Chapter 5
Adrian’s POV
“What did you say?!” Adrian charged down from the altar like a madman, Tyler’s words-Gale is really dead-the only thing echoing in his mind.
Sophia, weighed down by her heavy Luna gown, screamed after him, “Adrian! The ceremony isn’t over! Wait for me!”
But he couldn’t hear her.
Tyler drove like a maniac through the night streets.
“Faster!” Adrian roared, his eyes red with a mixture of terror and disbelief.
When they burst into the hospital, they were met not by the red light of an operating room, but by a deafening silence.
Adrian grabbed a nurse on duty, his voice hoarse.
“A boy named Gale! He was brought in last night! Where is he?”
The nurse, startled, checked her records and looked back at him with pity.
“That child… he was pronounced dead. Last night.”
Adrian felt the world spin.
He leaned against the wall for support.
“The body… where is he? The morgue?”
“His mother completed the paperwork this morning and took him with her,” the nurse said softly.
Took him?
Adrian’s heart plummeted.
He wouldn’t even get to see his son one last time?
“The doctor! Where is the doctor who treated him?”
Soon, the attending physician from last night was brought in..
He looked at Adrian with deep regret.
“You’re the boy’s father?” the doctor sighed, handing him a copy of a document. “This is his death certificate.”
Adrian’s hand trembled as he took the thin piece of paper.
The words “Cause of Death: Excessive blood loss due to severe cranial trauma” burned his eyes like a branding iron.
“Impossible… he has regenerative abilities…” Adrian muttered, clinging to his last sliver of hope.
“Regenerative abilities?” The doctor shook his head, confused. “We checked. While the child did have werewolf lineage, it was extremely faint. He had never awakened his wolf and did not possess the kind of powerful regenerative abilities your kind is known for. For him, an injury like that was fatal.”
Never awakened…
The words struck Adrian like a bolt of lightning, shattering all his excuses and his self-assured arrogance.
He was wrong.
1/4
Chapter 5
+15 Bonus
He was so, so wrong.
He remembered Elena’s heart-wrenching cries, and his own cold words: “Stop the act.”
It wasn’t an act.
It was a desperate plea for help.
And he had single-handedly extinguished their only hope.
A guttural growl of anguish ripped from his chest.
“Oh, Goddess… what have I done…” Remorse crashed over him, a suffocating tide.
“Adrian!” Sophia, still in her gown, ran in, out of breath.
She froze when she saw Adrian’s devastated state and the death certificate in his hand.
“He’s really… dead?”
After a brief moment of shock, Sophia regained her composure.
She went to Adrian’s side, trying to steady him.
“Adrian, this is no time for grief.”
“My son is dead!” Adrian looked up at her, his eyes filled with agony. “And I killed him!”
“I know you’re hurting, but we have to go back!” Sophia’s voice became sharp and urgent. “You haven’t completed the mating ritual! You aren’t a full Alpha yet! Think of the pack’s future, think of us!”
Adrian looked at Sophia’s face and, for the first time, felt a wave of profound disgust.
It was her.
She had stomped on Gale’s medal and called him a “little mutt.”
She had shoved Elena, triggering this whole catastrophe.
But… she was also right.
Without the full power of an Alpha, he was incomplete.
He would have no standing to find Elena, let alone beg for her forgiveness.
He needed that power.
He needed the Blackwood pack’s resources to find her.
Adrian slowly stood up, his expression hollow and cold.
He pushed Sophia away and walked out without another word.
He was going back to complete the ritual that now sickened him to his core.
Elena, wait for me, he swore to himself. When I have all my power, I will find you. I will kneel before you and spend the rest of my life atoning for this.
He thought this was the beginning of his atonement.
He had no idea it was already the final judgment.
An hour later, they returned to the altar.
2/4
Chapter 5
+15 Bonus
“My apologies, everyone. There was an unexpected incident,” Adrian said to the pack members, his voice flat. “We will now continue the ceremony.”
As he and Sophia exchanged mating bites, the immense power of an Alpha surged through him.
He was a full Alpha now, in possession of all the pack’s authority and resources.
The moment the ceremony ended, he gave an order to Tyler.
“Use every resource we have. Find Elena.” He had to apologize for his stupidity. He prayed it wasn’t too late.
But the news Tyler brought back plunged him straight into hell.
“Alpha, Elena… she’s gone. The house is empty.”
“More importantly, I looked into her background… Alpha, Elena’s real name… is Elena of House Astoria.”
Astoria.
The name made Adrian’s heart stop.
“The Astoria Royal Family of the North?”
“Yes,” Tyler’s voice trembled. “She’s not an Omega. She’s a pure-blooded Royal Alpha… the Crown Princess of the North. She used an ancient blood seal to suppress her power for eight years, just to be an ordinary woman by your side.”
“And now… her seal is broken.”
Adrian’s eyes went wide, a chilling cold spreading through his body.
Just then, Victoria burst in, her face livid.
“Adrian, all of our partners are terminating their contracts! The banks have frozen all our credit lines! The pack’s stock is plummeting!”
“Mom…”
“What in the world did you do?!” Victoria still hadn’t grasped the severity of the situation.
“It’s Elena Astoria!” Tyler choked out. “She’s the princess of the North!”
The anger on Victoria’s face instantly morphed into pure terror.
“Astoria… Royalty…” She grabbed Adrian’s arm, her nails digging into his flesh. “You fool! Who did you offend?! Go! Go find her! Get on your knees and beg for her forgiveness! I don’t care what it takes, bring her back! Or our entire pack is finished!”
Adrian collapsed into his chair.
He had wanted power to protect her, and in seeking it, he had pushed her away and destroyed everything he held dear.
His phone rang frantically.
It was the CEO of the pack’s corporate holdings, screaming in desperation.
“Adrian! The Astoria Group just pulled all of their investments! Fifty billion dollars! We’re bankrupt!”
All Adrian could hear was the echo of Elena’s last, cold words.
“You will regret this.”
