Chapter 273 The Gift of Rosemary

    Third Person POV

    Live experiments were inhuman trials, torturing both the body and spirit of a werewolf.

    Even though Aubrey had already endured it once before, the pain and suffering didn’t lessen the second time. Instead, the two rounds of torment ovepped in her mind, sometimes blurring the line between past and present until she no longer knew which reality she was trapped in.

    More than once she had fallen into nightmares, nearly losing control, only ito /ibe pulled back by E’s voice telling her it was all right.

    And whenever she turned her head, she would see Alpha Henry asleep on the bed beside her. He was her anchor. Only by seeing him there, by seeing the tenderness in his eyes when he was awake, could she convince herself that she had truly been reborn, that she was no longer trapped in the agony of herst life.

    These thoughts she told no one.

    But just remembering them was enough to weigh her down with heavy gloom.

    She couldn’t help turning toward her anchor–only to find Henry already watching her, his eyes filled with thought. But the moment she met his gaze, he smiled warmly.

    Aubrey froze. Had he noticed something? No–impossible. She had hidden it too well. At night, he had never stirred awake. There was no way he knew.

    “Why are you looking at me?” she asked.

    Henry chuckled. “I want to give you a gift.”

    “What kind of gift?”

    “Do

    you remember how I once promised to build you your own research institute?”

    Aubrey’s eyes lit up at once.

    “You really did it?”

    Henry rose to his feet with a softugh. “When have I ever lied to you? The renovations of the old sanatorium are finished. And since the weather’s good today, do you want to see it?”

    “What are we waiting for?”

    Chapter 273 The Gift of Rosemary

    And so, a small entourage left the Miguel estate and headed for the institute.

    In the car, Henry pulled out a palevender scarf, his voice teasing.

    “To keep the surprise, why don’t you close your eyes? Rest for a bit–we’ll be there soon.”

    “All right.”

    Aubrey nodded, allowing him to tie the scarf over her eyes.

    An hourter, the car came to a stop.

    654

    + Pearls

    With Henry’s steady hand guiding her, Aubrey stepped out. Her nose twitched, her lips curving into a faint smile–then stiffening. Though blindfolded, she could smell something. A scent that stirred memory, sharp and cold, bound tightly to fear, to agony, to nights she wished she could forget.

    “Did you smell something?”

    Henry’s cheerful voice reached her. She turned her head, searching blindly, but saw nothing through the scarf.

    The werewolf guards waited far outside. The ce was nearly surrounded by water on three sides, the single entry point easily defended. Once, Henry’s grandfather had wanted to build a luxury sanatorium here, but he had died midway, leaving thend abandoned.

    Now Henry had rebuilt it.

    He asked her with a smile, “Guess. What nt’s scent is this? You should know it.”

    “Rosemary…” Aubrey’s voice was low, almost t.

    It waste autumn, when rosemary blossomed. A breeze swept past, carrying the clean fragrance. Even without looking, she knew—this was a vast field of rosemary, purple blossoms swaying at their peak.

    “Yes, rosemary.” Henry led her by the hand, speaking as they walked. “Thisnd is part of the Miguel family estate, isted from the world. A good ce for rest. Grandfather wanted a sanatorium here, and rosemary sharpens the senses, with medicinal uses as well. That’s why the whole outer grounds are nted with it. It’s a spectacr sight.”

    “And here,” his voice deepened with pride, “is my gift to you–your own institute. Here, you are queen.”