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The Luna Abandoned by the Frostfang Wolf Alpha : New 🔝
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00:00My sister Serafini ran away from the wedding, and I was forced to become the maid of Serafine's
00:05fiance. I destroyed the ceremony in fury. I even struck Kale Vorn across the face in front of
00:14Elder of the Pack. Yet this male, the Alpha of Alphers, the Frostfang Wolf King, didn't unleash
00:20his wrath. Instead, he knelt before me and brushed the shattered ceremonial glass from my heel with
00:25his own hand. No matter how enraged you are, you are not permitted to harm yourself.
00:30It would break my heart. One sentence. That was all it took to make my heart stutter.
00:34For an entire year after that, I reigned in my wild heart. I tried to learn to handle the
00:40affairs of the wolf pack and to become a worthy Luna. Until Serafini Ashdown came back from abroad.
00:47We were kidnapped. The howling sea wind tore at my scalp as we stood at the cliff's edge.
00:53The rogue wolf was still snarling in madness.
00:55At Kale Vorn, it's your turn. Two Fimmins, one life. Which one will you save?
01:05Beside me, Serafine's heart-wrenching sobs filled the air.
01:09Kale, save me! Please, you have to save me!
01:14Without a word, I let my hand drift down to restomach. There, a tiny life was growing,
01:20a pup, two months along. I had just discovered it. The pack healer let me sense the pup's essence.
01:26Exceptionally strong and steady. Kale had been called to an emergency council and missed the news.
01:32When I tried to share it that night, Serafini had just been brought back to the territory,
01:36and then came this ambush. I should have reached my hand toward Kale and screamed that I carried his
01:42air. But before I could even open my mouth, Kale pointed at Serafini without a shred of hesitation.
01:49I choose Serafina!
01:51Kale didn't give me time to react before I plummeted from high up into the icy water,
01:55agaping. Bloodthirsty maw of darkness and ice swallowed me whole. My body felt as though it had been
02:01shattered and reassembled in reverse. The bondmark on my neck burned white hot. Then went terrifyingly
02:07cold. Something deeply important. Irreversibly. Irretrievably slipped out from my womb. I slowly
02:13closed my eyes. In that instant I regretted ever accepting the mark of Kale Vaughan.
02:20When I opened my eyes again, I saw the stark white healing ward, and Kale. Gripping my hand,
02:26his silver volf eyes brimming with anguish.
02:31You were carrying my cup. Why didn't you tell me?
02:35I thought about the moment he faced the rogue's wolf. The moment he chose Serafini without a flicker
02:40of hesitation. I was about to pull my hand away when Serafini rushed in and pointed at me.
02:45Era, you knew you carried his pup, yet you refused to speak a single word. You deliberately made Kale choose
02:53me, didn't you? So we'd be saddered with a death for the rest of our lives. I know you despise
02:58me,
02:58but that was Kale's pup too. The heir to the Frostdale pack. Using your own flesh and blood
03:03for a scheme. How could you be so cruel? Every word was absurd, yet she delivered them through
03:08choked sobs. I opened my mouth to argue back, but Kale's hand, gripping mine, tightened sharply.
03:14His alpha aura flared with barely contained wrath. Is that true?
03:23So Evolve's instincts really can be blind to this degree. The alpha who marked me who swore a mate
03:29bond. That was supposed to transcend all things, had never truly trusted me. Before I could even react,
03:36Kale seized my collar and forced me to look at him. His irises bled from silver to gold. He was
03:42utterly
03:42furious. I never imagined you could be this cruel, trying to trade our pup for my guilt. You disgust
03:49me. With that, he flung me off the bed onto the floor, and my back slammed hard against the wall.
03:56The healing for lying scattered everywhere. The white floor was stained with my blood, my leg,
04:01already splinted, twisted into a horrifying angle from the impact. Yet the hand that should have been
04:07reaching to help me up was firmly planted in front of Serafini. Shielding her, his silver eyes were
04:13filled with warning, directed at me. Kale actually thought I was going to attack Serafini.
04:23A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I looked at him with eyes completely devoid of emotion.
04:32This pup. The tragedy was being conceived in my womb, only to have a sire like you.
04:39Kale's pupils contracted, the hand-shielding Serafini froze in midter. For a split second,
04:44his wolf recoiled, as if my words had pierced something deeper than flesh.
04:49Maybe it was the desolation in my eyes that struck him. He instinctively moved to help me up.
04:55But Serafini clutched his sleeve, tears streaming down her face.
05:00Every night since that day I've been having nightmares. Kale, it hurts so much. I keep seeing
05:08her fall. Keep hearing the splash. Serafini's weeping was pitiful, but I saw through it.
05:14Malice glinted in her eyes, as if she were saying, losing one pup is nowhere near enough.
05:23Kale turned a cold gaze toward me.
05:26Ira, you've frightened Serafin. Apologize to her.
05:32There I was, crumpled on the floor, pierced by the frost in his eyes.
05:37I'm like this and you still want me to apologize to her? I'm the one who lost our pup, not
05:43her!
05:43Not Serafina!
05:45Serafini only wept louder.
05:47Kale, I know. Hila blames me for making her lose the pup. I'll kneel and apologize to her myself!
05:53Kale couldn't bear the thought of Serafini kneeling. He turned to his pack enforcers and ordered them.
05:59Hold the Luna down. Make her apologize to Miss Ashtheod.
06:04He shrieked at me.
06:06Kale Bourne, do you even have a heart beneath that wolf's hide?
06:10But there was no room for struggle. The enforcers forced my head down and slammed it hard against the stone
06:16floor.
06:17Once, twice, three times. Blood stained my forehead red. My vision went dark.
06:22With every knock, searing pain shot through my entire body, through the bond.
06:27I felt nothing from Kale's end but cold, unyielding judgment.
06:32By the time Kale snapped out of it, I had almost passed out from the blows.
06:37Enough!
06:38The alpha's brow furrowed. He moved to summon the healers.
