Chapter 23

Alpha King Kaelen stood beside me, his face dark as storm clouds. When he saw Alpha Damien step forward to grab my hand, he threw a punch straight at his jaw.

"Try touching her again! After all the pain you've caused Seraphina, how dare you show your face in front of her!"

Alpha Damien was knocked to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. But he didn't fight back. He just looked up at me like a crazed child.

"Seraphina, tell me the truth. Even if you're lying, do you really not love me at all anymore?"

I stayed silent.

Hope suddenly flickered in his eyes. "You hesitated, didn't you? You still care about me, don't you?"

I spoke softly. "I used to love you. I loved you so much I became pathetic. But then I realized that love isn't about begging on your knees for scraps of affection."

"Alpha Damien, from the moment you chose Clarissa as your mate behind my back, you should have known it would come to this."

Alpha Damien suddenly clutched his head and collapsed to the ground, as if his whole world had crumbled.

He cried softly.

It wasn't the crying of an Alpha who once stood above everyone else. It was the wailing of someone who had completely lost the love of his life.

He covered his face, his voice trembling. "I thought I still had a chance... I thought you would come back to me... How could you just register your Mating Bond..."

I slowly turned away, unwilling to look at him anymore. I said mockingly, "You never had a chance. From the moment our pup died, you and I became impossible. Alpha Damien, let's part on good terms. Don't make me hate you."

Alpha King Kaelen put his arm around me and whispered, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Alpha Damien struggled to his feet like a madman. "Kaelen! You don't deserve her! You used tricks! You drove us apart! You took advantage of her when she was vulnerable—"

Alpha King Kaelen turned back with a cold laugh. "You think you're that important? She chose me because you lost the right to deserve her long ago."

Alpha Damien stared at him in shock. "You... what did you do to her? How could she mate with you so suddenly?!"

"I only did one thing." Alpha King Kaelen's eyes were cold as ice. "I took on all the love you should have given her, and all the pain she suffered because of you."

"You did nothing and still expected to reap the rewards. You think this is some kind of deal? She's not a prize. She's a person. She's the only one I'll protect for the rest of my life."

Alpha Damien's lips trembled. He couldn't say another word.

"You say I used tricks?"

Alpha King Kaelen looked down at Alpha Damien and smiled slightly. "Then watch carefully and see what my tricks really look like."

Alpha Damien was too angry to understand what Alpha King Kaelen meant.

He had never cared about me before, so he naturally didn't know what Alpha King Kaelen was capable of. He just thought he was some privileged Alpha.

If not for fear of making me angry, he would have wanted to stick around and cause more trouble.

But because the pack couldn't function without him, he had to return to the territory first.

The Blackmoon Citadel was blazing with lights. The pack elders were in complete chaos.

"Down another seven points! This is the third straight trading day!" Elder Gunnar slammed his fist on the table.

"They came prepared. Every territory, every asset, even the overseas markets—someone's watching everything like a hawk. They're not giving us any room to breathe!"

"Where is Alpha Damien?!"

No one dared to answer. Someone whispered, "...Still at The Shadow's Rest. He hasn't come back."

In the private room, the lights were dim and empty flagons were piled everywhere.

Alpha Damien sat expressionless on the sofa. His Alpha ceremonial coat was unbuttoned, his shirt wrinkled, and the stubble on his face made him look completely defeated.

He held a small wooden box in his arms, opening it carefully.

Inside was a small white porcelain urn.