Chapter 229:

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The oath hit me like a physical blow. I was speechless, unable to believe what I was hearing.

He wasn’t just placating me. He was answering all my fears, all my insecurities, with the heaviest, most binding promise a werewolf could make.

He saw the shock on my face and a faint, self-deprecating smile touched his lips. “In your world, would this count as a… lifetime contract?”

I snapped back to reality, a hot rush of tears blurring my vision. I nodded furiously, my voice choked. “Yes… yes, it would.”

He sighed, a soft sound, and pulled me closer, urging me to kneel so we were at eye level.

J𝗈𝗶𝗇 𝘁𝗵е 𝘤o𝘮m𝗎𝗇𝗂𝘵𝘺 𝘢t 𝗴𝖺𝗅ոо𝘃e𝘭𝘀.𝖼𝗼𝗺

He gently brushed a tear from my cheek with his thumb, his voice softening. “So, no more talk of that ‘pre-set ending.’ Our ending is the one I just wrote.”

I looked at him, my heart a swirling vortex of emotions. Gratitude, shock, and a profound sense of being overwhelmed.

He seemed to sense my confusion. His tone shifted, becoming curious, tentative. “You said… you’re from a different world. In your world, how do partners who marry first… build trust? Build a relationship?”

The question caught me off guard. I answered automatically. “Well… they could… try dating?”

“Dating?” He repeated the word, tasting it, intrigued.

I explained what it meant. Eating together, seeing movies, talking, getting to know each other as people, without the pressure of a marriage contract.

Demetri listened, silent for a long moment. Then a light sparked in his eyes, as if he’d found the key to a complex puzzle.

He extended his hand to me, a gesture as formal as if we were meeting for the first time.

“Well then,” he said, his voice a mixture of awkwardness and earnest sincerity. “Hello, Haven Kramer. I’m Demetri Contreras. Would you… be willing to try dating me?”

The sight of him, so serious, so formal, made a laugh bubble up through my tears.

The heavy, sorrowful atmosphere shattered, replaced by a strange, tender, and slightly clumsy romance.

I put my hand in his. It was still cold, but this time, I felt the warmth underneath.

I smiled, nodding. “Hello, Demetri Contreras. I would.”

Haven Kramer POV:

After agreeing to “date” Demetri, a weight lifted from my shoulders, only to be replaced by a new kind of confusion. Dating? Me and a werewolf Alpha? The idea was so absurd it was almost comical.

I sat in my own study, a pen in my hand, but the page remained blank. I started to think beyond my roles as Demetri’s “doctor” and “wife.” What else could I be?

I couldn’t be a surgeon in this world, not in the traditional sense. But what about my other knowledge? I started scribbling keywords on a piece of parchment: chemistry, biology, material science… Maybe I could start a small business.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. Demetri entered, and behind him was a young man I didn’t recognize.

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