Chapter 14

On the day Alpha Kaelen and Elara held their marking ceremony, Elder Genevieve invited everyone from the territory's elite pack society.

Once the marking ceremony began, she couldn't stop smiling in the audience.

She happily chatted with everyone, and seeing her eldest grandson dressed as a flower boy made her even more delighted.

Alpha Kaelen had originally wanted just a simple marking ceremony, but under Elder Genevieve's arrangements, this ceremony became extraordinarily grand.

The news of Alpha Kaelen and my secret mating was known only to the Blackmoon Pack members - no one else knew about it.

So all the ceremony guests thought Elara had finally made it to the top.

Even though she had chosen to leave Alpha Kaelen without hesitation when the Blackmoon Pack went through its crisis.

But the power of a first love was still enormous.

Look - after giving Alpha Kaelen a pup, Elara had still secured the position of Luna.

Alpha Kaelen listened to the whispered conversations of the people present, his brow slowly furrowing.

He didn't want to make this marking ceremony too big of a spectacle.

Even though he had said he would give Elara the public position of Luna as compensation.

But deep down, he still didn't want it to be too high-profile.

From the beginning, he had strongly opposed Elder Genevieve making this ceremony so grand.

But under Elder Genevieve's insistence and Elara's tears, Alpha Kaelen had given in.

Elara had pleaded through her tears: "Kaelen, as long as you hold this marking ceremony with me, whatever happens between you and Seraphina afterward is fine. I won't interfere."

"I just want to give the pup an identity. I don't want him to live his whole life with the stigma of being illegitimate."

After hearing this, Alpha Kaelen fell silent.

Ever since I had left behind that pup, Alpha Kaelen had been trapped in bloody nightmares every day.

He could no longer bear to let his only remaining pup suffer any grievances.

Thinking of this, Alpha Kaelen silently agreed.

He thought that once this marking ceremony was over, he would have repaid the debt I owed.

From then on, I would owe Elara nothing.

As long as he explained it to me, I would surely understand his good intentions.

At worst, he could give me more compensation later.

After we re-mated, we could move out and live a good life together.

Alpha Kaelen had already decided - he wouldn't ask me for pups anymore.

Perhaps the previous pup had left me with trauma, which was why I chose to abort the baby at this time.

As for our first pup, Alpha Kaelen did feel guilty.

Thinking of these things, Alpha Kaelen's expression darkened.

Just then, the marking ceremony officially began. Alpha Kaelen took a deep breath and prepared to enter.

This ceremony venue was exactly the same as what he and Elara had discussed when they were young.

Elara's favorite color scheme, Elara's favorite flower arrangements - everything was just like Elara herself, tightly surrounding Alpha Kaelen.

He felt somewhat suffocated.

The closer he got to the ceremonial path, the stronger Alpha Kaelen's feeling of suffocation became.

For some reason, my image kept echoing in his mind.

Standing at the end of the ceremonial path, the marking music began to play.

Elder Genevieve's expression was extremely satisfied, and his and Elara's pup kept scattering flower petals.

Elara, dressed in a ceremonial gown, slowly walked from the entrance, her face full of smiles.

Alpha Kaelen knew that with his current stern expression, many people would find it strange.

But he really couldn't smile.

He suddenly remembered when he mated with me years ago.

We had simply completed the mate bond, not even holding a ceremony.

The Blackmoon Pack was really struggling then. He had thought that once things got better, he would hold a proper marking ceremony with me.

But until now, he had never held a ceremony with me.

And from today on, even his position as Luna would be occupied by Elara.

Thinking of this, Elara in the distance became hideous in Alpha Kaelen's eyes.

Elara slowly approached until Elara's father, with a fawning smile, placed Elara's hand in Alpha Kaelen's. Only then did he snap back to reality.

The officiant handed the marking pendant to Alpha Kaelen, signaling him to place it on the bride.

Elara also waited shyly for Alpha Kaelen to place the pendant on her neck and vow to love her forever without changing his heart.

Alpha Kaelen gripped the pendant tightly in his hand.

After a moment of silence, he finally threw the pendant away and said expressionlessly:

"I'm sorry, I cannot fulfill my promise. The position of Luna can only belong to Seraphina."

Alpha Kaelen released Elara's hand.

He couldn't place the pendant on Elara's neck.

Even though he and I were already separated.

Even though he had promised Elara.

After hearing Alpha Kaelen's words clearly, Elara's expression instantly stiffened.

She looked at Alpha Kaelen in disbelief and said: "Kaelen? You promised me."

Alpha Kaelen looked at Elara's face and frowned tightly.

"I did promise you, but now, I can't go through with this ceremony."

After saying this, he threw down the pendant and turned to leave without caring about anything else.

Right now, he just wanted to find me.

No matter what kind of person I was, Alpha Kaelen accepted it all.

Even if I was so vicious, repeatedly targeting Elara, even causing the death of Elara's pup.

Even if I had aborted our own pup.

But Alpha Kaelen couldn't deny that he had fallen in love with me.

Over all these years, he had uncontrollably fallen in love with me.

Alpha Kaelen's eyes instantly lit up.

At this moment, he finally saw clearly into his own heart.

Alpha Kaelen hadn't taken two steps before Elder Genevieve blocked his way with others.

She looked at Alpha Kaelen with a livid expression.

"Kaelen, what are you doing? With so many people here, if you leave now, what will others think of Elara?"

"What about the pup?"

Elder Genevieve pointed to his and Elara's pup.

The guests below, seeing this absurd scene, also began to gossip.

"What's going on? Why is Alpha Kaelen running away from his marking ceremony at this moment?"

"Exactly, look how the bride is about to cry. I really don't know why they would do something so undignified."

"They even have a pup together. Since they planned to give her a proper status, why cause such a scene here?"

"Elara won't be able to show her face in public after this."

Under Elder Genevieve's obstruction and the surrounding guests' gossip, Alpha Kaelen's departing steps became slower and slower.

Finally, he stopped and stood still.

Elder Genevieve immediately understood that Alpha Kaelen was still planning to give Elara some dignity.

She quickly pushed Elara, signaling her to hurry and coax Alpha Kaelen.

Elara couldn't care about being angry. She forced a smile and pleaded: "Kaelen, if you leave now, I really don't know what to do."

"I know what you're thinking. If you're worried about Seraphina misunderstanding, we can announce our separation in a few years after the ceremony, okay? Just give me some dignity, give the pup some dignity."

"Let the pup have a good status so he won't be mocked by others."

"If you re-mate with Seraphina, I'm willing to let her raise the pup, as long as she treats the child well."

At the end, Elara gritted her teeth and raised the stakes.

Of course, she could never actually let me raise her pup.

I would never agree to raise Elara's pup either.

If I knew the truth from back then, I would probably want to tear both her and the pup apart.

How could Elara feel safe leaving her pup with a ticking time bomb?

But she also knew what Alpha Kaelen really cared about.

Sure enough, as soon as she said this, Alpha Kaelen immediately stopped in his tracks.