- 10 minutes ago
The Alpha's Regret - Her New Hero
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00:02To let my mate focus on his position, I stayed behind in the old estate, caring for his ailing
00:06mother. In this 10 years, Kalen returned once a year. He never touched me. He said that if I
00:12were to carry a pup while he was away, there would be no one to look after me, and that
00:16would break
00:16his heart. Every time he left, he cursed himself for his failings, swore on the moon he would come
00:21for me once he had made something of himself. In the 11th winter, heavy snow blocked the roads.
00:27Kalen sent word that he would be delayed. I was about to bring the news to Lady Maren when I
00:31heard
00:31her speaking with my sister-in-law. Mother, you've been faking this illness for over 10 years. How
00:37much longer? What else can be done? Kalen's heart has always belonged to that sworn sister of his.
00:42They bonded in secret, behind the pack's back. Their pups are nearly grown. If we don't keep
00:46Elena here, she'll go to the city and destroy everything. Kalen's rank as alpha of the eastern
00:50pack would be finished. Let it be. Keep quiet. Kalen said once his position is secure, he will
00:55make it right with Elena. My eyes burned. Kalen wasn't struggling. He was alpha of the eastern
01:00pack, and he hadn't been keeping his distance to protect me. He had someone else. I went to the
01:05training grounds and found the low-ranking warrior who had watched me for years. Do you still want
01:10me as your mate? Elena, I will treat you well, but give me one month. I march out tonight. This
01:16time
01:16I'll return with a deed worth claiming you. I don't need glory. Just come back safe.
01:24I watched him leave, then walked home. The estate should have been dark. Mother, you should have
01:29gone to bed by now. A tall figure stood against the candlelight. A familiar voice cut through
01:36the wind and snow. Elena, I'm home. A year had passed. Kalen carried himself differently
01:45now, steadier, with the quiet authority that comes with rank. He opened his arms, waiting
01:51for me to go to him the way I always had. I didn't. You haven't eaten, have you? Let
01:57me make you something. What's wrong? A year apart and you're not glad to see me? Are you
02:04angry with me? Go sit with Mother. I'll call you when the food is ready. Before I'd learned
02:08the truth, I had missed him. Had been a little cross with him, too. No mate wants to be kept
02:12so far away, for so long. But once I understood everything, I stopped wanting anything. Things
02:17became simpler. Better to park quietly than to rage and stay. I remained silent and cooked
02:22in the kitchen. Kalen followed. Elena, what's happened? Have you heard something?
02:26Out here in the backwoods, we barely see a stranger from one season to the next. What
02:29would I have heard? Don't worry yourself, Kalen. Elena, I came back to bring you all
02:33to the city. But there's something I need to tell you first. My chest tightened. I already
02:38knew what was coming. After ten years, he had finally run out of patience. You must be
02:43Elena. I'm Sarith, Kalen's sworn sister, and his mate. These are mine and Kalen's. Go
02:51on, call her Auntie Elena. Auntie Elena. Elena, let me explain.
02:58Elena, let me explain. I was ambushed by rogue wolves on the road to the city. Sarith saved
03:02my life. I only meant to take her in as a sworn sister. But she had no one, no pack,
03:06nowhere
03:06to go. I wanted to give her a home. It was gratitude, nothing more. If you're hurt, curse
03:10me, strike me, I'll bear it. I only ask that once you come to the city, you and she can
03:14find some people. Going to the city is a good thing. I'm not upset. Mother hasn't recovered
03:20in all this time. Perhaps the city healers will do what ours couldn't. Really? You forgive
03:25me? Elena, start packing tonight. We leave in two days and we'll make it back for Christmas.
03:32Mother doesn't have much. Packing her things won't take long. I'll sort her medicines for
03:36the road. You can all leave at first light. What do you mean? You're not coming with us?
03:43I met his gaze. My voice stayed level. Kaelin, if we leave for good, I need to settle the
03:49land and the estate first. Leaving it empty still means taxes to the pack. That's wasteful.
03:56Go ahead and take everyone home for Christmas. Once I've handled things here, I'll come to
04:01you in the spring. When I had first come to this estate, we lived in a borrowed den with
04:05walls that let the wind through, funding his studies, saving coin, until I had bought this
04:10house and these two fields. It had ended the family's hunger. It had given Kaelin a place
04:15to become what he was. Elena, I'm Alpha of the Eastern Pack now. Silver is not the problem.
