?”

I laughed, though tears welled up in my eyes.

“I’ve been bearing with it for seven years! You never wanted me to truly come back! You just used me as a cover so you could protect Zoe, right?”

Ethan’s face darkened immediately. He said nothing, but pulled Zoe out the door.

The door slammed shut, shutting off everything from the outside world.

I stood in the empty living room, gripping the cold bracelet in my hand, feeling even colder inside.

It turned out that these seven years of waiting weren’t for a result, but for a scam to finally end.