He saw himself standing shoulder to shoulder with Gianna at the Moon Goddess festival, accepting the blessings of the pack, completely unaware that I was being bullied by a few young noble wolves, my wrist broken, the pain almost making me faint.
Afterward, I bit back the pain so as not to spoil his good mood; he, to protect the “pack’s reputation,” paid off the thugs who hurt me.
He saw himself, when Gianna and I were both kidnapped, faced with the enemy’s ultimatum, after a brief calculation, coldly choosing to abandon me.
Was that love?
Eric himself couldn’t tell anymore, only feeling a bone–deep coldness and despair.
Later, the once–prominent Dark Moon Medical Center in the Los Angeles werewolf community plunged into an unprecedented crisis overnight.
Its controller, Eric, heir to the Dark Moon pack, was taken in for investigation by the Werewolf Supervisory Department for allegedly kidnapping and abusing his former fiancée, as well as multiple drug safety offenses.
The target of his actions was none other than his former fiancée, Gianna, a Beta from the Thunder Ridge pack.
Eric, acting stubbornly, driven by what he considered “revenge“-or perhaps to vent his inner guilt and pain—committed a series of crazed acts, eventually being exposed and reported.
During the investigation, Eric confessed readily, but he had only one request: to see me one last time.
After much hesitation, I finally agreed to the meeting. Perhaps, I wanted to put a real end to this nightmare that had entangled me for years.
In the cold confinement cell, thick bulletproof glass separated us. When I picked up the intercom, the processed voice that came through made me feel dazed for a moment.
How had things come to this?
“Sera.”
1/2
Chapter
+25 Bonus
From arrest to sentencing, it had only been a few short months. We sat opposite each other, yet it felt like an entire universe separated us. Eric wore a prison uniform, his former confidence and energy gone. His golden wolf eyes were dull, their old sharpness lost.
I didn’t speak, just looked at him quietly, waiting for him to begin.
“If back then… I hadn’t taken you back to the Dark Moon manor, would we not have ended up like this?” His voice was hoarse and weary, full
of regret.
I still didn’t respond.
If he hadn’t taken me back to the Dark Moon pack, perhaps there wouldn’t have been so much pain stemming from our difference in status.
If he had been more decisive back then, either truly choosing to be with me and giving up power, or simply marrying Gianna and completely severing my hopes, perhaps there wouldn’t have been so much hurt caused by his indecisiveness.
If I hadn’t saved him in that snowstorm…
But there are no “ifs” in life.
Eric was the heir to the Dark Moon pack. As long as he regained his memory, he was destined to return to the center of power; he couldn’t have stayed with me in that shabby little apartment forever.
And after returning to the pack, he couldn’t completely ignore his mother’s wishes or the interests of the entire pack.
But if I were to go back even further, to watch a life fade away before my eyes, I think, even knowing the outcome, I probably still would have
reached out and taken that battered werewolf home.
After a long silence, Eric looked at my calm face, and a pained smile twisted his lips, uglier than tears.
“Sera, I still owe you an apology.”
I failed you, I hurt you.
I’m sorry.
I listened quietly, without responding, without expression.
The alert signaling the end of the call time sounded. I put down the receiver, turned, and walked away without looking back.
My future stretched out before me–bright, uncharted, and full of promise.
No longer shadowed by his presence, no longer tethered to the pain he caused.
I could finally breathe, finally live for myself.
But in that new world, there was no place for him.
