16
He arrived at the Ashen Pack grounds just as the day’s activities were starting, pack members coming and going, all casting sympathetic glances towards a certain spot near the Council Hall.
Isabelle was disheveled; she hadn’t slept all night, having been forcefully pressed onto her knees on the ground by guards for a long time, and was on the verge of collapsing, but what she couldn’t stand the most were the eyes of the pack coming and going.
Her wolf whimpered in humiliation.
She had been so glorious before, a favorite of the Alpha, but now she was so humiliated in public. Isabelle wished she could kill Zoe. Her inner wolf howled with rage.
She screamed hysterically, her voice echoing across the training grounds.
“Zoe, it’s all your fault, you bitch! It’s all because of you! Otherwise, Ethan wouldn’t treat me like this! Why don’t you just die! It’d be better if you died. How dare you try to steal Ethan; you’re just a… a stray!”
She screamed non–stop, everyone heard her curses, but times were different now; having lost Ethan’s favor, her behavior drew the scorn of others.
Some pack members who were close to me refuted Isabelle one after another.
“How could you say that about Zoe? She’d been diligently serving the pack for four years, never once doing anything wrong. You’ve been bullying her ever since arrived.”
you
“That’s right! Zoe didn’t do anything wrong. Isabelle, you’re going too far. Now that Zoe’s gone, you still won’t leave her alone.”
“You’re clearly the one who’s been provoking Zoe all along, and now you’re talking about others. I think you’re the real… rogue, aren’t you?”
Whispers surrounded her, pack members pointing fingers at her, as if she were a rabid wolf. Isabelle was practically seething with rage. Her inner wolf clawed at the surface, desperate to lash out. She wanted to get up and slap each person, but because she was pinned down by guards, she could only remain on her knees, screaming.
“You’re all… strays! What did Zoe ever do for you to take her side like this? You’re all siding with her! Did she… bribe you with scraps?!” She was throwing a fit, spewing out whatever came to mind, making everyone else frown.
At this moment, Ethan, who had rushed over, happened to hear all of this, and his expression grew even colder.
He had originally intended for Isabelle to kneel there and realize her mistakes, but he hadn’t expected her to persist in her ways, blaming everything on Zoe.
He walked over quickly. The Ashen Pack members, seeing Ethan arrive, instinctively cleared a path, and even the guards released their grip.
Isabelle, now free, paid no mind and crawled directly to Ethan’s feet, holding onto the man’s thigh and crying with a resentful expression.
“Ethan, help me! Look at these people, they’re all Zoe’s… pets! I’m being bullied, Ethan, hurry up and banish all of them, banish them!” Her wolf cried out for protection.
As she spoke, she turned her head and fiercely pointed her finger at the pack member who had just retorted to her.
“Her! Her! And him! They’re all… rogues!”
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< 16
Mens
Isabelle was furious, and the pack members who were pointed at also lowered their heads, not daring to speak. But Ethan didn’t help her vent her anger as Isabelle expected; instead, he kicked her away, his wolf bristling with distaste.
I told you to realise your mistake, and this is what you do? Isabelle, you’re nothing now, yet you dare to slander others. I never realized your heart was so vicious.”
“I heard everything they just said. They weren’t wrong, and Zoe didn’t do anything wrong. It was all you, you were the one who forced
her away.”
Isabelle fell to the ground, tears in her eyes.
“I’m the one you chose! Ethan, you chose me!”
Ethan looked down at her coldly from above.
“The only one I choose is Zoe,” He said something that no one expected.
Some were surprised, some were shocked, but Ethan felt a surge of relief. He had delayed this sentence for four years, and finally, he said it. His wolf felt lighter, freer.
He curved his lips, ignoring Isabelle’s collapsing expression, and repeated it again, letting the bond he felt toward Zoe resonate within the pack.
“I crave Zoe.”
“As for you, my feelings for you are long gone. This period of time was a mistake. I will find Zoe and be with her. Isabelle, you may leave the Ashen Pack.”
The she–wolf’s pupils dilated, filled with disbelief. When she truly got this answer, she cried and laughed at the same time, her wolf howling in despair.
“You’re letting me go? Ethan, let me tell you, Zoe wasn’t forced away by me at all, it was you!”
“Do you think I don’t know what you two did?! You shared a den with her for four years, never giving her a proper blood bond. The moment I came back, you eagerly latched onto me. The one who truly forced her away was you!”
His relationship with Zoe had never been exposed in the Ashen Pack.
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked, and Ethan’s just–softened expression also turned grim.
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17
