- 6 hours ago
After He Let Our Pup Die I Rejected The Gamma Commander - FULL EP 2026
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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.
00:21But he didn't look at me with grief.
00:23He looked at me with pure, unadulterated fury.
00:29A fucking life, Serena!
00:31How 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.
00:49The doctor said you miscarried.
00:51But I know you, Serena.
00:54You were furious that I gave the sanctuary pass to Quinn.
01:00Did you take Wolfsame?
01:01Did you kill our pup just to spine me?
01:06I flapped 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.
01:16If 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?
01:36But how would that work, Zane?
01:38You have to save half your stiffage to support Quinn.
01:46Quinn'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 jello-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.
02:10Ever 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.
02:20How she would never be blessed with a pup.
02:22It 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.
02:32Believe 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.
02:57If 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.
03:12Even an outsider, you can see how monstrous this is.
03:15You murdered your own flesh and blood, and now you're taking it out on Quinn?
03:19Zane, don't yell at her.
03:20It's my fault.
03:22I'm just a burden.
03:22His 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, but 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 and strode out of the room without a backward glance.
03:50Silence swallowed the room.
03:54Silence swallowed the room.
03:55A nurse hurried in.
03:56Where did the gamma go?
03:58Where 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, and 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.
04:37He 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.
05:12See...
05:17I know your hormones are everywhere because of the miscarriage.
05:20You're emotional.
05:21I 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.
05:33Please, come 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.
05:50You don't have a clan backing you.
05:55How do you plan to survive without me, Serena?
05:58You'll starve in this neutral zone.
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, how 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
07:28and 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.
07:38In 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
07:46to 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,
08:06but Zane used his gamma influence to protect her.
08:08I just smirked,
08:10handed 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,
08:28pacing anxiously, avoiding my eyes.
08:31My stomach dropped.
08:33Before I could speak,
08:34the enforcer captain, wearing a red armband, stepped up.
08:37Serena, we received a tip.
08:40You're accused of smuggling lethal contraband into Pact territory.
08:44You must have the wrong person.
08:46I sell healing herbs.
08:47What contraband?
08:48Search it!
08:50Four wolves tore my stall apart.
08:53Less than two 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.
09:16I dug this now, was too.
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.
09:28The crowd parted and Quinn shrank forward.
09:31Serena, how could you be so stupid?
09:34But 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, you said because you lost the pup,
09:56you wanted to make fast money to 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 Wolfsbane-coated silver,
10:07his face turned the color of ash.
10:09He looked at me.
10:11His...
10:12Serena,
10:14if you needed money,
10:15why didn't you come to me?
10:17Why would you shame me in 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,
10:24but she said I didn't understand what it's like to be poor.
10:27He turned to the Enforcer Captain.
10:30Captain,
10:32she has committed a crime.
10:33I am a gamma of this pack.
10:35I will not shield a criminal.
10:37But,
10:38please,
10:42considering she recently suffered a miscarriage
10:44and 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
10:58to pay off her sins.
11:01Just
11:03don't let them execute her.
11:04In my past life,
11:06I would have begged for this kind of protection.
11:08Now,
11:09hearing it,
11:10knowing he said it only because he completely bought Quinn's bullshit,
11:13made me want to vomit.
11:15He didn't even ask me if I did it.
11:17He just instantly condemned me,
11:19playing the righteous hero who still loved his broken, wicked mate.
11:23Four years as mates, Zane,
11:25and you genuinely think I'm the kind of bitch
11:27who would smuggle wolf-lice coated silver
11:29just for a quick buck?
11:31I spat,
11:31my voice laced with venom.
11:33Zane flinched.
11:35His eyes were completely bloodshot,
11:37filled with that sickening,
11:38patronizing disappointment.
11:41The contraband is literally sitting in front of you.
11:45Do you want to be executed, Serena?
11:47Is it so fucking hard to just admit you made a mistake?
11:50He grabbed my shoulders,
11:51his 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
11:58to save you from the silver block,
12:00but you need to submit!
12:04This was Zane,
12:05always intoxicating himself
12:07with his own profound,
12:08sacrificial love,
12:09while physically shoving me
12:11into a fucking abyss.
12:12I didn't do it!
12:14I snarled,
12:15shoving his chest so hard
12:16he stumbled back.
12:21I'd rather let them tear my throat out
12:23than confess to a lie!
12:26Suddenly,
12:27old Madam Clara,
12:28the human woman
12:28who rented me the stall space,
12:30charged forward.