06:43At just the right moment, Serafini conveniently collapsed in his arms, so the words that reached his lips became...
06:50Serafini, what's wrong? Every healer, now!
06:54...all to attend to Serafini, whose breathing was steady.
06:57Heart rate was normal, her eyelids were still twitching erratically from her inexperience at feigning unconsciousness.
07:04Meanwhile, I, the Luna, covered in blood, was discarded on the cold floor like carrion.
07:11Eventually, I gathered a sliver of strength and struggled to climb back into the healing bed.
07:16My phone rang. I answered.
07:19Serafini must have accidentally triggered a call while fainting.
07:23From...
07:23The other end came her theatrically choked sobs.
07:27Kale, I was just too young back then.
07:29The thought of the ceremony terrified me, so I fled.
07:32Will you forgive me?
07:35How could I ever blame you?
07:37Kale's voice was warm and gentle.
07:39A tone I had once believed was reserved for me alone.
07:42But you marked at Ira, without a single objection.
07:46And at the ceremony, you indulged her every whim.
07:49I thought maybe...
07:50The alpha seemed to let out a low, rumbling laugh.
07:54Foolish girl.
07:56I claimed her only to cover your shame and salvage your family's name among the packs.
08:00As for letting her run wild at the ceremony, that was to deflect the gossip away from you.
08:05So that when you finished wandering and came back, you'd still be spotless.
08:09And no pack elder could point a claw at you.
08:12I promised I would always protect you.
08:14The call cut off.
08:16My vision blurred with wetness.
08:18I finally understood just how foolish I had been all these years.
08:22Because of one gentle look from an alpha.
08:24A few hollow words of protection.
08:26I had believed he truly loved me.
08:29What I thought was fate had been a lie from beginning to end.
08:35I laughed until my whole body trembled.
08:38The wounds split open.
08:39And I felt nothing.
08:41Not until an urgent voice called out beside my ear.
08:44Ira.
08:45Ira.
08:46I came back to myself.
08:47Uncle Harrison and Aunt Margo had arrived with the finest healers from the Valen family estate.
08:53Seeing the blood-soaked wreck I had become, my uncle, a beta male so gentle he had never raised his
08:59voice in his life, turned red-eyed.
09:01Pale Vaughan is utterly despicable!
09:02You're broken like this and he's still attending to another female.
09:05I knew it!
09:05Your father forcing you into that substitute mating?
09:08He never had good intentions.
09:09Animals!
09:09They're worse than beasts!
09:11Aunt Margo threw a reproachful look at him.
09:13Is now really the time?
09:16You'll only make Ila more distressed.
09:18She tenderly wiped away my tears.
09:20Ira, why don't you come back to the Valen estate with us and recover for a while?
09:25If you truly cannot bear the separation from Kale, then at least let me stay here and tend to you.
09:31I lifted my head, my gaze resolute.
09:36No need.
09:38I've decided to sever the mate bond with Kale Vorn.
09:42As I spoke, I produced a blank bond severance decree bearing Kale Vorn's own signature, sealed with the Frostfang sigil.
09:50He had placed it in my hands solemnly on the night of our claiming ceremony.
09:54He said it was the greatest assurance an alpha could willingly give his mate a promise that, should he ever
10:00fail me, I would have the power to walk free.
10:03Those words had pulled me deeper and deeper.
10:06Until.
10:06In the end, I paid with my own pup's life.
10:09Now, I handed this once-treasured gift to my uncle and aunt.
10:13They understood immediately and summoned.
10:15A pack lawkeeper to draft the severance pact.
10:19The moment I pressed my blood signature at the bottom of that document.
10:23A breath of relief escaped me, the mate bond in my chest.
10:27Already frayed to a single thread.
10:29Went utterly silent.
10:30The lawkeeper gathered the scrolls.
10:35After the reverence is recorded, there will be a one-moon cooling period.
10:41Once that moon passes, I will deliver the final dissolution decree.
10:48My voice was calm.
10:50Empty, but calm.
10:53My wounds had extended.
10:56I was just about to rest.
10:57Then the healing ward door was kicked open with brute force.
11:00A tall female swept in.
11:03Ilara Vorn.
11:04Kale's mother and high elder of the Frostfang Pack.
11:08Without a word, she delivered a hard slap across my face.
11:11You knew you carried the Frostbell air.
11:13And you still insisted on going alone to that rogue-inflested territory?
11:16It's one thing for a lobelorn omega like you to get taken.
11:19But you killed the Vorn Pack's first grandson.
11:21Today, I will teach you what it means to answer to the Elder Council.
11:25Faced with Elara's sudden fury, all I felt was absurdity.
11:29That day, it was Serafini who had forced her way into my vehicle and ordered the driver to change course
11:34toward the rogue borderlands.
11:36That was what gave the kidnappers their opening.
11:39I was co-porsed by Serafine into going to that territory.
11:43Elara looked half doubtful.
11:45No.
11:47Serafine would have no reason to do this.
11:49I insisted firmly.
11:50None of you have investigated!
11:52Why are you saying this?
11:53Elara immediately summoned her enforcers.
11:56Go.
11:58I want to see who has been lying to the Elder Council.
12:03The ward door was pushed open again.
12:06Kale blocked the enforcers from leaving.
12:08His alpha presence filled the room like a winter storm.
12:12No need to investigate.
12:14Before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, the alpha's next words smashed me to the bottom of the
12:19abyss.
12:20All of this is Elara's fault.
12:22Out of jealousy, she dragged Serafine to the rogue borderlands.
12:26She brought this on herself.
12:28I jerked my head up, staring at Kale in disbelief.
12:32I had actually felt a flash of gratitude when he walked in.
12:35I thought he had come to defend me.
12:37I never imagined he would personally pin all.
12:40The blame on me.
12:41All to shield Serafine, the real culprit.
12:45Fine.
12:46I have always known the Ashtone bloodline was diluted and unworthy.
12:50But I didn't realize it could produce such a lying, shameless creature.
12:54Enforcers!
12:55Bring the pack Discipline Rod!
