Chapter 24: Chapter 24

[Margaret’s POV]

The way Armstrong was staring at me made me feel a little uncomfortable.

I looked away, pretending to be interested in the potted plants on his desk.

“I miss you, Margaret.” I heard Armstrong sigh softly. “A lot has happened in the tribe. I’m the Alpha, but I feel powerless. Elizabeth, she’s not as good as you used to be.”

Armstrong’s words pierced me.

Many times back then, I thought about what Armstrong would say to me. He would tell me that he thought I was better. That I was the best one. That he needed me and missed me.

Even if it was just one sentence!

It would have made me feel less miserable and pulled me out of my endless self-doubt and struggle.

But he had to say it to me now. After Donald and I became partners, I was as needy as I was back then. Some people, some things, some words—I had to let them go. I couldn’t start over.

Everything Armstrong said now faded with time. Like a charcoal fire delivered in the summer, or a code book after the war, it might still mean something, but it was useless.

I couldn’t respond to Armstrong. I used to miss him every night after I lost him.

But it was all in the past.

Armstrong understood my silence. He had always understood me and my emotions. At the thought, my heart ached again.

“But you already have the Lycan King. It’s useless for me to say these things, right?”

Armstrong said nonchalantly. His eyes followed mine to the potted plants.

“I heard that the neighboring tribe was attacked.”

I changed the subject stiffly. I didn’t want to discuss my current partner with my ex or listen to him reminisce about our past. I didn’t like this.

“Yes, a very serious attack,” Armstrong replied. “The Lycan King said that it might be someone from the werewolf royal family. I’ve been deploying reinforced patrols, but I know that might not work. I’ve seen those injuries with my own eyes. We’re not strong enough to withstand them, but I still have to do this.”

“From the werewolf royal family?” I frowned. Donald had never mentioned this when he told me about the attack.

“I take it the Lycan King didn’t mention it to you.” Armstrong saw through my thoughts again easily. “That kind of power isn’t something ordinary werewolves can have. We suspect now that they may have some other special abilities, but we don’t know exactly what they are. But there’s no doubt that’s scary.”

“Are you okay?” I blurted out.

“Me? Yes, I’m fine, Margaret.”

I realized that what I just said sounded like concern for him. But we had a six-year relationship, after all. How could I look at Armstrong like he was a stranger? I realized that Armstrong and I should see each other less before we could better deal with each other.

But Armstrong didn’t think so. He looked at me affectionately. In this office we were both familiar with, we had just talked about the tribe. Everything seemed like it was before he and Elizabeth became partners. I felt like we had reversed time and nothing had happened between us. The feeling suffocated me.

I saw Armstrong walk around his desk toward me. His expression was one of love that I was familiar with. I wasn’t sure what month it was now. He held me and touched my back gently, like the way he used to comfort me every time.

I came to my senses and pushed him away.

“What are you doing?!” I looked at him in disbelief.

“You were worried about me just now, right? I was worried about you too. From the moment I found out that the neighboring tribe was attacked, I was worried about your safety. I was afraid that if our tribe was attacked, you would be hurt too, so I rushed back as quickly as I could. I wanted to make sure you were safe. Then I saw you in the Lycan King’s room. That was when I knew that you had always been the one I loved. I had actually been regretting what happened on the day of your coming-of-age ceremony. I was too impulsive. Elizabeth shouldn’t have been my partner.”

This must be the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard in the world.

With just a few words, he had written off everything that happened previously and even made himself look like an affectionate and innocent victim.

“You mean that everything is the Moon Goddess’s fault?”

No, no! It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been so impulsive, and I shouldn’t have been so cowardly afterward. The thought of rejecting my partner hurt me, and I didn’t know how to face you. But I love you, Margaret. You’ve always been the person I love the most. ”

Everything in the world was so ridiculous. When I lost Armstrong, it was like I lost the whole world. Nothing belonged to me.

But after I had Donald, it seems that I could have Armstrong again. Even my friends, my sister, everything belonged to me. Good luck and bad luck always came at the same time. They couldn’t be distributed to make you feel better.