04:20Give the land to whoever needs it. Save yourself the trouble. I earned it with my own hands.
04:24I'm not ready to let go. Trust me. Once it's done, I'll come to you. I won't be long.
04:31Kaelin hesitated. Kaelin, don't waver. The council's watching you. You leave her here and they dig
04:37into it and she says the wrong thing. Your seed is gone. I wasn't slow. I heard exactly what Kaelin
04:43had just said. So it wasn't a change of heart that had brought Kaelin back. If the pack council
04:48confirmed it, they would report it to the high alpha. The high alpha was a man who mated once
04:52and meant it. If Kaelin wanted to keep his rank, the most important thing was keeping me quiet.
04:59It would be a lie to say that didn't hurt. 13 years. I had given this mating everything.
05:04Kaelin was pack born but useless with his hands. Lady Marin was old and couldn't help. His brother
05:09was worse than useless. The whole family ran on my back. I never complained. I nursed Lady Marin.
05:14I had believed that kind of devotion would hold a mate for life. I had overestimated what I was
05:18worth to him. I finally understood what they say. A man who climbs always drops what carried him.
05:24I held back the burn in my eyes. Kept it from spilling. So that's what you're worried about.
05:31I can put it in writing. Whoever asks, I'll say I'm Kaelin's pack sister, his adopted blood kin.
05:38Nothing more. Lady Marin and Kareth both stared. After a long silence, Kaelin said, half believing.
05:46You would really do that for me? I smiled and nodded. For you, I would do anything. But to be
05:53safe.
05:54There's something you need to destroy first. Kaelin was cautious. What? I answered without
06:00flinching. The mating scroll. Yours and mine. Out here in the back territories, we hadn't stood
06:08on ceremony when we bonded. A mating scroll. A shared cup. That was all it had taken. No pack record.
06:15No council seal. So if the scroll was gone, I was no longer Kaelin's mate. I only had to wait
06:20for
06:21the warrior to come home. Then I could be claimed properly. I expected Kaelin to want this without
06:26hesitation. Instead, he went quiet. Elena, you once told me that scroll was the most precious
06:33thing you owned. You've given so much for this pack. For me, if you burned the last thing you held
06:39onto, how much would that cost you? Let's leave the scroll as it is.
06:44He had seen everything I'd sacrificed. He had remembered all of it. And still, year after
06:51year, he had left me here while he built a life with someone else. If he could watch out
06:55all of that and stay, then I had no reason left to hold onto one sheet of parchment. But
07:00I knew him. He wouldn't simply let me go.
07:05Kaelin, you know how much that scroll means to me. But for your future, I have to let it
07:11go. Once you take me to the city properly, you can make me a new one. Wouldn't that be
07:19enough?
07:20She's right. Your position can't afford loose threads.
07:25Burn it. Elena has done this for you. Make it up to her later.
07:32Elena, hiding this from you, that was wrong. But trust me, I will make this right. Wait
07:41for me. I will come for you myself with the best claiming gifts I can find. I'll take you
07:45as Kaelin again, properly this time.
07:47In that moment, he looked entirely sincere. I chose not to believe it. I decided it was
07:54only something I was imagining. I lit both scrolls myself. The fire took them. That absurd
07:59mating those wasted years. And with them, the last of what I had held onto for over a decade.
08:09After Kaelin had gone in with Kareth and the children, she dropped the act entirely and
08:13sank to her knees in front of me. Elena, I failed you. I hid it from you all these years.
08:25You must hate me.
08:27Her hair had gone fully white. She was crying without restraint. I couldn't bring myself to
08:32leave her there. I helped her up.
08:36Mother, I know you love your son too much. I don't blame you. The illness was a pretense. But your
08:45body
08:45has aught its real troubles. When you reach the city, listen to the healers. Elena, how can you be
08:53so good? When I'm gone, who will ever look after me the way you have? No matter what Kaelin does
09:00to
09:01you, I will always count you as my own daughter. I will never let anyone mistreat you.
09:08I understood her helplessness. I had never held it against her. But I was done trusting her too.