12:57Alara's fury surpassed rage and turned to ice.
13:00My pupils trembled.
13:01The Frostfang Discipline Rod was notorious.
13:04Barbed silver alloy.
13:06Lethal to wolves, it was never invoked except for crimes of the gravest order.
13:10No!
13:11I'm not the one who lied!
13:13What right do you have to punish me?
13:16I fought with everything I had, but Beta Enforcers pinned me hard against the floor.
13:21Then the barbed rod came smashing down onto my abdomen.
13:25A piercing scream tore through the healing ward corridor.
13:29Kale's brow furrowed instinctively.
13:32Mother.
13:32Alara's tone left no room for argument.
13:37You're not thinking of pleading for this Omega, are you?
13:41That was my first grandson!
13:44The Frosttail heir I waited decades for!
13:48Mother, you misunderstand.
13:50Kale turned his face away, his expression unreadable.
13:53But I caught the flicker of his wolf retreating behind ice.
13:57Ira has been far too willful this time.
13:59She deserves the punishment.
14:01But this entire matter has nothing to do with Seraphine.
14:05Please do not drag an innocent person into it, Mom.
14:08She deserves punishment.
14:09Do not drag an innocent person into this.
14:12As more than a dozen strikes of the silver rod smashed into my chest and back.
14:17Agony tore through every limb.
14:19Every nerve blood soaked through my hospital gown.
14:22The mate bond in my chest didn't just fray.
14:24It began to rot until I could bear no more.
14:27My vision went black.
14:30In the haze, I thought I heard someone howling my name.
14:33Ira!
14:34Ira, don't you dare surrender to the dark!
14:37I forbid you to die!
14:39When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw, unsurprisingly, was the anxious, worried faces of my uncle and
14:45aunt.
14:46Those damned Vorns!
14:48I swear on the Valon name, I'll get justice for you!
14:51My voice was barely a rasp.
14:54Please, don't.
14:55The Vorn Pact's dominion over Northmoor was now absolute.
14:59No wolf in the territory would willingly challenge them.
15:02Only then did I say what had been crystallizing in my mind since the moment I woke.
15:06Uncle, you've always said the territories overseed are more promising.
15:11That you wanted to relocate the Valon healing practice of fraud.
15:15Aunt Margo's eyes lit with cautious hope.
15:18Ira, you mean you're willing to come overseas with us?
15:22Seeing me nod, she finally broke into tears of relief.
15:26Good.
15:27Wonderful.
15:27If you're willing, then everything will be all right.
15:30But the words had barely faded before a burst of footsteps sounded outside.
15:34A deep male voice followed.
15:36Leave.
15:38Ira, where do you intend to go?
15:41To be safe, I sent my uncle and aunt away first.
15:46I was thinking of traveling to clear my mind.
15:49The healers recommended it.
15:50Kale exhaled invisible relief.
15:52He pulled me into his arms with the same possessive tenderness he had always wielded.
15:56That sounds wise.
15:58His scent enveloped me, cedar and frost.
16:01Once it had been my greatest comfort.
16:03Now every breath of it made my stomach turn.
16:06About my mother holding you accountable.
16:09Ultimately, I failed to contain the situation.
16:12But I owe Seraphine too much.
16:15I must pay that debt.
16:17You're my mate.
16:19You understand me, don't you?
16:21After the horror of my pup's death, his tender words only sent ice through every inch of my body.
16:26But I no longer had the strength.
16:29To demand what debt he meant.
16:31I simply pushed his large hands away and forced a stiff smile.
16:35Of course I understand.
16:36Feeling his empty embrace.
16:38Kale's brow furrowed.
16:40His wolf stirred uneasily.
16:42Something was wrong.
16:43But his wolf couldn't put finger on what was wrong.
16:48Serafini chose that exact moment to enter.
16:51Carrying a thermal container, her face wore precisely the right amount of concerned sweetness.
16:57Ira, you're awake.
16:59I heard your injuries were very severe, so I specially prepared some restorative herb broth.
17:05Please, try it.
17:07I didn't want to drink it at all.
17:08My wolf recoiled instantly from the scent rising from the broth.
17:12You put Silverthorn in this?
17:14I'm deathly reactive to Silverthorn.
17:17Serafini immediately covered her mouth in feigned innocence.
17:22I had no idea.
17:23I didn't believe her for one second, back in the Ashdown household.
17:27One of her favorite tricks was accidentally mixing Silverthorn powder into my food.
17:32Then, watching with barely concealed glee as my body broke out in burns.
17:37But Kale believed her.
17:38Not only did he believe her, but he was displeased by my reaction.
17:43Serafini was only trying to be kind.
17:46There's no need to be so dramatic.
17:48Serafini pitifully clutched his sleeve.
17:50But if Ira refuses to drink it, the pack outside will tear me to pieces.
17:54She pointed outside the ward.
17:56Her eyes rimmed red.
17:57I already told them that Ira and I have a wonderful bond.
18:00If she won't even take one sip, they'll definitely think I'm lying.
18:04In the blink of an eye, the pack swarmed inside.
18:09Luna Ira, was the rogue ambush arranged because your sister wanted you thrown off the cliff
18:13while you carried the air?
18:15We've heard you were subjected to the Frosthent Discipline Rod.
18:18Also because of your sister.
18:20Every single question was aimed at Serafini, but every single word filled me with dread.
18:24I turned my head and met.
18:26Kale's ice-cold silver gaze.
18:28His lips moved soundlessly.
18:30Drink it.
18:31Or else the lives of your family.
18:33As if my volf had been ripped from my body, I numbly swallowed the silver thorn-laced broth.
18:38Serafini leaned in close, smug, her voice low enough for only my ears.
18:44So pathetic.
18:46Just as useless as your weak-blooded mother who died young.
18:50A full bowl went down.
18:52I nearly lost consciousness on the spot.
18:54Fiery burns spread like wildfire across my entire body until my vision went black.
19:00And I lost all awareness.
19:05When I woke, the ward was empty.
