Setting Myself on Fire for My Alpha

On the day of our mating ceremony, my fiancé, whom I've been in love with for many years, ditches me at the altar and leaves hand-in-hand with my adopted younger sister, Aemyth Nightbloom. Surprisingly enough, Alpha Ivander Darkblaze proposes to me on the spot. "Will you become my mate, Aerith? I'll cherish you till death does us part." I accept his proposal. Since then, we've been bonded for five years. Ivander spoils me rotten, making me the happiest she-wolf in the Bloodmoon pack. That is, until a car accident ruins my life on the day I'm supposed to participate in the international dance showcase tryouts. I lie on the hospital bed with broken glass shards embedded in half of my face. At the same time, I can feel my wolf's voice starting to fade away within me. While I'm trapped in the limbo between layers of consciousness, I can hear Ivander's assistant, Timothy Howle, pleading with him. "Alpha Ivander, Ms. Aemyth has already qualified for the dance showcase. Luna Aerith has missed the tryouts because of the car accident. Now that you've gotten what you wanted, please give her the witch's potion and save her life!" Ivander merely wipes some blood off my face. "Put it away. If I were to save Aerith now, she'd still compete with Aemyth in the dance showcase. Aemyth can't take another blow. "Even if Aerith were to lose her wolf, she'd still be my Luna. I'll take care of her for the rest of my life." It turns out that Ivander proposed to me five years ago just so he could clean up Aemyth's mess for her. Five years of being showered with Ivander's affection means nothing compared to Aemyth simply making the cut. In that case, I shall fulfill Ivander's wish of being with Aemyth. On the night of my birthday, a blazing fire will take his Luna away from him. He will never be able to find me again after that. Chapter 1 "Have you dealt with the driver who's responsible for the accident?" Ivander Darkblaze's voice rang out by my bed. I didn't open my eyes. However, I quietly clenched my fists beneath my covers. Timothy Howle, Ivander's assistant, replied, "He knows what to tell the authorities. He'll just claim that he was driving while fatigued. The compensation will be made based on your arrangements, Alpha Ivander." "Don't let him get close to Aerith." Ivander paused momentarily before adding, "She shouldn't be worried about these things." A set of footsteps gradually faded away. I did my best to reach out to the depths of my consciousness and call out to my wolf, Nora. Ever since Nora awakened when I turned 18, she'd been by my side. Whenever I got hurt during a dance practice, she'd scold me for pushing myself too hard. But before it was my turn to perform on the stage, she'd urge me excitedly to get up there. When the car came crashing my way, Nora was the one who did everything in her power to protect me. But now, she never responded, no matter how many times I kept calling out to her. I cracked my eyes open, only to see Ivander testing out the soup's temperature. His very hand that issued decrees to the pack was now holding a tiny spoon filled with soup. Ivander made sure that the soup cooled enough before passing it to my lips. Upon noticing that I was awake, Ivander put down the soup bowl immediately. "Does it hurt anywhere? I'll call a healer over right now." No one would have expected to see Ivander, a fierce and formidable Alpha, showing his tender side in front of his lover. All this time, I thought that this was a privilege that was reserved for me and me only. Now, I finally realized that Aemyth was the lucky one. Ivander was only nice to me just so he could protect her. Ivander thought I was still grieving over losing Nora when he noticed that I wasn't speaking at all. "Once you're all healed, I'll take you to the beachside villa for a staycation, okay? You told me before that you've been meaning to go there. "Stop thinking about the tryouts as well. It's just a chance to perform, that's all." Ivander sounded so nonchalant. The thing was, I had spent one whole year preparing for the international dance showcase. In fact, Ivander even claimed that he'd watch my performance from his seat beneath the stage on the day before the tryouts. He said all that while knowing that I would never be able to make it onstage. In order to cheer me up, Ivander decided to switch the topic. "It'll be your birthday in two days. I've cleared my schedule and prepared a surprise just for you." Wasn't this accident a good enough "surprise" for me? I suppressed my emotions while nodding in response. "Okay. I've prepared a gift for you too." Ivander leaned into my ear and asked, "What is it?" "It's a secret." I giggled softly in return. He lifted a hand to brush my bangs from my forehead. That was when his sleeve slid downward, revealing a tattoo that was inked onto his inner wrist. The tattoo was a sprig of lily of the valley with a bent stem. Three tiny buds could be seen hanging from the end of the stem. Once upon a time, I had asked Ivander what the tattoo meant. He just told me that it was a design he had chosen when he was young, so he couldn't really remember its meaning. I had believed him at that time. Now, the television was broadcasting an interview with the contestants who passed the tryouts of the dance showcase. When Aemyth waved at the camera, her golden bracelet slid down her wrist, revealing a tattoo featuring a very familiar sprig of lily of the valley. Even the notch in the lowest