12:31She was brandishing
12:32a heavy iron soup ladle
12:34like a weapon.
12:34Who the hell are you calling a smuggler?
12:37This girl works herself to the bone
12:39before the sun even rises.
12:42She doesn't have time
12:43to deal with rogue scum!
12:44Then,
12:45Clara paused,
12:46her eyes widening.
12:47Wait a damn minute.
12:49I saw you!
12:50You were sneaking around
12:52Serena's crates last night.
12:54I thought you were just
12:55a jealous friend snooping around.
12:57You planted this shit!
13:03Quinn's face lost
13:04every drop of color.
13:05She immediately swayed on her feet,
13:07clutching her chest
13:08as if she had been shot.
13:11And just like that,
13:12the crowd's sympathy
13:13swung right back
13:14to the frail,
13:15trembling Omega.
13:16Weakness was always a weapon.
13:19Zane's expression
13:20turned utterly lethal.
13:22Blind you shelving to history.
13:25Are you,
13:25you sign to you people,
13:27Stott's been spotting
13:27the Xurid
13:28to Gowen
13:29and his be Lundsen
13:30and Nights againt?
13:31Are you trying to give her
13:33a fatal heart attack
13:34just to escape punishment?
13:38Put the cuffs on her!
13:40Now!
13:43The Enforcer Captain
13:44didn't hesitate.
13:45He pulled out a pair
13:46of heavy, pure silver handcuffs
13:48that burned a werewolf's skin
13:49on contact.
13:50Zane turned away,
13:52shielding Quinn from the sight,
13:53playing the heartbroken mate
13:54to perfection.
13:59Take her to the cells.
14:01I'll come down
14:02to sort it out.
14:02Before the silver
14:04could touch my wrists,
14:05the deafening screech
14:06of heavy tires
14:07ripped through the market.
14:12The air instantly grew
14:13impossibly thick.
14:15Everyone present
14:15immediately dropped
14:16to their knees,
14:17bearing their necks
14:18in submission.
14:19The pure, terrifying
14:21dominance of an Alpha aura
14:22washed over the street.
14:24Alpha Jackson
14:25stepped out of the vehicle,
14:26his boots hitting the pavement
14:27like thunder.
14:31What in the goddess name
14:33is happening to the wolf
14:34who just saved our entire pack
14:35from a smuggling ring?
14:36Alpha Jackson
14:37was the absolute law,
14:38a ruthless,
14:39fair leader
14:40who valued strength
14:41over all else.
14:42Zane scrambled
14:43to his feet,
14:44instantly snapping a salute,
14:46his face coated
14:47in cold sweat.
14:48Alpha!
14:49It's an internal dispute.
14:51Serena was caught
14:52smuggling silver daggers,
14:54and I am enforcing the law!
14:56Smuggling?
14:59Are you a fucking idiot,
15:01Zane?
15:02Serena is the one
15:02who tipped my personal guard
15:04off to this shipment!
15:07Zane blinked,
15:08completely, utterly stunned.
15:14She tipped you off?
15:16But there's an eyewitness
15:18who saw her-
15:19Gamma, Zane.
15:20If you lack even
15:21the basic investigated instincts
15:22to see a blatant frame-up,
15:24you're not fit
15:25to lead my warriors.
15:28Alpha,
15:29my tiny heart!
15:31Get the medic!
15:31Alpha,
15:33my,
15:33my heart,
15:35my tiny heart!
15:37I'm dying!
15:38I'm dying!
15:40I'm dying!
15:41I'm dying!
15:41Zane reached for her
15:42purely on instinct,
15:43but Jackson's massive hand
15:44swatted him away like a fly.
15:46Don't touch her!
15:47He nodded to the man's,
15:49the pack doctor.
15:50The doctor knelt,
15:52gripping Quinn's wrist
15:53with brutal efficiency.
15:54He pried open her eyelids
15:56as she thrashed
15:57and shrieked in panic.
15:59Her pulse is perfectly strong.
16:01Pupils dilating normally.
16:02Her heart is healthier than mine.
16:04This Omega
16:04is entirely faking it.
16:06It's a pathetic
16:07theatrical performance!
16:10Zane looked as if
16:11he had been struck
16:11by lightning.
16:12He turned slowly,
16:14staring down at Quinn,
16:16his mind fracturing
16:17in real time.
16:18Quinn?
16:19You told me you had
16:20a congenital heart defect.
16:21You told me you were done.
16:22Quinn's lips trembled.
16:24Zane,
16:24I was just scared.
