Carlson's movements stopped abruptly.
"That's enough! Stop picking that shit up!" he said, rubbing his temples in anger. "It's just a stupid jar anyway! I'll buy another one for you if you insist! Selena never meant to break it!"
I froze halfway through cleaning up the mess.
Then, I slowly got to my feet and took a step back, addressing him respectfully yet distantly, "There's no need for that, Alpha Carlson."
Carlson froze for a split second.
Over the past 15 years, I had only ever called Carlson by his nickname, "Carl", no matter if we were alone or in public. Even if he reminded me again and again that I should always refer to him as "Alpha" and obey the rules, I would stubbornly refuse, insisting that it was only a term of address for a wolf that I wasn't close to.
But now, even though we were in a private space with just a few of us, I had referred to him as "Alpha Carlson".
A strange sense of unease instantly washed over him.
Selena also sensed that he was distracted and hurriedly shook his arm, speaking in a sweet, coquettish voice.
"Do you think that Ayna is still mad at me? It's my fault for being blind. I shouldn't have knocked over her belongings…"
Carlson snapped back to the present and patted her on the back, comforting her.
"Just be more careful next time. Ayna's very attached to that jar. Don't hold it against a kid like her."
This was the first time Carlson didn't completely take Selena's side and even defended me subtly. Selena's eyes were immediately filled with immense jealousy. Yet, she nodded meekly and said, "I got it. Whatever you say."
That night, I collected all of the scattered stars and threw everything into the fireplace.
I watched as the little notes filled with 15 years of my love and affection for Carlson curl up, burn, and turn into ashes in the flames.
It had taken me 15 years to fold these stars, but it only took a minute for me to burn them all up.
I heard footsteps behind me, and Carlson's voice appeared soon after.
"What the hell are you doing, Ayna?"
I didn't even look up and continued throwing more stars into the fire. I answered calmly, "Nothing. Just getting rid of rubbish."
Carlson glanced at the unburned paper stars, and his face darkened at once.
"I will be officially holding the marking ceremony with Selena after the surgery."
I shivered very slightly, but I turned numb again shortly after.
"Congratulations."
I said it flatly and indifferently without a trace of anger, jealousy, or any other emotions. Carlson stared at my face for a long time like he was trying to find even the slightest hint of anger or sadness in my expression, but he couldn't find anything.
He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a bout of disappointment washing over him. So, he began adding fuel to the fire like he was deliberately trying to get a reaction from me.
"Selena already said that the marking ceremony would only happen once in a lifetime, and she's not used to wearing any clothes made by other tailors. It must be made by the best seamstress in the pack."
His eyes were like knives as they landed on my face.
"Ayna, you've always loved sewing clothes and coats for me since you were young. The entire pack knows that you're the best seamstress. So, I want you to personally make the clothing and garments for Selena and me for the marking ceremony."
I finally gave him a reaction by looking at him incredulously.
When he saw that I was finally responding to him, he grinned smugly and said, "What, you don't want to? Don't you dare forget that this is what you owe to Selena. You'd been upsetting her too much. This is your way of making it up to her."
I lowered my eyes to hide the self-deprecating look in them.
Did I even have the option to refuse now anyway?
I inhaled deeply and put on a wan smile.
"Yes, Alpha Carlson. I will do as you say, since it is a direct order from you."
However, it would be up to fate to decide if I would ever be able to finish making them.
I didn't spare him another glance before stumbling out of the door.
Carlson stood alone in the living room, watching the fire slowly die down as the inexplicable panic in his chest only grew worse.
This was what he'd always wanted. I had finally relented and given in to him, listening to his every order and not pestering him anymore. But why was it that he just couldn't feel happy about it?
…
I stayed out by myself the next day. When I finally returned to the pack afterward, I realized that everyone in the pack was behaving strangely toward me.
Those who walked past me looked at me judgmentally with undisguised contempt and disgust in their eyes. Some of the younger brats even spat in my direction before running off in disgust.
"She acts all high-and-mighty all the time, but as it turns out, she's nothing but a horny bitch who keeps throwing herself at Alpha all day!"
"How could she even think of seducing her own stepbrother like that? She's such a disgrace to all the she-wolves in Moonshadow Pack!"
"Filthy, shameless creatures like her should be exiled from the pack immediately!"
Insults after insults were thrown in my face. I was still feeling completely bewildered about their reactions when I suddenly got a phone call from Mia.
She sounded angry and urgent.
"Ayna! You must have been set up! Hurry up and look at the werewolf forum online! Everyone's talking about it now!"
I hurriedly went online to the forum.
At the very top of the homepage, highlighted in a bright red box, was a partially censored explicit video.
The she-wolf in the video had a face that looked almost identical to mine, and she was naked all over while kneeling before the camera, wagging her tail, and pretending to look pitifully at the camera while repeatedly moaning Carlson's name.
