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Chapter 2

Autor: Hyacinth
Five days after Ivy’s birthday, I spent six hours at the healing center.

Ronan never returned for Ivy’s birthday training. Five days later, the bow still lay unopened in its case.

A border guard had been cut by a rogue’s silver blade, and fragments remained buried in the wound, slowing his healing. By the time I removed the last piece and stabilized his heartbeat, night had fallen.

When I returned to the Alpha residence, the gates were open. Two workers from the pack stables were leading Ivy’s mare toward a transport trailer.

Her name was Hazel.

I had bought her with three years of night-shift pay. Young wolves in Silverpine learned riding, tracking, and wilderness skills before their first shift, and Ivy spent every afternoon brushing Hazel and preparing for the junior trail trial next month.

Ronan stood beside the trailer, checking the rails.

“Stop.”

The workers looked toward him.

Ronan noticed me and straightened. “Noah’s incomplete shift was worse than expected. The healer wants him away from combat training and around something calm until he feels safe again.”

I looked at Hazel’s tack already loaded into the trailer.

“So you are giving him Ivy’s mare?”

“Lending her.”

Ronan came closer, speaking as if this were an ordinary pack decision.

“The stable’s other horses reacted badly to Noah’s unstable scent. Hazel was the only mare who stayed calm when he approached her. Once he improves, I will bring her back.”

“Did Ivy agree?”

He paused.

“She has not been training lately.”

“Because you promised to train with her, and she kept waiting.”

“There are other horses in the pack stable.” Irritation entered his voice. “Elena, Noah lost control of his shift. He needs help. Caleb died for me and for Silverpine. I cannot ignore his son.”

Noah needed help. Caleb had saved Ronan’s life. Yet whenever Ronan fulfilled a promise to that family, Ivy paid for it.

I did not block the trailer. I called the stable master instead.

“Record the transfer properly. Hazel is registered to Ivy. Alpha Ronan ordered the move, and neither Ivy nor I agreed.”

Ronan frowned. “Is that necessary?”

“Yes.”

“It is one training mare.”

“Then the record should be simple.”

He watched me, perhaps expecting an argument, but I had nothing left to explain.

After the trailer left, Hazel’s stall stood empty. Her nameplate was gone, along with the blue braid Ivy had tied to the bridle. Only an old grooming brush remained against the wall.

When Ivy returned from the pack academy, she went straight to the stable.

She stood before the empty stall without crying or asking when Hazel would return. She picked up the brush and wiped dust from the handle with her sleeve.

“Dad gave her to Noah?”

“He said it is only a loan.”

Ivy looked down at the brush.

“He promised to train with me after my birthday. He never came back.”

I did not answer for him.

She carried the brush upstairs and placed it inside the half-packed suitcase beside her old stuffed wolf. Then she opened her school journal and wrote:

Dad gave my mare to the pup he protects.

He said I can ride another one.

Maybe fathers can belong to another child too.

That evening, Mara posted a photograph on the pack’s private social feed.

Noah sat on Hazel while Ronan held the reins beside him. Mara stood on the other side wearing Caleb’s old cloak. Noah was smiling.

The caption read:

Noah smiled in the saddle for the first time since Caleb died. Thank you, Alpha Ronan, for keeping your promise to protect our family.

Pack members filled the comments with praise. They called Ronan honorable and said Caleb would have been proud.

Ronan liked the post from his official account.

I closed the feed and returned to Ivy’s transfer forms for Northern Crown Academy.

The royal court had prepared rooms for us and assigned a healer who specialized in young wolves after emotional trauma. Ivy’s school records, medical history, and first-shift assessments would be transferred before we arrived.

When I submitted the final form, Ronan’s message appeared.

[Once Noah is stable, I will take Ivy to the Silverpine Founders’ Fair on my next rest day.]

[I will make it up to her.]

A final message followed.

[Do not teach her to resent a child who lost his father.]

I did not reply.

Ronan still believed Ivy had lost only a mare. He still believed another promise could repair everything.

