Chapter 12

Former Alpha Ronan finally spoke, his voice low but firm: "You've held on for so long. You've been very brave. We're late to realize this - that's our fault."

"It's not that your father and I don't care about you. You just never said anything. You always shared the good news but never the bad. We thought you were happy." Former Luna Maeve's tears fell. "But you're still so young - how could you bear all this alone?!"

Former Alpha Ronan walked over and patted my shoulder: "From now on, you don't have to hold on anymore. You're our most precious daughter. If anyone dares to bully you again, I'll be the first to deal with them."

I lowered my head and cried in Former Luna Maeve's arms.

All the pain I'd endured over the years, all the tears I'd swallowed, all those nights of being insulted and ignored - finally, someone was standing up for me.

In that moment, though my body hadn't fully healed, I felt my heart slowly beginning to mend.

That evening, after my parents went to sleep, I turned on the TV to watch a show. Instead, I unexpectedly saw Alpha Damien.

The TV screen flickered with static for a moment, then switched to a softly lit interview set.

Alpha Damien sat on the sofa in a dark suit, perfectly pressed. It made him look calm and composed, his words careful and measured.

His brow was furrowed, as if he was trying hard to control some impatience, but he still maintained the composure expected for public relations.

Elder Orin spoke in an even tone: "Regarding the rumors about your relationship with Miss Seraphina, are they true? After all, everyone's curious - your interactions don't really look like those of potential mates."

Alpha Damien's face was expressionless: "There's no personal relationship. It's strictly pack business cooperation."

I sat on the bed, watching quietly.

"What about Miss Clarissa? You were photographed attending pack dinners together. Many pack members speculate that your relationship is extraordinary."

His eyelashes lowered slightly. He was silent for a moment.

"Clarissa and I... we are indeed in a relationship right now."

Watching from in front of the TV, I smiled sarcastically.

The camera switched to interview clips with pack members.

The subtitles said that even pack members could tell that Alpha Damien and I had a purely professional relationship.

Elara smiled and said: "Seraphina? She was handling territory negotiations then, working on several big cases with the Alpha. They had good teamwork."

A second pack member spoke with certainty: "I don't think they looked like potential mates. More like strategic allies. The ones who really looked sweet together were Alpha Damien and Clarissa, especially around the time the pup was expected. They were always coming and going together, looking very happy."

"What about Miss Seraphina?"

"After the negotiations ended, we didn't see her anymore. I heard she returned to the Stormcrest Pack."

I laughed softly, the sound catching in my throat and coming out hoarse.

So everyone knew all along.

Their eyes were brighter than mine. They saw more clearly than I did.

No one thought we had been in a romantic relationship before. But with Clarissa, they could tell at a glance that it was different.

My phone buzzed beside me.

The screen lit up with a message from Clarissa:

"Seraphina, good thing you left. You'd better never come back."

"Don't come crawling back later. This position isn't something you can win from me."

Just two short sentences, each word sharp as a thorn, full of a victor's mockery.

I stared at the screen for a few seconds, then swiped to block her.

This time, I wasn't angry, didn't want to argue back, and didn't feel wronged.

I just found it amusing.

When did I start not caring about her smugness?

Public opinion, pack members' judgment, his silence, her provocations... everything piling on top of me, yet I felt calmer than ever before.

I suddenly understood that what had kept me awake at night and struggling in pain wasn't how they treated me - it was that I still couldn't let go.

Now that I had let go, none of it mattered anymore.

But I didn't know that at the other end of the territory, in the recording studio, Alpha Damien had just punched the coffee table in the backstage lounge. The table cracked with a loud sound.