My Ungrateful Shifter Auctioned Me Away—Now He’s Begging for My Return Chapter 11

My Ungrateful Shifter Auctioned Me Away—Now He’s Begging for My Return Chapter 11

A corner of the research facility outside town had collapsed in the storm.

A colleague contacted me and said I needed to go there urgently to check on the lab equipment and

materials.

I would probably be gone for a few days.

The night before I left, I went downstairs to inventory Silas’s nutrition packs.

When I came back, I realized Rowan had followed me downstairs at some point.

He was shirtless, low-slung lounge pants his only covering.

His body should have been pale and flawless, but now it was marked with bruises, blue and purple

in patches.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Rowan said quickly. “I got these from falling outside.”

He moved closer to me.

When he reached me, he dropped to one knee and lifted his fragile, slender neck.

Moonlight fell across his face, and behind him, his fox tail swayed in small, nervous motions.

“Evelyn… Guardian…”

“What did Silas do for you?”

The end of Rowan’s voice trembled. He took my hand, pressed it to his throat, then slowly guided it

downward.

“I’m beautiful too, right?”

“Anything he does for you, I can do too.”

“Guardian, I can make you feel good.”

I lowered my eyes and watched him quietly.

My hand did not follow his guidance downward.

Instead, I locked my fingers around his windpipe, slowly cutting off his plea.

Rowan shivered, but he did not struggle. He even leaned closer into me.

Only when pain appeared on his face did I frown and let go.

“Why do this to yourself?”

“Rowan, what you did wasn’t some petty tantrum. I won’t tolerate you the way I used to.”

“You betrayed me.”

“The day I bought you, I had just been pushed out of my family home because my stepmother said I looked gloomy, that my personality was unpleasant, and that I would be a bad influence on her

children.”

“No one liked me. No one stayed by my side. And that day, through the glass, the way you looked at me was full of dependence and longing.”

I pulled a fleece throw from the sofa and draped it over Rowan’s thin shoulders.

Then I turned and went upstairs.

Just as I stepped onto the stairs, I looked back. There was no warmth in my eyes.

“I probably gave you too much safety. So much that, even now, you still believe I would be willing to take you back.”

“But to be honest, I need safety too.”

“I need it very badly.”

“So I will never forgive your betrayal.”

Rowan’s shoulders trembled. Slowly, he bent forward and no longer dared to look back at me.