09:12She was still a mother. No matter what she said, her heart would always tilt toward her son. If the
09:17day came when she had to choose between Kaelin and me, she would choose him without a second thought.
09:22Mother, it's fine. Whoever Kaelin takes as his mate, she'll be half a daughter to you.
09:27You don't owe me anything. I had barely stepped out of Lady Meryn's room when Kareth was waiting
09:34in the yard. Elena, don't take anything Kaelin says at face value. The truth is, he never rescued
09:41me. I had thought that Lady Meryn's decade of deception and Kaelin's betrayal were already the
09:46worst of it. I was wrong. There was still more they had kept from me. Sareth had never saved Kaelin's
09:51life. It was the other way around. Kaelin had seen her, wanted her, used the blood sister bond
09:56as a way in, and destroyed the claiming she already had. Calling her his rescuer was Kaelin's
10:01strategy. He knew I was soft, that I always repaid what was owed. He had spoken to Lady
10:05Meryn first and built the story together. Something designed to make me accept it, to make me give
10:10in. So everything he said about claiming you properly, it's nothing. Go to the city and you'll
10:15be a lesser mate, that's all. Oh, and his mother. All that talk about treating you like a daughter,
10:20do you believe it? When it comes down to you or her own grandchildren, who do you think
10:24she picks? Are you done? The morning they left, I walked the family to the edge of the
10:30settlement. I unclasped the only thing of value I still wore, the Luna Elder's silver
10:34clasp, and placed it in Sareth's hand. That's yours, Elena. Keep it. I shook my head and pinned
10:39it to Kareth's collar myself. I said, everyone in the settlement knows this clasp is the Luna
10:44Elder's piece, passed to the mate of the pack's heir. If I keep wearing it, it draws questions.
10:48Better that Sareth has it. Mother, Elena is right. When we're together again, I'll give it back.
10:53Elena, what I give you belongs to you. In my heart, you are the only true mate this family
10:57has had. When you come to the city, I will get it back for you. Foster brother, that pendant was
11:03my grandmother's. The only thing she left me. Could you return it? Elena, I'm not used to you
11:09calling me that. When there's no one listening, call me what you always have.
11:16Better to be careful. We can't hand anyone a thread to pull. Fine. Once I've claimed you
11:21properly, you can go back to it. Let me keep the pendant for now. It was your gift to me.
11:28It's what we have between us. I never understood that. He used to resent the pendant, said a grown
11:32male wearing something like that. Looked ridiculous. Now that I was willing to take it back, he had
11:36found reasons to keep it. Foster brother, Christmas is almost here. I'll be alone, and I'd like something
11:41to hold on to. When I come to the city, I'll make you another. Kaylin gave it up without warmth,
11:47pressing the pendant and a folded stack of silver notes into my hands. At the last moment, he turned
11:51back. He gripped my hand once. Stay home and wait. When spring opens the roads, I'll come for you
11:56myself. There's one more thing I haven't told you yet. All right. I watched them go, then walked back
12:01inside. I reached to the top of the cabinet and took down the pack I had already prepared.
12:08I left the silver notes on the table. Then I turned north and didn't look back. The warrior I had
12:12promised myself to was somewhere in that direction. I meant to be claimed before Kaylin ever came to
12:16collect me. When that day came, I would be someone else's. There would be nothing left to untangle,
12:22nothing left to demand of me. Winter roads are slow. I had little silver, and I was too careful
12:26with it to hire a cart. I walked when I could, stopped to take work in whatever town would have
12:30me,
12:30and moved on again when I'd saved enough. By the time the cold began to ease, I was close to
12:35the
12:35northern border. Elena, the border war is over. The northern campaign won. Once they process the
12:40captured forces, they'll be heading back through the territory. You'll see your promised mate before
12:43long. Your mate is a hero of this pack. Call it a gift from me. Hire a cart. Go meet
12:47him at the
12:48border city. Thank you. Hired a cart, and arrived before the soldiers did. With what little silver I
12:53had left, I found the city watch captain and pressed it into his hand. Captain, my promised mate's name is
13:00Aldric. When he arrives, please tell him I'm waiting in the second house east of the city gate.
13:07You're Aldric's promised mate?
13:11He smiled a little awkwardly.
