The doctor’s expression faltered. He sighed heavily, pity in his eyes, before he spoke. “Elaine… I am sorry. The pup did not survive.”
Her body stilled.
“The pain you endured was too much for it. Your wolf was already weakened by the constant stress and heartbreak you’ve been suffering these past weeks. She did everything she could to protect the little one, but… it was not enough.” His voice dropped, heavy with sorrow.
“I’m truly sorry.”
Elaine stared at him, unblinking. Her face was blank, her eyes empty. It was as if the words did not land, as if she couldn’t process their meaning. She heard them, but they echoed hollowly inside her head.
Her heart had already been shredded at the altar. Now, whatever fragments had remained were ground into dust. They had taken everything-her mate, her family, her dignity, her place in the pack. And now, the final piece of her soul, the life she hadn’t even known she carried.
Gone.
The doctor shifted awkwardly, his pity heavy in the room. “Your family is waiting outside. They wish to see you. In times like these, it is best to be surrounded by loved ones.”
Elaine’s gaze flicked toward him, dull and lifeless. “I don’t want to see them.”
Her words were flat, stripped of all emotion. It was not anger. It was nothingness.
The doctor hesitated, but Darius stepped forward. His voice was curt, commanding. “Leave us.”
The doctor bowed his head quickly and excused himself, leaving the two alone.
Darius came closer, his presence filling the space beside her bed. His voice softened, though it carried an edge of urgency. “Elaine, I need to know what happened. Trust me. Let me help you.
I am on your side.”
Her lips trembled. For a moment, she searched his eyes, weighing his words, gauging the truth in them.
“Alpha… can you really take me away from here?”
Darius didn’t hesitate. “As I told you, I will do anything. You will leave with us tomorrow.”
Elaine studied him for a long moment, then let out a shaky breath. Something inside her decided. If there was anyone she could tell, it was him.
“My mate,” she began softly, her voice like cracked glass. “My fated mate… was Michael.”
Darius stiffened, his eyes narrowing, but he remained silent, letting her continue.
“When I found out, I was so happy. I thought I had everything I ever wanted. We mated that night… but he didn’t mark me. I thought he was waiting for our mating ceremony.
But the next morning, I learned the truth. He already had a chosen mate. And that chosen mate… is my sister, Kathy.”Her voice broke, but she pushed on, numb and detached. “Because she was already pregnant, my parents, the Alpha, the Luna-they all decided.
Michael would mark Kathy. They called it ‘for the good of the pack.’ They all agreed. And when they turned against me, so did the rest of the pack. I had no one.
Nothing.”
Her hands clenched the sheets weakly. “And now… after they took my mate, after they made me watch him mark my sister, they took my pup too. I didn’t even know I was with pup until my wolf told me, minutes before I lost it. She saved every last shred of her strength to protect it.
But in the end… even that wasn’t enough.”
Her voice was soft, stripped of everything. No anger. No tears. Only emptiness. She sounded like a ghost of herself.
A girl who had lost the will to live.
Darius’s rage built with every word. His hands tightened into fists, his jaw hard as stone. His aura rippled with the feral fury of his wolf. To spit on the Goddess’s gift-to destroy the sanctity of the mate bond-was unforgivable. To crush Elaine in the process was beyond redemption.
His voice, when he spoke, was low and deadly. “I’ve changed my mind. We are not waiting until tomorrow. We leave today.”
He stood, his body taut with controlled fury. “I’ll speak to your Alpha briefly. Then I’ll return for you. Rest until then.”
His eyes lingered on her one last time, softer now, protective, before he turned and strode from the room.
ST
Alpha Darius found Alpha Efrein, Luna Beatrice, Michael, Kathy, Beta Richard, and Elaine’s mother and brother gathered in the hallway outside Elaine’s hospital room. They were speaking in low voices with the doctor, who looked tense and uncomfortable.
Darius stopped just a few feet away, observing silently for a moment. He didn’t miss the way Efrein’s stance shifted, his aura pressing forward as though preparing to Alpha-command the doctor for information.
The doctor’s words echoed in the hall.
“She… she said she doesn’t want any of you inside. I must respect her wishes.”
Before Efrein could open his mouth and issue the order, Darius stepped forward, his presence instantly dominating the space.
“Alpha Michael,” Darius said, his voice cutting through the air like a blade, “I need to speak with you about Elaine transferring to my pack.”
Every head turned, shock rippling across their faces. The tension was palpable.
“What?” Kathy whispered, clutching Michael’s arm.
“Alpha Darius, we can talk about this in my office.” Efrein said stiffly, his jaw tightening.
Darius’s gaze snapped to him, hard and unyielding.
“No. There is nothing for us to talk about. Elaine will be leaving with me in a couple of hours. I will not allow her to remain in this pack-a pack that abandoned her, betrayed her, and left her to suffer alone.” His words rang like a sentence of judgment, his glare fixed squarely on Michael and Kathy.
Michael swallowed, struggling to hold his composure. “Alpha Darius, I don’t know what Elaine told you, but I assure you, nothing like that happened here. We all love and care for her. She belongs here, with her family, with her pack.”
“Loved and cared for?” Darius’s voice dripped with disdain. He stepped closer, his towering presence forcing Michael to take an involuntary step back. “Is this what you call love and care? To spit on the Moon Goddess’s gift?
To discard your true Luna as though she were nothing?”
Michael flinched. Kathy lowered her head, silent tears slipping down her cheeks. Even Beta Richard looked away, shame evident in his eyes.
None could meet Darius’s gaze. They all knew his reputation-calm, controlled, but when provoked, his wrath was something no wolf wished to face. The sheer force of his wolf pressed down on them, thickening the air until most felt the urge to bow. Only Alpha Efrein managed to resist, though his face was tight with the strain.
Darius’s voice cut through again, sharp and absolute. “Elaine will leave this pack today. My Beta is already preparing our departure. As soon as everything is ready, she goes with me.”
“No,” Efrein growled, squaring his shoulders. “You cannot take her, Alpha Darius. Her family is here. This is her home.”
Darius’s face darkened, his eyes flashing with the dangerous edge of his wolf. His patience was thinning, and the hall seemed to hum with the raw energy of his power.
“Try to stop me, Alpha. I dare you. Or perhaps you’d rather we take this matter before the Council? Shall we tell them how your heir spat on the Goddess’s blessing and rejected his true mate? Shall we tell them how his rightful Luna was cast aside and abandoned-not only just by her mate, but by her parents, her Alpha, her entire pack?”
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