Chapter 3

The next morning, I took my new form to the administration office.

The administrator looked at the paper and raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? You’re ranked third in the camp. People would kill for this spot."

I nodded. "I’m sure."

The moment the stamp hit the paper, I felt a slight pang of emptiness.

As I walked out, someone blocked my path.

Ethan stood there, frowning.

"Grace, did you change your house passcode?"

"I went back to see you last night after dropping Lily off, but the code didn’t work..."

I cut him off. "Yeah, I changed it."

He looked slightly miffed, but quickly brushed it off, trying to act close again. "What’s the new code? It’ll be easier for me to come over and take care of you."

I said calmly, "No need. I won't be living here after I leave the camp."

Ethan looked at the folded paper in my hand, as if suddenly remembering. "Oh, right. I almost forgot about that."

"Don't worry, Grace. I’ll go sign my dropout form tomorrow."

Since Lily’s arrival, Ethan and I hadn't walked together like this in a long time.

Suppressing the lingering bitterness, I tested him.

"Do we really need to go through all this trouble for each other?"

Ethan went quiet for a moment. "Grace, actually, I..."

"Ethan!" Lily suddenly appeared from behind, carrying a stack of training notebooks. She ran up and pouted at him.

"You promised to help me with my combat skills. Why did you disappear?"

She handed him the notebooks.

"I saw that your tutoring schedule for me goes on for the next two months, so I brought the materials."

She winked playfully. "You won't get mad at me for looking through your stuff, right?"

"Of course not..." Ethan’s smile was strained. He shot me a guilty look.

Seeing that I had absolutely no reaction, a flash of disappointment crossed his face.

Ah. So while you were pushing me away, you were already planning a future with someone else.

But that future never included me.

I forced myself to stay calm, though a wave of bitterness washed over me.

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay clear-headed. "You two have fun. I’m leaving."

Lily acted as if she had just noticed me, gasping in exaggeration. "Grace, Grace..."

"Are you mad because Ethan is training with me?"

"But I’m just a normal wolf. I don't have natural talent like you..."

As she spoke, she started sobbing again.

I had no patience for her drama. "Move."

The tiny bit of guilt in Ethan’s eyes vanished. He grabbed my wrist, his voice rising in anger.

"Grace, what is wrong with your attitude?"

He yanked me toward Lily and yelled, "Apologize to Lily right now!"

The last piece of my heart shattered into dust.

Without any hesitation, I raised my hand and slapped Ethan hard across the face.

"Ethan, the only person who needs to apologize here is you."

"And not to Lily. To me."