---- Chapter 27 Elara POV: His sobs were ugly, pathetic things that echoed in the vast, silent hall. He clung to the hem of my gown, his knuckles white, the fabric bunching in his desperate grip. This man, this Alpha who had stood so tall and proud, was now a broken thing at my feet. "I'll get rid of her," he choked out, his words muffled by the silver silk. "I'll exile her. She'll never set foot in our territory again. | swear it, Elara." A cold, hard stone settled in my chest. "And the pup?" | asked, my voice devoid of any warmth. "Her child? Will you exile him, too?" He looked up, his face streaked with tears and rain. There was no hesitation in his eyes. "Yes. Anything. If he makes you unhappy, he's gone. I'll cast them both out. None of it matters, only you." He would discard an innocent child just as easily as he had discarded me. For a moment, | saw the man | thought | loved, the ambitious, ruthless Alpha who built a pack from nothing. But now, that ruthlessness was just weakness in disguise. "It's too late, Damien," | said, my voice flat. | pulled my dress ---- from his grasp. "It's all too late. | don't love you anymore." His face crumpled. He scrambled to his feet as | turned to walk away, blocking my path. His eyes were wild, searching for a weapon, any leverage he could find. And he found it. "The pup," he said, his voice gaining a desperate strength. "Our pup, Elara. A child can't grow up without a father. He is the heir to the Bloodstone pack. He carries my blood!" My blood ran cold. He was right. As long as the pup existed, he would have a claim. A reason to haunt me, to follow me, to tear my new life apart piece by piece. The White Wolf inside me rose up, fierce and protective, demanding | end this threat. Forever. | stopped. | turned to face him, my expression calm, my eyes meeting his directly. | would give him the ending he deserved. Acclean cut. A final, brutal mercy. "There is no pup, Damien," | said, the lie tasting like poison and freedom on my tongue. He stared at me, uncomprehending. "What... what are you talking about?" "The Rejection," | said, each word a carefully placed stone building a wall between us. "The pain of the bond being torn apart... it was too much. The healers couldn't save him. Our child is gone." ---- For a second, there was only silence. Then a sound | will never forget escaped his lips-a raw, animalistic howl of pure agony. His world, the one he was so desperately trying to rebuild, had just been obliterated. "No," he whispered, shaking his head in frantic denial. "No, you're lying." He lunged for me, his hands gripping my arms. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you let me help you?" He shook me, his grip bruising, his sanity completely gone. | didn't flinch. | just looked at him with empty eyes. "Guards," | said, my voice clear and steady. "Take him away." "No! Elara, please!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "We can start again! Please, I'm begging you!" The guards hesitated, unused to laying hands on an Alpha, even a fallen one. Then, two figures moved out of the crowd. My father and mother. Alpha Alaric stood before Damien, his power a crushing weight. "You have heard the Princess," he said, his voice like the grinding of glaciers. "Leave. Now." Damien was dragged away, still screaming my name, still begging for a second chance that no longer existed. He was a ghost, finally exorcised ---- | watched until he was gone, then turned and walked back toward the dais, my hand resting protectively on my stomach, where the strong, steady heartbeat of my son pulsed against my palm.