13:13Keep it. Just put in a word for me if you ever get the chance.
13:17I had no idea what he meant. Aldric was a low-ranking warrior. What good would a word from him
13:22do? The
13:22captain had probably mistaken him for someone else. Still, silver saved was silver saved.
13:27Waiting wasn't easy. I knew what Aldric felt for me. He had shown it for years, but I had been
13:32made
13:33it before. I wasn't sure whether he had said yes out of true wanting, or out of something that would
13:37fade. Then again, I thought it through, and it settled. If he had changed his mind, I would manage
13:42on my own. I had two hands and enough stubbornness. I wouldn't starve. Once I was at peace with that,
13:48everything felt lighter.
13:51I started cutting fabric for a claiming dress, the best material I could find. Useful if things went well,
13:55a small pleasure for myself if they didn't. The first time I was claimed, there had been no
13:59wedding at all. The pack had nothing. No wedding dress. No feast. When I'd finally had coin to
14:04spare, the first thing I did was return two full jugs to that neighbor. She had held my hands and
14:08cried, Elena, a girl like you? Why did you stay in that pack? You've suffered so much. You're strong
14:13and you're lovely. You could have had an elder son and it wouldn't have been reaching. Why tie yourself
14:16to a scholar who can't lift his own pack and grind your life away? That's your bias speaking.
14:20I trust him. He won't fail me. You are such a fool. Now I understood. She was the one
14:25who had seen clearly. The day I slipped away from the settlement, I had nearly walked into
14:29Kaylin's sister-in-law. It was that neighbor who spotted her first. She held the woman back,
14:36then sent her husband to pass me word. Move. Now. Elena, that pack was never worthy of you.
14:43Go. Live freely. Stop letting them keep you caged. I'll deal with your sister-in-law.
14:50They won't know you're gone for a while. I never found out what she said to buy me the
14:55time, but it had worked. For an entire month, no one had come looking. People, though, have a way
15:00of undoing themselves. On the third day, a cart stopped outside my door. I thought it was Aldrich.
15:06I ran out. It wasn't. Kaylin stood there, dust on his shoulders.
15:10Elena. His voice worn down to gravel.
15:14Kaylin said, Elena, you have no idea how long I've been looking for you. He was across the yard in
15:19a
15:19few strides, his hand locking around my wrist hard enough to grind. Kaylin said,
15:24Elena, you promised me. Why did you leave? Why come all the way out here? I spent half a month
15:29preparing. I rode to the settlement myself to bring you home, and the house was empty. I said,
15:33do you know how frightened I was? I stopped pulling against his grip. Alpha Kaylin, why waste your
15:38concern on me? The mating scroll is ash. I'm not your pack anymore. Where I go, whether I live or
15:44die,
15:45none of that is your matter. Kaylin's jaw tightened. Elena, I know you're hurting.
15:49But this kind of recklessness doesn't suit you. You told me you would come to the city.
15:53You gave me your word. How can you break it like this? Something in me gave up trying to stay
15:58composed. I said, when we were claimed, you gave me your word too. You swore on the moon you would
16:04never take another mate. You broke that one first. So between the two of us, I'd say we're even.
16:13Kaylin saw that I meant it. His eyes went red at the edges. He pulled me close until there was
16:18almost no space between us. 13 years. You think that just cancels? Elena, I know I've wronged you.
16:25Let me make it right. Come back with me. I'll give you equal standing. You won't be beneath
16:30Kareth in anything. I promise. I couldn't stop a short dry sound from escaping. Kaylin took it for
16:36pride over the title and frowned. Elena, equal standing is the best I can do right now.
16:41Sereth. What she did for me? What she did for you? Are you still going to use that story?
16:47I cut him off. Kaylin, your apology has no effort in it at all. Kaylin went still. His eyes shifted.
16:53What do you mean by that?
16:57I watched the change move across his face and I took it apart, piece by piece.
17:01Sereth already told me everything. There were no rogue wolves. There was no rescue. You saw her,
17:07wanted her, and used the sworn sister bond to get close. You destroyed the claiming she already had
17:12and took her for yourself, calling her your rescuer. That was cover, nothing more. Kaylin's face went
17:18pale. He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. I was done wasting time. I moved to see him out. He
17:23found his voice. Elena, listen to me. Kareth is possessive. She said all of that to drive a wedge
17:29between us. You know how it is. No mate wants to share. I cut him off. I felt nothing in
17:34my chest
17:34anymore. It had all gone numb. You understand that. Which is why you kept me out here for 10 years,
17:40alone, while your mother faked an illness to hold me in place. Isn't that right?
