- 52 minutes ago
After He Let Our Pup Die, I Rejected The Gamma Commander
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The first thing the PAC doctor told me when I woke up was that my pup was gone.
00:06The second was that my mate, Zane, our PAC's formidable Gamma Commander,
00:10was too busy comforting another woman to answer the hospital's frantic mind links.
00:15When Zane finally burst through the clinic doors, he brought the freezing stench of the storm with him.
00:20His eyes were bloodshot. But he didn't look at me with grief.
00:23He looked at me with pure, unadulterated fury.
00:29A fucking life, Serena! How could you make a decision like that without a single word?!
00:37I slipped in the mud, trying to board up our roof during the storm.
00:41I called out for you through our bond.
00:43He lunged forward, his large calloused hand gripping my chin, forcing me to meet his furious gaze.
00:48The doctor said you miscarried. But I know you, Serena.
00:54You were furious that I gave the sanctuary pass to Quinn.
00:59Did you take Wolfsame?
01:01Did you kill our pup just to spine me?!
01:06I slapped his hand away.
01:08You gave her the pass to the human safe zone.
01:11You left me to weather the storm alone while you fixed her roof because she's scared of thunder.
01:15If the pup survived, we wouldn't have the resources to feed it anyway.
01:22Zane growled, pacing the room like a caged beast.
01:26If you just learn to budget properly, my gamma stipends is more than enough to feed you and a pup!
01:34Oh, really? But how would that work, Zane?
01:38You have to save half your stiffage to support Quinn.
01:45Quinn's an Omega.
01:48She's fragile, and she's my dead captain's widow.
01:51He died saving my life on the battlefield.
01:54It is my sworn duty to take care of her.
01:57Why are you always so fucking jell a grieving widow?!
02:03I stared down at my flat, aching stomach.
02:06The phantom weight of my pup was a gaping hole in my soul.
02:09Ever since I got pregnant, Quinn had been crying every single day.
02:13She would show up at our porch, tears spilling over her huge, innocent eyes,
02:18sobbing about how she was barren.
02:19How she would never be blessed with a pup.
02:21It didn't take long for Zane to lose his patience.
02:24He started scolding me in front of the entire pack,
02:27calling me an insensitive bitch for rubbing my pregnancy in Quinn's face.
02:31Believe whatever helps you sleep at night, Commander.
02:35The pup is gone.
02:37You win.
02:38Before Zane could snap back, the heavy hospital door creaked open.
02:42Serena, did you really, did you really kill the pup?
02:48Her face as pale as snow, she gasped out.
02:52It's my fault.
02:53My body is so weak and Zane worries about me too much.
02:56If you were angry, you should have punished me.
02:59Why would you hurt an innocent pup?
03:03Zane rushed to her side, wrapping his strong arms around her waist,
03:07catching her before she could fall.
03:08His eyes were filled with nothing but raw, tender panic.
03:11Even an outsider, you can see how monstrous this is.
03:14You murdered your own flesh and blood.
03:16And now you're taking it out on Quinn?
03:19Zane, don't yell at her.
03:20It's my fault.
03:21I'm just a burden.
03:23His large hand, rubbing circles on her back.
03:25So gentle.
03:26So practiced.
03:27I watched them.
03:28The agonizing cramps in my uterus flared,
03:31but the pain in my chest had entirely disappeared.
03:34There was nothing left but ice.
03:36Serena, Quinn is having a panic attack.
03:39I'm taking her back to the pack house.
03:41You need to cool off and think about what you've done.
03:44He scooped the delicate Omega up in his arms
03:47and strode out of the room without a backward glance.
03:50Silence swallowed the room.
03:54Silence swallowed the room.
03:55A nurse hurried in.
03:57Where did the gamma go?
03:58Your surgery bill is still short of 20 silver coins.
04:02I laughed.
04:03A dry, scraping sound.
04:06I'm discharging myself, I said, ripping the IV out of my arm.
04:11I'm discharging myself.
04:14Are you crazy?
04:15You just had a DCU to clean out the miscarriage.
04:18You're still bleeding.
04:19You could die.
04:22I'm hard to kill.
04:26I was done.
04:28I didn't want him.
04:29And I didn't want this bond anymore.
04:33Zane looked at the papers I slapped onto the cheap, rotting wood of my slum apartment table.
04:38He burst into a harsh, grating laugh that vibrated with his gamma dominance.
04:45A formal mate rejection?
04:47Are you out of your fucking mind, Serena?
