Not letting this happen a second time didn't make any difference since the deed was already done and she already died anyway, but it felt good to say she didn't want to…
Smack!
"Ow!" She yelped painfully when her father suddenly strutted forward to strike her gently on the face.
As she winced from the slap, her brows furrowed in confusion, wondering why it was so painful when this was just one of her memories.
Close to her, the man grabbed the duvet and covered her, then leaned forward to laugh nervously. "What? Is it really my daughter?"
Seeing the high ranking wolves exchange questioning glances, he leaned toward her and probed impatiently.
"What are you doing? Have you forgotten what you're supposed to say?"
Being shaken by him, her frown deepened.
"This is not a dream?"
"Of course, it's not a dream. What happened to marrying Dean Meadows? You yourself said he's the most good-looking guy you've ever seen. Don't you want him anymore, baby?"
Carrie blinked, reaching up to touch his mustache.
Feeling the rough texture pricking her fingers, she gasped.
She was really… alive? But how? That rod neatly went through her chest, she could still feel it piercing through her heart.
So how could she have survived and found herself three years before her life went downhill?
As she wondered what exactly was going on, the high ranking wolves behind them grew impatient.
"Did Dean Meadows do anything to your daughter or not?"
"We caught them in the act, what do you th…" her father was on the verge of affirming when she hurriedly shook her head.
"No, he didn't."
The high ranking wolves were perplexed and instantly became troubled.
This was an elaborate scheme to better their pack and help it out of its current security crisis they were undergoing.
They were sure she knew it, so why was she saying the very opposite of what she was to say?
However, they couldn't exactly force the role on her when her father was here and stood aside, looking onto him to talk to her.
The man felt the bridge of his nose with a sigh.
"He didn't? Then what are you doing in the same room as him? You do know this is a brothel, right"
Aware of the high-ranking wolves' thought, Carrie's brows furrowed thoughtfully as she made up an obvious lie.
"No, father, he didn't. I saw him struggling after having a few drinks. None of the attendants were free, so I offered to bring him to his room."
"My clothes being off is simply because he threw up on me and I was looking for fresh clothes."
The entire operation depended on her playing along by saying Dean Meadows did it, so when she made up such a lie to tell them off, the elderly men grew frustrated and left in anger.
Once they were gone, her father turned around, ready to complain about her foiling their carefully crafted plan when the girl suddenly hugged him, her hands circling around his neck and drawing him closer.
"I don't know why you did that, but just know the pack won't be happy. This was a good plan to help everyone and get out of this crisis we're facing."
"Or did you think you're doing something wrong trying to trap him into marrying you? If that's what you think, don't feel bad anymore. If you didn't do it, another person would've."
"And now that you didn't do it, someone else would be gearing up to do the job instead. Sigh. But it's fine if you don't want to. Let's not do anything you don't feel comfortable doing."
As he spoke, his hands gently went up and down on her back consolingly.
On her end, Carrie's eyes swelled with tears at his acceptance.
Her sweet father.
People said he was greedy, and she didn't deny it.
No, she was proud of it because she knew he did everything he did so as not to let what happened to her mother happen to her as well.
Because he had no money to give the healer as down payment, she died at home.
It was precisely because of how hard he was working that she didn't have any problem remaining in Rune Pack despite everything they put her through.
But not this time, because this time, she'd get them to financial freedom one way or another.
It just wouldn't be through this way he thought was best.
After consoling her, he quietly left to buy her food downstairs.
As soon as he left, she began putting on her clothes.
The moon goddess must've taken pity on her and sent her back to redo her life, right? Right.
That had to be what happened. Maybe she should've died one year into their marriage and sped up the whole process.
Pausing, her heart sunk to the pit of her stomach at the thought of her son growing up without a mother in a place as toxic as that.
His father didn't even bother to be around for his birth, what were the odds that he'd protect him against his ill family members?
"Mmh. What happened?"
She snapped out of her thought at the sound of a deep, groggy voice and stared at the man on the bed sit up through the mirror.
Watching him glance around the room as he stretched, she promptly averted her gaze when he looked toward her.
Three years she was married to this man and now that she thought ahout it, them being in this room was the longest they'd ever been together.
He was an awful husband and father and she honestly never wanted to see him again after today.
As she came to this silent conclusion, a sweet smell suddenly hit the man's nose and his cloudy gaze instantly sharpened.
Sniffing slightly, he got on his feet, following the smell with his nose until he was left standing in front of her.
"It's you?"
Carrie winced.
Of course he was all touchy with her earlier because he was drunk.
Sober, a gorgeous man like him would be disgusted to think he had been with a woman like her.
She was used to it. It was after all the same reason she didn't have a boyfriend.
Squeezing out from the space underneath his arms, she shook her finger at him in refusal.
"It's fine. What happened between us was necessary and you don't have to think too much about it."
"In fact, we never have to bring this up again because I have a boyfriend and he won't be too happy to hear of this. Please save my relationship by remaining quiet about what happened."
Though she merely added the last part because she feared he wouldn't take her word for it, the man's eyes darkened upon hearing her.
Inside, his wolf probed him in disbelief.
"What? Is this… your mate rejecting you?"