The wife he gave away

Untitled EpisodeChapter32

The first time I was afraid

"The strongest wolves are not the ones who never fear. They are the ones who continue walking after fear finally finds them."

Until that night, I had always believed those words.

I had repeated them to warriors preparing for battle. I had spoken the same words to grieving families who had lost sons and husbands. I had told them to Elias when he woke from nightmares and feared becoming a disappointment to the pack. I had lived by those words because fear was not something an Alpha could afford. Fear made leaders hesitate, and hesitation got wolves killed.

But standing outside Seraphina's room after hearing glass shatter against the floor, I discovered something unpleasant.

Fear did not always arrive during war. Sometimes, it arrived beside the bed of a woman who had spent years carrying everyone else's burdens until she no longer had enough strength to carry herself.

I pushed open the door.

The room smelled faintly of herbs and medicine. Pieces of broken glass lay scattered beside the bed, and Seraphina was staring at them with wide eyes, as though she had committed some terrible crime. Her hand trembled uncontrollably above the blanket, while her cheeks looked even paler than they had a few hours ago. The tears gathered in her eyes did not fall immediately. They simply remained there, shining beneath the dim candlelight.

"I'm sorry," she whispered weakly, avoiding my gaze as though she couldn't bear to look at me. "I wasn't trying to listen. I only wanted some water. The glass slipped."

I remained standing for several seconds. Then I shook my head. "You had every right to listen."

When she finally looked at me, there was confusion in her expression. And fear… a different kind of fear. It was not the fear of pain or betrayal. It was the fear of hearing a truth that could never be taken back.

For several moments, neither of us spoke. The silence between us stretched uncomfortably, while the sounds from outside the room slowly faded away. Eventually, she swallowed hard, and when she finally spoke, her voice sounded small.

"So..." She paused. "Everything I heard..."

Another pause.

"It's true?"

I wanted to lie. For the first time in years, I genuinely wanted to lie. I wanted to tell her that healers exaggerated sometimes. I wanted to tell her that she would recover in a few days and return home. I wanted to tell her that she would watch Kael grow older and eventually hold grandchildren in her arms.

But I couldn't. I was Alpha. My words carried weight. And I had spent too many years hating lies to suddenly begin using them.

"Yes," I answered quietly.

Seraphina lowered her head. For several seconds, she simply stared at her hands. Then she asked the question I had been dreading.

"Am I really dying?"

Silence answered her, not because I wanted it to. Bcause I couldn't find the words. And apparently, my silence was enough.

She laughed. The sound startled me. It wasn't a happy laugh. It wasn't even bitter. It was the laughter of someone who had finally run out of ways to react.

"I suppose that's funny," she said softly, shaking her head as another tear escaped down her cheek. "For years, I worried about whether Dominic loved me enough. I spent the past few weeks wondering why Kael preferred Valeria to me. I kept asking myself whether I was too strict, too boring, too ordinary, or whether I had somehow failed as a mother."

She smiled weakly. "I wondered if I cooked the wrong meals."

Another smile.

"I wondered if I should have bought him more gifts."

She inhaled slowly. "I wondered whether I should have smiled more."

Then she looked up at me. "And all this time..."

Her voice cracked. "I was dying."

The words hung heavily inside the room.

She continued speaking.

"I spent years trying to become a better wife. A better mother. A better Beta female. I woke up before everyone else and slept after everyone else. I cooked when I was tired. I cleaned when I was exhausted. I stayed awake during fevers. I gave up hobbies. I gave up dreams. I gave up myself because I thought that was what mothers were supposed to do."

She laughed again. Only this time, there was pain behind it.

"And now I discover that someone may have been taking pieces of me for years."

Her eyes slowly filled with tears. "Do you know what hurts the most?"

I didn't answer. She didn't seem to expect one.

"I don't think anyone would've noticed if I had died at home."

I frowned immediately. "That's not true."

She smiled sadly. "Please don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"You are."

Her voice remained calm.

"Dominic is gone."

She lowered her gaze.

"Kael barely wants me around."

She swallowed.

"Valeria already behaves like she belongs in my home."

Another tear slid down her cheek. "I think..."

She paused.

"I think I've already disappeared."

Something inside me snapped. "Enough."

The word came out sharper than I intended. She looked at me in surprise.

I moved closer. "You don't get to die."

Seraphina stared at me, then she smiled… a tired smile, one filled with resignation.

"Alpha..."

She shook her head.

"I don't think I have a choice."

"You do."

"How?"

Her question was simple, almost innocent.

I looked directly into her eyes.

"Because if someone has been stealing your life..."

My voice hardened.

"...then I'll take it back."

For the first time since entering the room, something flickered inside her expression. Hope… tiny, fragile… but it was there. Before either of us could speak again, hurried footsteps echoed through the healer's house.

A moment later, one of my guards burst inside, breathing and sweating heavily. He immediately dropped to one knee.

"Alpha."

I turned toward him. "What is it?"

"Beta Dominic has returned."

My expression changed immediately. "Where is he?"

The guard hesitated. Then he raised his head. "He's requesting a private audience."

Silence settled inside the room. The guard swallowed.

Then he added quietly…

"He says he has information that could destroy the pack."