Third Person’s POV


    Hearing his beloved grandmother say this, Dwight’s heart sank.


    He sneered, “So, you all want me to submit. Fine, I’ll apologize. If she can take it, I’ll kneel to her. Are you satisfied now?”


    You…”


    Old Luna was nearly triggered a heart attack by his words. “Can’t you speak nicely? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Even if she is noble, you needn’t kneel. Just <i>a </i>sincere apology would do. Melinda <b>still </b>loves you and would forgive you.”


    Before Old Luna finished, Dwight stormed to the backyard.


    Luna Chloe screamed, “Follow him! Who knows what he’ll do next!”


    Melinda<i>, </i>who had dozed off after medicine, heard the noise outside.


    Recognizing Dwight and Georgina’s voices, she frowned. Why had hee here?


    “What’s happening outside?” she called weakly.


    She called out, and the maid standing by the curtain turned around and hurried over.


    “Melinda, you’re awake?” she said, lifting the curtains. “Dwight’se in a rage. Georgina and Paige are holding him back.”


    “Help me sit up and let him in,” Melinda said, her voice frail. “I want to <i>see </i>what he wants.”


    “Melinda, are you sure you want him toe in?” the maid asked.


    She recalled how he had pushed Melinda into the table, and her voice trembled with worry and anger, her light brown pheromones quivering.


    Melinda, clutching the bedclothes, said, “Don’t fear. With Georgina and Paige here, he can’t touch me.”


    Though weak, her determination showed.


    She had given up on Dwight but wanted to settle things face–to–face<i>, </i>if only to honor her cousin’s efforts.


    The maid helped her sit up and ced a soft pad behind her back, saying, “You mustn’t get out of bed, no matter what. The doctor ordered bed rest.”


    “I know,” Melinda replied nkly, her face pale and eyes dull.


    Ever since Luna Skye forbade her from ending her partner contract, Melinda had been lying about listlessly, her future uncertain and unknown.


    But today, with Dwight storming in so furiously, she felt a sudden surge of strength. Her usually dormant pheromones rippled faintly. She wanted to do something, to say something.


    At least, she couldn’t let Adide’s efforts on her behalf go to waste,


    The sound of steps grew louder as Dwight stormed in, his sulfurous pheromones hanging thick in the air a telltale sign of his lingering rage.


    But Georgina and Paige nked him, their steady oak–like pheromones forming a protective barrier. Upon reaching the bedside, they firmly blocked his path, preventing him from getting any closer.


    Melinda lifted her head, her eyes locking with his angry eyes, which were slightly red with fury.


    Before she could speak, he snarled, his wolf ws glinting faintly at his fingertips. “Want an apology? Here it is. I was wrong to push you. Sorry.” His words dripped with sarcasm.


    Melinda, silent and clutching her nket, radiated an icy calm.


    Her pheromones were like a frozenke–calm, but with a hint of cold beneath the surface<i>. </i>


    Dwight took a step forward but was immediately blocked by Georgina.


    He shot her a cold re, his vertical pupils narrowing to dangerous slits, and said, “I’ve apologized to you. But you made Willow fall down the stairs the other day. You should apologize to her too. Get up ande with me to say sorry.”


    Melinda’s eyes welled up, but sheughed brokenly. “Apologize to her?”


    Dwight red, his sulfurous breath intensifying. “I apologized. You won’t, thinking yourself above it? Trying to bully like your fuckin‘ cousin?”


    He tried to grab her, ws emerging.


    Georgina pped his hand away. “Talk, don’t touch,” she snapped.


    Dwight, furious, kicked the table, w marks marring the wood. “See? You all bully me! You’re so high and mighty, and your people here look down on me too.”


    Georgina was so angry that she wanted to p him twice more, her wolf ws were itching toe out. But she looked at Melinda, her heart filled with urgency, thinking, “You have a mouth, don’t you? Speak up! What good are those red eyes if you don’t speak?”


    Her oak–like pheromones trembled slightly with her impatience.


    Paige, seeing Melinda’s silence, also wanted to escort Dwight out directly.


    But Melinda suddenly spoke up. Her voice trembled with suppression, and her cedar pheromones from the Frostfang Pack suddenly turned cold. “First, I don’t ept your apology.”


    Tears in her eyes, she shook with suppressed rage, her pupils narrowing.


    But it was clear she was trying to control her anger, striving to speak in a calm tone.


    Her voice still trembled as she said, “Your apology is insincere. Even if it weren’t, what you’ve done to me can’t be erased by a simple ‘sorry. So, I don’t see your apology, won’t ept it, and won’t forgive you.”