Chapter 13%
Elder Alpha Alaric Blackthorn’s voice once again cut through the silence like a blade of silver under moonlight–cold, sharp, and merciless.
Once upon a time, he’d had a bond with Ella’s parents, Alpha and Luna Moonfall–respected elders of a noble bloodline, now long passed into the mists of the Ancestors. Out of old loyalty, he’d allowed his son to claim their only daughter, Ella, as his mate. But sentiment held no place in a pack where bloodlines meant survival and heirs secured legacies.}}
And Ella? Her wolf was weak. She was barren.
A Luna who could not give the Alpha an heir of her own.
Unacceptable.
Alaric’s declaration hit Alpha Draven Blackthorn like a thunderclap to the chest. His heart, already aching, trembled under the weight of guilt and shame. His hand went to his pocket, brushing against something fragile–the crumpled paper rose he had folded for her until his hands bled. Now, its edges were frayed, like her presence in his life.
“I won’t reject Ella,” he said at last, his voice rough with regret but laced with unshakable steel. “She is still my mate.”
“Was! She was your mate.”
Alaric’s fist slammed onto the dark mahogany table. The force of it sent the tea set rattling, a porcelain cup tipping dangerously
“Now you want to play the loyal mate? Where was this devotion when you let her waste away under the pack’s very roof? When you brought that omega wolf into your home and paraded her like some… favored concubine?“M
His voice rose like a snarl echoing in a challenge across the pack’s hospital grounds.}}
Alpha Draven bit the inside of his cheek, feeling his wolf stir uncomfortably inside him. His mind reeled back to a time when everything had been simpler. Warmer
He was seventeen when he first saw her.”
She stepped out of the Omega training hall, not yet shifted, her soft blue uniform clinging to her delicate frame. Her art supplies were bundled in her arms, a smudge of paint on her cheek. Light from the high glass archways framed her like the goddess she was destined to be.
The basketball slipped from his hand and bounced off his boot.”
“Hey, are you okay?” she’d asked, running toward him, her voice full of genuine concern.M
From that day, his wolf had fixated on her. No other scent stirred his instincts like hers. No other touch calmed the wild in him like Ella’s. He remembered waking earlier just to leave freshly warmed goat’s milk by her seat in the training hall. Saving weeks of credits to buy her an ancient sketchbook she’d admired. Joining the artisan’s guild just to stand beside her, even though his claws couldn’t hold a brush straight.2
The memory burned brightest on the night of the snowstorm, their final year. She was sick, fevered, and hadn’t shifted yet. He’d climbed the perimeter wall, braving freezing winds and six feet of snow just to bring her medicine. When she opened the window and saw him shivering below, he thought she’d cry from rage.}
“Draven, are you stupid or something?” she shouted, eyes wet.
She’d run down, bundled in thick layers, her frozen hands clasping his.
That night, he’d confessed. “Ella… I like you. I’ll protect you for the rest of my life.”
And he’d meant it. Every word.}
On their mating ceremony, when his trembling hands lifted her veil under the full moon, her eyes had shimmered with tears.
“Don’t forget this promise,” she had whispered.}
And he had sworn it under moon and flame.}}
“You swore to the Moon Goddess that Ella was the only one your wolf would ever claim! You chased her for a decade before she bore your mark, and now you cast her aside because she didn’t give you an heir? You shame this pack, Draven.“W
Elder Alpha Alaric’s loud growl snapped him back to reality.
“Father…” Draven’s voice cracked, thick with emotion. “I was wrong.”
Alaric sneered, shaking his head, his golden eyes flashing again. “Too little, too late. If you wanted a child, you could have done it quietly. Adopt a pup. Arrange a surrogate. Hell, even speak to the Elders! But instead, you let that outsider waltz in here, flaunting her swollen belly and your scent. In our sacred home! You humiliated your mate in front of the entire pack!”
Draven closed his eyes, pain and self–loathing tightening his chest like iron chains.
He remembered the way Ella’s eyes dulled over time–each time he forgot her birthday, left her side during Council feasts, or allowed whispers to spread unchecked about her infertility.W
He remembered the moment Freya–the omega she–wolf from the outskirts, all vanity and ambition–stepped into their home. Into Ella’s place.
Every time Ella looked at him, her disappointment grew deeper, and he had convinced himself she’d stay anyway. She always had. Until she left without saying goodbye. No trace. Not even a scent trail.
“I’ll find her,” he said now, opening his eyes. “I’ll take responsibility for Freya’s child. But the only Luna this house will ever know is Ella
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10:48 AM
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Alaric stared at his son, the fury in him slowly receding. He slumped back in his chair, years seeming to fall onto his shoulders all at
once.
“You’re a fool,” he said quietly. “A fool who didn’t realize what he had until it was gone.“>
His voice softened–something rare. “The Moonfalls may have lost their land, their title, their power, but Ella… Ella never lost her pride. She was born of warriors and spirit–walkers. She won’t return to a pack where her soul was crushed.“}]
Draven remained still, but his wolf growled faintly in his chest, a whisper of rebellion and longing.
“Then I’ll bring her back,” he said, almost to himself. “Even if I have to cross every border, face every pack, and beg the Moon Goddess herself. I’ll win back my mate.”
