The car was driven into the iron gate, and the villa for the Alpha of the Black Thorn Pack was just as well organized as Gloria remembered it.
Gloria looked over her shoulder uncontrollably. Through the back window, she saw the receding black iron gate slowly closing.
She thought, 'From today on, I'm just a caged bird.' She closed her eyes and hid the tears in them. When she opened her eyes again, she was the obedient Gloria again.
Patrick saw every expression on her face, and a hint of guilt flashed across his eyes. He thought, 'I'm sorry, Gloria, but I just don't know how to keep you around. I want you to love me as you did three years ago.'
"Our mate is in so much pain. Why can't you make her happy?" Leo accused Patrick.
Patrick thought, 'Because I love her. I will never let go.' Patrick looked a bit crazy.
"Alpha Patrick, you are back." The car doors opened, and Damon was standing next to the car. He was here to welcome Patrick back, but when he saw the woman in the car, he went silent instantly.
"Alpha Patrick, why is she here?" Damon's voice was filled with hatred. He glared at Gloria in the car and said sternly, "This is where Gabrielle grew up. I will not have this woman here!"
Damon's chest heaved violently. He was extremely furious right now.
Patrick glanced at Damon coldly. The latter regained a trace of rationality and spoke again, "Alpha Patrick, why is Miss Carter here?"
While saying the words "Miss Carter", Damon glared at Gloria without blinking.
Gloria was sitting in the back seat of the car, and she was not calm inside.
She kept her head down. It wasn't because she felt guilty. It was simply because she did not know how to get along with Damon.
She was indeed wrongly accused of what happened three years ago. But Damon was Gabrielle's older brother, and he lost his beloved sister. It was hard to tell right from wrong under such circumstances. And for Gloria, it was suffocating.
"I don't want to live here," Gloria said, breaking the silence.
Everyone looked at her in shock.
Patrick waved at her. His voice carried a domineering tone that didn't allow her to disobey as he said, "Come here."
Gloria did not move. Patrick suddenly leaned into the car, grabbed her arm, and pulled her out with a tug.
His actions were so sudden that Gloria was caught off guard and dragged out of the car. As she staggered and was about to fall, Patrick caught her by the waist and hugged her.
Patrick said nonchalantly, "Beta Damon, if you don't want to be here, I can send you to patrol the border."
Frightened by Patrick's words, Damon raised his head hastily and said, "Alpha Patrick, please don't get me wrong. I was just curious. I bear Miss Carter no ill will."
"Is that so?" Patrick released the Alpha's pressure.
Damon's back was drenched in a cold sweat right now, and he felt that Patrick had seen him through. He braced himself and nodded. "Don't worry, Alpha Patrick. I am the Beta of the Black Thorn Pack. Whatever problem I may have with Miss Carter, I will obey your orders, and I won't harm Miss Carter."
Damon bowed his head, his body tensed. He could not see Patrick's expression, and he was extremely nervous. Only when Patrick looked away did he let out a sigh of relief.
Patrick glanced at Damon and said, "You'd better keep your word." Though Patrick said this, he did not trust Damon a hundred percent. Damon grew up with him and was the Beta of the Black Thorn Pack. If Damon were to be replaced rashly, Patrick was worried that the pack might go through turmoil.
"Come to my study in ten minutes," Patrick said and led Gloria into the room.
"Okay, Alpha Patrick." Damon remained stooped and respectful. After Patrick left, he slowly straightened his back. With his back to the villa, Damon's heart was filled with resentment.
"Get some rest now. After lunch, I'll ask Christine to go shopping with you." Patrick led Gloria into a bedroom.
Patrick had no idea that Gloria was very familiar with this villa because she used to come here to see him countless times before.
Patrick led her into the room and turned to leave.
Gloria stood there. After Patrick had left for quite a while, she began to look around. She looked around the room slowly, as if trying to look into every detail of the room.
Suddenly, her eyes stopped as she looked toward the head of the bed.
In the next second, her thin face turned strange and unnatural. She stared for a long time before walking over.
Patrick's bedside table was made of solid wood. It was very heavy already, and now it was heavier after it was loaded with things.
If Gloria still had her wolf, she could have moved the bedside table easily. Yet now, with all her strength, she could only manage to move it a little. She wiped her sweat and kept trying, afraid to make a noise that might draw Patrick's attention.
She was surprised that he had not changed his bed for so many years. While thinking so, she pulled back hard, and then she stopped and listened to the sound in the corridor. She resumed her work with relief that no one was around.
She felt ages had passed before she finally managed to pry up the three pieces of floorboard under the nightstand. She remembered that she used to dig them up years ago.
Then she saw an old piece of paper sticking out of the crack on the floor.
After all these years, she remembered exactly what was written on the paper.
She stared at the old letter paper for a long time. Then, she sighed silently. She did not even touch the paper which was filled with her old memories and emotions.
"Moon Goddess, it turns out that you can make mistakes too. You chose the wrong person for me, and so I fell in love with the wrong person." She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks ceaselessly.
After a while, Gloria wiped her tears away and resumed calm. She put the floorboards back and pushed the bedside table back.
She thought, 'I'll leave this paper here. If one day I lose all hope of freedom, I will burn it to the ground!'
Patrick had been busy in his study the whole day. He only went out once for lunch.
Sitting under the long eaves outside the villa, Gloria watched the gardener tending the flowers and trees.
The sun was bright and the sky was blue, and a faint fragrance of flowers permeated the air.
In a trance, Gloria felt that she was back in the past, and without realizing it, she lay on the bench and dozed off.
Everything was fine, except for the straight figure at the other end of the villa.
Damon stood at the end of the villa not far away. His eyes were full of resentment as he looked at Gloria, who was sleeping under the eaves.
He dug his hand into the wall, leaving a few scratch marks on it.
He was not OK with this. He thought, 'Why was Gabrielle dead? Why wasn't it Gloria?'