19:07Not a single soul had stayed to watch over me.
19:10The healing fur had backflowed more than halfway.
19:13Full with blood.
19:14I don't know where I found the strength to press the call button.
19:18A healer finally rushed in.
19:22Didn't I tell your alpha ages ago?
19:24Your complications are severe.
19:25You need 24-hour monitoring?
19:27The line nearly drained you dry and no one noticed.
19:30Where is he?
19:31Don't tell me he's off comforting your sister again.
19:33I glanced at the lunar calendar on the wall.
19:36I had been unconscious for over two weeks.
19:38But there was less than a week left until the bonding severance moon ended.
19:43A small, hollow smile tugged at my lips.
19:46Soon he won't be my mate.
19:49What?
19:49I said.
19:51Soon, he won't be my mate anymore.
19:53So, could you help me find a caretaker?
19:56Someone from outside the Vorn pack.
19:59Under the caretaker's attention, I recovered steadily.
20:02Though occasionally, I still received messages from Serafini.
20:05Kale has always wanted me.
20:07You're nothing but a paid holder.
20:09If you know what's good for you, renounce the alpha mate title now.
20:13I calmly turned off the phone screen.
20:16The day I was discharged,
20:18Kale finally appeared.
20:20Serafini was at his side,
20:22her hand resting possessively on his arm.
20:25I caught a faint coppery tongue in the air, blood beneath it.
20:29The unmistakable scent of my uncle's family, but I had no time to dwell on it.
20:33The first words out of Kale's mouth were...
20:37Neil, apologize to Serafina.
20:40On what grounds?
20:42Uncontainable fury churned in my chest.
20:45Kale's expression hardened, his alpha aura pressing down.
20:48On the grounds that you spread false rumors and destroyed Serafian's reputation across every pack in the territory.
20:57I didn't do any of that.
20:58I've been in the healing wad the entire time.
21:01If yous use your resources to verify...
21:04No need.
21:05The alpha cut me off, his voice flat and absolute.
21:09Serafina says it was you.
21:12So it was you.
21:13It felt like an invisible claw had seized my heart and was squeezing.
21:17A bitter, suffocating ache spread like poison to every limb.
21:21Serafini tugged at Kale's sleeve.
21:24Era is still my little sister, after all.
21:27If she doesn't want to, forget it.
21:32It's not like this is the first time I've been treated this way by her back in the Ashdown house.
21:38Serafini tugged at Kale's sleeve.
21:41Era is still my little sister, after all.
21:43If she doesn't want to, forget it.
21:48It's not like this is the first time I've been treated this way by her back in the Ashdown house.
21:52Each teardrop hit the floor as though it were striking Kale directly in the chest.
21:57His face hardened to granite.
21:59I always knew you were willful, Era.
22:02But I never imagined you dared bully Serafina even in her own den.
22:06And she was still merciful enough to plead for you.
22:10Pushing back this apology again and again because you hadn't recovered.
22:14Yet you're this ungrateful.
22:18Do not blame me for what comes next.
22:21He merely crooked a finger.
22:23Pack enforcers surged forward and kicked hard against the backs of my knees.
22:27I collapsed face down onto the stone floor then they seized my hair and slammed my forehead against the ground.
22:34The crack of my skull hitting stone.
22:36My blood streaked face.
22:38Both made Kale's wolf lurch inside his chest.
22:41He was struck by a sudden.
22:43Unwelcome memory.
22:44Right after the miscarriage.
22:46I had been treated exactly like this.
22:48The same brutal grip.
22:49The same cold floor.
22:52A flicker of something.
22:54Regret.
22:55Protectiveness.
22:56Stirred inside Kale's chest.
22:57He was just about to call a halt when Serafina threw herself into his arms.
23:01Era is more or less getting what she deserves.
23:03I just hope that after this she'll stop targeting me.
23:06The fledgling softness in Kale's heart turned back to ice.
23:09By now.
23:10My world had dissolved into a sea of crimson.
23:13The only thing keeping me upright was a message my uncle and aunt had sent.
23:17Tomorrow is the day we finalize your severance.
23:20We're coming to collect you now.
23:22And we're bringing little Leo with us.
23:24Just endure until my family arrives.
23:27Then everything will finally be over.
23:29That was what I told myself.
23:31Until a document was shoved in front of my face.
23:33This is the apology, Sroll.
23:36Sign your blood name.
23:37Now.
23:38But my eye caught what was tucked inside.
23:40I pulled it out and my vision nearly shattered.
23:47A letter of forgiveness?
23:49My mind instantly flew to the faint blood scent on Serafina and then to the
23:53message my uncle and aunt had sent.
23:56By timing alone, they should have arrived long ago.
24:00A flicker of something.
24:02Regret.
24:03Protectiveness.
24:03Stirred inside Kale's chest.
24:05He was just about to call a halt when Serafina threw herself into his arms.
24:09Ira is more or less getting what she deserves.
24:11I just hope that after this she'll stop targeting me.
24:14The fledgling softness in Kale's heart turned back to ice.
24:17By now.
24:18My world had dissolved into a sea of crimson.
24:21The only thing keeping me upright was a message my uncle and aunt had sent.
24:25Tomorrow is the day we finalize your severance.
24:28We're coming to collect you now.
24:30And we're bringing little Leo with us.
24:32Just endure until my family arrives.
24:35Then everything will finally be over.
24:37That was what I told myself.
24:39Until a document was shoved in front of my face.
24:41This is the apology, Sroll.
24:44Sign your blood name.
24:45Now.
24:46But my eye caught what was tucked inside.
24:49I pulled it out and my vision nearly shattered.
24:55A letter of forgiveness?
24:57My mind instantly flew to the faint blood scent on Serafina and then to the message my uncle
25:03and aunt had sent.
25:04By timing alone, they should have arrived long ago.
25:08In the footage, my uncle's family still lay at the attack site.
25:13Aunt Margo was the only one conscious, with an arm grotesquely twisted.