16:26The doctor is wrong.
16:28Alpha Jackson scoffed.
16:29He snapped his fingers.
16:33That's her!
16:34Shut up!
16:35That's the bitch
16:35who paid me 50 silver oins
16:38to stash the crates
16:39under the apothetrile stall.
16:41She promised me more money
16:43when the girl was executed.
16:44I still carry her scent
16:46on the silver daggers.
16:48Zane snatched the rogue
16:49by the throat,
16:50smelling the indisputable proof.
16:52The faint,
16:54sickeningly sweet scent
16:55of Quinn's omega pheromones
16:56coated the contraband daggers.
16:59His entire spine
17:00seemed to snap.
17:01He dropped the rogue
17:03and stared at his hands.
17:04Why?
17:06I gave you
17:07the sanctuary pass.
17:10I let my own pup die
17:12to take care of you.
17:16Why would you frame Serena?
17:19Realizing she was trapped,
17:21Quinn dropped
17:22the fragile act.
17:24Because I hate her!
17:26Why does she get to have you?
17:28Why does she get a pup
17:29while I'm stuck
17:30as a useless widow?
17:32And don't act
17:32like a fucking saint, Zane!
17:34If you actually trusted her,
17:36you wouldn't have condemned her
17:38without a single question!
17:39You handed her
17:40to the wolves yourself!
17:42You're just a stupid,
17:43gullible fool!
17:45Every word was a razor blade
17:47slicing straight across
17:48Zane's throat.
17:49Take her to the dungeons.
17:51stripper of her widow benefits.
17:59Quinn was dragged away,
18:01kicking and screaming
18:02obscenities into the night sky.
18:05Then,
18:06Alpha Jackson walked
18:07right up to Zane.
18:09You are suspended indefinitely,
18:11Zane.
18:12Until you figure out
18:13how to use your fucking brain,
18:14don't let me see you in uniform.
18:21Jackson turned to me,
18:22giving me a nod of deep respect,
18:24before driving off into the night.
18:26I stood there,
18:28feeling the biting winter wind
18:30against my cheeks.
18:31I knew everything beforehand.
18:33I knew Quinn would try to frame me,
18:35so I tipped the Alpha off hours ago.
18:38It was a trap,
18:39and they both walked right into it.
18:45The crowd dispersed into the shadows,
18:48leaving nothing but broken crates,
18:49scattered silver daggers,
18:50and a shattered man standing in the mud.
18:53Zane seemed to finally wake from a nightmare.
18:57Serena!
19:00I'm sorry.
19:03Goddess,
19:03I am so fucking sorry.
19:05His dirty hands grasped empty air.
19:09I was blinded.
19:10I thought I was protecting you
19:12from execution by making you confess.
19:15You are con snow.
19:17You don't mow be the sauntie,
19:19and I'm watched off the way.
19:20Come have to meet me
19:21of protectionist friends.
19:25Suck.
19:34Don't touch me, Zane.
19:35You disgust me.
19:42Take it.
19:43Take everything.
19:44We can start over.
19:45I'll make it right.
19:46I'll go to the Alpha tomorrow
19:48and beg for your sanctuary pass back.
19:49We can have another pup, Serena.
19:51I swear on my life!
19:54I stared at the crumpled money
19:56in his desperate, shaking hands.
19:58Do you remember what you were doing
20:00the afternoon I lost the pup, Zane?
20:03I...
20:04I...
20:05I was fixing Quinn's roof
20:07because of the storm.
20:09He froze,
20:10his mouth opening and closing.
20:15Yes.
20:16You were fixing another woman's roof.
20:19I spat,
20:20leaning down
20:21so my face
20:22was inches from his.
20:23Can this money
20:24buy back my blood?
20:25Can it buy back
20:26the heartbeat of my pup?
20:28I don't hate
20:29your sense of honor, Zane.
20:31I just pity
20:32your fucking stupidity.
20:33Our bond means
20:34less than dirt to me now.
20:35I turned away
20:36and walked toward
20:37the pack's public notice board
20:38in the center of the market.
20:40With a silver dagger,
20:42I carved my blood
20:43onto the wood,
20:44declaring a permanent,
20:45spiritual mate rejection.
20:47The magic flared red,
20:49then snapped.
20:50The searing pain
20:51of a broken bond
20:52hit me,
20:53but it felt like
20:54glorious freedom.
20:55I left Zane
20:57kneeling in the dirt,
20:58wailing into the night
20:59like a dying animal.