04:49You're throwing away our bond over a sanctuary pass?
04:51A bond with you is worse than having no bond at all.
04:54I am done watching Quinn's pathetic act.
04:57I am done being stepped on so you can play the tragic, honorable hero.
05:02Then go do your duty.
05:03Just leave me out of it.
05:07Sign the paper.
05:09I, Serena, reject you, Zane.
05:16I know your hormones are everywhere because of the miscarriage.
05:20You're emotional.
05:22I get it.
05:24I'm gonna try and be patient with you.
05:26He stepped around the table, reaching out to pull me into his chest.
05:30Serena, stop this.
05:32Pack your bags.
05:34Come back to the pack house.
05:35We can talk about the rejection later.
05:37That is your house, not mine.
05:41Get out.
05:42If you don't sign it, I'll petition the Alpha to forcibly sever the bond.
05:46Zane rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.
05:49You don't have a job here.
05:51You don't have a clan backing you.
05:54How do you plan to survive without me, Serena?
05:58You'll starve in this neutrals.
06:03Don't worry about me, Commander.
06:05I just secured a permit to open an epithetary stall in the dirt market.
06:09Gathering herbs in the mud is a filthy job, but it'll keep me fed.
06:15Serena!
06:16How could you do manual labor like that?
06:18It's all my fault.
06:19I shouldn't have taken the path to the human zone.
06:22You can beat me.
06:22You can curse me, Serena.
06:24But please, don't humiliate Zane like this.
06:28Working in the dirt market ruins his reputation as a gamma.
06:35Look at her, Serena.
06:36Look at how selfless Quinn is.
06:38And look at yourself.
06:40When did you become such a cold-blooded, spiteful bitch?
06:43You'd rather dig in the mud and drag my name through the dirt
06:46than come home and act like a proper mate.
06:48You are unbelievable.
06:49Take your pathetic stray and get the fuck out of my house, Zane.
06:51You're dirtying my floor.
06:52Good.
06:53If you want to act tough, then stay here.
06:54Let's see how long your pride lasts when you're freezing to death.
06:57He wrapped a protective arm around the sobbing Quinn and stormed out,
07:00slamming the rotting door so hard the hinges screamed.
07:04Leave her be, Quinn.
07:06She's just throwing a tantrum.
07:07I walked slowly to the door and slid the heavy iron deadbolt into place.
07:12Crawl back to you?
07:13I'd rather let the rogues tear my throat out.
07:16The neutral zone market smelled of sweat, raw meat, and desperation.
07:20I rented the cheapest open-air spot by the gutters and set up my apothecary stall.
07:25I woke up before dawn to forage in the dangerous outskirts
07:27and stayed up late brewing healing salves and stamina potions.
07:32Because my potions were potent and my prices fair,
07:35my stall quickly became the busiest in the market.
07:37In this harsh world, hard work was my only currency.
07:41Gossip trickled down from the human safe zone.
07:44I heard that Quinn had used my sanctuary pass to get a cushy job in the human textile factory.
07:49She wore a brand new cashmere coat bought by Zane.
07:52But she was too fragile.
07:53She complained about the cotton dust hurting her throat,
07:56whined about the lad machines,
07:58took sick leave constantly,
08:00and ruined a massive batch of expensive dyed fabric.
08:03The human boss wanted to fire her,
08:05but Zane used his gamma influence to protect her.
08:08I just smirked, handed a fresh bottle of Wolfbane antidote to a mercenary,
08:13and felt absolutely nothing.
08:15One evening, as I was packing up my crates,
08:18the heavy stomping of combat boots made the ground vibrate.
08:21Several heavily armed market enforcers blocked my stall.
08:25Zane's personal beta guard, Jax, was among them,
08:29pacing anxiously, avoiding my eyes.
08:31My stomach dropped.
08:33Before I could speak, the enforcer captain,
08:35wearing a red armband, stepped up.
08:38Serena, we received a tip.
08:40You're accused of smuggling lethal contraband into packed territory.
08:44You must have the wrong person.
08:45I sell healing herbs.
08:47What contraband?
08:48Search it!
08:50Four wolves tore my stall apart.
08:53Just a few minutes later,
08:54an enforcer dragged two heavy wooden crates from under my table,
08:57and smashed them on the ground.
08:59The wood splintered.
09:01Dozens of pure silver daggers,
09:03coated in refined, weaponized wolf's vein,
09:06spilled out onto the cobblestones.
09:09That's weaponized wolf bait on those silver blades.