17:47I said, if you care about her so much, stop chasing me. You'll hurt me and you'll hurt her.
17:52I wrenched my wrist free and stepped back. The Elena who existed before is gone. She died the day she
17:57found out the truth. Who I am now has no connection to you, to Kaylin, to your pack. Out of
18:03whatever
18:03feeling I once had, I won't say a single word against you. I'm only asking you to leave.
18:08My promised mate is returning with the army. I don't want him to misread this. Kaylin's spine
18:14went rigid. He looked up at me. He said, promised mate? Who? What's his name? I said, a low-ranking
18:20warrior. No one you'd know. Please go, Kaylin's expression curdled. Elena, have you lost your mind?
18:26You'd pass up an alpha of the eastern pack for some common soldier with a border stipend?
18:34He said, he could be dead by next season. And even if he's not, what does he earn? You'd
18:40go back to going hungry. You're not young anymore. Do you really want that kind of life again?
18:45I looked at him steadily. I wasn't afraid of hardship when I chose you. I'm not afraid of
18:51it now. Don't speak about my promised mate like that. He may not have your rank, but what
18:57he feels for me is real. Unlike you. Kaylin opened his mouth, then stopped. A long pause,
19:04then more controlled. Elena, you've misread all of this. I never stopped carrying you.
19:09He seemed to decide that words weren't enough and cut himself off. Come back with me. I'll show you.
19:14Give me the chance. The border campaign's war alpha, General Vane. He and I go back. I'll speak
19:20to him. As long as that warrior is reasonable, I'll find him a proper match myself. I'll cover
19:25the claiming gifts. I had always been slow to anger. This was one of the few times I wasn't.
19:35Staring at Kaylin, I struggled to contain my fury as I questioned him, asking if he had lost his mind.
19:41He didn't put it plainly, but I understood perfectly. He intended to use his status as the alpha of the
19:47eastern pack to pressure Aldrich into stepping aside. Aldrich was just a foot soldier, with no
19:53standing to resist an alpha of the eastern pack. In desperation, I grabbed the sword from Kaylin's
19:58side. I pressed the blade firmly against my own throat, warning him that if he dared to go near
20:03Aldrich, I would end my life right then and there. I told Kaylin that my life was not worth much,
20:11but if a pack alpha drove a free woman to her death, his own fate would not be better.
20:15Kaylin had always thought of me as cautious and someone who valued her own life. He had never
20:21imagined I would resort to threatening my own life. He froze instantly, his voice dropping low as he
20:27urged me to put down the sword, saying we could talk things through. I didn't move an inch, firmly
20:32telling him there was nothing to talk about. If he didn't want me dead, he had to write down his
20:36promise
20:37immediately. The promise was simple. From that day on, if anything happened to me or my betrothed,
20:44Aldrich, he would be held fully responsible.
20:51Kaylin had spent years in pack politics and would never willingly leave evidence that could be used
20:56against him. But as he looked at the sword pressed to my throat, his tone remained steady. He agreed
21:01to write it down, but said he had come in a hurry and had nothing to write with, asking me
21:05to go inside
21:06to find him ink and parchment. I didn't think ahead, turning toward the house at once. But the moment my
21:13back was to him, he moved. He snatched the sword from my hand, didn't even glance at me. He ordered
21:19his escort to hold me while he went to find General Vane. His men reacted quickly, seizing me before I
21:25could respond. I couldn't even utter a curse. Just then, a deep, calm, and resonant voice came from
21:33beyond the gate. The voice asked Alpha Kaylin why he was there, and mentioned that he had heard his
21:38name, wondering if something was wrong.
21:43I didn't recognize that voice. But moments later, I heard Kaylin's tone shift to one of deference as
21:49he greeted the man, addressing him as General Vane and saying what perfect timing his arrival was.
21:54He added that it was nothing urgent, just a small favor he wanted to ask of General Vane.
