After Refusing to be Luna, I Marked the Alpha's Shadow Chapter 3

A chill struck the bottom of my heart. I grabbed my phone to call the police, but there was zero signal.

"Is anyone there?! Help! Help me..."

I smashed my fists against the door until they bled, shouting until my voice went hoarse, but no one answered.

The temperature dropped bit by bit. I couldn't stop shivering, and my inner wolf curled up from the cold.

My adoptive parents were SWAT officers in the human world.

Three years ago, revenge-seekers locked our family of three in a cold storage unit, trying to freeze us to death.

It was minus fifty degrees then, too. My parents wrapped me in their arms, leaving the last bit of warmth for me.

When the police arrived, I was the only one with a breath left.

What should I do?

Was I going to die here today too?

I sat on the floor, hugging myself tightly.

I don't know how much time passed. When I had lost the last bit of strength to maintain my body temperature—

The door blasted open.

Light from the outside flooded in, illuminating Liam standing in the doorway like a god descending from heaven.

"Liam!"

Unable to control my trembling body, I threw myself into Liam's arms, greedy for the scorching body heat unique to an Alpha. Then, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was in a VIP ward in the school hospital.

The room was empty.

I sat up slowly, remembering what happened before I passed out. I was about to go find Liam when I heard nurses talking in the corridor.

"The girl on the top floor just twisted her ankle during training, and the Dean called in all the orthopedic specialists. The Blackwood family's extravagance is ridiculous."

I paused, enduring the discomfort in my body, and walked toward the top floor.

At the stairwell, I saw Liam leaning lazily against the window, surrounded by those elite scions.

"Locking Harper Evans in the extreme freezer for an hour should be enough to vent Miss Chloe's anger. But Liam, why did you personally go save her? Aren't you afraid of getting her poor stench on you?"

I froze. Then, I saw Liam curl his lips into a cold smile.

"I just wanted to admire her wretched appearance when she was on the brink of death. That expression was truly delightful."

A chill shot up from the soles of my feet, sharper than the freezing wind in the cooler. My blood seemed to freeze instantly.

—It was Liam.

Locking me in the freezer was actually Liam's idea.

Six months ago, I told Liam about the trauma of my adoptive parents' death. Back then, he hugged me and said it was okay, that he would be my pack from now on.

But now, Liam chose to use my deepest fear to take revenge on me for Chloe...

Upstairs, Liam's tone remained arrogant.

"Harper should be awake. I have to go to her. Take good care of Chloe. Remember, don't reveal my true identity to her yet. I don't want to scare her."

I scrambled back to my ward. Just as I lay down, Liam pushed the door open.

Seeing me awake, he put on his perfect mask and asked with concern, "How did you get locked in the freezer yesterday? Do you know how dangerous that is for a werewolf who hasn't fully awakened?"

His worried expression was so realistic. For a moment, I couldn't distinguish which one was the real Liam—the one looking at me with concern, or the one smiling about watching me suffer.

It took a long time before I whispered, "I'm fine."

Liam held my hand, noticing the bandaged wound on my arm.

He frowned subconsciously, softening his voice. "Sorry, I was a bit anxious yesterday. Does it still hurt?"

Yeah, he was anxious about Chloe, so he forgot his disguise.

My heart seized with pain. I jerked my hand out of his grip.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Perhaps my movement was too abrupt. Liam looked at me with some surprise, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes—he didn't like being rejected.

My lips were pale as I smiled at him. "Really, it doesn't hurt."

Liam gave me an extra glance, seeming confused, but he didn't ask further.

I stayed in the hospital for a day. When I was discharged, the Evans family sent a luxury car to pick up Chloe.

Seeing me there too, the driver looked awkward. "Alpha George didn't mention the eldest miss was also in the hospital, so he only sent one car."

I hummed a response. "I'll take a taxi back myself."

I took out my phone, but Chloe leaned over, biting her lip.

"Sister is the future Luna. You must despise a car like ours, right?"

At these words, disgust immediately flashed in Liam's eyes.

My hand paused. I looked up to examine Chloe's pretentious act.

In this moment, I truly felt the DNA test must have been wrong.

Otherwise, how could Chloe and my parents be so alike, while I felt like I truly belonged to that SWAT couple...

I spoke calmly. "A year ago when I returned to the Evans family, the moment I got out of the car, Dad told the driver to wash it because it was tainted with 'dirty things' from the outside human world. Do I need to spell out who despises whom?"

Not expecting me to be so blunt in public, Chloe froze. Then her eyes immediately turned red, releasing a trace of aggrieved pheromones. She bit her lip.

"Sister, don't blame Dad. Blame me. I forced Dad to give the Blackwood engagement to you back then. Dad felt that breaking the blood oath with the Blackwoods would make the wolf clans look down on me, so he took his anger out on you."

Took his anger out?

Chloe's explanation was like a bucket of ice water poured over me.

No matter how strong I claimed to be, the malice from my biological father still drained the color from my face.

Right in front of me, Liam was releasing soothing pheromones toward Chloe, his heart aching for her. "No one will humiliate you because of this. It's not your fault."

Chloe's eyes were red. "Really? But they all say a rejected she-wolf will never find a mate."

Liam patted her head. "No. You're so wonderful, many people will want to be your mate."

"What about Student Liam?" Chloe looked at him expectantly. "Do you like me too? Would you want me as your mate?"

Liam froze.

I looked at Liam too.

I saw the tips of Liam's ears turn bright red. Then, as if making a vow, he said firmly:

"Of course. Of course I want you to be my mate."