09:13She's selling lethal weapons to rogues.
09:16My daggers now wants to.
09:18That's a death sentence.
09:21I stared at the silver daggers,
09:23my blood turning to ice.
09:25Those crates weren't mine.
09:27I had been framed.
09:29The crowd parted, and Quinn shrank forward.
09:31Serena, how could you be so stupid?
09:35But her eyes gleamed maliciously as they swept over me.
09:38She cried, making sure her voice carried to everyone.
09:41I told you to stop doing illegal things,
09:43but you called me a nosy bitch!
09:49She pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket,
09:52waving it as if it burned her fingers.
09:54You said because you lost the pup you wanted to make fast money
09:57to buy your way into the safe zone.
09:59It was the most absurd, sickening lie I had ever heard.
10:02Zane pushed his way to the front.
10:04When his eyes landed on the wolf's vein coated silver,
10:07his face turned the color of ash.
10:10He looked at me.
10:10His-
10:12Serena!
10:14If you needed money, why didn't you come to me?
10:17Why would you shame me and the pack by doing this?
10:19Zane, don't blame her!
10:21She lost her mind after the miscarriage.
10:23I tried to stop her, but she said I didn't understand
10:26what it's like to be poor.
10:27He turned to the enforcer captain.
10:31Captain, she has committed a crime.
10:34I am a gamma of this pack.
10:35I will not shield a criminal.
10:37But, please.
10:42Considering she recently suffered a miscarriage and is mentally unstable.
10:48Show her mercy.
10:51I will take her punishment.
10:53I will beg the Alpha.
10:57I'll give up my rank to pay off her sins.
11:02Just don't let them execute her.
11:04In my past life, I would have begged for this kind of protection.
11:08Now, hearing it, knowing he said it only because he completely bought Quinn's bullshit, made me want to vomit.
11:15He didn't even ask me if I did it.
11:17He just instantly condemned me, playing the righteous hero who still loved his broken, wicked mate.
11:24Four years as mates, Zane, and you genuinely think I'm the kind of bitch who would smuggle wolf-lice coated
11:29silver just for a quick buck?
11:31I spat, my voice laced with venom.
11:33Zane flinched.
11:35His eyes were completely bloodshot, filled with that sickening, patronizing disappointment.
11:42The contraband is literally sitting in front of you.
11:45Do you want to be executed, Serena?
11:48Is it so fucking hard to just admit you made a mistake?
11:50He grabbed my shoulders, his grip bruising my skin.
11:53Just plead guilty.
11:54Pay the fine.
11:55I'll handle the alpha.
11:56I will strip myself of my gamma title to save you from the silver block, but you need to submit!
12:04This was Zane, always intoxicating himself with his own profound, sacrificial love, while physically shoving me into a fucking abyss.
12:13I didn't do it!
12:14I snarled, shoving his chest so hard he stumbled back.
12:21I'd rather let them tear my throat out than confess to a lie!
12:26Suddenly, old Madame Clara, the human woman who rented me the stall space, charged forward.
12:31She was brandishing a heavy iron soup ladle like a weapon.
12:34Who the hell are you calling a smuggler?
12:37This girl works herself to the bone before the sun even rises.
12:41She doesn't have time to deal with rogue scum!
12:45Then, Clara paused, her eyes widening.
12:47Wait a damn minute.
12:49I saw you!
12:50You were sneaking around Serena's crates last night.
12:54I thought you were just a jealous friend snooping around.
12:57You planted this shit!
13:03Quinn's face lost every drop of color.
13:05She immediately swayed on her feet, clutching her chest as if she had been shot.
13:11My heart-
13:12And just like that, the crowd's sympathy swung right back to the frail, trembling Omega.
13:17Weakness was always a weapon.
13:19Zane's expression turned utterly lethal.
13:23Blind you shelving to history.
13:25Are you, you sign to you people, Stott's been spotting the Xurid to Gowen and his be Lundsen and Nantes
13:31again?
13:31Are you trying to give her a fatal heart attack just to escape punishment?
13:38Put the cuffs on her!
13:40Now!
13:43The Enforcer Captain didn't hesitate.
13:45He pulled out a pair of heavy, pure silver handcuffs that burned a werewolf's skin on contact.
13:51Zane turned away, shielding Quinn from the sight, playing the heartbroken mate to perfection.
14:00Take her to the cells. I'll come down to sort it out.
14:03Before the silver could touch my wrists, the deafening screech of heavy tires ripped through the market.