21:59Only then did I realize that the man before me was General Vane, the War Alpha of the Northern
22:04Territory. General Vane smiled and readily agreed to help, but asked Alpha Kaylin to wait a moment
22:10while he finished a piece of business first. Kaylin stepped back toward the gate quickly,
22:15respectfully saying he was willing to wait and telling General Vane to take his time.
22:19General Vane then dismounted from his horse and pointed directly at my door.
22:23He said that as it happened, his business was right there.
22:29Kaylin stopped abruptly, looking stunned. General Vane looked at him without further
22:34explanation, only stating that he had come to negotiate a claiming.
22:38Kaylin froze completely, unconsciously stepping in front of the gate. He tried to persuade General
22:44Vane, saying that his mate bond was well known, his children were nearly grown, and such a thing
22:50would be inappropriate. General Vane laughed heartily, shook his head, and told Kaylin he had
22:56misunderstood. This claiming was not for himself, but on behalf of his sworn son, who had been injured
23:02and couldn't come in person. I was just as confused as Kaylin, even starting to wonder if General Vane
23:10had come to the wrong house. General Vane himself looked a little uncertain as he walked past Kaylin into
23:15the yard. His escort, not wanting to get into trouble, let me go. Born in the north, General Vane was
23:23straightforward and didn't notice anything amiss. He looked straight at me and asked if I was Elena.
23:28I nodded slowly. He immediately looked satisfied, confirming he had come to the right place.
23:34He told me that his sworn son was my betrothed, Aldrich.
23:42Upon hearing General Vane's words, my thoughts went sideways. Aldrich was just a low-ranking
23:47soldier. How had he ended up as General Vane's sworn son? I rubbed the back of my neck and explained
23:54to
23:54General Vane that I thought there must be a mistake. My betrothed was indeed named Aldrich,
23:59but he could never be General Vane's sworn son. I even wondered if there might be two people with
24:04the same name. General Vane seemed less confident as he described his sworn son's features. Born in
24:10the eastern settlement of the southern territory, with a small mark near the corner of his left eye.
24:15He asked if these features matched my betrothed. He added that if it would help,
24:20he would have his sworn son carried over for me to confirm in person. I stopped him quickly,
24:26telling him there was no need, that every detail he described matched Aldrich perfectly.
24:30I begged him not to move the injured Aldrich, saying that since he was hurt, I would go to see
24:35him myself. With that, I walked toward the gate, distracted. But Kaylin, who had been silent for
24:42a long time, suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
24:49Kaylin stood in front of me, turning to General Vane and saying there was something he should know
24:54first. He told General Vane that I was his pack sister, that he had raised me, and that he had
25:00never heard me mention the name Aldrich once. He added that if Aldrich and I had made promises to
25:05each other without the family's knowledge, their bond could not be recognized. Then he lowered his
25:11voice, leaned close to me, and warned me not to say anything foolish. He said that Aldrich was now
25:17General Vane's sworn son, and if General Vane found out I had been mated before, I would not only lose
25:23this claiming, but also ruin Aldrich's reputation. Those words hit home. Aldrich had only just found
25:32his footing in the north. If I cost him everything because of my past, I would never forgive myself.
25:37I was still trying to figure out how to respond when General Vane's expression shifted. He told
25:43Kaylin firmly that his approval no longer mattered, because it was not I who had come to them, but they
25:48who had sought me out. General Vane then spoke of Aldrich's deeds, saying that in this campaign,
25:55Aldrich had charged into the thickest of the fighting. He had taken out the enemy's left flank and
26:00brought back the enemy commander's banner, earning the first honor of the war. Yet he had refused all
26:06rewards from the High Alpha, every single coin. Instead, he used his achievement to petition the
26:12Moon Council for a decree, a recognized claiming with me. General Vane finally warned Kaylin that if
26:19his family dared to object, they would be opposing the High Alpha's own ruling. I stood there for a long
26:25time, never having imagined that Aldrich would fight so fiercely for me. I had certainly never
26:35imagined he would spend everything he had earned, not on land or rank, but on a piece of paper that
26:40made me his. In that moment, the last of what I'd been holding dissolved. How is this possible?
26:46Alpha Salem? Isn't this a good thing? You don't seem pleased.
26:53I am. Of course I am.
