Ava’s world shatters when she overhears the Alpha she’s loved for five years admit his crippled act was a cruel ruse to punish her. For 98 rain-drenched days, Ethan faked agony with wolfsbane, letting her believe he needed her—all to avenge a childhood illness that “cost” him his Luna. “99 times, then it ends,” he cold-bloodedly tells his Beta, unaware she’s eavesdropping. Her heart breaks further as she plays along, forced to watch him flirt with Lila, a fake healer brought in to replace her. When Lila parades from Ethan’s room in silk pajamas, marking her neck with “medical” bites, Ava’s blind loyalty snaps. The man who once soothed her nightmares now gaslights her, calling her “filthy-minded” for doubting his lies. As she uncovers his ability to walk—every midnight “massage” a mockery—Ava plots escape. But Ethan’s final act of betrayal looms: the 99th rainstorm, a trap disguised as need. Will she break free from the man who weaponized her love, or drown in the wreckage of his five-year lie? Chapter 1 When I delivered Alpha Ethan’s painkillers in the heavy rain, I heard him talking to his friend. “Ethan, you are too good at pretending. You have been bound to a wheelchair for five years since the ‘accident’. Ava is also a fool. She has served you for five years and didn’t even notice that there was nothing wrong with your legs.” His friend, Beta Declan, chuckled, “I can’t even remember how many times you asked her to deliver medicine in the rain.” I only heard Alpha Ethan speak coldly, “98 times, what do you care about her?” Another voice was silent for a while, “I didn’t, but after all, you raised her as a child, are you really willing to do that?” Ethan replied, “If she hadn’t pretended to be sick on the day Sophia left, I wouldn’t have failed to win back my Luna. This is her punishment. The game will end after 99 times.” Outside the door, I tightly grasped the painkillers in my hand, feeling so heartbroken that I couldn’t breathe. I thought Alpha Ethan didn’t care about other wolves’ eyes and kept me by his side because he felt the mate bond. I didn’t expect it was just to retaliate for my illness that day and delayed his pursuit of Sophia, the former Luna. Okay, he sheltered me in his pack for five years and I would pay him back for five years. After that, we would not see each other again. I waited in the hotel lobby until I calmed down before I walked to the box again. After the knock on the door, there was a commotion inside. Everyone’s smiles faded. “Ava, why did you come just now? Alpha Ethan is sweating from the pain. If you don’t want to serve Alpha Ethan, just say so. If you hadn’t been so shameless as to rush to take care of him yourself, his legs might have healed long ago.” The voice was the same as before, it was Beta Declan, Ethan’s closest subordinate. I ignored his strange voice and walked in front of Alpha Ethan. His expression was ugly, as if he had endured great pain and beads of sweat were clearly visible on his forehead. But I clearly smelled a strong smell of wolfsbane on it. This was the drama he had performed for me 98 times before and the funny thing was that I didn’t notice it at all in the past five years. “What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get the medicine.” Seeing that I was not like usual, Beta Declan grabbed my wrist and threw me to the side. I fell heavily to the ground and the wound that was knocked down by someone because I was in a hurry broke again. But no matter how deep the pain in my knee was, it was not even one-tenth of the pain in my heart. Ethan, you were really a good actor. In order to punish me, you even pretended to be disabled in a wheelchair for five years. “Declan, stop it!” Alpha Ethan’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up and saw him maneuvering the wheelchair in front of me, trying hard to help me up. “Ava, I’m sorry, Declan didn’t mean it, he was just too worried about me.” I refused his help and tried to force a smile on my face. “I know, I took too long. You must be in pain.” Hearing what I said, the tension in Alpha Ethan’s eyes immediately relaxed. I knew that my performance just now made him suspicious. The Hawthorne Pack was extremely powerful. As a human fostered in the pack for five years, I knew better than anyone how absolute Alpha Ethan’s authority was. If I didn’t listen and play this scene with him, the consequences would never be better than now. I gave the medicine to Beta Declan, told him to take good care of Alpha Ethan and left on my own. Just because Alpha Ethan said he didn’t want me to see him taking medicine—he said it would make me sad, and if I was sad, he would be unhappy. In fact, not only would I be sad, but every time I turned around, I would pray for his legs to heal. Even if it costed me my life. Chapter 2 Before I walked far, I could vaguely hear loud laughter coming from inside. “Ethan, you saw it, we successfully fooled her again. Next time I will be more prepared. Just a little scratch is not enough to make her realize her mistake. And you have to pay for all the wolfsbane today. I have prepared a mysterious gift for you.” Alpha Ethan was silent for a moment. “Ask the waiter to put it on my tab.” I walked back to the pack villa in my soaking wet clothes, their laughter replaying in my mind. My hope for the mate bond with Alpha Ethan disappeared with every step I took. Until I saw a woman dressed exquisitely at the gate. I suddenly realized that this was the gift Beta Declan prepared for him. “Miss, please make way, you are blocking me,” she said. I hurriedly stood aside and waited for her to go in. “Isn’t this the best hotel? How come someone dressed like this appears? It’s really disappointing.” That woman said to me as she looked at me upside down. I thought it was really Sophia, the former Luna, who came back, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I knew it wasn’t. Sophia was raised in a noble pack and it would never be possible for her to say such a thing in public. It turned out she was Lila Blackwood, the Beta Female Declan had found as a substitute. On the way back to the Hawthorne Pack villa, I contacted my aunt who was away for the first time. Five years ago, in order to take care of the “disabled” Alpha Ethan, I did not agree to go abroad with her. This time, she agreed to help me get a new identity without asking anything—human identities were easier to forge outside pack territories. Before that, I just needed to maintain the status quo and serve Alpha Ethan as usual. Unfortunately, Alpha Ethan did not show up for the next three days. His assistant told me that there was an emergency in the pack—only he could handle it. “Ava, I’m already here. I’m safe and sound, you should have a good rest and don’t run around.” Alpha Ethan called me as usual after arriving at the place. This was our agreement, to tell each other that we were safe at any time. The year I first arrived at the Hawthorne Pack, I made an appointment with several human classmates to travel. On the way, we were threatened by a rogue werewolf and locked in a small dark room. He mobilized the pack warriors to find us who were hungry and scared. He asked me to call him when I went out. He had kept this habit for so many years. But this time, I clearly heard a charming female voice from the other side. “Alpha Ethan, come and see, do you like this sample? I’ll wear it for you to see.” “Don’t make trouble.” I said shortly as I hung up the phone bitterly. The appearance of this woman made Alpha Ethan’s lies clumsy. Since he couldn’t move his legs, he never went on pack business trips. Besides, with the current strength of the Hawthorne Pack, there would be no problem that only he could handle, unless the pack was under siege. While he was away, I stepped up my plan to leave. The weather forecast said that it would rain in five days—and that would be the day I left the Hawthorne Pack. Alpha Ethan was back, and he brought Lila Blackwood back to the pack villa. “Where have you been? The housekeeper said you always go out recently.” I greeted him. Alpha Ethan looked at me who had just entered the door with an unhappy face. I took out the herbal medicine bag in my hand and shook it. “I just found a human pharmacist with good skills. Just when you are back, I will make it for you to soak your feet in the evening,” I explained. His eyes looked at the medicine bag for a moment. “Yeah,” he replied casually. My tense heart relaxed immediately and I handed the medicine bag to the housekeeper and walked over to push him naturally. Unexpectedly, I was pushed away by the woman behind him—Lila Blackwood. “Ava, this is Lila, the private Healer that Declan hired for me. She will arrange my daily care in the future, just listen to her instructions.”
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