14:12The air instantly grew impossibly thick.
14:15Everyone present immediately dropped to their knees, bearing their necks in submission.
14:19The pure, terrifying dominance of an Alpha aura washed over the street.
14:24Alpha Jackson stepped out of the vehicle, his boots hitting the pavement like thunder.
14:32What in the goddess name is happening to the wolf who just saved our entire pack from a smuggling rim
14:36-
14:36Alpha Jackson was the absolute law, a ruthless, fair leader who valued strength over all else.
14:43Zane scrambled to his feet, instantly snapping a salute, his face coated in cold sweat.
14:48Alpha!
14:50It's an internal dispute.
14:52Serena was caught smuggling silver daggers, and I am enforcing the law!
14:56Smuggling?
15:00Are you a fucking idiot, Zane?
15:02Serena is the one who tipped my personal guard off to this shipment!
15:07Zane blinked, completely, utterly stunned.
15:15She tipped you off?
15:16But there's an eyewitness who saw her-
15:19Gamma, Zane.
15:20If you lack even the basic investigated instincts to see a blatant frame-up, you're not fit to lead my
15:26warriors.
15:29Alpha!
15:30My tiny heart!
15:31Alpha!
15:31Get the medic!
15:31Alpha!
15:33My...
15:34My...
15:34My...
15:34My...
15:34My tiny heart!
15:35My tiny heart!
15:41Zane reached for her purely on instinct, but Jackson's massive hands swatted him away like a fly.
15:48Don't touch her.
15:48She turned to the man's...
15:49The pack doctor.
15:50The doctor knelt, gripping Quinn's wrist with brutal efficiency.
15:54He pried open her eyelids as she thrashed and shrieked in panic.
15:59Her pulse is perfectly strong.
16:01Pupils dilating normally.
16:02Her heart is healthier than mine.
16:04This Omega is entirely faking it!
16:06It's a pathetic theatrical performance!
16:10Zane looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
16:13He turned slowly, staring down at Quinn, his mind fracturing in real time.
16:18Quinn?
16:19You told me you had a congenital heart defect.
16:22You told me you were dot-
16:23Quinn's lips trembled.
16:24Zane!
16:25I was just scared!
16:26The doctor is wrong!
16:28Alpha Jackson scoffed.
16:30He snapped his fingers.
16:33That's her!
16:34Shut up!
16:35That's the bitch who paid me 50 silver oins to stash the crates under the apothetrie stall.
16:41She promised me more money when the girl was executed.
16:44I still carry her scent on the silver daggers.
16:48Zane snatched the rogue by the throat, smelling the indisputable proof.
16:53The faint, sickeningly sweet scent of Quinn's Omega pheromones coated the contraband daggers.
16:59His entire spine seemed to snap.
17:02He dropped the rogue and stared at his hands.
17:04Why?
17:06I gave you the sanctuary pass.
17:10I let my own pup die to take care of you.
17:16Why would you frame Serena?
17:19Realizing she was trapped, Quinn dropped the fragile act.
17:24Because I hate her!
17:26Why does she get to have you?
17:28Why does she get a pup while I'm stuck as a useless widow?
17:32And don't act like a fucking saint, Zane!
17:35If you actually trusted her, you wouldn't have condemned her without a single question!
17:40You handed her to the wolves yourself!
17:42You're just a stupid, gullible fool!
17:45Every word was a razor blade slicing straight across Zane's throat.
17:50Take her to the dungeons.
17:52Strip her of her widow benefits.
18:00Quinn was dragged away, kicking and screaming obscenities into the night sky.
18:05Then, Alpha Jackson walked right up to Zane.
18:10You are suspended indefinitely, Zane.
18:12Until you figure out how to use your fucking brain, don't let me see you in uniform.
18:21Jackson turned to me, giving me a nod of deep respect, before driving off into the night.
18:27I stood there, feeling the biting winter wind against my cheeks.
18:31I knew everything beforehand.
18:33I knew Quinn would try to frame me, so I tipped the Alpha off hours ago.
18:38It was a trap, and they both walked right into it.
18:46The crowd dispersed into the shadows, leaving nothing but broken crates, scattered silver daggers, and a shattered man standing in
18:52the mud.
18:53Zane seemed to finally wake from a nightmare.
18:57Serena!
19:00I'm sorry.
19:03Goddess, I am so fucking sorry.
19:05His dirty hands grasped empty air.
19:09I was blinded.
