19
Over the past seven years, the old Alpha had been respectful and caring toward me.
Both emotionally and logically, I should see him one last time.
I set aside my grievances with Garrett and rushed back to the Blackwood house overnight.
The familiar mansion felt cold and empty. Pack members moved quietly through the halls, their faces grave.
The old Alpha on his deathbed was experiencing his final rally.
His aged face was filled with worry. His breathing was labored, each word a struggle.
“Aria, I’ve wronged you. The Blackwood family has wronged you.”
His voice cracked with genuine remorse. I could see tears gathering in his cloudy eyes.
When I first bound with Garrett, I was still young and naive.
But the old Alpha, with his high position and power, couldn’t have been unaware of how unfair that agreement was.
He had cut off all other possibilities in my life, tempting me to sign that agreement.
He buried my life’s happiness in that golden cage.
My chest tightened. The old wound of that betrayal still ached.
I was silent for a moment. “I don’t blame you. Back then, I willingly made that choice. I don’t blame anyone.”
The old Alpha’s eyes widened in surprise. He had expected anger, accusations, hatred.
Instead, he found only calm acceptance.
“You’re too kind, child. Too kind for your own good.”
He struggled to sit up, his face contorting with pain.
“I spoiled Garrett too much. I gave him everything without teaching him its value.”
His voice dropped to a whisper, filled with desperate pleading.
“Whatever fate he meets in the future, he brought it on himself. I don’t dare hope you’ll return to his side. I only ask that when he’s down and out, you give him a meal to survive.”
The beta assistant stepped forward nervously, hands trembling as he handed over a contract.
The old Alpha was prepared to transfer all the Blackwood family assets to my name.
He even wanted to leave the pack for me to manage.
The papers were thick, official. Billions in assets, territories, business holdings.
All that would remain for Garrett was a villa and an idle position at the Pack House office.
“Take it all,” the old Alpha gasped. “You earned it with your suffering. You paid for it with your blood.”
I stared at the contract. This was more wealth than I could spend in ten lifetimes.
More power than most wolves could dream of.
I shook my head with a light laugh.
Grandfather, this responsibility is too great. I can’t shoulder it.”
“More importantly, I’ve already wasted seven years of my life on Garrett. For the rest of my days, I only want to live for myself. I never want to have any connection with him again.”
The old Alpha’s face crumpled. His last card had been played and rejected.
The old Alpha truly loved this grandson to the extreme.
Even on his deathbed, he was still thinking of paving the way for him.
1/3
Even if it meant sacrificing someone else’s life, he didn’t care.
But the current me wouldn’t fall for Garrett’s sweet words.
Nor would I be confused by the old Alpha’s sugar–coated bullets.
I had finally understood completely that fate’s gifts always came with a price tag attached.
“Please,” the old Alpha wheezed. “He’ll have nothing. He can’t manage alone. He’s weak, broken-”
“Then let him learn strength through hardship,” I said firmly.
Seeing my determination, the old Alpha began coughing violently.
Blood spattered his lips. The monitors began beeping frantically.
Garrett’s emotions were also agitated.
He looked at me with red eyes, wanting to speak, but the old Alpha waved his hand to stop him.
“Don’t… don’t beg her,” the old man gasped. “You… you have no right.”
I bowed to him, unwilling to stay longer.
The smell of medicine and death was suffocating. I needed fresh air.