21:01The great Gamma Commander,
21:03stripped of his rank,
21:04stripped of his mate,
21:05left with absolutely nothing
21:07but the ashes
21:08of his own arrogance.
21:09Two years pass
21:10like a blur
21:10of blood, sweat, and gold.
21:12Riding the wave
21:13of the expanding neutral zone,
21:15I transform my humble
21:16apothecary stall
21:17into a massive trade guild.
21:18I don't fear the exhaustion
21:20and I don't fear
21:21the rogue-infested borders.
21:23Whatever rare herbs
21:24or enchanted weapons
21:25the market demands,
21:26my caravans deliver.
21:28Now, I am the undisputed
21:29empress of the borderlands.
21:31I wear tailored suits
21:32instead of blood-stained jeans
21:34and alphas from neighboring packs
21:36request meetings with me
21:37just to secure supply lines.
21:39It is during the grand opening
21:40of my newest flagship store
21:42that I hear news of Zane again.
21:43I stand behind the floor-to-ceiling
21:46glass of my office,
21:47directing my staff,
21:48when a shadow catches my eye
21:50across the street.
21:51It is a man in a battered,
21:53stripped military jacket.
21:54His face is hidden behind
21:56a wild, unkempt beard,
21:57and his broad shoulders
21:58are completely hunched.
22:00He looks absolutely nothing
22:01like the arrogant,
22:02formidable Gamma Commander
22:03he once was.
22:05He doesn't dare
22:05to cross the street.
22:07He just stands
22:07in the freezing rain,
22:09staring greedily
22:10through the glass
22:10at my figure.
22:11He looks like a starved,
22:13abandoned stray dog,
22:14desperate, broken,
22:16and pathetic.
22:17I just stand there,
22:19meeting his gaze
22:20with absolute,
22:22chilling indifference.
22:23After a long minute,
22:24as if my lack of emotion
22:26physically burns him,
22:27he flinches,
22:28pulls up his collar,
22:29and limps away
22:30into the alley.
22:34The next morning,
22:35my beta assistant
22:36hands me a wrapped package
22:37left at the storefront.
22:39Inside sits a crudely carved
22:41wooden statue
22:42of a wolf pup.
22:43The wood is polished smooth,
22:45clearly rubbed by callous thumbs
22:46a thousand times over.
22:48Beneath it lies
22:49a bank transfer receipt
22:50directed to an orphanage
22:51under my name,
22:52and a heavily bloodstained letter.
22:54The handwriting is violent,
22:56shaky, desperate.
22:57Serena,
22:58I join the border suicide squad.
23:00I hunt the most rabid rogues now.
23:03It's a death sentence,
23:04but every time I clear a rogue camp
23:05or dismantle a silver trap,
23:07I tell myself
23:08I am building karma
23:09for the pup we lost.
23:10Quinn confessed to everything
23:12to get a lighter sentence.
23:13She admitted she set up
23:14the wolf's bane
23:15and silver daggers
23:16because she was jealous
23:17of your pregnancy.
23:18I sat outside the dungeon
23:19all night
23:20and vomited blood
23:21from the regret.
23:22I know you don't want to see me.
23:24I know my redemption
23:25means nothing to you.
23:26I carved this pup
23:27for the pup we lost.
23:29Throw it away
23:29if 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
23:40means absolutely nothing to me.
23:42Even if he gets his throat
23:43ripped out by a rogue tomorrow,
23:45it won't bring back
23:46the pup he let die,
23:47nor will it erase the trauma
23:49he carved into my soul.
23:50Without a second thought,
23:51I drop the wooden pup
23:53and the bloody letter
23:53straight into the incinerator bin.
23:55I wipe my hands
23:56and walk back out
23:57to the trading floor.
23:59Zane's profound love
24:00is far too late
24:01and entirely too cheap.
24:03Five years later,
24:04the Pact territory
24:05suffers a devastating earthquake,
24:07collapsing entire sectors
24:08of the safe zone.
24:10I sit in the front row
24:11of the disaster relief
24:12commendation ceremony,
24:14honored as the top civilian sponsor
24:15and guild leader.
24:17The crowd erupts
24:18into deafening applause
24:19when the Alpha calls the name
24:20of the final recipient.
24:22Rogue hunter and rescue hero,
24:24Zane.
24:25The heavy velvet curtains part.
24:27A nurse pushes a wheelchair
24:29onto the stage.
24:30It is Zane.
24:31He wears a spotless,
24:33unranked military uniform,
24:35his chest heavy with medals.