leaf matched perfectly. As I stared at the television, I finally realized why Ivander refused to let me scrawl my name next to his tattoo. Of course, Ivander was oblivious to everything that was going on. "By the way, your parents will be throwing a celebration party to celebrate Aemyth passing the tryouts. But we won't be attending the party. It's your birthday, after all, so I'll spend the day with you." "I want to attend the party." Ivander was clearly taken aback by my response. But soon, he quickly snapped out of it. "Okay. I'll arrange for a car to take us there, since I'll be attending the party with you. If you feel unwell, we can leave anytime." I could tell that Ivander didn't want me to attend the party. He was worried that my presence would ruin Aemyth's celebration. But I still wanted to see my family one last time. After all, I'd be leaving this place soon. This was the gift that I had prepared for Ivander. Chapter 2 At the celebration party, Aemyth was surrounded by the guests. The bandages wrapped around her ankle were exceptionally obvious. Our mother, Claudia Lakeshore, helped her sit down with heartbreak etched all over her face. "Aemyth refused to even take a break despite having injured herself just so she could score a chance at making it through the tryouts. Thank goodness her efforts didn't go to waste." The moment Aemyth saw me, the smile on her face froze momentarily. "Aerith, you're here!" She studied the bandages covering my face as she continued airily, "You don't have to come all the way here just to congratulate me, you know? After all, you've been preparing for the tryouts for a year, yet you can't even make it through the main entrance of the audition hall." Everyone around us went quiet for a moment. Then, Aemyth linked arms with me. "Well, now that you no longer have to go through dance practice anymore, life should be easier for you. Then again, I suppose that you can't even perform the most basic pirouette without your wolf now, can you?" I didn't answer her. The screen behind Aemyth was playing the selected performance. I saw Aemyth leaning forward in time with the music, her arm suspended in mid-air. Then, she turned and leaped. I was stunned, to say the least. Every single move Aemyth exhibited throughout the dance—from the opener all the way to the final glance over the shoulder she cast at the audience—was the same as the choreography I drafted for the tryouts. I had spent one full year tweaking and editing the choreography. Heck, I didn't even have time to give it a name. Yet now, there was a line at the bottom of the screen that stated, "Original dance piece choreographed by Aemyth Nightbloom." "You look so serious when you're watching the clip, Aerith." Aemyth approached me, her voice soon lowering. "Is it because you think I did a better job performing it than you ever could?" I glanced at her. "Where did you pick up the moves?" Aemyth just smiled at me without answering. She even squeezed my hand tightly. The next thing I knew, she let out a pained scream all of a sudden before collapsing backward. "Aerith, don't do this!" Ivander quickly let go of me so that he could catch Aemyth. Without his support, I stumbled sideways, only to collide with a table's edge. My wounds hurt so much that I was practically seeing dark spots forming in my vision. But Ivander just busied himself with checking Aemyth's ankle. "Are you hurt anywhere?" "I'm fine." Aemyth's eyes were already red-rimmed by then. "Aerith must be in a terrible mood. I shouldn't have brought up the tryouts in front of her." The guests' expressions shifted immediately. "Aemyth's still injured! How could you push her?" I could only stabilize myself by holding onto the table. "I did no such thing." Ivander turned around to look at me. This time, he adopted a softer tone. "Aerith, if you're mad about something, you can just let me know. Don't make light of Aemyth's injury." He didn't even bother asking me what happened just now. Mother was about to chime in when her phone suddenly rang. After she was done taking that phone call, she pulled Aemyth into a tight hug happily. "The organizing committee told me that your dance piece has been shortlisted for the opening solo performance!" Ivander whirled around immediately. "Really?" Aemyth looked up at him in delight. The elation in Ivander's eyes was plain to see. Even his grip on Aemyth's shoulders tightened. Meanwhile, I stood by the sidelines, looking like a background character who wasn't meant to be there. Once the congratulatory voices died down a little, I finally asked, "Why did Aemyth use my choreography in the tryouts?" That was when Ivander's smile froze on his face. "Both of you learned the same dance style. It's completely normal for her moves to mirror yours." "Is it normal for her entire routine to be the same as mine, then?" Ivander walked over to me, soon shielding me from the guests' inquisitive gazes. "Let's not talk about this today. There are plenty of chances for you to dance again onstage in the future." I just looked at him without bothering to argue with him. The truth was, I had never shown my choreography in public. Ivander was the only one who watched it in the past. He used to sit in front of the mirror and watch me tweak my movements repeatedly in the dance studio. He even personally recorded the entire choreography for me. At the end of the footage, I had walked over to him and told him that the choreography was all about our love story. Back