Chapter 24
Three days later, in the dead of night, Clarisse stood at the edge of a cliff, sea wind howling as her gown whipped violently around her.
Behind her, hurried footsteps approached. Adrian had arrived with his men.
“Clarisse!” he ran to her, his face pale with worry. “Come with me!”
Clarisse glanced back at the Betas chasing behind, then suddenly smiled.
“Adrian, are you afraid of heights?”
Before he could respond, she grabbed his hand and jumped.
Below was a raging sea, but Clarisse had already mapped out safe footholds along the cliff face.
The Betas didn’t dare pursue. They could only watch helplessly as the two vanished into the darkness.
Waves crashed against the jagged rocks. Soaked to the bone, Clarisse and Adrian struggled to pull themselves onto the shore.
“Hurry!” Adrian grabbed her hand and ran toward a nearby speedboat.
Just
Just as they reached it, a blinding light cut through the darkness.
Leopold stood on the shore, flanked by dozens of Bētas.
“Had enough of running?” His voice was icy.
Clarisse stepped protectively in front of Adrian. “Leopold, let him go.”
Leopold stared at her for a long moment–then suddenly smiled. “Fine.”
“But you have to stay.”
Clarisse was about to reply when suddenly, a deafening crack sounded above.
A massive boulder broke loose from the cliff, crashing down toward her and Adrian.
“Look out!”
Leopold lunged forward, shoving them both out of the way.
The rock struck his leg with a sickening thud. Blood poured out, immediately staining the seawater red.
Clarisse was thrown back by the impact, her head slamming hard against a jagged rock.
Darkness closed in, but she fought to stay conscious–just long enough to see Leopold lying in a pool of blood, face ashen, still staring
at her.
“…Clary, are you alright?”
She tried to speak, but before a sound could come out, everything went black and she collapsed.
Just before losing consciousness, she heard herself whisper, “Leopold… let me go.”
When Leopold woke up, the first thing he felt was the numbness in his legs.
The doctor stood at his bedside, voice low and cautious.
“Alpha Leopold, your spinal nerves have been damaged. There’s a possibility your lower limbs may…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
Leopold’s Beta stood off to the side, eyes red. “I’ll go tell Clarisse! If she knows you got hurt saving her…”
“Shut up.” Leopold cut him off coldly. “No one is allowed to tell her.”
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He turned his head toward the window. The sunlight outside was blinding.
He thought back to the last thing he saw before blacking out.
Clarisse had been lying not far from him, face pale and trembling, yet still holding
And in that moment, he finally understood what “unbearable pain” meant.
erself together as she said, “Leopold… let me go.”
Some mistakes, he realized, only need to be made once to lose someone he loved forever.
One month later, Leopold sat in a wheelchair, watching the news on TV—
“The Mating Ceremony of Noctelle Pack’s Alpha Adrian and Luna Clarisse”
On screen, Clarisse wore a white gown, her smile radiant.
She used to smile at him like that too.
Before he had taken Grace’s side again and again.
Before he had sent her to rot in the Pack Prison.
Before
Before he had broken her heart so completely she’d burned down the wolf castle.
Leopold turned off the television and wheeled himself into the study in silence.
There, a document waited for him. It was just delivered by his Beta.
He opened it. Inside was a detailed report of Clarisse’s past month.
She and Adrian had gone to the Moon Goddess Temple, kissing under the Moonlight Bridge.
She accompanied Adrian to a business gala, holding onto his arm, smiling gently.
She’d even started learning how to cook because Adrian liked a certain dish.
Leopold stared at the photos for a long moment and then suddenly, he smiled.
He had once been the recipient of all her love. And he had crushed it with his own hands.
Now, every bit of her gentleness belonged to someone else.
Later, he went alone to the ruins of the burned–down wolf castle.
Amid the charred wreckage, he lit a cigarette and stared blankly at the blackened walls.
His phone suddenly rang.
“Hello, this is Cartier’s bespoke service,” a polite voice said. “The custom men’s wedding ring ordered by Miss Clarisse is complete. She left your number as the contact. Wishing you both a joyous Mating Ceremony!”
Leopold’s fingers trembled. Ash fell from the cigarette and burned a hole in his pants.
So she had once wanted to be his mate.
Back when she still loved him with her whole heart.
Back before he had made all those mistakes.
His chest suddenly ached like it was being torn apart. He doubled over, gasping for breath.
“Mister?” A neighbor passing by glanced into the ruins and asked curiously, “The house is gone. Are you waiting for someone?”
Leopold looked up. Sunlight spilled over his pale face.
“Yes,” he said softly. “I’m waiting for someone.”
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But deep down he knew she wasn’t coming back.
The sun outside was warm. But no one would ever come bursting in again, proud and radian
Chapter 24
