Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Seraphine went limp on the floor.
She'd never imagined Ethan would dig up all of it.
She'd never imagined he'd be this cruel to her once Elara was gone.
When Elara was there, hadn't he hurt her himself?
She broke. "When I did those things, you didn't stop me!"
"I don't believe you were that stupid. You knew!"
"And you didn't love her anymore, did you? I was helping you!"
"We have three pups together. If you come at me, how will you explain it to them?"
"Ethan. I did this for us. For the pups — forgive me. You said you'd Mark me. I'm your mate!"
She tried to use the pups.
Ethan listened to her thrashing like a dying ant, then laughed coldly.
"Who told you I didn't love Elara? I've only loved her. My whole life."
"You were just something to pass the time. And you went after my mate. Though — you've just reminded me."
"A wolf as loose as you? Those twins might not even be mine."
"Pack Warriors. Take the twins to the Infirmary. Let's see if they're really mine."
Seraphine lost it.
She didn't know if he really knew, or if he was bluffing.
But those twins — they weren't his.
If he'd already done this to her without knowing — when he knew—
She shook all over.
She saw the steward heading for the door and threw herself in his way.
"Ethan. They're yours. No test is needed. You know me. I wouldn't do something like that."
"They look like you. How could they not be yours?"
She'd stopped making sense.
Ethan had only wanted to take the twins as her shield away.
But from her face, he knew there was something here.
He laughed bitterly. Years in this world without being fooled — and a woman had gotten him.
His expression twisted.
He laughed with rage. "Seraphine. You really are something. Pinning another wolf's pups on me."
"Years as your fool. Impressive."
His face gave nothing away. His eyes were ugly and cold.
She trembled and scraped for a grovel.
"Ethan. Misunderstanding. How could they not be yours? They are yours. I just — I didn't want you to hurt the pups' feelings."
He couldn't listen anymore.
He waved. The Warriors took her out.
"Break both her hands first. Every finger. One at a time. Then her teeth, one by one."
"If she dared play me this long, she planned for this."
She started to howl.
"Ethan. You can't. The pup inside me is yours. Think of him."
She'd gone mad. Ethan was beyond anything she'd known.
If she'd known Elara leaving would turn him into this, she'd have done it all to Elara.
Now Elara was gone, and she was the one paying.
Her voice rose.
"Take the pup out of her. No anesthesia."
Ethan didn't look. He decided the fate of the pup in her belly without another word.
Her pleas were muffled by Warriors' hands as they dragged her out.
A moment later, her screams filled the study. Her voice carried over the manor grounds. The wolves hearing it flinched.
Ethan took no pleasure in it.
He stared at the little yellow light in the kitchen, like Elara might walk out any moment.
Ethan kept drinking while Seraphine kept screaming.
He lost count of how many glasses he poured. He couldn't go numb anymore.
His body got worse. His head got clearer.
Everything that had happened circled back like a curse. His chest ached.
He slurred Elara's name. He kept apologizing.
In a blur, he thought he saw Elara in front of him, angry, taking the bottle out of his hand.
"When I'm not around, is this how you treat yourself?"
"I told you. The ones I love are you and Mom. Take care of yourself. For me. For our future pup."
He smiled, dazed, and reached to hold the Elara in front of him — and realized he'd made her up.
He collapsed. He cried.
He finally understood the word regret. He'd give up anything to win her back.
His stomach burned. Elara was there again.
He let himself drown in the illusion until the pain knocked him out.
A future he'd never see her in. Dying now might be kinder.
When he woke, his brothers and the assistant were around him.
So many people asking about his body. The one he wanted wasn't here.
Seeing Elara wasn't there, he sank.
He stared at the ceiling until the assistant pushed a folder into his hand.
"Did you find Elara?"
He grabbed the folder, ready to see where she'd gone.
The assistant cringed.
"Alpha. This is the paternity test for the twins. We don't have the Luna's location yet."
Ethan flipped through. Paternity test.
And the result was what he'd expected.
The twins weren't his.
He threw the folder down.
"I told you to find the Luna. Who ordered the test first?!"
"It's been a week. You useless bastards still can't find her?"
"Sterling doesn't pay enough?"
He was going mad.
Elara, the wolf who'd always been there, always findable — gone without a trace.
The assistant waited, careful. "Alpha. We're trying. But the Bond is dissolved. We can't use the Alpha Council records to track her."
"And someone's blocking us. Someone has been covering her scent trail."
Ethan's brow knotted.
"Who."
"Forget it. Send a warning under Sterling's name. If they keep blocking us, Sterling comes down on them."
"Step it up. Clear the backlog at the Headquarters."
"I don't care how. One week. Find her, or you're all out!"