Chapter 7

Alpha Kaelen, who was staying at the pack's healing den to care for Elara, suddenly felt a huge emptiness in his chest.

He frowned tightly, as if something important had quietly slipped away from his life.

Alpha Kaelen gripped his phone tightly and instinctively wanted to call Seraphina.

But just as he was about to dial, Elara bumped into him. She cried out in pain repeatedly, and Alpha Kaelen's phone was crushed under her foot.

That call never went through in the end.

"Alpha Kaelen, what are you looking at? My wound hurts so much. Can you help me check it?"

Elara looked at Alpha Kaelen with seductive eyes, grabbing his hand and guiding it toward her neckline.

No matter how much Alpha Kaelen liked Elara, he wasn't a beast.

Elara had just had a miscarriage. How could he possibly have those kinds of thoughts?

Moreover, for some reason, his mind was now filled with images of Seraphina.

Elara noticed Alpha Kaelen's distraction, and a flash of displeasure crossed her brow.

She then asked sweetly:

"Alpha Kaelen, why are you spacing out when you're with me?"

"Or is it that I can no longer capture your attention?"

Elara reached out and tugged at Alpha Kaelen's clothes a couple more times, her eyes practically overflowing with desire.

Alpha Kaelen didn't respond as she hoped. Instead, he sensed something strange.

Elara had just miscarried. Wasn't she the least bit sad?

Even if she wasn't grieving for the dead pup, her body couldn't handle these activities right now!

Thinking this, Alpha Kaelen looked deeply at Elara and probed indirectly:

"Elara, doesn't your wound hurt? Besides, our pup just passed away. Don't you feel any heartache?"

The moment Alpha Kaelen spoke, Elara's body instantly stiffened.

Only then did she realize what Alpha Kaelen was concerned about.

After a moment of silence, Elara changed her expression and looked up with tears in her eyes.

"Alpha Kaelen, of course I'm heartbroken about the pup who died. My body feels awful too, but I'm so afraid you'll leave me."

"The pup miscarried because I was frightened. Even though Seraphina was behind the rogue attack, I don't dare blame her."

"I'm afraid you'll blame me for not protecting the pup. Besides, I still think Seraphina didn't do it on purpose. After all, she has her own pup. How could she harm mine?"

"She must have misunderstood something to act this way. Seraphina probably just wanted you to pay more attention to her. I can't blame her for that."

"But I was so panicked. I was afraid you'd blame me, and I wanted to plead for Seraphina's forgiveness. That's why I acted this way. After all, this is all I know how to do."

As she spoke, she leaned weakly against Alpha Kaelen.

Alpha Kaelen had been reluctant to believe her words, but under Elara's tears, his heart softened.

He lifted Elara horizontally and gently placed her on the bed, then kissed her cheek.

"Is that really how you see me?"

"You just miscarried. No matter what the reason, I wouldn't touch you. I won't blame you either."

At this point, his expression became complicated.

"In the end, this whole thing was Seraphina's doing. If you hadn't happened to take those photos of them together, I never would have discovered it."

"I might have even been fooled by Seraphina and felt guilty toward her."

"I will definitely give you justice in this matter. Don't worry, I absolutely won't let Seraphina get away with this."

"As for everything I promised you, it all stands. What you need to do now is recover quickly so you can be ready for our marking ceremony."

Under Alpha Kaelen's comfort, Elara blushed and hid under the covers.

Only then did Alpha Kaelen smile happily.

But somehow, there was still an empty feeling in his heart that nothing could fill.

Over the next few days, Alpha Kaelen stayed by Elara's side, caring for her in every way.

Whenever Elara needed anything, he would appear immediately.

He even moved his office work to Elara's bedside.

All of this had once been treatment that Seraphina enjoyed.

Everyone at the healing den thought they had a wonderful relationship and considered Alpha Kaelen a devoted mate.

Elara naturally basked in all this praise.

Whenever Alpha Kaelen heard these comments, he would just smile without responding.

Even though he treated Elara with endless kindness, only he knew that he didn't love Elara that deeply.

He was just atoning for Seraphina's sins.

Promising Elara a marking ceremony and giving her the public title of Luna was also to atone for Seraphina.

Every time he heard others praise him and Elara, Alpha Kaelen would tell himself that he was atoning for Seraphina, not having an affair.

After several days, he had completely convinced himself of this reasoning.

But the longer time went on, the more he thought of Seraphina.

Most importantly, during all this time caring for Elara at the healing den, Seraphina hadn't sent him a single message.

At first, Alpha Kaelen thought Seraphina was just throwing a tantrum.

After all, the day he left was the first time he had ever hit Seraphina. It was natural for her to be angry.

But as time passed, he realized something was increasingly wrong.

Even when Seraphina was angry, she had never gone this long without contacting him.

Everything was exactly what he had wanted in the beginning, but now that Seraphina truly wasn't contacting him, his heart felt like it had a huge hole in it.

Alpha Kaelen had always thought that even after seven years of being mated, he and Seraphina were more like family.

What he felt for Seraphina was more gratitude and habit, not the passionate love he had once felt for Elara.

But the longer he spent with Seraphina, the more he found himself unable to control his heart.

He began thinking of Seraphina constantly during work hours, and would even smile just thinking about her.

Alpha Kaelen couldn't understand his own feelings, but he feared this loss of control would dominate him once again.

He didn't know if he loved Seraphina, but Alpha Kaelen knew he couldn't lose her.

Thinking this, Alpha Kaelen opened his chat history with Seraphina.

He discovered that since Elara's return to the territory, his conversations with Seraphina had gradually decreased.

In the end, their last exchange had been a week ago.

Alpha Kaelen thought back and remembered that was the day he had taken Elara and the pup to the amusement park together.

Thinking of that pup, thinking of how Seraphina's attitude had changed since that day.

Alpha Kaelen suddenly looked up. He seemed to have realized something.