Chapter 24

His hands trembled as he gently lifted the lid, his eyes bloodshot: "Pup, daddy's here to see you..."

"Do you know? Daddy has been dreaming about you being born lately... You opened your eyes to look at me, babbling, and your little hand was holding my finger..."

He gulped down a mouthful of red wine, tears streaming down his face: "But you never came. I waited for you for so long... yet you didn't even leave me a shadow."

He held the urn tighter, curling up in the corner of the sofa like a child abandoned by fate.

"It's not fair. We were supposed to be a family. Why did you and mommy both leave me?"

"Seraphina, are you really that heartless?"

"I made mistakes... but why won't you give me one chance..."

Beta Marcus hurried over. Seeing him like this, Marcus's lips moved but couldn't bear to advise him. He only handed over a heavy cloak: "Alpha Damien, the pack is in chaos right now—"

"Do I even have a pack anymore?" Alpha Damien laughed coldly. "No one listens to me. What can I do?"

Speaking of this made him furious.

He had rushed back to the Blackmoon Citadel to deal with Alpha King Kaelen, but Elder Theron was enraged and parachuted in a distant relative to serve as interim Alpha, completely sidelining his authority.

He wasn't given any chance to maneuver and could only watch helplessly as Alpha King Kaelen attacked the pack.

No one believed his words. They all thought no one would really wage such an intense territorial war over a she-wolf.

"Bang—"

The glass was smashed heavily to the ground by Alpha Damien, shattering into pieces.

Meanwhile, Clarissa was sent to the Blackmoon Healing Ward.

"Healer Gideon says her mental state is already unstable."

"She keeps howling about wanting her pup and saying things like 'Alpha Damien loves her' and 'the Moon Goddess will punish Seraphina.' She's completely lost it."

"We contacted the healing ward. The Blackmoon Pack can't lose any more face."

In the healing room, Clarissa sat disheveled, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"He loves me... he must still love me... he promised... he said I was the she-wolf he wanted to mark..."

She suddenly screamed, grabbing Lyra's arm tightly: "It's Gareth! Gareth came to find me! Quick, you have to stop him! He's a madman, a murderer! He—"

Lyra struggled and quickly gave Clarissa a powerful sedative draught.

One week later.

At the Blackmoon Citadel, Alpha Damien pushed open the council chamber door with a cold expression. Inside was dead silence.

Lawspeaker Silas said solemnly: "The Stormcrest Pack has formally proposed absorption terms. If you don't hand over your territories, the Blackmoon Pack will face complete dissolution."

"You have 48 hours to consider."

He gritted his teeth: "I don't agree."

Lawspeaker Silas shrugged: "Fine, don't hand them over. When the King's Sentinels freeze your borders, it won't be too late to cry then."

He sat in the Alpha's seat, his gaze unfocused.

Everyone wanted his pack.

Everyone wanted to step on him to climb higher.

And the only person he most wanted to protect had already become someone else's Luna Queen.

He finally understood what it meant to be truly alone.

The Cliffside Manor's windows rattled in the ocean breeze, creaking as if singing a song.

When I woke up, seagulls were flying past the window, and sunlight was falling perfectly on the shoulder of the person beside me.

Alpha King Kaelen wasn't awake yet. His breathing was steady, his eyelashes casting faint shadows in the sunlight.

His hand rested on my waist, natural and intimate.

When he slept, he always liked to stay close to me. Even in dreams, he would unconsciously pull me into his arms.

I stared at him for a while until he slowly opened his eyes, his voice still husky: "What are you staring at me for?"

I couldn't help but smile and leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose: "I was thinking about how you could be so wonderful."

He lazily held me tighter: "Whether I'm good or not, don't you know best?"

"Kaelen."

"Mm?"

"I'm really happy right now."

He chuckled softly, but his eyes were so tender they could melt: "Me too."

I would never know how happy Alpha King Kaelen was to have spent half his life winning my hand in marriage.

He was used to being reserved, used to silence, but his deep affection overflowed richly from his eyes.