Chapter 9

He didn't look at Seraphine, slumped on the floor. He ordered the Pack Warriors to drag her out.

"Keep an eye on this wolf. By tomorrow I want her gone from this manor. Every trace of her, and both pups."

Seraphine shook her head, begged, pleaded. He wouldn't stop.

She hadn't thought he could turn this cold.

Just days ago he'd loved her to the marrow. Their pups were supposed to be the only two Sterling heirs.

One Elara leaving, and everything changed.

Watching the pain on Ethan's face, Seraphine had an impulse to tell him everything.

She wanted him to know that she and Elara were past the point of reconciliation.

Because between them stood Elara's mother, yes — but also their pups.

The words were at her tongue. She swallowed them.

Right now, she and the pups were only being sent away. Ethan still shared blood with the twins.

While that was true, she could use the twins to come back someday.

If she said it now, the Ethan who was suddenly all about Elara would throw them out for good.

She understood that in one breath. When the Warriors dragged her out, she didn't make a sound.

Ethan stood frozen for half an hour. His hand shook when he called the assistant again.

"Find Elara. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever happens, she doesn't leave me."

The assistant answered yes and didn't say anything else.

Ethan hung up. His hand still shook.

Staring at the empty study, he finally let himself break.

In the middle of the night, Ethan lay with his eyes open, sleepless.

He got up and drifted around the manor like a ghost.

Wherever he looked, there was no trace of Elara.

Her room had been cleared. Not a single piece of her clothing.

Their photos were gone. Even the Bonding portrait that had hung in the living room was down.

He couldn't remember when this home had become this.

Even the decorations — after Seraphine had moved in, they'd quietly shifted to her taste.

Ethan saw the little yellow light on in the kitchen. It was the one thing Elara had left him.

When Elara Marked him, he'd just rebuilt Sterling Pack.

That time had been brutal. Elara, as his Beta aide, had worked beside him.

They'd worked so hard they'd skipped meals. They'd come home late from every gathering.

Later Elara put that little yellow light in the kitchen. Whoever got home first made something, took turns.

Back then, no matter what he cooked, Elara said it was good.

But honestly, she was no cook. He was far better.

They always ended up rolling together in the middle of it.

So many nights they'd lain there and planned the future.

They'd even planned what their pups would do one day.

Somewhere along the way, they'd gone from telling each other everything to fighting, shouting.

They couldn't even sit down and talk.

Once, everyone in their circle had envied them.

When did they become this?

Late that night the regret in Ethan's chest was eating him alive.

Why couldn't Elara be like other Alpha mates?

In this circle, wealthy Alphas kept second mates. It was common.

Ethan was an Alpha King of a Dominant Pack.

He only had Elara and Seraphine. By this circle's standards he was a saint.

Why couldn't Elara just tolerate it?

Waiting for word of Elara, Ethan kept circling back to this.

Even if he couldn't understand her decision, he was going to bring her back.

Seven years of Marking had carved her into his bones.

He couldn't imagine a life without her.

Three days later the assistant finally came back with something. He stood in front of Ethan, eyes darting, and laid a file on the desk.

"Alpha. This is what we have on the Luna."

"The day she left, she filed her severance paperwork and a Bond Severance document. Both signed by you."

"Because of that, we can't use your identity to search through the Alpha Council records. Your Bond to the Luna has been dissolved."

His voice shrank until he was almost whispering.

Ethan's head snapped up.

"What are you saying?"

"I know I signed her severance. I never signed the Bond Severance!"

"Are you handing me this garbage?"

He threw the file at the assistant's face.

The assistant pushed through it.

"Alpha. We checked. Scribe verification confirmed it. Your own hand. Same date as the severance paperwork."

"Also, her mother did pass. We also found that Seraphine had been seen at that Infirmary. We don't know if it's related."

Ethan's face went blank.

He remembered. That night Elara had brought him two documents. He'd signed without looking.

Twice.

The Bond Severance had been tucked in with the severance form.

His chest clamped.

Had she decided to leave him already by then?

Why?

He'd strayed for a little while. Why would she punish him like this?

Even if her mother had passed — he hadn't killed her.

He hadn't wanted this to happen. She shouldn't put this on him too.

He couldn't understand her decision, and he wasn't going to let her have her way.

They'd made vows at the Moon Altar. Forever.

Elara didn't get to leave him.

He crushed the file in his fist.

"Your Luna just needs to cool off. I'll bring her back."

"Keep looking. Wherever she went, find her."

"And look into everything Seraphine has done recently. If you find anything, report it immediately."

If Seraphine really was involved in Elara's mother's death, he'd destroy her.

But Elara didn't get to pin this on him.

After the assistant left, Ethan went limp in the chair.

This wasn't what he'd imagined at all.

He'd thought Elara left because she was jealous. Now he saw — it was too much piled on her.

And she'd finally broken.

What was his role in any of it?

What did he look like in her eyes now?

Did Elara still love him?

Would she forgive him?