Marked in Shadows

Two days were enough time for my wounds to finally heal. On the third day, I showed up at the office right on time.

There was a business negotiation with the Shadowridge Pack that day, so I went to Matteo's office to brief him.

Just as I reached the door, I heard Sabrina's flirtatious voice coming from inside.

"Matteo, these moonberries are so sweet. You should try one."

Through the crack in the half-open door, I saw Sabrina feeding Matteo a moonberry she had already taken a bite of.

Matteo, who never let anyone else touch his food, actually smiled and ate it before gently kissing her cheek.

He said, "Anything you feed me tastes sweet."

Sabrina giggled. "You used to run all the way up the mountain to pick these for me just because I said I liked them, and now that you're Alpha, you still pick them yourself."

Matteo gently stroked Sabrina's hair, his eyes filled with unconcealed love. "Just thinking about you eating moonberries someone else picked makes me jealous, so I'd rather do it myself."

Sabrina wrapped her arms around Matteo's neck and purred seductively, "Then, from now on, I'll only eat what you give me and only look at you. Would that stop your jealousy?"

Matteo did not answer. He just smiled, cupped Sabrina's face, and kissed her.

Sweet, intimate sounds filled my ears as I clenched my fists so hard that blood dripped from my palms to the floor. I took a deep breath and knocked on Matteo's office door.

"Alpha Matteo, Alpha Noah Steele from the Shadowridge Pack is already waiting in the conference room."

Only then did Matteo reluctantly release Sabrina. Just as he was about to get up, she pulled him back into her arms.

"Do you really have to go to this meeting? I'll be so lonely without you."

Sabrina pouted as she blinked her eyes pitifully. Her expression was so sweet it could melt anyone's heart.

Matteo replied, "Of course not. Business meetings aren't as important as my precious girl."

The Shadowridge Pack was one of the top packs in the region, and it took us great effort to convince them to give us this opportunity. The negotiation was crucial for our pack's future development as it could make or break us.

I reminded him again, "Alpha Noah only gave us two hours for this meeting. If we..."

Sabrina glanced at me with annoyance. "Does a lowly Beta like you need to tell the Alpha how to do his job? Who do you think you are?"

"That's not it... It's just that this negotiation is really important, and I don't want..."

Before I could finish, Matteo coldly cut me off. "Alyssa, Sabrina is the pack's future Luna, so show her some respect."

My grip on the files tightened. The moment I closed the door, I heard the two of them laughing inside.

Everyone in the pack knew that Matteo was an Alpha who always put pack interests first, and that was exactly why everyone respected and loved him.

However, for Sabrina's sake, he was willing to anger another Alpha and risk our pack's reputation. He loved Sabrina so much that he was willing to abandon his own principles.

I had no choice but to collect myself and go to the conference room to apologize to Noah.

He slammed his fist on the table in fury and unleashed all his anger on me. I could only stand there, taking the verbal abuse while stammering out apologies.

The negotiation ended badly.

As I dragged my exhausted body out of the conference room, Sabrina stopped me.

"Beta, Matteo's office looks a bit too plain. Go up the mountain and pick some wild daisies to brighten it up."

Wild daisies grew in places covered with thorns, and wolfsbane was hidden among them. One wrong move, and you would get poisoned.

I refused. "The Alpha doesn't like wild daisies. His office has always been decorated with roses only."

Sabrina's expression immediately soured. "Are you questioning me? Fine, then. Since you say Matteo doesn't like wild daisies, let's go ask him."

Just like that, Sabrina dragged me to Matteo's office.

The moment we walked in, she threw herself on him sweetly and purred "I just thought your office looked too plain and wanted her to pick some wild daisies to decorate it, but she said you don't like them. What should I do? I really want the whole office to smell like them."

Matteo gently comforted the pouting Sabrina.

Then, he turned to look at me and said, "Whatever Sabrina likes is what I like. Go to the mountain right now and pick wild daisies to decorate the office."

My heart sank, but I nodded. "Understood."

Sabrina turned her head from Matteo's embrace and flashed me a smug smile.

The mountain was extremely treacherous. Even as a Beta, I could not avoid the poisonous plants.

Sure enough, my ankle was accidentally cut by wolfsbane. It was not lethal, but it immediately swelled up until I could barely walk.

By sunset, I finally brought a large bundle of wild daisies to Sabrina.

Sabrina happily took the flowers and stuck them in every corner of the room. When Matteo walked into the office, he frowned at the overwhelming scent.

However, when he saw her cheerfully showing the flowers to him, he still indulgently ruffled her hair.

That was when he noticed me in the corner, covered in wounds.

My face had a gash from a thorn that was still bleeding, and my arms were covered in countless bloody scratches.

He muttered, "How could you be so careless?"

Then, he pulled out some ointment and stepped forward.

He dodged my outstretched hand and said, "You can't see the wound on your face. Let me apply it for you."

Matteo lowered his head, and his eyes were filled with heartache and regret as he looked at me.

Suddenly, Sabrina let out a shriek from the side. "Ouch! A thorn pricked my finger."

Matteo immediately pulled away and rushed to her side. "Where? Let me see."

Sabrina made a pitiful face and held out her pinky finger. "Right here... It hurts so much. Is it going to leave a scar?"

"Of course not. I'll take you to get it bandaged."

With that, he wrapped his arm around Sabrina and left the office without looking back.