Julian didn’t get back until almost midnight. He tossed his jacket on the sofa and looked at the empty living room. He yawned as he asked the servant, “Why did Dad call me so many times yesterday?”
The servant, who was cleaning, respectfully answered, “Mr. and Mrs. Blake invited the Rosses for dinner; they were already here yesterday…”
Julian, still mad, grew impatient as soon as he heard the name “Ross” and cut her off.“Okay, you don’t need to tell me about their business from now on.”
With that, he went to his room. He woke up at noon the next day. When he went downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Blake were eating lunch and waved him
over.
Julian, call Shelly and ask if they’ve arrived at…”
He walked over, sat down, and coldly refused. “I need to go check out the venue for the mating ceremony. I don’t have time.”
Mrs. Blake didn’t push him. She just made a video call herself. The moment it connected, Grace’s call came in as well. Julian’s face lit up with a soft smile, and he put on his headphones.
“You’re up so early today? I’ll come pick you up, and we can get breakfast together.”
Julian stood up, glancing at Mrs. Blake as he walked past her. He saw Shelly’s face on the screen, a faint smile on her lips, with what looked like a hotel room in the background.
At this hour, why isn’t she home?
A hint of suspicion stirred inside him. Just as he was about to ask, he heard Grace ordering breakfast.
“I want pasta. Come over, and we’ll go together.”
He didn’t hesitate, walking to the entryway to change his shoes. He could vaguely hear voices from the living room.
“Shelly, have you arrived? How’s the weather there?”
Arrived where?
Did the Rosses go on vacation?
Julian could only think of one explanation, but he didn’t give it much thought and rushed out the door.
For the next month, Julian was swamped with wedding preparations, leaving early and returning late every day.
Time had slowly dulled his anger. He even started to let go of the bar incident, thinking that as long as Shelly came to him and apologized, he’d act like nothing ever happened.
But Shelly seemed to have disappeared into thin air. There was no news of her, no trace. Julian wasn’t worried, though.
He figured that no matter where she went, her family would definitely show up at his mating ceremony, given how close their families were.
Then, even if she didn’t want to come, she’d be dragged along.
He was so confident, so carefree, as if he could already picture their reunion. He even planned what he’d say to give her an easy way out.
But it wasn’t until the day before the mating ceremony, when he drove past the Rosses‘ house on his way home, that he saw the whole villa was dark.
He stopped the car to ring the doorbell and waited for a long time, but no one came out.
Looking at the dark house, an unsettling feeling of panic rose in Julian. He pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Shelly.
The last message was still the invitation to his birthday party. He couldn’t help but type a message.
“Just letting you know, my mating ceremony is tomorrow.”
His finger hovered over the send button for a long time, but he never pressed it. He was an Alpha, and with Shelly, he was used to being in control. He didn’t want to grovel to a Beta.
He was restless all night and barely slept. The next day, he got up at three or four in the morning to get ready and put on makeup. After picking up the bride and serving tea, he took Grace to the church for the mating ceremony.
He had been inside this church countless times before, feeling nothing but joy. But today, for some reason, looking at the romantic hall, Julian felt happy on the outside, but his inner wolf felt dazed.
14:46
3.2%
< Chapter 10
Was he really getting married?
Did he really want to marry Grace?
The moment he had wanted for so long was finally here, but he wasn’t as sure as he used to be.
Sign in to get coins
< Chapter 11
Chapter 11