19:11I thought I was protecting you from execution by making you confess.
19:16You are con-snow.
19:17You don't mow be the sauntie, and I'm much tought the way.
19:21Come eft to meet me, of protectionist friends.
19:26Sucked.
19:34Don't touch me, Zane.
19:36You disgust me.
19:42Take it. Take everything.
19:44We can start over. I'll make it right.
19:47I'll go to the Alpha tomorrow and beg for your sanctuary pass back.
19:50We can have another pup, Serena! I swear on my life!
19:55I stared at the crumpled money in his desperate, shaking hands.
19:58Do you remember what you were doing the afternoon I lost the pup, Zane?
20:04I-I-I was fixing Quinn's roof because of the storm.
20:10He froze, his mouth opening and closing.
20:15Yes.
20:17You were fixing another woman's roof.
20:19I spat, leaning down so my face was inches from his.
20:24Can this money buy back my blood? Can it buy back the heartbeat of my pup?
20:29I don't hate your sense of honor, Zane.
20:31I just pity your fucking stupidity.
20:34Our bond means less than dirt to me now.
20:36I turned away and walked toward the pack's public notice board in the center of the market.
20:40With a silver dagger, I carved my blood onto the wood, declaring a permanent, spiritual mate rejection.
20:47The magic flared red, then snapped.
20:51The searing pain of a broken bond hit me, but it felt like glorious freedom.
20:56I left Zane kneeling in the dirt, wailing into the night like a dying animal.
21:01The great gamma commander, stripped of his rank, stripped of his mate, left with absolutely nothing but the ashes of
21:08his own arrogance.
21:09Two years pass like a blur of blood, sweat, and gold.
21:13Riding the wave of the expanding neutral zone, I transform my humble apothecary stall into a massive trade guild.
21:19I don't fear the exhaustion, and I don't fear the rogue-infested borders.
21:23Whatever rare herbs or enchanted weapons the market demands, my caravans deliver.
21:28Now I am the undisputed empress of the borderlands.
21:31I wear tailored suits instead of blood-stained jeans, and alphas from neighboring packs request meetings with me just to
21:37secure supply lines.
21:39It is during the grand opening of my newest flagship store that I hear news of Zane again.
21:44I stand behind the floor-to-ceiling glass of my office, directing my staff, when a shadow catches my eye
21:50across the street.
21:51It is a man in a battered, stripped military jacket.
21:55His face is hidden behind a wild, unkempt beard, and his broad shoulders are completely hunched.
22:00He looks absolutely nothing like the arrogant, formidable gamma commander he once was.
22:05He doesn't dare to cross the street.
22:07He just stands in the freezing rain, staring greedily through the glass at my figure.
22:12He looks like a starved, abandoned stray dog, desperate, broken, and pathetic.
22:17I just stand there, meeting his gaze with absolute, chilling indifference.
22:23After a long minute, as if my lack of emotion physically burns him, he flinches, pulls up his collar, and
22:30limps away into the alley.
22:34The next morning, my beta assistant hands me a wrapped package left at the storefront.
22:39Inside sits a crudely carved wooden statue of a wolf pup.
22:43The wood is polished smooth, clearly rubbed by callous thumbs a thousand times over.
22:48Beneath it lies a bank transfer receipt directed to an orphanage under my name, and a heavily bloodstained letter.
22:54The handwriting is violent, shaky, desperate.
22:58Serena, I joined the border suicide squad.
23:01I hunt the most rabid rogues now.
23:03It's a death sentence, but every time I clear a rogue camp or dismantle a silver trap, I tell myself
23:08I am building karma for the pup we lost.
23:11Quinn confessed to everything to get a lighter sentence.
23:14She admitted she set up the wolf's bane and silver daggers because she was jealous of your pregnancy.
23:18I sat outside the dungeon all night and vomited blood from the regret.
23:22I know you don't want to see me.
23:24I know my redemption means nothing to you.
23:26I carved this pup for the pup we lost.
23:29Throw it away if my scent disgusts you.
23:31I will never disturb you again.
23:33I finish reading the letter.
23:35My heart is a stagnant pool of water.
23:37Not a single ripple.
23:39This self-indulgent guilt trip means absolutely nothing to me.
23:42Even if he gets his throat ripped out by a rogue tomorrow, it won't bring back the pup he let
23:47die.
23:47Nor will it erase the trauma he carved into my soul.
23:50Without a second thought, I drop the wooden pup and the bloody letter straight into the incinerator bin.
