Mira’s POV
I pressed my back against the door, my entire body burning as though I were on fire.
The drug surged through me in waves.
My inner wolf thrashed beneath my skin, while a wave of uncontrollable desire overwhelmed my senses.
I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted blood, but even that sharp pain couldn’t put out the fire spreading through my body.
Then Elias’s voice came from outside the door.
“Mira, how are you? Is it bad?”
I breathed heavily through my mouth and refused to answer.
His voice came again, slipping through the crack beneath the door.
“Mira, open the door.
Let me help you.
I know how to make it better.
Come on.
Open up.”
”Bastard!” I hissed through clenched teeth.
My hands were shaking so badly that I could barely hold my phone.
I wanted to call the Pack Enforcement, but my thumb stopped just above the screen.
Then I remembered what Cale had told me.
“This is my number. If you’re ever in trouble, call me.”
At a moment like this, he was the only person who came to mind.
I also remembered my previous life, especially the image of him appearing at my memorial hall and demanding justice for me.
Without thinking any further, I dialed his number.
It rang twice before a man’s deep, cool voice came through.
“Hello.”
”Cale, I’ve been…
drugged.
Please help me.”
My voice came out broken and trembling.
Even I could hear how breathless and strangely sweet the drug had made it sound.
He didn’t waste time asking questions.
“Send me your address.”
Elias’s POV
I stood outside the apartment door for nearly twenty minutes.
According to my calculations, the drug should have taken full effect by now.
My mother had obtained it from a witch.
She said there was no antidote and that the only way to counter it was to mate.
There was no way Mira could withstand it.
No matter how angry she was with me, she would eventually have to beg me for help.
We had been together for three years, yet I’d never actually touched her.
Besides, Mira had always insisted on waiting until marriage.
I’d been focused on my studies and career, constantly thinking about how to move my family out of poverty and give us a place among the upper class.
I hadn’t wanted to waste time on romance.
But now that I thought about it, Mira was undeniably beautiful.
Her face, her figure, everything about her had always been enough to draw a man’s attention.
For the first time, I found myself wanting her.
I wasn’t ready to let this relationship go yet.
I just needed to be patient.
Once the drug reached its peak, Mira would have no choice but to open the door.
Just then, the elevator doors slid open.
A tall man with a cold, striking face stepped out.
It took me a moment to recognize him.
He was the man Mira had saved that night, the one who had been shot.
What was his name again?
Mira had called him a friend, but she had never told me much about him.
And now, this stranger had shown up at the worst possible moment.
To my surprise, he walked straight toward the apartment and pressed the doorbell.
“It’s me.”
The locked door opened immediately.
Through the gap, I saw half of Mira’s face.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes hazy, and her amber irises reflected nothing but the man standing before her.
I froze.
She’d been drugged, yet she’d called another man.
A furious rage exploded inside me.
I lunged forward and reached for him, but before I could touch him, Ryan stepped forward and caught my arm.
The next second, he slammed me against the wall.
The back of my head struck the surface hard, and my vision went black.
By the time I managed to steady myself, the door had already slammed shut.
Mira’s POV
The moment the door closed, the last of my self-control gave way.
The drug surged through my body like a flood, wiping away the thin barrier of reason I’d been clinging to.
I wrapped my arms around Cale’s neck, pressed myself against him, and whispered desperately, “Help me. It hurts so much.”
His jaw tightened. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
He gently pulled my arms away and looked straight into my face.
“Mira, do you know who I am?”
”Cale…
you’re Cale.”
The drug was pushing me toward the edge of consciousness, but I still recognized him.
His eyes darkened as he lifted my chin, studying my flushed, unfocused face.
“I can help you. But this is the apartment you shared with another man. I won’t do it here.”
I stared at him helplessly.
The drug had reached its peak.
If I hadn’t been holding on to the last shred of my willpower, I didn’t know what I might have done.
“Then… take me to your place.”
My voice was barely audible.
The next second, he swept me into his arms.
I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face against his shoulder.
His scent surrounded me, unfamiliar yet strangely comforting.
The moment I felt his presence, my inner wolf finally quieted.
It was as if she’d found somewhere safe to hide.
Cale carried me toward the door.
When he opened it, Elias was already pulling himself up from the floor.
His face was bruised, and blood stained the corner of his mouth.
Ryan had clearly made sure he couldn’t cause any more trouble.
The moment Elias saw me in another man’s arms, his expression twisted with rage.
“Put her down! Mira is my girlfriend!”
Cale’s lip curled with disdain.
He looked down at me.
“Your boyfriend seems jealous. Are you sure you want to come with me?”
A wave of hatred surged through me.
This was the man who had poisoned me to death in my previous life and tried to drug me again in this one.
“He is not my boyfriend!”
I forced the words through clenched teeth.
Then I reached up, hooked one arm around Cale’s neck, and kissed him right in front of Elias.
My lips met his in a clumsy, desperate kiss.
For a brief moment, Cale went still.
Then his arm tightened around my waist, keeping me steady, while his other hand settled against the back of my head.
The kiss deepened.
Elias stood frozen in the hallway.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at us, as though he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.