Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 427 - 427: Who's There?

"Ruby? Is that you?" Everard tried connecting his thoughts to Ruby as he slowly and carefully approached the door.

There was no reply.

Still, Everard was hopeful that it was Ruby because, for a brief second, he caught a glimpse of a shadow that looked like a wolf.

"Who's there? Ruby? It's you, isn't it?" Everard tried to talk with Ruby once more.

Instead of a reply though, he saw that wolf-like shadowy figure jumping into the bush and trying to run away. Thinking that it was indeed Ruby who was trying to get away from him once again before even meeting him, Everard pushed his hind legs with great force and jumped in the air.

In just a few leaps, Everard was already standing outside, in front of the thick rose shrub.

At first, Everard was letting his guard down because he was sure that it was Ruby who was bound to come there after he ordered her.

However, the wolf that came out of that bush wasn't the beautiful wolf that he was expecting to see. Instead, it was a grey wolf that he had never seen before. He was sure of it since the smell that this wolf was giving off was new to him.

The Alpha instantly took a threatening stance and then loudly growled at that wolf who wanted to run away.

That grey wolf was absolutely terrified. Those pair of red eyes that were giving him a death glare made his heart quiver, followed by his weak legs. And soon, he bowed his head in submission and began to whimper and make low growling noises while avoiding looking at that scary black wolf.

Jerome soon came outside to check who the newcomer was. He was worried that it was an assassin sent by Regulus because of how things ended between Everard and him.

"Who are you?" Jerome placed himself before the Alpha and asked while giving an icy glare to that grey wolf.

The grey wolf kept on whimpering while lowering his head. And slowly, he also began wagging his tail.

Jerome folded his arms and kept on narrowing his eyes at that wolf. He was trying to figure out why this wolf smelled so different. He smelled like someone from the Crestfire clan, but at the same time, he also smelled like he was from some other clan. And it confused him.

As the wolf couldn't obviously answer Jerome, Everard did the questioning again. "Who are you? What are you looking for?"

That grey wolf suddenly turned into a statue when he heard a harsh voice inside his head. He didn't understand how it was possible to hear someone's voice in his head. What he did know was that he didn't want to give an answer, not to Everard.

However, he felt compelled to do so because something inside of him was forcing him to. Still, he fought with that urge and clenched his jaw like a human would. But the more he fought the urge, the more painful it was for him. His whole body was trembling with excruciating pain in no time.

Everard, on the other hand, was running out of patience. He didn't take the noncompliance well.

Thus, he took a step forward and asked while simultaneously growling at that weakling, "I asked who you are. What do you want?"

The grey wolf slowly lifted his head and stared at Everard for a few seconds before looking down again. He could tell that he had angered the Alpha, on their very first meeting.

'This is bad…' he thought to himself and decided to give in to the urge to answer. It didn't look like he would be able to do otherwise anyway.

The grey wolf didn't know if his voice would reach the Alpha, but he gave it a try and spoke in his mind, "M-My name is Cillian. Umm… I d-don't want anything. My legs just… just…"

"Started to move on their own?" Everard completed his sentence. The tone of his voice was way calmer than how it sounded just a few seconds ago.

"Yes!" Cillian instantly exclaimed when Everard understood him. Then he mumbled in a somewhat sad tone, "And before I knew it, I found myself here."

And before he would be punished, that wolf defended his action earlier, "I didn't mean to disturb you or cause any commotion. That's why I was trying to run away. But my legs wouldn't… follow my command."

"Ah! I see…" Everard sighed in relief knowing that this wolf was one of the new turners who belonged to his clan. But at the same time, he was disappointed that it was someone else and not Ruby.

Unlike how he had welcomed the other new wolves who came in earlier, Everard wasn't in the mood to welcome Cillian properly. He was feeling too miserable at the moment and just wanted to be alone.

Thus, he assigned the task of making Cillian comfortable to Jerome. "Jerome, he is a new wolf of our clan. Introduce him to the others and make him feel at home. I will rest."

Jerome immediately bowed to the Alpha and watched him go inside in a dejected manner. He sighed and shook his head, knowing the reason behind Everard's sadness.

He would have loved to go after Everard and give a few more pieces of advice but at the moment, he needed to focus on someone else.

Jerome looked at the grey wolf and then finally focused on that wolf's physique. He became a little concerned when he noticed something.

"Boy, your body doesn't look that healthy. Don't you eat properly?" he asked while showing his concern.

Jerome obviously didn't hear that wolf's voice in his head. Only the Alpha held the power to use telepathy to communicate with the werewolves regardless of the form they were in. However, Jerome sort of did get the answer from the way how that wolf's expression changed.

Jerome didn't want to keep on questioning someone who wouldn't answer him. Thus, for now, he decided to invite the wolf in.

"Why don't you follow me inside? I will introduce you to the others who also had their first transformation today."

Jerome began to walk ahead to show that wolf the way. However, he stopped when he realized that the wolf wasn't moving at all.

So, he asked once more with a polite voice, "Hey, you don't have to hesitate. After all, we belong to the same clan. We are like a big family. So, don't worry." Jerome flashed a warm smile before he jokingly said, "Nobody will bite you."

'Family, huh?' The wolf was still hesitant. That word felt very foreign to him.

'Is this really true? Do I finally belong somewhere?' he questioned himself.

He looked down at his paws. They had stopped trembling. And his mind and body were also at peace unlike how he had felt while trying to run back to where he came from. He didn't feel that pain and discomfort in his heart anymore.

It was obviously the sign that he indeed belonged to the Crestfire clan.

However, rather than being happy about finding a place where he belonged, Cillian felt as though his fate was enjoying mocking him.

He looked up at the full moon and shouted in his head, 'Why this pack? Why not the one which had already accepted me?'

Cillian closed his eyes when he felt as if even the Moon Goddess was mocking him. 'Are you punishing me for being the cause behind Ruby's imprisonment?'

His guilt trip down memory lane was suddenly interrupted by a warm voice.

"Hey, aren't you coming in? I was going to teach the other young ones to transform back into their human self before the full moon ended. I think it might come in handy for you too."

Cillian looked up at the full moon again. As his eyes glistened under the cool moonlight, he wondered, 'After everything that I did to Ruby, can I really join this pack? Will she ever forgive me if she knows?'

When the wolf didn't show any interest in following him, Jerome cleared his throat and decided to give some time to this young one. "I will wait for you inside. Come in when you are ready."

Instead of following Jerome, Cillian sat right where he was standing and kept on staring at the moon, reflecting back to everything that he did just so the Atkinson clan would accept him.

In the end, none of it mattered. The Goddess had chosen the very clan for him which he had started to hate without any reason whatsoever.

'This is the divine punishment that I deserve for betraying Ruby…' he whispered before getting up on his feet.

'Then I accept the punishment,' he mumbled in his head and then headed toward the Great Hall.

He walked in, knowing that his life might end the very day the Alpha would find out about the betrayal that he had done to Ruby. Although Ruby said otherwise, he had guessed that Ruby was still very precious to the Alpha. Else, why would anyone waste the resources in search of someone who wasn't dear to them?

The moment Cillian walked in, his eyes fell on the man on the altar, who was exuding an overwhelming aura of perfection and power.

Cillian's heart dropped when his eyes met with that godly man. And he regretfully thought to himself, 'That is the man that Ruby loves. I had no right to be jealous of the man I could never compete with, not even in my wildest dreams. Now, Ruby is the one who is suffering because of my jealousy…'

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