Chapter 6: Chapter 6: The Werewolf Family

Lila’s POV

“Lila?” Jasper’s deep voice came through the door, tinged with a subtle tension. “Are… are you okay?”

I shot up in bed, my heart pounding like a drum. The dream I just had still lingered in my mind—a moonlit forest, a pack of wolves growling, and me standing in the middle of it all, a searing heat on my neck like a brand. I could even smell the scent of pine needles mixed with blood.

His voice was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing all my chaotic thoughts, yet it ignited a different, deeper unease. ’Why is he here at this hour? Could it be… he sensed my dream?’

“I’m fine…” I answered, my voice hoarse. My fingers unconsciously drifted to the side of my neck, where the warmth of his lips and teeth from last night seemed to linger.

By the time I had changed and gone downstairs, I was the only one in the dining room. The long table was laden with an exquisite breakfast, the silverware gleaming with a cold light, but the room was so empty it was unsettling. I had just sat down when my phone rang. It was my architecture professor.

“Lila, I think your graduation project is ready to be finalized! There are just a few structural issues I need to confirm with you in person. Do you have time to come to campus today?”

“Of course!” I replied almost instantly. Compared to staying in this villa full of secrets, going back to school actually made me feel more at ease.

I quickly finished my breakfast and again chose the white Mercedes to drive out. As the car left the forest and sunlight streamed through the windows, I finally felt like I could breathe a little easier. But the tangled mess in my heart only grew tighter. Jasper’s loss of control last night, Zoe’s vague words about a “Destined Mate,” and the “Tear of the Moon God” that I couldn’t remove no matter what… It all felt like a dream I couldn’t wake up from.

However, as soon as I reached the school entrance, I saw Penelope.

She was dressed in Chanel couture, leaning against a red Ferrari. When she saw my car, the corner of her mouth curved into a sarcastic smile.

“Well, if it isn’t our little ’foster girl’?” she said, deliberately raising her voice and drawing the sideways glances of a few nearby students. “I heard you’ve latched onto some old man from the Hale family? Tsk, tsk. Did you give up on yourself just because Caleb didn’t want you?”

I gripped the steering wheel, my nails digging into my palms. I didn’t want to get tangled up with her, but every word she said was like a knife, twisting precisely into my most painful wounds.

“What’s wrong? Scared to get out of the car?” Penelope took a few steps closer, her fingers, painted with scarlet nail polish, tapping on my window. “You think putting on that stupid ring makes you the real Mrs. Hale? Dream on! Do you have any idea who Jasper Hale is? He’s been with more women than you’ve read books! You’re just his plaything of the moment!”

I took a deep breath and pushed open the car door.

“Penelope,” I said, looking her straight in the eye, my voice calm. “At least I’m Jasper Hale’s legal wife. You, on the other hand, are just the Vanderbilt family’s daughter, a pawn for a marriage alliance. You don’t even have the right to stand here and question me.”

Her face instantly turned ashen.

“You—!”

“And one more thing,” I added, my tone indifferent. “The next time you want to humiliate me, first make sure you have the standing to do so. Otherwise, you’ll only be the one embarrassing yourself.”

With that said, I turned and walked toward the office building, my back ramrod straight. I could feel Penelope stomping her feet in a furious tantrum behind me, but I didn’t look back. It wasn’t that I didn’t care; it was that I knew if I showed any weakness, I would be torn to shreds.p>

Inside the office, my professor greeted me warmly and had me sit down, then began to analyze my design blueprints point by point. I tried my best to focus, but my thoughts kept drifting uncontrollably back to Moon Hidden Villa, back to that silent yet fiery man.

“Lila, has something happened to you recently?” my professor suddenly asked, his eyes filled with concern. “You look… preoccupied.”

I forced a smile. “It’s nothing, just a bit busy at home.”

“Hmm,” my professor said, nodding. He hesitated for a moment, but then spoke. “Actually, there’s something I’ve never told you. The piece of land your parents wanted to buy back then, the lakeside plot, was initially appraised by an old professor from our department. Before he passed away, he told me that their car accident… might not have been an accident.”

My heart sank. “What do you mean?”

“He didn’t have time to explain the specifics,” my professor sighed. “I know this might upset you, but some truths are worth pursuing.”

After leaving the office, I sat in my car for a long time without starting the engine. My parents’ car accident had always been a shadow hanging over my heart. They had been planning to move and build a house by the lake, but they died in a rear-end collision on the highway the day before they were supposed to sign the contract. The police said the other driver was drunk, but his family quickly emigrated afterward and was never heard from again.

’Was it all really just a coincidence?’

My phone vibrated, jolting me from my thoughts. It was a message from Jasper:

“There’s a family dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. A driver will pick you up.”

My heart skipped a beat. ’A Hale family dinner? The legendary Werewolf elders who control ancient powers… want to see me?’

In the afternoon, the butler brought a long, deep blue velvet dress and matching jewelry. “The master said you would like it,” he said respectfully.

I put on the dress and stood before the mirror, barely recognizing myself. The “Tear of the Moon God” on my neck shimmered with a mysterious blue light, growing faintly warm as if it were alive. I tried to take it off, but it still wouldn’t budge, as if it had already fused with my flesh and blood.

At seven o’clock sharp, the car stopped in front of the Hale estate.

The building was even older and more foreboding than I had imagined. Ivy crawled up the stone exterior, and pointed turrets pierced the night sky. The entire estate looked like a slumbering beast. I took a deep breath and followed the attending servant into the grand hall.

In an instant, a dozen pairs of eyes fell on me in unison. The people, some sitting and some standing, were dressed luxuriously, their expressions varied, but their gazes were all appraising, as if they were evaluating an item’s worth.

“Jasper, this is the wife you’ve chosen?” an ancient voice rang out.

I followed the sound and saw an old man with a white beard and hair, leaning on an ebony cane, slowly rising from the head seat. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s, and when his gaze fell upon my face, a chill ran down the back of my neck.

“This is Lila Goodrich,” Jasper’s voice sounded from beside me, deep and firm.

“Goodrich?” another man with gray hair, sitting on the left, sneered. “The family that got its start through speculation and profiteering? Jasper, your taste is as bad as ever!”

My body stiffened, and my fingers clenched my handbag so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

“Her surname is unimportant,” Jasper said coldly. “What’s important is that she is my wife.”

“Wife?” a third elder scoffed. “A common human who couldn’t withstand even a ten-thousandth of our bloodline dares to be the matron of the Hale family?”

I bit my lip, not daring to look up. But just then, the Great Elder suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared intently at me, as if he had discovered something incredible.

“You. Raise your head,” he commanded.

I slowly lifted my face to meet his gaze. In that moment, I could have sworn I saw a flicker of… shock in his eyes.

He stared at me for a long moment, then his expression changed drastically, his voice trembling. “You… The aura on you…”

He shot to his feet, his cane hitting the floor with a THUD. “Impossible! She’s… the Destined Mate…”

Before he could finish, he began to cough violently, his face turning beet red, as if some immense fear had seized him by the throat.

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