Chapter 354 The Gift in the Dark
<b>Leslie’s </b>POV
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Finished
The air was <b>so </b>still it felt frozen. I thought he would snap, that he would lose control and do something reckless. Even if he forced his way, I would never forgive him. Who forgives the dog after being bitten?
But with the slightest struggle, I pulled free of his grip.
He didn’t force me again. He let go, like the strength had been drained out of him.
I turned, let the door scan my face, and slipped inside. In one fluid motion, I shut it and leaned against the panel, exhaling slowly.
The room was dark, no lights on, the shadow helping to steady my pulse.
Through the window, I saw Kirby. He had already turned away, limping toward his car. Under the streetlight, his uneven steps cut harshly against the pavement.
I hadn’t held back with that kick.
My chest tightened, like something inside me tugged.
Was that pity?
No. He deserved it.
Asphodel hummed in my mind. <i>I </i><i>don’t </i><i>think </i>I’ve <i>ever </i><i>seen </i><i>Kirby </i>like <i>this</i>. <i>Looks </i>like <i>he’s </i><i>really </i><i>hurt</i>.
“He hasn’t suffered a fraction of what I have.”
I answered through the mental link, but my gaze still lingered outside.
I had been trying to forget the past, piece by piece.
Through the cooperation between Crimson Moon Pack and Rogue Pack, Kirby and I had faced life and death together more than once. I had thought we at least had some unspoken understanding.
And tonight?
All because I shared dinner with Adler, he resorted to such pathetic tactics, trying to p his mark on me and im me like property.
A man’s pitiful, brittle pride.
<b>18:59 </b>Mon<b>, </b>Sep <b>22 </b>
Chapter 354 The Gift in the Dark
I scoffed, refusing to waste more thought.
A 330
Finished
When Adler’s golden chrysanthemum was thrown into the trash, Kirby’s mint pheromones had burst in a suffocating wave of possessiveness.
But I wasn’t anyone’s trophy. And I would never be something he could mark at will.
Minutes ticked by. Yet no sound of an engine starting reached my ears.
My brows furrowed. Unease curled in my chest.
Why was he still out there?
His limping silhouette shed again in my mind—defeated, like some abandoned stray.
I bit my lip, forcing myself not to care, but the difort in my chest wouldn’t settle.
Asphodel grumbled. <i>Don’t </i><i>be stupid</i><i>, </i>Leslie<i>! </i><i>You’re </i><i>not </i><i>actually </i><i>thinking </i><i>of </i><i>going </i><i>to </i><i>him</i><i>, </i><i>are </i><i>you</i>? <i>After </i>what <i>he </i><i>just </i><i>pulled</i><i>? </i>
Her warning made me hesitate, but in the end, I opened the door.
And froze.
Kirby was standing right there, head bowed, his whole frame hollowed out as if his soul had been ripped away.
His eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with red. He clutched the dark blue gift box, now stained, the mark ugly against his long, clean fingers.
A jolt ran through me. My pine–scented pheromones stirred, edged with caution. “What are you doing here?”
He lifted his head. His gaze was shadowed, his voice low and raw, scraped from his throat. “I picked it back up. Please… don’t turn me away.” He held out the box, his hand trembling. The humility in his tone was <i>so </i>foreign I could hardly recognize him as the arrogant Alpha of Crimson Moon Pack.
I stared, my mind nk.
He picked it up?
That chrysanthemum he had thrown into the trash–he actually went and retrieved it?
An Alpha, proud to his bones, digging in the garbage?
Even Asphodel had nothing to say.
18:59 Mon, Sep <b>22 </b>
Chapter 354 The Gift in the Dark
My eyes shifted from the box to his face.
:
, <b><i>? </i></b>3 )
Finished
His mint pheromones weren’t aggressive anymore. They hung heavy instead, drenched in
sorrow<b>. </b>
I stood in silence for several seconds before speaking coldly. “Kirby, you think this makes me forgive you?”
He didn’t answer, just stared at me, the bloodshot streaks in his eyes burning deeper.
I took the box. My fingers brushed the stain, and something clenched inside me.
He let out a quietugh, bitter and raw. “Leslie, I know I was wrong. But I don’t want to lose you.”
His voice was low, almost pleading, yet his gaze never wavered, sharp and desperate–like a wounded wolf refusing to let go.
Send Gifts
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<b>30 </b>
Burn in the Alpha Princess’s Wrath
Chap