then, he had kissed me on the forehead and told me that he adored it. Now, he'd given the choreography to Aemyth, yet here he stood, telling me not to make a big deal out of it. "Aerith?" Ivander wrapped my shawl around my shoulders properly while waiting for me to yield to him as I always did. Slowly, I unclenched my fists. "Nothing." A long time ago, I had reached out to my beloved mate repeatedly in that dance piece. But from now on? Never again. Chapter 3 Ivander seemed to have picked up on my aloofness. When we left the banquet hall, he kept holding my hand the whole time. "Today is your birthday, Aerith. Let's not spoil your mood over such trivial things, okay? Where do you want to go? I'll go anywhere with you." "The seaside villa, then." Ivander agreed with my suggestion immediately. He quickly ordered his men to deliver a bouquet of flowers as well as a cake to that location. "We'll stay there tonight. Tomorrow, we can watch the sunrise together." As soon as the car started moving, Ivander received a call. The ringtone happened to be a customized one that he had set for Aemyth's number. He frowned instantly before shooting me a glance. I decided to voice out his thoughts before he could do so. "You should go check on her." "Aerith, I was just—" "It's fine. I'll wait for you at the beach." Ivander lowered his head to plant a kiss on my forehead. "I'll be back soon. Wait for me so that we can cut the cake together, Aerith." As I watched Ivander leave in another car, I dug out my phone and shot Martha Silvermist a text. "Pick me up tonight." Martha used to be my dance coach. After she retired, she moved to a cottage that was located on the other end of the strait. Yesterday, I had asked her to make the arrangements for my departure. Soon, I received a reply from her. "Okay." The flowers and the cake were already positioned on the table in the seaside villa. A birthday card sporting Ivander's handwriting was tucked next to them. "I hope my Aerith will always be free and happy." I flipped the card over. Oh, Ivander… Soon, I'd be free and happy for real. After the healer redressed my wounds for me, I told her and the driver to leave for the night. At 11:00 pm, Aemyth sent me a photo. Her foot was propped on Ivander's knee as he wrapped some bandages around her ankle. The familiar lily of the valley tattoo could be seen poking out from beneath his sleeve. "I don't think he can celebrate your birthday with you in time, Aerith." Next came a photo of Ivander blowing onto a spoonful of herbal broth and testing its temperature. "It turns out that he acts like this whenever he takes care of someone. And here I was, thinking that you were special to him." I called Ivander on the phone right away, but Aemyth was the one who answered the call. "He's in the kitchen right now. I complained about the herbal broth being too bitter, so he's whipping up some dessert for me right now." "Tell him to get the phone." Ivander's voice soon drifted from the background. "Who's that?" "It's Aerith. She's asking you when you'll be heading back." A moment later, Ivander said, "Tell her to rest first and not wait up for me." Aemyth chuckled softly at his words. "You hear that, Aerith? Even though your injuries are a lot worse than mine, Ivander's more willing to look after me." I ended the call on the spot. In the end, I never unboxed the cake that was left on the table. It was 12:00 am right on the dot. My birthday was over. All Ivander did was shoot me a text. "Are your injuries still hurting? Remember to take your medication." I replied, "They don't hurt anymore." After that, I sent an audio recording and the video clip of my full-fledged choreography to Martha. "Submit this evidence to the organizing committee once I'm gone." "Alright. Have you packed your identification documents and your medication?" I checked my handbag properly. "Yup." When the doorbell rang, I took off the Luna Necklace, which symbolized my status as the Luna. Then, I slotted it and a card that I had already written into the mailbox at the front door. The werewolf who was here to pick me up asked me in a low tone, "Is there anyone else in the villa?" "Nope." The fire that Martha had arranged to break out would make Ivander think that I didn't get to escape the villa in time. Meanwhile, the real me would leave this place and continue living in this world. As the car descended the hill, the seaside villa slowly faded into the distance. A short while later, a burst of bright orange flames appeared in the rearview mirror. I turned off my phone, never sparing the burning villa a second glance. … Some time before dawn, Ivander picked up his jacket. But Aemyth quickly grabbed him by the wrist, not wanting him to leave. "Are you leaving now? My ankle still hurts, though…" "The healer will take good care of you." As Ivander dialed my number, his brows started to furrow into a frown. My phone was turned off, after all. "But I want you to stay with me…" "Aemyth, I've already missed out on Aerith's birthday." Ivander retracted his hand before making his way toward the front door with determination etched on his face. "At the very least, I mustn't miss out on the sunrise I've promised to watch with her. She's my mate—my Luna; that's why I must return to her side." But before Ivander could get a few steps in, Timothy, who had always been composed, could be seen rushing into the living room with a panicked expression. "I got bad news for you, Alpha Ivander! The seaside villa is on fire!"