23:56I wipe my hands and walk back out to the trading floor.
23:59Zane's profound love is far too late and entirely too cheap.
24:03Five years later.
24:04The pack territory suffers a devastating earthquake, collapsing entire sectors of the safe zone.
24:10I sit in the front row of the disaster relief commendation ceremony, honored as the top civilian sponsor and guild
24:16leader.
24:17The crowd erupts into deafening applause when the alpha calls the name of the final recipient.
24:22Rogue hunter and rescue hero, Zane.
24:26The heavy velvet curtains part.
24:28A nurse pushes a wheelchair onto the stage.
24:30It is Zane.
24:31He wears a spotless, unranked military uniform, his chest heavy with medals.
24:37But beneath his waist, his pant legs are completely empty.
24:41Zane, what sustained you for ten hours as you held up the steel beam to save the pregnant Omega, and
24:48in doing so, you lost both your legs?
24:54Because I have a debt to pay.
24:57I once murdered my own pup with my ignorance.
24:59This time I had to save someone else's pup.
25:01The goddess gave me a chance to pay back the life I owe.
25:04That's all.
25:05After the ceremony, Zane's former beta, Jax, intercepts me in the VIP hallway.
25:10Jax has red, swollen eyes.
25:12He holds out a small velvet box with trembling hands.
25:18Guildmaster Serena, Zane asked me to give this to you.
25:24A dark, rusted stain of his own blood mars the golden surface.
25:31He says he has no right to see you.
25:34This was the gift he promised your pup years ago.
25:37It's the only valuable thing he has left in this world.
25:39He also told me to tell you, Quinn was released from prison last month.
25:43She froze to death on the streets outside the safe zone.
25:48Zane says it's karma.
25:51Their karma finally caught up.
25:54I look at the blood-stained metal.
25:56It cost him his legs.
25:58It cost him half his life.
26:02Tell him I don't hate him anymore.
26:05Hating him is a waste of my energy.
26:09I pull a silver pen from my blazer and scribble a quick line on the back of my business card,
26:14dropping it onto the box.
26:17I turn on my stiletto heels, my steps echoing sharply against the marble floor.
26:21The note on the card reads,
26:23Mutual non-disturbance is the best ending.
26:26Zane traded his legs for that pregnant wolf's life.
26:29That repays her.
26:31It repays himself.
26:32But regarding me?
26:33I have already moved on and I never look back.
26:36The golden scissors slice cleanly through the red silk ribbon outside my newly built guild headquarters.
26:42I smile flawlessly, waving at the pack leaders and human merchants who have gathered to celebrate.
26:47Madam Serena, the Alpha's office just sent word.
26:52Zane passed away this morning.
26:57My hand holding the scissors pauses.
27:00Exactly one second.
27:01Completely ignoring the whisper.
27:05Excellent turnout today.
27:07I hand the scissors to an assistant and walk gracefully into the warm, brilliantly lit banquet hall.
27:13I do not attend his funeral.
27:15A week later, an enforcer delivers a heavy iron lockbox to my penthouse.
27:19They tell me it is Zane's dying wish.
27:22I miss you so much I can't breathe.
27:25Serena, I dreamt of our pup.
27:26He called me dad, but when I reached out, my hands were covered in his blood.
27:31Serena, if only I hadn't given her that pass.
27:33If only you were still by my-
27:35I look at the pile of letters.
27:36There is no grief in my chest.
27:39Only a profound, liberating exhalation of relief.
27:43It's finally over.
27:44The flames roar to life, greedily devouring the paper.
27:48The firelight reflects in my calm, dry eyes.
27:51Ash drifts up into the cold night sky,
27:54disappearing into the falling snow,
27:56leaving absolutely no trace behind.
27:59The following spring, I visit the border orphanage
28:02and adopt a wolf pup who lost his parents in a rogue attack.
28:05His eyes are as clear as a mountain spring.
28:08I name him Nova.
28:09Not to remember the past, but to celebrate a supernova of new life.
28:13He will inherit my empire, not a legacy of sorrow.
28:18Mom, dinner is ready.
28:19The board members are waiting to toast you.
28:27I have wealth, absolute power, and a son who adores me.
28:31A sudden blizzard begins to howl around the glass,
28:34looking exactly like the storm from that afternoon when I lost my first pup,
28:38and nearly bled out alone.
28:40Back then, I thought the sky was falling.
28:42now I know it was just the brutal birth of my freedom.
28:46And the earthly birth, I
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