+25 Bonus


    Even if she hadn''t liked Ellie, she should at least have understood that much. I couldn''t just let someone get away with hurting my wife. My pride as an Alpha wouldn''t allow it.


    But if I was honest with myself, I knew that wasn''t the real reason I felt this way. The truth was simpler, and far worse. The people I was supposed to protect always ended up hurt because of me.


    Because I couldn''t face my own emotions. Because I was too weak to handle them.


    If I''d been honest with Ellie from the start, none of this would have happened. If I had told her straight that ours was a political marriage and nothing more, maybe she wouldn''t have tried so hard.


    Maybe she wouldn''t have grown so desperate. If she hadn''t begged and whined and pestered me, I wouldn''t have grown to resent her. If I hadn''t let things fester, Felicity wouldn''t have grown so bitter toward her.


    In the end, it was all my fault. Because I was too weak to handle the situation honestly. And now Ellie was hurt-


    or worse. 1


    Felicity was in our room crying. The woman who meant everything to me was weeping and screaming in rage because I couldn''t stop thinking about someone else.


    But I couldn''t stop. My mind was stuck in an unending loop. My grief, anger, and desperation were feeding into one another like fuel on a me.


    I knew I should have confronted Ellie directly the moment I suspected she was pregnant. She wouldn''t have lied to my face, I was sure of it. I didn''t even fully understand why she hid it, unless she was terrified of how I might react.


    And maybe she was.


    The thought wed at me. What if it was worse than that? What if she''d hidden it because she thought I might do the unthinkable?


    I''d heard stories-Alphas who married a woman just to produce an heir, then took the baby away and gave it to their lover to raise. Could Ellie have thought I was capable of something that cruel?


    "Why wouldn''t she? I had only ever been cold to her.


    Is that why she hid it from me?


    My mind was a storm of questions. I couldn''t sleep anymore-I justy awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how different things could have been if I hadn''t destroyed everything.


    I should have taken care of Ellie. I should have protected her as my wife. It was my responsibility-my duty as Alpha. And I failed.


    Failed again and again.


    Her life was miserable because of me. I not only treated her coldly, I allowed everyone around us to treat her like trash. She was constantly belittled and mocked and I acted like she was out of line for crying over it.


    “I''m such a bastard,” I muttered as I paced around my office. The sound of Felicity''s crying was muffled now, but still clear enough. A reminder that I''d failed her too.


    Maybe my parents had been right about me all those years ago. During those grueling hours of training, when


    they told me I wasn''t ready, that I was too weak... I just kept proving them right. Proving it by messing everything


    1.


    +25 Bonus


    Thinking about Ellie being dead was too much. I couldn''t carry that on my conscience too. I had already caused my parents'' deaths. I had already lost our babies. I couldn''t add hers to the list.


    And yet..... I felt it in my bones. She was alive. She had to be.


    Maybe it was the mate bond. Maybe it was something else. Maybe-goddess help me-it was the Moon Goddess herself.


    I froze mid-step in my pacing. Did I really just think that? Did I really credit the goddess with anything? I didn''t even believe in her. The Moon Goddess.


    I must have been truly desperate if my mind was turning to religion forfort.


    But even so, I could feel Ellie somewhere out there. I knew it. No matter what


    Felicity said, no matter what anyone said, no matter what logic dictated—she was alive.


    And no matter how long it took, or how far I had to go... I would find her.


    曲