I Bought Two Wolf Brothers For Warmth And The Comments Called Me Evil Chapter 04
At first, it was just the cold.
My fingers went numb first, then my hands. I buried myself under two quilts, and it made no difference.
By nightfall, my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t hold a cup.
On the third day, getting out of bed took everything I had.
The face in the mirror was as pale as paper. My lips had lost their color, and my fingertips were turning blue.
I dragged myself to Mr. Sterling’s clinic.
Mr. Sterling behind the counter took one look at my name, and his whole attitude changed.
“We don’t carry anything for that.”
“What about basic heat supplements?”
“No.”
“Can I at least see a healer?”
He frowned, and his tone went stiff.
“We’re fully booked today. Miss Vance, I’d suggest trying somewhere else.”
I stood at the counter, chilled to the bone, and understood perfectly.
It wasn’t that they didn’t have it. It was that they didn’t dare.
The snow wolf brothers had been in Sterling City for three years. With the kind of influence they had, they didn’t need to say a word. Someone would handle it for them.
I didn’t argue. I turned and walked out.
The wind hit the second I stepped outside, sharp enough to sting my eyes raw.
The floating comments were still drifting.
[Silas gave the fleece-lined parka to Chloe]
[Jaxon even hugged her for a bit. the real couple is so cute together]
[the villainess did this to herself. she deserves it]
I stared at those words, and it finally clicked.
They were waiting for me to break, to crawl back, beg forgiveness, and slip right back into being the clingy, desperate mess who couldn’t survive without them.
I was done crawling.
When night fell, I went to the underground market.
I’d been there once, three years ago.
Nothing had changed. Rust and old blood hung in the air, and the noise was enough to split your skull.
Cages lined the walls, row after row, packed with every kind of beast shifter.
I pulled my coat tight and walked all the way to the back.
If no one in Sterling City would help me, I’d help myself. All I needed was someone who ran hot. As long as I stayed alive, nothing else mattered.
I stopped at the very last cage.
A black panther beast shifter sat chained inside. Iron circled his wrists and ankles, wounds cut across his skin, and half his face was lost in shadow.
But even through the bars, the heat coming off him was unmistakable.
He wasn’t thrashing like the others, and he wasn’t half-dead. He was still.
I didn’t hesitate. I bought him right then and there.
By the time we got home, I could barely stay on my feet.
The second the door shut, I sagged against the wall and just breathed. It took a long time before I could lift my hands to undo the heavy iron cuffs on his wrists.
His eyes dropped to mine, and the tips of his ears flushed red.
I didn’t have the energy to wonder why. I reached for his clothes with shaking hands.
He caught the fabric before I could pull.
His voice came out low.
“Shouldn’t we… get to know each other first?”
I looked up.
Up close, he was sharper than I’d expected: high cheekbones, dark eyes, an old scar cutting down one side of his face. He had the kind of face that warned you not to start trouble.
Except right now, the tips of his ears were still pink, and he was clutching his own jacket like a shield. The whole picture didn’t match.
I blinked. And then, without meaning to, I played along.
“I’m Elara.”
He held my gaze for a beat. His throat bobbed.
“Kaelen.”
“Where are you from?”
“Don’t remember.”
“Do you know anything about yourself?”
“No.”
I nodded.
That was good enough.
I didn’t bring him home for conversation.
So I met his eyes, dead serious.
“Can you just hold me now?”
Kaelen Mercer froze.
Then, in one motion, he pulled me into his arms.
The heat hit me all at once: his chest, his arms, even his breath ran warm.
This feeling…
Whatever I’d brought home, it wasn’t any ordinary black panther.
