(Third person''s POV)


    As Ethan Stone hesitated, just as Victoria Frost expected, he was moved by


    Emma''s tearful pleas and stopped to look down at her. Seeing his attention,


    Emma''s tears intensified, her swollen red eyes filled with longing and dependence


    as she clung to Ethan''s leg.


    She reached out to him with her small hands, her voice breaking with desperation.


    "Daddy, Emma really knows she was wrong, please don''t abandon Emma."


    "Without Daddy, my ssmates bully me. Look, they beat me all over. Daddy, it


    hurts so much." Her wolf pup whimpered pitifully beneath her skin, projecting


    distress pheromones that would normally trigger any Alpha''s protective instincts.


    The scent of her fear and pain filled the air around them. Emma''s small body


    trembled as she pressed closer to Ethan''s leg, seeking thefort and protection


    she had always received from him.


    When Ethan did not immediatelyfort her, Emma pulled open her jacket with


    shaking hands. She revealed the tattered Crescent Moon Academy uniform


    underneath and the bruises and welts marring her pale skin.


    These visible wounds were her trump card. She remembered how, in the past,


    whenever she was bullied, her father figure would defend her fiercely.


    He would punish those who hurt her and their families through his Alpha authority.


    She recalled the tenderness with which he had once soothed her after an incident


    at the Silvercrest Pack Medical Den.


    He had promised to acknowledge her as his true daughter despite theck of


    blood bond. Having truly experienced Ethan''s fatherly love and protection, she


    simply could not believe he would cast her aside.


    The grave desecration incident was just a childish act of jealousy against Lily, who


    was already gone. She convinced herself her Alpha father was only acting out of


    anger, and he would soften upon seeing her hurt.


    "Please, Daddy," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Emma needs you."


    Ethan''s amber eyes darkened as he took in the severity of her injuries. His wolf


    stirred with conflicted protective instincts, the sight of a wounded pup triggering


    ancient Alpha responses.


    He asked in a low, controlled voice, "Why did your ssmates beat you?"


    Without hesitation, Emma replied, "Because they saw that Emma had no daddy to


    protect her, so they bullied me for no reason." Her voice carried the practiced


    innocence of a child who had learned to manipte adult emotions.


    His gaze turned frigid, his Alpha aura growing cold. He realized that she was


    his sympathy.


    She was ignoring the fact that she herself was also a perpetrator. With a cold


    expression, Ethan pulled his leg away, his wolf rejecting the false bond.


    Emma copsed to the ground with a small cry of pain. The marble floor was cold


    and unforgiving beneath her bruised body.


    "Daddy..." she looked up in


    confusion, her wolf pup''s distress


    calls going unanswered. She was


    unable to understand why he


    showed no concern for her injuries


    and did not help her up.


    Ethan''s perception of her had fundamentally changed since the previous night.


    When he learned the truth about Lily''s death and the grave desecration,


    everything shifted.


    He now saw that his past indulgence had made him the unwitting shield for her


    bullying. She had tormented her ssmates with impunity using his Alpha status.


    She, once a victim herself, had turned into someone who would tear apart others''


    umbres rather than offer shelter. The ounts he heard from her teachers


    haunted him now.


    How she had beaten ssmates bloody, forced them to kneel and submit like


    omegas. How she made them crawl under her legs, and even shoved someone''s


    head into a toilet.


    He realized he had enabled a little monster. The more he hated himself for his


    past leniency, the more he loathed Emma standing before him.


    She was so skilled at pretense, just like her mother Victoria. The maniption


    came as naturally to her as breathing.


    Coldly, Ethan ordered the Silvercrest Security Guards, "Don''t let these two appear


    at thepany entrance again. I don''t want to see them."


    His Alphamand carried the weight of absolute authority. The guards


    straightened immediately, recognizing the finality in their Alpha''s tone.


    He turned and strode away, his powerful presence radiating rejection. Each step


    echoed through the marble lobby like a death knell.


    Emma, panicking, tried desperately to grab his leg again. Her wolf pup howled in


    abandonment, the sound piercing and desperate.


    "Daddy... Daddy!" she cried, but could not catch up to the Alpha''s long strides. Her


    small legs couldn''t match his pace, and her injuries slowed her further.


    The guards, who remembered how


    Ethan used to dote on Emma,


    hesitated to act roughly against a


    pup. They feared future


    repercussions from their Alpha if his


    feelings changed again.


    Their uncertainty was palpable as they watched the small girl chase after the


    retreating Alpha King.


    Maxwell Chen, receiving a subtle


    signal from Ethan through their pack


    bond, returned with purposeful


    steps. He instructed the guards with


    clear authority that brooked no


    argument.