25:17She clutched little Leo, his chest nearly torn through.
25:21She knelt on the ground, kowtowing over and over.
25:25My pup is dying.
25:27Please.
25:28I'm begging you.
25:29Let us reach the healers.
25:33You.
25:35My voice shook uncontrollably.
25:38Kale's expression remained utterly.
25:40Indifferent, the three lives in that footage seemed to mean less to him than a single tear
25:44from Serafina.
25:48You sign.
25:49I save them.
25:51Otherwise.
25:53The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air.
25:56I finally broke.
25:58I lifted my head and fixed him with a stare so desolate, so utterly hollow, that Kale himself
26:03froze for an instant.
26:05No.
26:05She wasn't supposed to look at him like that.
26:08I took the blood pen from his hand and, with immense effort, signed my name.
26:13A single tear fell onto the document, bleeding into a crimson ripple.
26:20Kale, Vaughn.
26:22I hate you.
26:23Kale moved to summon the healers, but Serafina urged frantically beside him.
26:29If we don't deliver the forgiveness letter now, the pack enforcers will come for me.
26:35So the vehicle roared off, leaving me crumpled on the ground, gritting my teeth.
26:39I hauled myself up.
26:41I hailed transport after transport before one finally agreed to take me to the attack
26:45site.
26:47I kept vigil outside the operating chamber through an entire night until my tears ran dry and
26:52finally, those words from the head healer.
26:55They're out of immediate danger.
26:57At daybreak, the law keeper delivered the bonding severance decree.
27:02My grandparents arrived at the same moment.
27:04I thought they would blame me, that they would look at me and see only the fool who had brought
27:09ruin to our family.
27:10Our little era has suffered so much.
27:13But the two elderly wolves simply held me in their arms.
27:17Outside the healing ward, transport was already waiting.
27:21A message from Kale appeared on my phone.
27:23I've already summoned the best healers for you.
27:26Your family will be fine.
27:29Serafini was quite shaken.
27:30I'm taking her away from the territory for a while to help her recover.
27:34I'll bring you back a gift.
27:36I glanced at the message once, felt the last frayed thread of the bond finally snap, then
27:41blocked his number, boarded the transport, and never looked back.
27:48Three months later.
27:50The far coast, a territory untouched by the Frostfang pack's influence, by day, I refined
27:56our ancestral healing formulas.
27:58By night, I studied pack medicine texts.
28:01Every hour in the laboratory was an hour I didn't spend remembering.
28:05I had changed.
28:07Everyone around me knew it.
28:08The Ira who once lived for a single.
28:11Alpha's smile was gone.
28:12In her place stood someone quieter, harder.
28:16Someone.
28:16Who no longer flinched at shadows but no longer believed in fairy tales.
28:20My Volf too, had changed.
28:23She was still there, but retreated deep.
28:25Curled up in some quiet corner of my soul.
28:28The severance had not killed her.
28:30But it had wounded her profoundly.
28:32She no longer strained toward the bond that wasn't there.
28:35She no longer howled for an Alpha who had never truly wanted us.
28:38We were, healing.
28:40Slowly.
28:41But healing.
28:42The door chimed.
28:43And I looked up from my workbench.
28:45The male who walked in was tall.
28:47Lean, with dark brown hair falling across warm amber eyes.
28:55There was a gentleness to his face.
28:58But beneath it, a quiet strength that didn't need to announce itself.
29:03Ira, lately?
29:04You've been so focused on work.
29:06Are you really alright?
29:07Julian's voice was smooth, carrying a faint accent I couldn't quite place.
29:12I set down my notes.
29:14I had been pressing my quill too hard.
29:16The paper was scored.
29:18I'm fine.
29:19I just...
29:20Don't know how to be anyone else anymore.
29:23Julian didn't push.
29:24He never pushed.
29:25Instead, he glanced at my workbench and smiled.
29:28The Blackwood Pack sent me to coordinate with your family's practice.
29:32I blinked.
29:33I was expecting someone...
29:35Older.
29:36No offense.
29:38None taken.
29:40Everyone expects my father.
29:43But he's semi-retired now.
29:45Spends most of his time in his greenhouse, talking to his herbs.
29:49Something about the way he said it, fond and faintly exasperated, pulled an unexpected smile from me.
29:56It was the first time I had smiled at anyone in three months.
30:00Julian, I would learn, was an alpha.
30:04But unlike any alpha I had ever met, the Blackwood Pack's most gifted healer.
30:08Patient beyond measure.
30:13Over the following weeks, Julian never pushed.
30:16Never pried, when I went quiet mid-conversation.
30:20He simply waited, when I flinched at sudden movements.
30:23He pretended not to notice.
30:25When I snapped at him once.
30:27Unfairly.
30:28Unkindly.
30:29A lash of temper born of pain rather than anger.
30:32He merely nodded.
30:34You're right.
30:36I should have asked before touching your equipment.
30:39I'm sorry.
30:40I apologized later, mortified.
30:42He shrugged.
30:44You've been through something.
30:45I don't know what, and you don't owe me the story.
30:48But I've treated enough wounded wolves to recognize the signs.
30:52His amber eyes met mine, steady and undemanding.
30:56Take whatever time you need, Ira.
30:57I'm not going anywhere.
30:59Julian also personally performed the operations on my uncle's family.
31:03He devised a meticulous rehabilitation plan that had little Leo, the most critically injured,
31:09transferred to a standard ward within a single week.
31:12He even represented the Blackwood Pack and signed a partnership.
31:16Agreement with our family.
31:18The terms were exceedingly fair.
31:20Without even a whisper of exploitation.
31:22So I truly meant it when I turned to him.
31:28For everything.
31:29But after everything that had happened, something inside me had fractured.
31:33I couldn't interact normally with people anymore.
31:36Even expressing gratitude left me stiff and awkward.
31:41Julian, as if he hadn't noticed a thing, simply drew closer.
31:45His warm palm rested briefly against my forehead, checking my temperature with a healer's practice touch.
31:52Your pulse is still too fast.
