The red Maserati stood in stark contrast against the white surroundings. Martin first glanced in the direction where Waldo's car had disappeared, then smirked and turned his attention back to Regina. He got out of the car and walked toward her.
He stopped by her side, looking down at the still form of Regina with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Slowly, he crouched down and glanced at her hand pressed against the snow, now a dark purple from the cold. He spoke with a casual, almost amused tone, "What's so difficult that you have to hurt yourself like this?"
Regina didn't respond, her gaze vacantly fixed on a distant point.
Martin sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice, before standing up. He then reached over, grabbed her by the body, and effortlessly picked her up in a bridal carry, heading toward the car.
Regina only came to her senses when Martin tossed her into the car. She immediately panicked and tried to get out, but was swiftly shoved back in, and the door was slammed shut.
"Hey! Let go of me! Who are you—" Regina began to shout, banging her frozen hand against the glass. The sting of the cold sent a sharp pain through her, causing her to wince in discomfort.
Martin entered the car, turned on the air conditioning, and then looked at Regina, whose face had darkened with displeasure. He spoke lightly, "We saw each other just an hour ago."
The sudden reminder made Regina's eyes widen in realization, but her expression shifted rapidly, changing several times in an instant.
Noticing her reaction, Martin smirked slightly and started the car. He spoke nonchalantly, "Put on your seatbelt."
"Hey, who the hell are you? Let me out!" Regina growled, looking out the window at the passing cars, her teeth clenched.
"Leaving a woman stranded on the road is not my style," Martin said without even looking at her, steering the car onto another road. "Don't worry… I'm not interested in Waldo's mate."
Regina's mind exploded with fury at his words, her gaze fixed on Martin, whose every gesture exuded a dark and mischievous aura. Her teeth gritted as she snarled, "Stop the car!"
Martin gave her a brief, dismissive glance but showed no intention of stopping.
"I said stop the car! Stop!" Regina's voice cracked with frustration, the emotions she'd been bottling up spilling out as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I don't mean anything else, I just..." Martin began, but Regina cut him off with a sharp demand.
"Stop the car!" Her eyes never left him, her fists clenched tightly as she fought back the overwhelming flood of emotion.
It was as if Martin hadn't heard her. He instead leaned back slightly, his tone teasing as he asked, "And where do you think you're going like this? Home? Or will you keep letting others look at you like you're some kind of freak?"
"None of your business!" Regina hissed through gritted teeth, each word a slow, painful push from her chest, "Stop... the... car."
Martin continued to drive, unperturbed, but with a slight frown knitting his brows as he observed her.
That stubborn, defiant look... why does it feel so familiar?
"Stop the car!" Regina's voice cracked again, louder this time, echoing in the tight confines of the car. But Martin only pressed down harder on the gas pedal, accelerating.
Regina screamed in surprise, her hands instinctively clutching the armrest as the car sped through the snowy roads, weaving between other vehicles that honked in alarm. Some cars, startled by the sudden maneuvers, skidded on the icy road and collided with each other in a series of loud, chaotic crashes.
A dark smile played at the corner of Martin's lips, his eyes gleaming with a wicked, dangerous light. He kept the accelerator floored, the sound of the engine roaring as he pushed the car even faster. Only when they reached a high-end casual wear flagship store did he finally slam on the brakes.
The screech of tires echoed sharply as the Maserati came to a sudden halt by the side of the road. The abrupt stop sent Regina's body lurching forward. If it weren't for her grip on the armrest, she would have surely crashed her head into the windshield from the speed.
"You should have worn your seatbelt," Martin's mocking voice drifted from the driver's seat, his tone laced with amusement.
Regina, her face pale, swallowed hard and glared at him, her voice trembling with fury as she shouted, "You're insane!"
Without another word, she flung open the car door and stepped out, ignoring the stabbing pain in her frozen feet, each step a reminder of her exhaustion and frustration. She didn't care anymore; she just needed to escape.
But she had only taken a few steps when her arm was yanked back forcefully. The dam holding back her emotions broke, and tears spilled from her eyes uncontrollably. She cried out, her voice cracking under the weight of everything she'd been holding in.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?!" she wailed, her words desperate and raw. "I work three, sometimes four jobs, and I'm so tired. My mom is dying, my brother is still in school, but he's gambling, and now I have to pay off his debts... I have nothing left! I've lost everything, even the one thing a girl should never lose—don't you understand? Please, just let me go! Please...!"
Regina's voice broke completely, and she sank to the ground, tears streaking down her face. She stomped her numb feet in frustration, her sobs loud and ragged in the cold air.
Martin blinked, taken aback by the rawness of her outburst. For a moment, confusion flickered across his face. He furrowed his brow and muttered to himself, almost as if thinking out loud, "No way… Waldo never goes after wolves sent by gamblers…"
His eyes lingered on Regina for a moment longer, his mind racing with questions that he didn't know how to ask.
---
Regina held the money tightly in her hand, her lips curling into a bitter, fleeting smile. She breathed in the exhaust fumes from the cars around her, the sharp scent mingling with the bitter cold. The sunlight reflected off the snow, stabbing at her already sore, red eyes. She closed them briefly, willing herself to ignore the pain, before opening them again and gazing up at the sky…
The sky was a brilliant, endless blue, the sun shining brightly. Yet, not a single ray of warmth reached her skin. The air was freezing, and her heart felt even colder.
Who was that man who had given her the money? He had a faint, pleasant scent of daisies that lingered in her mind. But Serena, her wolf, seemed uninterested, almost distant.
A wave of self-mockery washed over her, and her eyes flickered with a painful emptiness. Her body felt as if it were made of stone, heavy and unresponsive. With a deep sigh, she tore her gaze away from the sky and turned her attention to the bustling crowd around her, each person in their own world, oblivious to her struggles.
She raised her hand and hailed a taxi, her movements slow, as though the weight of the world was pressing down on her.
"Miss, where to?" The driver's voice was polite, professional, but it couldn't mask the indifference of the world around her.
Regina hesitated, her lips parted as she started to give her home address, but she stopped. The thought of going home seemed unbearable, too full of her mother's illness, her brother's reckless ways, and her father's gambling debts. She closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed, and quietly spoke, "Take me to the Barnyard Mall."
The driver nodded and started the car. Regina sank into the seat, her body exhausted and worn, her gaze unfocused as it stared out the window. The snow-covered streets blurred past, the white landscape a mirror of her inner world—cold, empty, and relentless.
Even though life was pushing her to her limits, there was no room for surrender. She had to keep fighting. She had to keep working, earning, because her mother's condition was getting worse, her brother was sinking deeper into trouble, and her father's debts were suffocating her.
Moon Goddess, please... save me...
Regina's prayer was silent, but the ache in her heart was loud. The wolf inside her stirred, restless, its eyes glowing with a hunger for something more than survival. It wanted to break free, to escape the chains that bound her. But for now, Regina could only keep going, no matter how weary she felt, no matter how distant the warmth of the sun seemed to be. The world would continue to turn, and she would have to follow, no matter how cold the road ahead became.