26:55Vane had brought the Moon Council's decree with him. Whatever Kaylin wanted, there was nothing left
26:59to argue. With the claim already spoken aloud, he had no choice but to play the part of a foster
27:04brother and see me through the preparations. He brought me to the city under that pretense,
27:08and the whole pack household set about getting ready. The estate was bright with it.
27:11Kareth was loudest of all, running back and forth, eager to see me gone. Only Kaylin and Lady Maron
27:17moved through the days with their faces set. When Aldrich was well enough to travel,
27:20he came to the house himself and asked for me again.
27:24You've gone too far.
27:26Doing this shows that I'm sincere. I asked my sworn father to speak for me because I had no other
27:32choice.
27:34I was afraid that if I stayed unconscious too long, someone would take you.
27:37Kaylin's expression darkened another shade. After Aldrich left, Lady Maron
27:41turned on her son. It was the angriest I had ever seen her.
27:46I was bringing tea in by custom when I heard the sound of something shattering inside the room.
27:50Then Lady Maron's voice, thick with weeping.
27:54I told you, Elena was worth keeping. Let her go and someone else would see it. And they did.
28:01And you didn't listen. Now look.
28:03Mother, what are you saying? Serial is your daughter-in-law too.
28:06She? When have I ever been sick? And she came to check on me. Said a single word. And you,
28:13up through the night, working.
28:16Did she ever sit with you? Make you anything?
28:19Think back. When you were up studying in the old estate, who never left your side?
28:23Who made sure you never went hungry? Not once.
28:26Kaylin.
28:27I don't care what reason you give. What you did is something a good mate doesn't do.
28:31Do you think I don't know that? But what can be done? Elena and Aldrich have the High Alphas decree.
28:36Even if I wanted to fight it, I can't.
28:38Mother, we make do. Serith gave the pack airs. That's something. We both just live with it.
28:44I had no interest in making trouble for myself. I started to slip away. Footsteps came up fast behind me.
28:50Before I could react, Kareth had swept past me and pushed through the door.
28:53However, Kaylin, what does make do mean exactly? Now that you know what Elena was worth, I'm the one you're
28:57settling for? Is that what this is?
28:58I'm telling you both. I don't care. Once Elena is gone, I'm the one who runs this household. That doesn't
29:02change.
29:03Don't. You hit a first mate. I know everything. If you want to spend the rest of your life without
29:07that coming out, you will fall in line. Both of you.
29:09And you. You were the one who came up with this plan. You offered to keep Elena tied to that
29:12estate. Now she slipped the knot and you want to cry about it? That's what you earned.
29:15If you don't want your son destroyed, keep quiet. Stop using your age to give me orders.
29:18I stood in the hallway and watched. There was nothing in me left that felt sorry for any of them.
29:23This was what they had made. I turned and walked away without letting the door creak.
29:29Three days later, I left the pack estate. I was claimed in a house the High Alpha had given Aldrich.
29:34Aldrich had put every coin of his reward into the claiming gifts. His savings ran thin.
29:39I had been satisfied before the day arrived. At least this time, unlike with Kaylin, I had a dress.
29:46When I first came to that estate, there had been nothing. No dress, no gifts. Even the shared cup had
29:53been borrowed from next door.
29:54The first time I had real money, I gave that neighbor back two full jugs.
30:00She had held my hands and wept.
30:02In the second year, I went with Aldrich to the northern border post where he was stationed.
30:07Contact with the old pack dwindled to almost nothing.
30:10Only bits reached me through rumor. That the estate was not a peaceful place.
30:15That Kareth had taken hold of everything inside it. That nothing moved without her approval.
30:20That Kaylin had grown worn. His work had grown careless.
30:24He had been called before the council more than once.
30:27His rank held, but there was nowhere left for him to rise.
30:31Lady Maren's health had turned real. She spent her remaining years in bed.
30:36When I heard it, I felt nothing.
30:39I was sitting quietly, focused on the new boots I was making for Aldrich.
30:43He trained hard. He went through seven or eight pairs a month.
30:46It wore on my heart to think of it.
30:49Lena, the healer said you're carrying twins. That's harder on the body.
30:53Stop worrying about my boots.
30:58I'm your mate. If I don't worry about it, who will?
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