31:54You're pushing yourself too hard again.
31:56I know.
31:57I let my hand fall.
32:02I just...
32:04Every time I slow down, I start remembering.
32:08And I don't want to remember.
32:10Julian continued tending to a cut on my arm with gentle efficiency.
32:14Don't worry.
32:15Your wounds will heal very soon.
32:17He coaxed me the way one would soothe a frightened pup.
32:20Because...
32:21I'm the best healer there is.
32:23I found myself nodding, almost against my will.
32:26And for the first time in months, the tight knot in my chest loosened, just a little.
32:31Meanwhile, across the ocean, the Vornpac Council had ground to a complete halt,
32:37all because of Kale's obsessive drive to find me.
32:40Through every sleepless night, he replayed every detail of my disappearance.
32:44If he had known about the pup, how could he possibly not have chosen me?
32:49He hurled another bottle against the wall.
32:53Just because I made one wrong choice, you would leave me so completely?
32:58It's not fair!
33:01When his path lieutenant pushed open the door, Kale surged to his feet.
33:10Did you find my mate?
33:11The lieutenant shook his head.
33:13All we found was a single clip of the alpha mate boarding a charter flight.
33:16As for where that flight was headed, the trail goes cold.
33:20Someone with considerable resources has buried it.
33:23The light in Kale's eyes extinguished instantly.
33:26His towering body collapsed into a pile of shattered glass.
33:30His shirt bloomed crimson.
33:32His wolf wind.
33:34Alpha.
33:35The surveillance trail is truly dead.
33:38But perhaps...
33:40You might visit the Ashter home-owned in person.
33:44The alpha mate is, by blood, still a daughter of that house.
33:49In truth, Kale had torn through the Ashdown estate the very day I went missing, and found nothing.
33:55He set off for the Ashdown residence at once, in the past, whenever he visited.
34:01The Ashdowns would line up at the gate to welcome him.
34:04But today he had come to hastily, without any advance notice.
34:08The servants didn't recognize him at first, by the time they realized who he was.
34:13He had already stormed into the Great Hall, and in the moment he pushed open the inner door, he caught
34:18a fragment of a name.
34:20My name.
34:23Inside, Serafini, who had once again received a packed tribunal summons, was raging.
34:29That wretched actually dared to bring charges against me!
34:33I should have finished her off too, right then and there!
34:36Kale's entire body went rigid.
34:38The Serafini in his memory had always been...
34:41Gentle and fragile.
34:42How could she use such vicious language against her own blood?
34:46And what did she mean?
34:47Finished her off too.
34:49Suddenly fragments resurfaced.
34:51My uncle's family.
34:52Run down deliberately.
34:54The silverthorn in the broth.
34:55The driver who lied, and why was her bedroom several times finer than mine?
34:59She claimed her upbringing had been worse than a dog's.
35:02That I frequently cast her out.
35:04But the more Kale thought about it, the more things refused to add up.
35:10Then, from inside the room, came the voice of Mr. Ashdown.
35:14The most important thing right now is to find Kale and beg for his intervention.
35:18By the way, he still believes you're the one who saved his life, correct?
35:23In an instant, every drop of blood in Kale's veins turned to ice.
35:29Inside the chamber, Serafini was still basking in self-satisfaction.
35:34Kale Vaughn.
35:35He might be the most powerful alpha in three territories.
35:39But all it took were a few well-placed tears, and he swallowed every lie I fed him.
35:44He'll go his whole life never knowing the one who saved him wasn't me at all.
35:48It was that pathetic little Omega, Ira.
35:52Just thinking about it makes me giddy.
35:55So what if Ela saved his life?
35:57I stole all the credit.
35:59She knew all along she'd never surpass me in Kale's heart.
36:02That's why, the day of the ambush, she didn't even dare tell him she carried his pup.
36:07She just stood there and watched him choose me, and couldn't even save her own heir.
36:11It's honestly hilarious.
36:14After the brief, stunned paralysis, a rage unlike anything Kale had ever known surged through him.
36:20His wolf surged.
36:22His eyes blazed molten gold.
36:24Frost began to crystallize along the walls.
36:27The chamber door exploded inward, torn clean off its hinges.
36:34Alphavorn!
36:35What brings you here?
36:37Kale, I can't believe Ira hates me this much!
36:40Please, you have to protect me!
36:43This time, Kale seized her by the shoulders.
36:46His eyes held nothing but endless, frozen contempt.
36:50The tribunal is too merciful for a lying, venomous snake like you.
36:54You deserve to be cast out of every pack under the moon.
36:58Seraphine's face drained of all color.
37:01Kale issued a single command to his lieutenant.
37:03In less than half an hour, the lieutenant arrived with a thick dossier of documents.
37:09From start to finish, Seraphine had been weaving lies.
37:13The one who had suffered ceaseless misery in the Ashdown household,
37:16who was frequently locked out, had always been me.
37:22One bitter winter night, I had once again been driven from the house.
37:26I fled to a narrow alley to take shelter.
37:28That was when I
37:29stumbled upon a group of rogue wolves about to silence their hostage.
37:33A boy my age.
37:35The young alpha heir of the Vorn pack.
37:38In desperation, I signaled the pack enforcers with a forbidden distress call.
37:43Then I threw stones at the rogues.
37:46Grabbed Kale's hand.
37:47And ran with all my might the enforcers arrived in time.
37:51The rogues scattered.
37:55But halfway through our desperate flight,
37:57Kale and I were separated by a collapsing wall of debris.
38:05He had searched for me for so many years.
38:07He never imagined he had ended up finding the wrong female.
38:15And yet, stealing credit for his rescue was only Seraphine's opening act.
38:19The vehicular attack on my uncle's family was entirely deliberate on her part.
38:24She had meant to silence them forever.
38:30The pack outside my ward.
38:32The wave of public condemnation,
38:34all orchestrated by Seraphine my miscarriage.
38:37Seraphine had deliberately leaked the news to Ilara,
38:40so that the High Elder would discipline me with the Silver Rod.
