The System Said I Wasn’t the Heroine, So I Left My Alpha and He Broke Down Chapter 02

The System Said I Wasn’t the Heroine, So I Left My Alpha and He Broke Down Chapter 02

I had never felt this awful before. I’d had a biting dependency since I was little. It was something left over from when I was a young pup losing my baby teeth, and Adrian discovered it before I ever got the chance to tell my parents.

Back when we were still in preschool at Seattle Waldorf School, he grabbed my chubby little wrist and started pulling me toward the teacher.

“Elena, who bit you? Tell the teacher. I’ll get them.”

I stared at my wrist, which was covered in bite marks, and kept backing away.

“I did it myself.”

I didn’t know why, but my teeth were always itching. The sensation seemed to spread from my teeth all the way into my chest, so unbearable that sometimes it made me want to cry. But I was too scared to tell my parents.

The day before, I’d watched a movie about hunters chasing down werewolves who had lost control. The ones who went around biting people were eventually subdued with silver weapons. The more I thought about it, the more terrified I became.

Adrian stared at my wrist in silence for a few seconds before holding out his own.

“You’ve already bitten yourself hard enough to bleed. That hurts.”

“Next time it gets bad, bite me instead, Elena. I’m an Alpha. I can take it.”

And just like that, I kept biting him from preschool all the way through high school. Then one winter, Adrian injured his arm during hockey practice and had to wear a hard cast. I ran my fingers over the solid plaster and asked him,

“Does it hurt?”

Adrian didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled down the zipper of his turtleneck and exposed his slim, pale neck. By then, Adrian already had a sharp, defined Adam’s apple.

He was much, much taller than me, but his skin was still that same cool, pale shade.

“Elena, bite here when your teeth start itching from now on. I wear turtlenecks anyway. No one will see.”

I jumped in surprise. The tips of Adrian’s ears were bright red, and I immediately shook my head.

“Biting your neck looks way too much like marking. No way.”

“Don’t you still have another arm?”

Silence fell between us for a few seconds. Adrian cleared his throat.

“I need my right hand to write. Exams are coming up…”

That winter was when Adrian first started letting me bite his neck. There was less to bite at his neck than at his arms, but the skin there was softer. His arms weren’t soft like they’d been when we were little anymore.

They were all hard muscle now, and more than once, biting him had actually made my teeth ache. Besides, Adrian had a tiny mole beneath his ear, close to his scent gland. Whenever I gently bit that spot, the skin around it would turn pink, making the mole stand out even more.

So I accepted his solution. Eventually, I even grew to love it. That lasted until Adrian’s mother noticed he was still wearing turtlenecks in the summer.

After that, he stopped letting me bite his neck and had me bite his shoulder instead.

[Do you know why he stopped letting you bite his arm all the time?]

The system suddenly asked. I already felt miserable enough and didn’t want to answer. The system clearly didn’t care whether I responded.

[Because later, the real female lead is going to give him a leather partner bracelet symbolizing their relationship.]

[If you keep leaving bite marks all over his wrist, wouldn’t that get in the way?]

I irritably covered my ears.

[I don’t know. Just shut up!]

The system seemed startled by how sharply I snapped.

[You’re just a side character who grew up with the male lead. Don’t tell me you’re actually going to turn into the villainess.]

It had just started listing all the miserable endings waiting for villainesses when the doorbell rang. Adrian stood outside holding a tray. As we’d gotten older, Adrian had become quieter and quieter.

He rarely talked much anymore, but he had always been gentle enough with me. His mother loved baking. Ever since eighth grade, he had brought over whatever dessert she made almost every day.

“My mom made blueberry cheesecake.”

As he spoke, I stared at the tray. Some part of me still desperately hoped the system had gotten everything wrong.

[Adrian has always been good to me.]

[There’s no way he’d throw me out of his life just because some female lead who hasn’t even shown up yet is coming.]

[Those horrible endings you keep talking about aren’t going to happen to me.]

The system immediately argued back.

[You’re only saying that because you’ve known him too long to see it clearly.]

[From where I’m standing, the male lead looks completely fed up with you.]

[If his mother hadn’t asked him to bring this over, do you really think he’d still come?]

[Didn’t you notice how messed up his breathing and scent became when you bit him earlier? He was obviously holding back his Alpha temper.]

[Don’t believe me? Test it yourself.]

Fine. I’d test it myself. When I reached out to take the tray from Adrian, I deliberately stepped a little closer than usual. The moment my fingers brushed against his, Adrian’s entire body went rigid.

The very next second, the tray hit the floor with a sharp clatter. He jerked backward.

“Sorry, Elena. I lost my grip…”

He immediately crouched down and hurriedly started cleaning up the fallen cake. The smile on my face completely froze. The system clearly enjoyed watching me embarrass myself.

[He didn’t even look at you just now.]

[Look how fast he’s cleaning everything up. He probably can’t wait to get out of your house.]

I lowered my eyes to Adrian’s dark hair and broad shoulders. For the first time, I suddenly realized he didn’t look anything like the little boy I remembered anymore. My gaze lingered on the bright red tips of his ears.

And for the first time, I fully understood that we had both grown up.

“Adrian, thank your mom for me.”

“And… I’ve been watching what I eat lately, so you don’t have to bring cake over anymore.”

He looked up at me with a frown.

“You’re dieting? Why? You’re not fat.”

I was already in a terrible mood and didn’t feel like explaining.

“Either way, don’t save any for me anymore. Your mom can give the cake to someone else, and you don’t have to go out of your way to bring it over.”

When Adrian left, he was obviously in a bad mood. The system started lecturing me again.

[This is a behavioral issue that can be treated. Why didn’t you just deal with it earlier instead of clinging to the male lead all this time?]

[Didn’t you see how distracted he looked when he left? You obviously ruined his mood again.]

I lay on my bed without saying anything. The next morning, Adrian and I went to school together, but my thoughts were a complete mess. The system had spent half the night telling me even more stories about the horrible endings waiting for villainesses.

I’d had nightmares all night because of it.

“Elena, today you…”

Adrian, who had been walking ahead of me, suddenly stopped and turned around. I didn’t have time to stop. I crashed straight into his chest.

Adrian instinctively caught me before I could fall. His arm locked tightly around my waist. I lifted my head.

Adrian’s expression had gone stiff. And from this close, the scent of an Alpha wrapped around me so completely that I could barely sense anything else.