Silence swallowed the hall. Even Efrein faltered at the threat. Darius’s words were not empty. They all knew the Council would see rejection of a fated mate as a grave transgression, one that could strip Michael of his position as future Alpha.
“We want to speak with her,” Elaine’s mother, Lucille, said suddenly, her voice wavering but determined. She took a small step forward. “I am her mother. I deserve to see her, to know how she is.”
Darius’s gaze turned on her, and his words cut like knives. “Mother? What kind of mother allows her pup to be torn apart like this? What kind of mother turns a blind eye while her child is betrayed by her mate-by her own sister? No.
Elaine does not wish to see any of you, and as her new Alpha, I honor her choice. She will not be forced into your presence.”
Lucille’s lips trembled, her eyes filling with tears. His words struck deep, each one undeniable, each one tearing at the fragile excuses she had clung to. She lowered her gaze, unable to argue.
Kathy finally spoke, her voice soft, broken. “Alpha Darius… I’m not sure if Elaine told you everything. There were reasons-good reasons-for the choices we made. I never meant-“
“Reasons?” Darius’s eyes flared, his wolf pushing forward again. His anger was palpable, radiating through the corridor. “The only reason that matters is the one the Moon Goddess herself decreed. And someone-whether through selfishness or weakness-interfered with Her will.
There is no reason in this world, not even for a pup, that justifies spitting on a true mate bond.”
His voice thundered, echoing off the walls. “No reason.”
The weight of his fury left everyone trembling, unable to respond.
Just then, Beta Marcus stepped up beside Darius, bowing slightly. “Alpha, everything is in order. The cars are ready. We can leave at your command.”
Darius gave a curt nod, his decision final. His eyes swept once more across the group, cold and unyielding.
“I will take Elaine from this place. If you try to stop us, I will bring the full matter before the Council. And we all know what they will say-rejecting the Goddess’s gift is a crime no pack can excuse.”
Without another word, he turned on his heel, the Beta at his side, and strode toward Elaine’s room.
The others were left in silence, drowning in their shame and fear, as the strongest Alpha alive came to take away the one they had cast aside.
How did my life come to this? Rejected by my mate, betrayed by my family, and now stripped of the one thing that gave me hope-I have lost my pup. I have nothing left. Nothing. I gave everything I had, poured every drop of love and loyalty into those who were supposed to protect me, and they took it all without hesitation.
They left me hollow, scraped raw until there is nothing left to offer.
Why am I still here? What more is the Goddess waiting for me to give? I am tired. So tired. Every breath feels like a punishment, every heartbeat like a cruel reminder that I survived when my pup did not.
My wolf feels the same. She lies curled inside me, her once fierce presence now dimmed, broken. There is no fire in her anymore, only grief that mirrors my own.
I drift in this endless fog, this heavy, suffocating darkness where there is no light, no sound, no scent- nothing but pain.
And I ask myself, Oh, Goddess, what sin have I committed to deserve this? If I offended you somehow, I beg for forgiveness. But must the price be my pup?
The memory still claws at me. The bond not just rejected, but ripped from me as if it had never existed. And then-the brutality, the savagery-when they stole my pup before it could even take a breath of this world. I can still feel the tearing, the helpless agony in my womb, the desperate cries of my wolf as we tried to shield what was ours. We called for our mate, begged for him, but he never listened.
And while my pup died inside me, their laughter carried through the walls, their celebration echoing like knives, because the two monsters responsible for my loss were binding themselves together in union.
How could I ever forgive? How could I ever forget? I cannot. I will not.
But what now?
Alpha Darius… he promised me he would take me with him. He swore he would not leave me behind. And yet doubt gnaws at me. What if Alpha Michael refuses?
What if, in the end, Darius walks away? If that happens, if I am trapped here one breath longer, then as soon as I regain my strength, I will sever every tie myself. I will declare myself rogue and run. I will leave this cursed pack, no matter the cost.
But right now, I am numb. So numb. My tears are gone. I cannot cry for my pup. Not one single tear left.
My body is alive, but my soul feels already buried,
Would it not be easier to let go? To vanish into the void? To stop fighting and simply follow my pup into the afterlife where I might finally hold it, cradle it, protect it as I should have?
My wolf stirs faintly at the thought, and for once she does not resist. She likes the idea of death-likes the idea of reunion.
And yet here I am, trapped in this endless fog of nothingness. No sights, no sounds, no scents. Just the weight of despair pressing down.
“Elaine?”
The voice cuts faintly through the haze. I blink, barely registering it.
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“Elaine, I’m done speaking with Alpha Michael,” the voice continues, firmer now. “It is time to leave.”
Alpha Darius.
He has spoken to me many times already, but I did not answer. I could not. My body feels heavy, my mind drifting. He enters the room again, and I sense rather than see the worry radiating from him. I must look like a corpse, still and silent, my eyes empty.
Strong hands frame my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. For the first time in what feels like eternity, I focus. His dark eyes lock on mine, steady, unyielding.
“I will carry you out of here if I must,” Darius says, his voice a low growl of determination. “We are leaving,
Elaine. We will not come back. But you must fight. You must survive.”
Something flickers inside me-distant, fragile, but there. A spark.
“Leave here?” My voice is hoarse, thin, as though it belongs to someone else.
“Yes.” His grip tightens, as though anchoring me to him. “I told you, I will take you away no matter what it takes. Do not give up, not yet. You are still alive, and there is more waiting for you than this darkness.
I will take you to my pack, where you can begin again. Where no one will dare touch you.”
I stare at him, searching for deception, for pity, for anything that might break me further. But I see only truth. Only strength.
Slowly, weakly, I nod. My lips part, trembling. “Thank you, Alpha Darius.”
His expression softens, and for the first time since my world shattered, I wonder-just wonder-if maybe beyond this fog, there is something more. Something worth surviving for.
Maybe.
Just maybe.
Darius didn’t let go of my face, not until he was certain I was truly looking at him. His jaw clenched, determination carved into every line of him.
“Rest now, Elaine. Leave the rest to me.” He said.
Before I could protest, he slid one arm beneath my knees and the other around my back. My body felt weightless to him, but for me it was as if I were floating-adrift between life and death.
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