38:45And even the rogue Volf ambush itself,
38:47arranged by Seraphine in collusion with exiled wolves.
38:57Why?
38:58Why did you do all this?
39:01Kale's roar was almost feral.
39:05Sauraphine trembled violently.
39:08Kale, I just wanted you to see your own heart clearly.
39:12You chose to save me.
39:13That proves I'm the one you truly love.
39:16Now that Ira has stepped aside,
39:18we can finally be together.
39:23Whatever Ira could give you,
39:25I can give you too.
39:27Even more.
39:28Wasn't I the one you wanted to claim from the very beginning?
39:34Claim you.
39:37Kale's lips curled into a smile of ice and death.
39:40The one I have loved,
39:42from the moment I first drew breath as a wolf,
39:44is Ira.
39:46If you hadn't stolen her life-saving grace,
39:48I wouldn't have wasted a single glance on you.
39:51He had once believed that finding his rescuer
39:53was the greatest gift the Moon Goddess could bestow.
39:56Now he understood.
39:58It had all been poison,
39:59dressed as honor.
40:01Word reached me across the ocean.
40:03Serafini,
40:04Ashdown had been arrested,
40:05the PAC tribunal found her guilty on 17 counts.
40:09Conspiracy to murder.
40:10Deliberate endangerment of a PAC heir.
40:13Fraud against the Alphars blood oath.
40:15The sentence was exile.
40:17Permanent,
40:18irrevocable exile,
40:19a mark burned into her wolf
40:20that would cause any Alpha in any territory
40:22to reject her on sight.
40:24She,
40:25would live the rest of her days as a rogue.
40:26I read the news on my phone,
40:29sitting by the window of my small apartment
40:31overlooking the foreign coastline.
40:33The sea here was warmer,
40:35greener,
40:35softer.
40:36I waited to feel something,
40:38satisfaction,
40:39vindication,
40:40relief.
40:41Instead,
40:42I felt nothing.
40:43A vast,
40:44quiet nothing.
40:46Serafini's punishment didn't bring back my pup.
40:50Julian said,
40:51glancing up,
40:52The product launch,
40:53in a couple of days,
40:55are you ready?
40:57My family's transition overseas
40:59had been built around a core healing patent,
41:01a formula my grandfather
41:03had spent 30 years refining.
41:05I had taken that foundation
41:07and elevated it,
41:08merging ancient wolf remedies
41:10with modern medical techniques.
41:12Even before the official launch,
41:14it had earned unanimous praise,
41:16everyone knew.
41:17Once this new treatment was unveiled,
41:19it would transform pack medicine.
41:22I had been deeply uncertain
41:23about attending the launch in person.
41:25I worried my wolf,
41:27still so quiet and withdrawn,
41:29would falter under the spotlight.
41:32Julian,
41:33what if I'm not ready?
41:34What if I freeze up there?
41:36It didn't heal the scars on my body
41:38where the silver rod had
41:39bitten deepest.
41:40It didn't restore the years
41:41I had spent loving a male
41:43who had never once
41:43chosen me.
41:45I set the phone down
41:45and went back to my work.
41:47Julian found me there hours later,
41:49still hunched over my notes.
41:51He didn't ask about the news.
41:53He simply placed a cup of herbal tea
41:55beside my elbow.
41:57Chamomile and moon petal,
41:58my favorite blend.
42:03We worked in companionable silence
42:05until the sun dipped below the horizon.
42:08That was the thing about Julian.
42:09He never demanded.
42:11He simply was there.
42:12Steady as the tide.
42:18Julian's amber eyes held mine,
42:21steady and sure.
42:22You froze?
42:23The same at Ira,
42:24who just spent three hours
42:26arguing with the council
42:27about dosage protocols?
42:30That's different.
42:32That's just...
42:33work.
42:34work.
42:35No.
42:36That's you.
42:37The real you.
42:38The one who's still in there.
42:40You have to take the first step
42:41to keep moving forward,
42:43don't you?
42:43Julian leaned forward,
42:45his voice soft but certain.
42:46In that moment,
42:47my long hesitation
42:48simply dissolved.
42:50The product launch arrived
42:51as scheduled,
42:52and taking that first step,
42:54it truly wasn't as hard
42:55as I had feared.
42:56The moment the spotlight hit,
42:58my voice was steady.
43:00My hands didn't shake,
43:01wave after wave of applause
43:02rose from the gathered
43:03pack representatives,
43:04that bright,
43:05fearless,
43:06unstoppable version of myself.
43:08The one I thought
43:09I'd lost forever,
43:10came rushing back.
43:13As I stepped down
43:14from the stage,
43:15a figure moved
43:16to block my path.
43:18Kale Vorn.
43:19He was wearing the dark,
43:20sharp cut coat.
43:22I had once loved on him,
43:23at his collar gleamed
43:24the obsidian pin
43:25I had personally selected
43:26for our claiming ceremony.
43:28His eyes betrayed him.
43:30The silver was shadowed.
43:32Haunted,
43:32gone was the condescending arrogance.
43:34In its place
43:35was something raw,
43:36almost desperate.
43:39Ira,
43:41you were magnificent up there.
43:43Perhaps it was
43:44the glow of success,
43:45but my expression softened,
43:47slightly.
43:49No deliberate frost,
43:51no hostility,
43:53but it was that very courtesy,
43:55that polite,
43:56impenetrable distance,
43:57that pierced Kale
43:58like a silver blade.
44:00I've uncovered everything.
44:02Can you forgive me?
44:03Just once,
44:05I truly know I was wrong.
44:07His voice was strained,
44:08threaded with fear.
44:09From the very first moment
44:11my wolf sensed you,
44:12I couldn't control
44:14what I felt
44:14on the night
44:15of our ceremony.
44:18When I saw
44:19it was you
44:20walking towards me
44:21under the full moon,
44:23you have no idea
44:24how complete I felt.
44:26A single syllable,
44:27and I stopped
44:28everything he wanted to say.