24:37But beneath his waist,
24:38his pant legs are completely empty.
24:41Zane,
24:42what sustained you for ten hours
24:44as you held up the steel beam
24:45to save the pregnant Omega
24:47and in doing so,
24:48you lost both your legs?
24:54Because I have a debt to pay.
24:56I once murdered my own pup
24:57with my ignorance.
24:58This time,
24:59I had to save someone else's pup.
25:01The goddess gave me a chance
25:02to pay back the life I owe.
25:03That's all.
25:04After the ceremony,
25:05Zane's former beta,
25:07Jax,
25:07intercepts me in the VIP hallway.
25:09Jax has red, swollen eyes.
25:11He holds out a small velvet box
25:13with trembling hands.
25:17Guildmaster Serena,
25:19Zane asked me to give this to you.
25:24A dark, rusted stain of his own blood
25:26mars the golden surface.
25:31He says he has no right to see you.
25:34This was the gift he promised
25:35your pup years ago.
25:36It's the only valuable thing
25:37he has left in this world.
25:39He also told me to tell you
25:40Quinn was released from prison last month.
25:42She froze to death on the streets
25:44outside the safe zone.
25:48Zane says it's karma.
25:51Their karma finally caught up.
25:53I look at the blood-stained metal.
25:55It cost him his legs.
25:57It cost him half his life.
26:02Tell him I don't hate him anymore.
26:04Hating him is a waste of my energy.
26:09I pull a silver pen from my blazer
26:11and scribble a quick line
26:12on the back of my business card,
26:14dropping it onto the box.
26:16I turn on my stiletto heels,
26:18my steps echoing sharply
26:19against the marble floor.
26:21The note on the card reads,
26:23Mutual non-disturbance
26:24is the best ending.
26:26Zane traded his legs
26:27for that pregnant wolf's life.
26:29That repays her.
26:30It repays himself.
26:31But regarding me,
26:33I have already moved on
26:34and I never look back.
26:35The golden scissors slice
26:37cleanly through the red silk ribbon
26:39outside my newly built
26:40guild headquarters.
26:41I smile flawlessly,
26:43waving at the pack leaders
26:44and human merchants
26:45who have gathered to celebrate.
26:47Madam Serena,
26:48the Alpha's office just sent word.
26:52Zane passed away this morning.
26:57My hand holding the scissors pauses
26:59exactly one second,
27:01completely ignoring the whisper.
27:04Excellent turnout today.
27:06I hand the scissors to an assistant
27:08and walk gracefully
27:09into the warm,
27:10brilliantly lit banquet hall.
27:12I do not attend his funeral.
27:14A week later,
27:16an enforcer delivers
27:17a heavy iron lockbox
27:18to my penthouse.
27:19They tell me it is Zane's dying wish.
27:22I miss you so much
27:23I can't breathe.
27:24Serena,
27:25I dreamt of our pup.
27:26He called me dad,
27:27but when I reached out,
27:28my hands were covered
27:29in his blood.
27:30Serena,
27:31if only I hadn't given her
27:32that pass.
27:33If only you were still by my...
27:34I look at the pile of letters.
27:36There is no grief in my chest.
27:38Only a profound,
27:39liberating exhalation of relief.
27:42It's finally over.
27:44The flames roar to life,
27:46greedily devouring the paper.
27:47The firelight reflects
27:49in my calm, dry eyes.
27:51Ash drifts up
27:52into the cold night sky,
27:53disappearing into the falling snow,
27:56leaving absolutely no trace behind.
27:58The following spring,
28:00I visit the border orphanage
28:01and adopt a wolf pup
28:02who lost his parents
28:03in a rogue attack.
28:05His eyes are as clear
28:06as a mountain spring.
28:07I name him Nova.
28:09Not to remember the past,
28:10but to celebrate
28:11a supernova of new life.
28:13He will inherit my empire,
28:14not a legacy of sorrow.
28:17Mom, dinner is ready.
28:19The board members
28:20are waiting to toast you.
28:26I have wealth,
28:27absolute power,
28:29and a son who adores me.
28:31A sudden blizzard begins
28:32to howl around the glass,
28:33looking exactly like the storm
28:35from that afternoon
28:36when I lost my first pup
28:37and nearly bled out alone.
28:40Back then,
28:40I thought the sky was falling.
28:42Now,
28:43I know it was just
28:43the brutal birth of my freedom.
28:45But that's not like the sky.
28:45I was like a Hadrian什么.
28:45I don't
28:45know. I don't
28:45know. I think he
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