<TWO WEEKS AGO>

Red twilight rose over the western horizon as the sun slowly disappeared from the darkening sky.

The West Fort was going through a big rush. An army of wolves numbering a thousand arrived at the castle of the West Fort. When the troops arrived, the residents of a small nearby town were frightened and hid in their homes. Even a few were already preparing to leave there for fear of the chaos that might occur soon.

This was the beginning of the war.

Amid the bustling Almandine Duchy Pack members preparing their tents, a young woman walked up the stairs of the fort. Her steps did not waver in the slightest, and her body was firm. But on that tough figure, there was a glimpse of a sad look in her clear, with no ripples, pair of eyes.

Arriving at the top of the fort, the woman saw an old man standing tall. The man's head was covered with grey hair, and wrinkles settled on his face. He was the leader of the entire army of wolves that had arrived at this West Fort. The Alpha, Old Duke Almandine, slowly turned to the young woman.

The sound of the wind and the bustling sounds of the Fortress Castle could be heard in the background, but between the young lady who was walking closer and the silent Old Duke, there seemed to be only serenity.

When the woman arrived and bowed respectfully, the Old Duke simply nodded. The Old Duke and the woman were not in a hurry to start a conversation.

“How old are you, Marchioness?” The Old Duke opened the conversation with a strange question, but the old man sounded so gentle and calm.

Young Marchioness Harriet Goldlane furrowed her brows, but she simply answered.

"Two months ago, I turned 25, Your Grace," replied the young woman.

Old Duke Almandine nodded. His eyes stared straight at the west, where the sun and the boundary between sky and land met.

“Marchioness, let's make a deal,” said the Old Duke, suddenly.

Harriet lifted her face with a frantic expression.

“You want to save your brother, right?” asked the old man.

Harriet widened her eyes and nodded.

"I swear to find your brother's mate and help your brother make a full recovery."

The Old Duke's words made Harriet's face slowly return to being filled with hope. Her lavender eyes gleamed, and tears began to well up in her eyes.

“But in exchange, Marchioness, I want you to devote your life to our Almandine family and Lycan Pack for as long as you live,” The Old Duke spoke. His voice was no longer in a gentle and soothing tone. He spoke in a flat, firm tone, distressing Harriet.

The bad news kept coming like waves of the ocean eroding the rocks... all of it destroyed Harriet bit by bit in no time.

Harriet clasped her trembling hands together, as if in a pleading posture.

“Your Grace...” Harriet knelt. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I beg of you to protect my brother and me. I beg you to save us. I will give you everything, and I am willing to do anything... Your Grace...”

Harriet was just an ordinary woman. When the woman looked up, she saw the Old Duke's wrinkled face in the afternoon sun. There was a sad smile on his face.

"Child, I'm sorry I have to force you to do all this," he said softly.

Harriet looked at him confusedly with a face full of tears. She noticed the change in the way the old man addressed her. He no longer addressed her by her noble title.

“But I am an Alpha. I am responsible to protect my family,” the Old Duke continued and gently helped Harriet off the floor.

"And meeting you had given me new hope to save everything I've been fighting for," the man said, looking straight into Harriet's eyes, who looked up at him. He said sincerely, “Be the daughter-in-law of Almandine Duchy Pack.”

Harriet's eyes widened once more. This time she gasped.

There was a reason why Old Duke Armandine had been the Pack's Alpha for 200 years. Not because the man was so strong and irreplaceable… but because the old man had no heir.

“Give birth to a new Alpha from my grandson. That way, we will be bound by blood, and I can help your brother overcome his rampage period and find his mate,” said the Old Duke.

In that second, Harriet sold her soul to the Monster.

***

Harriet woke up feeling achy.

The breeze from the open window, the sun almost reaching the peak of the horizon, and the messy bed greeted Harriet. She glared at the man fast asleep beside her. However, a second later, her face turned red. Memories of the long night they had filled her brain.

At this moment, seeing the figure of the man, who was sleeping soundly, made Harriet unable to compare him to the monster from last night. One could say she had already sold her soul to this monster.

The woman's face became irritated again and she flicked her finger against the man's forehead as if to pretend to punish him. Seeing no reaction at all, Harriet gave up and rest her head on the man's chest.

She debated with herself whether she should wake up or go back to sleep, but then she felt something odd. Liam's chest rose and fell, indicating he was breathing.

However…

Harriet couldn't hear a heartbeat.

Realizing that, Harriet rose and gasped. She tried to listen more carefully and closed her eyes to concentrate, but she still couldn't hear it, even after waiting a long time.

Harriet slowly sat up. Her eyes widened at the sight of the handsome man who didn't move an inch. She couldn't understand.

Harriet sprinted down the tower steps without caring about her aching body or her cold bare feet. At the bottom of the stairs, she collided with a man. Secretary Daniel furrowed his brows at the sight of Harriet. She was running like a madwoman down the tower, with a frightened face and gasping for breath.

“M-Madam?! What is—"

"Sir Daniel—"

Harriet clutched Daniel's sleeve with a worried face.

“Young Lord… I can't hear Young Lord's heartbeat,” Harriet didn't realize the tears had rolled down her cheeks.

Daniel was surprised to hear that.

“Shouldn't we seek help? We have to do something, right?” Harriet looked expectantly at Daniel, who furrowed his brows in concern.

"Madam, sorry for not telling you, and sorry to have to tell you this way..." Daniel looked sadly at Harriet. “Young Lord, he… the thing that made him dying today is because he lost his heart 70 years ago…”

Harriet's eyes stared at Daniel in confusion. Then her gaze turned to fear, sadness, and disbelief.

“How can one live without…”

Daniel slowly helped Harriet straighten up. The man took off his robe and draped it on Harriet, who was only wearing a nightgown.

“Young Lord is able to survive to this day because of how strong he is,” Daniel replied. The man then smiled sadly.

Daniel had thought this woman had run away from her husband after a rough night of sex. After all, she was a woman who married by agreement, not because of her feelings.

But apparently, the woman was frightened and worried about the fact that she could not hear her husband's heartbeat.

Last night, when Harriet saw the man awake, moving and talking, she could believe he was alive. His body was warm and he breathed, and every living person had a heartbeat, so Harriet was completely oblivious even though their bodies had been close all night.

However, seeing the man lying still and not responding to anything Harriet did to him made Harriet so scared. Yes, it was true that the man was still breathing, but…

Harriet slowly composed herself. Daniel saw Harriet's pale face and decided to walk her back to her room first. But Harriet shook her head.

"Thanks, but I'll go back myself," Harriet straightened herself fully, and looked him straight in the eye. She told him, "Go back to work, Secretary Daniel.”

Daniel was surprised to see the woman had recovered from her shock in just a matter of minutes. He could still see how pale her face was, but her tough demeanor almost covered everything up.

The man bowed politely and watched as Harriet walked with a slight limp while holding on to the walls of the hallway, but with a straight back.

Daniel's brows furrowed, and his face turned red. He shook his head, erasing the memory of Harriet, who had red marks all over her neck and shoulders.

Young Lord was probably too brutal last night.