44:30Hmm.
44:30But I don't care anymore.
44:34I severed our bond
44:36of my own free will.
44:38I think the meaning
44:39behind that
44:39should be clear.
44:44From this day forward,
44:45I want no connection
44:47with you whatsoever.
44:48Kale's eyes bled
44:50instantly to gold,
44:51his wolf surging
44:52with anguish.
44:53Why?
44:53You clearly loved me.
44:55Why can't you give me
44:56one chance?
44:57I swear on my wolf's life.
44:58I will cherish you,
44:59guard you with every breath.
45:01No one will ever be placed
45:02above you again.
45:02We can have another pup.
45:04The word pup
45:04stabbed through me
45:05like a silver shard.
45:07My voice dropped to ice.
45:08Enough.
45:10Did I not make myself clear,
45:12or do you simply
45:13refuse to understand?
45:15You and I are finished.
45:18The bond is dead.
45:22There is not even
45:23the faintest possibility
45:24between us anymore.
45:30My eyes brightened,
45:31following my gaze.
45:33Julian was making his way
45:34toward us through the crowd.
45:35The way we looked at each other
45:37drove Kale's wolf
45:38to the brink of.
45:39Madness.
45:40It shouldn't be like this.
45:43Kale opened his mouth
45:45to speak.
45:45But an unnatural groan
45:47sounded from above the
45:48enormous crystal chandelier
45:50came plummeting
45:51straight down toward me.
45:55Two male voices
45:56rang out at the same instant.
46:00Kale lunged forward
46:01to pull me to safety.
46:02But before he could
46:03even touch me,
46:04he watched me stretch
46:05my hand toward Julian.
46:07Kale was closer.
46:09Reaching for Kale
46:10would have been faster.
46:10A single grab
46:12and I'd be clear.
46:13But I didn't spare him
46:14a single glance.
46:15I placed all my trust.
46:17All my hope.
46:18In another male as if.
46:20From start to finish.
46:21I had never once
46:22expected Kale to save me.
46:24But I trusted Julian
46:25absolutely.
46:26It was only in this moment
46:28that Kale finally.
46:29Truly understood.
46:31Back on that cliff.
46:32When I watched him
46:33choose Serafini
46:33without hesitation.
46:35What I must have felt.
46:36The absolute desolation.
46:38The death of hope.
46:39In the end,
46:40a deafening crash
46:41shook the hall.
46:43Kale threw himself forward.
46:44Not to be chosen.
46:46But to shield me
46:47with his own body.
46:48He was crushed
46:49beneath the massive chandelier.
46:51I, meanwhile,
46:52was wrapped safely
46:53in Julian's arms.
46:55Pulled clear
46:55in the final heartbeat.
46:56This time,
46:57I had chosen correctly.
46:59But Kale,
47:00staring up through
47:01an endless sea of red,
47:02understood one final truth.
47:04He would never be chosen again.
47:06Not by me.
47:08Not ever.
47:10In the depths of agony,
47:12Kale's fading consciousness
47:13slipped into a dream.
47:15In the dream,
47:16the scene was still that cliff.
47:18The rogue waft
47:19was demanding
47:19he choose one life.
47:21This time,
47:22I screamed that I carried
47:23his pup,
47:24his air,
47:25his blood.
47:26So,
47:26at the very last moment,
47:28he chose me,
47:29it was the outcome
47:30he had longed for,
47:31wished for,
47:32a thousand times over.
47:34But what followed,
47:35he could not believe.
47:36Because in the dream,
47:38under the pretense
47:39of protecting the air,
47:40he confined me
47:41to the healing ward.
47:42In the dream's
47:43cruelest turn,
47:44everyone I loved died.
47:46He brought Serafini back.
47:47He brought Serafini
47:48to the delivery room,
47:50intending to bestow upon me
47:51a single act of mercy,
47:53to let me give birth
47:54to his heir.
47:55He knew how desperately
47:56I had wanted this pup.
47:58Once the child was born,
47:59we would share
48:00a permanent bond.
48:01I would never be able
48:02to leave.
48:03He never expected,
48:04as soon as he entered
48:05the ward.
48:06The monitors erupted
48:07in shrill alarms.
48:09The pup had died
48:10in the womb.
48:11And I,
48:12in a final abyss
48:13of despair,
48:14picked up a surgical blade
48:15and drove it
48:16into my own heart.
48:19In reality,
48:20the monitors
48:21in the emergency chamber
48:22screamed the same
48:23piercing alarm.
48:26Critical!
48:27Alpha Vorn's
48:28life signs are crashing!
48:30Heart rate collapsing!
48:31Kale Vorn was dead.
48:34He had died from
48:35massive internal
48:36hemorrhaging.
48:37The chandelier
48:38had crushed organs
48:38beyond even the
48:39accelerated healing
48:40of an alpha.
48:41During the resuscitation
48:43attempts,
48:43he had shown
48:44not a single shred
48:45of will to live.
48:46I can't claim
48:47I felt nothing.
48:49Something in my chest
48:50gave a single,
48:51faint pulse.
48:52Then it was gone.
48:53The law keeper
48:54placed into my hands
48:55a decree.
48:56Kale Vorn's last will
48:58transferring every asset
48:59of the Frostfang pack.
49:01Unconditionally,
49:02to me,
49:02along with a single line
49:03in his own handwriting.
49:05This was always yours.
49:06I was simply
49:07too blind to say it.
49:08I stared at those words
49:09for a long time.
49:11Julian was waiting.
49:12A bouquet of fresh
49:14moonflowers in his hands.
49:15His amber eyes
49:16met mine.
49:17Warm and steady.
49:19There was no possession
49:20in his gaze,
49:21only quiet,
49:22unwavering certainty.
49:23Congratulations.
49:24On your new life.
49:26I took the flowers.
49:28Their scent.
49:29Clean, sweet, hopeful.
49:32Filled the space
49:32between us,
49:33my wolf stirred.
49:34Not wounded.
49:35Not hiding.
49:36Simply ready.
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