Olivia's point of view:

Goddess of the moon, please help me. I felt like I could see my life flash before my eyes. I tumbled down the stairs; I was definitely going to die. There were so many steps that I closed my eyes in fear, squeezing them shut, bracing myself for the broken bones I would have when I hit the ground, but that didn't happen. After five seconds, I felt fur; when I opened my eyes, I saw Lucian. He had transformed, enveloping me in his fur. We fell together; I didn't hit the ground, but I could hear the loud thud of Lucian's body. After letting go of me, he returned to his human form. I could see a bruise forming on his hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I looked down; my knee had a small bruise. Lucian touched it, and suddenly I was back in that horrible dungeon, with hands all over my body. I could hear the evil laughter.

Backing sharply until my back hit the wall, I crouched down and hugged myself, rocking back and forth, tears streaming down my face as I repeated my mantra.

—Please don't hurt me.

—I'm sorry, please don't hurt me.

Lucian immediately took a few steps back.

—I'm so sorry, I just wanted to see if you were okay.

I couldn't even register what I was saying. My eyes were fixed on my knee, on the spot where he had touched me. It burned.

"I'm sorry, please don't hurt me," I kept repeating, swaying as I continued to cry. Liana was whimpering too, her paw covering her eyes.

My vision blurred, I couldn't breathe. I put my hands on my chest, clutching the t-shirt I was wearing.

I don't know how much time passed, but when I came to, Valerie was crouching in front of me. She was hugging me, her hand stroking my hair.

—Shhh. It's okay, you're safe.

I stopped swaying when I snapped out of it. Valerie was here? How had she gotten here? How could she help me? Why did she help me? I thought she hated me.

I wasn't crying anymore. When Valerie saw that I had calmed down, she looked at me and tucked my hair behind my ears, because it was everywhere. I could see Lucian; he was a little ways away.

I felt guilty. He was trying to help. He saved me. And all I could do was have a panic attack when all he was trying to do was help.

"How are you feeling?" Valerie asked.

I looked at her again and nodded. I was very thirsty. We were still on the floor, so Valerie helped me onto the sofa. Lucian followed behind us, but kept his distance.

—Can I bring you some water?

I didn't understand why Valerie was being nice to me. Even so, I nodded.

She got up, brought me water, and I drank it in seconds. Everything became awkward and silent.

Lucian cleared his throat.

—The warriors... I'm supposed to meet with them for a meeting. I'll see you later.

"Okay," Valerie replied.

I didn't feel like answering. When Lucian left, the door clicked shut behind him. The air felt heavier.

"Well, I wanted to apologize," Valerie began.

What? Apologize?

"You don't need to look so surprised. I'm not such a bad person, I was just angry," she laughed uncomfortably.

I didn't say anything, so he continued.

—When I heard you were about to reject him, I was scared. I didn't want him to go through something like that a second time, so I took my anger out on you. I'm sorry about that.

To be honest, I knew his anger was justified. After all, he was about to hurt his twin in the worst possible way. I could understand his outburst.

—N-Nothing's wrong, I-I'm s-sorry too—I stammered.

"So, you really want to reject it?" he asked.

I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say.

"Look, I can't force you to change your mind, but Lucian has been through so much. He deserves the best. You should give your bond a chance. Try it. Take a leap of faith. I'm not just saying this because he's my brother, but Lucian is a good man."

I knew he was a good man, but what had to be done, had to be done.

—They don't even have to rush anything, they can take it slow, even be friends.

At that, I turned to look at her.

—Friends? Can we really be friends?

—Yes, it's better that both of them go through pain.

She was right. Being friends while being colleagues is almost impossible and difficult, because the bond between colleagues is meant to unite them. Our bond isn't that strong; being friends could work.

"Okay, I won't reject him. I'll be his friend," I said.

"Oh, that's great!" Valerie said enthusiastically.

When he wasn't making fun of people, he was a nice person, I noticed.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Just then, my stomach growled. She laughed, while my cheeks burned with embarrassment.

—I don't know how to cook shit, but we can order food.

Valerie ordered pasta. It tasted heavenly. After we finished, she stayed another hour before leaving, saying she had something to do. I was left completely alone in the huge house.

Determined to watch a movie, I grabbed the remote. I hadn't watched a movie in years, so I didn't know how the remote worked. Sadly, I dropped it.

Crossing my legs, I sighed. I ran my hands through my hair; it was so greasy. I hadn't washed it when I showered earlier, so I decided to wash it. I stood up and headed to the beautiful room Lucian had given me. The room was so big!

Entering the bathroom, I decided to use the bathtub. I just had to figure out how to fill it with water and wash my hair.

Lucian's point of view:

I arrived at the house and it was silent, an alarming silence. I couldn't see Olivia anywhere, nor Valerie.

—Olivia!

—Little wolf!

I received no response.

Panicking, I ran upstairs to her room, hurriedly opening the door.

Olivia stood in the middle of the room. Water dripped from her long locks of hair; a towel was wrapped around her as she dried her hair with another. I swallowed.

She looked at me with wide eyes.