I Won’t Reject You the Sixth Time Chapter 04

I Won’t Reject You the Sixth Time Chapter 04

Harlan wanted to keep persuading me, but then Liora threw a tantrum, so he had to rush off.

I went back to my manor and cleansed every corner with sage smoke, completely cleansing the traces of Harlan and Liora’s scents.

Seeing how resolute I was, Harlan sighed and started after me, but his aide whispered something about Liora, and he hurried away instead.

Later, I received a letter from Liora. She said I had given her so many valuable things that she was worried about losing them, so she wanted to return them to me in person.

I felt a flicker of sympathy for Liora. After all, I had saved her from a rogue’s lair with my own hands.

But when I arrived at the place Liora had chosen, everything went black, and I passed out.

When I woke up, I heard Liora whimpering and crying. I realized I was locked in a silver cage. Silver made me feel weak and sick.

I looked toward the sound. Liora was locked in another silver cage, hanging on the opposite side of the cave.

“Ivy… Ivy, I’m so scared,” Liora sobbed. “Rogues have us. They say only one of us can live.”

“She’s a liar,” my wolf said.

Soon, Harlan appeared at the cave entrance in his leather armor, his emerald eyes burning with anxiety. At the same time, several wolves wearing beast skulls around their waists emerged from the shadows.

“Let’s play a game, Alpha of Streamveil Pack,” one rogue growled.

“Pick one to take. The one left behind… we can’t promise what will happen to her. One is a princess. One is the princess’s sister. Go on. Choose!”

Harlan’s face darkened as he glanced between Liora and me. Then he suddenly snarled at the rogue, “Do you think I can’t tell that you and that she-wolf are in cahoots?”

Liora’s expression flickered.

“At least he’s not entirely clueless,” my wolf said.

But Harlan drew a dagger and slammed it into the rock, his voice resolute.

He glared at me. “You led warriors to clear out the rogue dens near the pack years ago. This was one of your battlegrounds! So how are there still rogues here, unless you’re working with them?”

I froze.

He remembered this was a place I’d fought… but did he not remember that Liora had been born in this very rogue den?

There was even a piece of cloth padding Liora’s silver cage. Since when were rogues so compassionate?

Harlan’s eyes were full of disappointment. “Ivy, I’ve told you before that there’s nothing between Liora and me. How far will you go to test me? Call off your people!”

I let out a scornful laugh. “Those rogues would love to kill me. Why would they work with me?”

But Liora burst into loud sobs. “Harlan, don’t choose me! Let me die here!”

“No!” Harlan glared at me again, then turned a tender look toward Liora. “If I choose the princess, you really might die. I can’t just ignore a life in danger. Unlike some privileged, heartless princesses.”

Those words cut me deep.

Harlan said to the rogue, “I choose Liora. Let her go.”

Liora shot me a triumphant smile. She mind-linked me, “Poor sister, you can just wait here for someone to rescue you…”

Harlan scooped Liora into his arms and walked away without looking back. He probably thought I was in no real danger, that this was all just a drama I had staged.

But he didn’t know that as he turned away, the rogue had already drawn a dagger and was walking toward me with a sneer. “Your Royal Highness, when you struck me down years ago, did you ever think this day would come?”

I laughed coldly. “I defeated you years ago. I can still defeat you today.”

I shifted into my wolf form, my smooth, pale gray fur seeming to glow.

I threw back my head and let out a low, summoning howl. My secret guards, who had been shadowing me, heard the call and came running.

Tall wolves surged into the den, tackling the rogues and tearing at their throats. I was freed.

I pulled out a dagger and gave the rogue a killing blow. Wiping the blood from my face, I walked away without looking back.

When I returned to the forest, Harlan was waiting in the distance.

His expression was uncertain, as if he had been hesitating about whether to come back for me. But when he saw me pass by him unharmed, his face twisted with anger.

“So you were the one behind this!” Harlan growled low behind me.

I didn’t want to deal with him. Because tomorrow was the day the royals chose their mates.

When the silver full moon rose high, packs from all over gathered on the barren Holy Mountain, which had no trees, only gray rocks.

The elders said it had fallen from the moon a hundred years ago. The temple was built on the mountain, also made of stone.

Inside the temple, the flames on the stone pillars flickered, making everyone’s shadows dance.

The Moon Priestess climbed the steps and sang a hymn of praise to the Moon Goddess. Then she waved her hands, and blue flames erupted from the silver chalice before her.

She reached into the fire and pulled out a glittering blue crystal. The flames still licked at it, but her hands were unharmed.

After the flames died out, the priestess handed me the crystal and whispered, “It is the Moon Goddess’s will.”

“It is the Moon Goddess’s will,” I replied.

I took the crystal in both hands. My old wounds still ached. Some from the Dark Abyss, some from five years of rejection.

My father, the Wolf King, watched me indulgently from the steps. Harlan stood among the wolves, looking tense.

I examined the name on the crystal and said calmly to the crowd, “The Moon Goddess has chosen my mate, Valerius Thorne.”

Valerius Thorne. Alpha of Ashveil Pack. A terrifying wolf who killed without mercy. Some wolves called him “Ares the War God” in fear.

Harlan’s expression relaxed. He had been worried I would draw his crystal.

Then he looked smug, waiting for me to throw a fit like I had for the past five years and demand another ceremony.

But I didn’t look at him. Instead, I looked at Valerius Thorne.

He had dark brown curls, pale gray eyes, and a body as handsome as a Greek statue. He stared at me without a word, like I was his enemy.

I smiled and announced loudly, “I, Ivy Moonglow, accept Valerius Thorne as my mate.”

Two wolves froze.

Harlan’s mouth fell open in shock. And Valerius’s ears turned quietly red.