---- Chapter 34 Damien POV: The journey back to Moon Island was a humbling eternity. | traveled on foot, working for passage on merchant ships, a nameless wolf with nothing but the clothes on his back. When | finally stood before the shimmering barrier of the Silver Moon Pack's territory, | was gaunt, bearded, and broken. The guards at the gate were new. They looked at me with suspicion. "I'm here to see Elara," | said, my voice hoarse. "The Princess is not here," the lead guard said, his hand testing on the hilt of his silver-inlaid sword. A constant reminder of our kind's greatest weakness, a metal that burned us like fire. A cold dread seized me. "What do you mean? Where did she go?" "That is not your concern," he said dismissively. "Leave." "No, please," | begged, stepping forward. "You don't understand. I've done what Alpha Alaric asked. I've dissolved my bond with the rogue. I'm here to atone. | have to see her." The guard's eyes narrowed. He didn't believe a word. Just as ---- he was about to give the command to force me away, the sound of hoofbeats echoed from within the mist. Amagnificent carriage, pulled by the same pearlescent beasts I'd seen before, emerged from the gate. Inside, | could see the regal figures of Alpha Alaric and Luna Seraphina. The Alpha and Luna were the heart and soul of a pack, their bond a source of strength for all. Seeing them together was a painful reminder of what | had thrown away. This was my chance. Ignoring the guards' shouts, | threw myself in front of the carriage. The beasts reared, their cries sharp and otherworldly. The carriage door opened and Alpha Alaric stepped out. His face was a thundercloud. The air grew heavy, thick with a power that pushed me to my knees. It was the Alpha's Command, the undeniable authority in his very being that no lesser wolf could defy. "| told you to make things right," he boomed, "not to continue being a nuisance." "Please," | gasped, the pressure making it hard to breathe. "I did everything you said. Just let me see her. Let me apologize." He looked down at me, his eyes as cold and unforgiving as a frozen lake. "My daughter has gone to a place of peace. A sacred place where she will not be disturbed by the ghosts of her past. You will never see her again." ---- He turned and got back into the carriage. "Drive on," he commanded. The carriage moved past me, leaving me kneeling in the dust, the world crumbling around me. Never. The word was a final judgment. | stayed there for hours, long after the sun had set, a statue of despair. | didn't notice the elderly steward approaching until he cleared his throat softly beside me. It was the same man who had let me in before. "He is a fool," the steward muttered, more to himself than to me. "An Alpha blinded by rage cannot see the board." My head snapped up. "What?" The old wolf looked at me, his eyes sharp and calculating, not filled with the simple pity | expected. "My loyalty is to the Silver Moon, Alpha Damien. And a White Wolf heir born without the protection of his father's Alpha blood is a weakness. An imbalance. Our enemies would see it as an opportunity." He pressed a small, folded piece of paper and a pouch of bitter-smelling herbs into my hand. "These are the coordinates to the Sanctuary Island. These herbs will mask your Alpha scent. Alpha Alaric would have my hide if he knew | spoke to you, but he is a father before he is a king, and his judgment is clouded." ---- The steward's gaze was hard. "Go as a protector, not as a lover. Prove you are worthy of the blood that runs in your son's veins. This is your only chance at redemption-not for her, but for him. Do not fail this test." He scurried away before | could thank him, leaving me clutching the paper like it was the last piece of hope in the entire world. The pup was alive. My child. Elara's child. And | knew where to find them.