He did not know we would not be in Silverpine by his next rest day.
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  • He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home   Chapter 9

    ElenaTwo years later, Northern Crown hosted a cross-pack medical conference.Healers, Council representatives, and Alpha families filled the hall while I presented new research on childhood trauma, wolfsbane injuries, and unstable shifts.“A young wolf heals only when the world becomes safe again,” I said. “Treatment reduces symptoms. Trust returns when the people closest to them respect their choices.”Applause filled the room.I had become Northern Crown’s chief healer, established a treatment center for traumatized young wolves, and reclaimed the name Elena Vale.Ronan sat in the last row.He was still Silverpine’s Alpha. After the Council investigation, he lost direct control over survivor benefits and memorial funds. Silverpine now required independent approval for every payment.None of that changed my decision.Our mate bond had been dissolved a year earlier.After the conference, a Council liaison found me backstage.“Ronan’s visitation request passed final review.”“Did Ivy a

  • He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home   Chapter 8

    Three days later, Silverpine held its annual memorial assembly for fallen warriors.The names of those who had died protecting the pack covered the wall behind the stage. Caleb’s was among them. Elders, guards, surviving families, and Council representatives filled the hall. Mara sat in the front row wearing Caleb’s dark coat. She had been scheduled to speak for the families and confirm Noah’s support for the coming year.After the memorial silence, the pack finance officer approached the podium.“Before next year’s support is approved, the Council must report an investigation involving survivor funds.”The screen displayed Mara’s expenses from the past three years. Several clinic bills had been issued after the clinics had closed. Medicine had been charged more than once but never collected. Noah’s therapy appointments had repeatedly been canceled, while Mara requested additional money and Ronan’s personal attendance whenever his condition worsened. Some funds meant for treatment had

  • He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home   Chapter 7

    After Mara left, Ronan remained in Ivy’s room with the unused training bow across his knees. Her assignments lay scattered on the floor, each page recording a choice he had once called reasonable.His phone vibrated.Because Elena had filed to dissolve their mate bond, the pack finance officer was reviewing expenses tied to the Alpha household. Several payments made in Mara’s name could not be classified.There were housing costs, private clinic bills, treatment fees, and repeated transfers from Ronan’s personal account. Hazel’s transport and boarding costs appeared among them.For three years, Ronan had approved whatever Mara requested whenever she said Noah’s condition could not wait.One invoice was dated the day after Ivy’s birthday. It claimed Noah had received emergency shift-control treatment at a private clinic. That night, Mara had said Noah might lose control again, so Ronan had stayed until morning.He did not recognize the clinic.The next day, he went to the pack clinic.T

  • He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home   Chapter 6

    RonanRonan drove straight from the healing center to the Alpha residence.He left the car door open and crossed the front yard at a run. Inside, only his boots and coat remained by the entrance. Elena’s medical case was gone, along with Ivy’s cloak. The living room had been cleaned so carefully that the silence felt deliberate.Elena’s side of the wardrobe was empty. There was no letter, only a dark folder on the desk.Inside were the Northern Crown summons, Ivy’s approved transfer to Northern Crown Academy, and a copy of Elena’s appointment as the court’s next chief healer. The academy approval was dated the previous week.Elena had decided to leave long before the attack.The final document bore a name Ronan had never seen before.Elena Vale.Daughter of the Northern Crown Alpha King and appointed successor to the post of chief healer at the royal court.For seven years, she had never been an ordinary healer. She had abandoned her birth name and future to remain in Silverpine and he

  • He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home   Chapter 5

    The emergency doors were about to close when Ivy opened her eyes.She looked at me through the oxygen mask and moved her lips.She was trying to say Mom.No sound came out.Then the doors closed between us.Two hours later, the emergency room doors opened.The healer on duty stepped into the corridor and removed her gloves.“Ivy is out of immediate danger. She inhaled a large amount of wolfsbane smoke. Her airways are inflamed, and her right leg is badly bruised, but nothing is broken.”My fingers finally loosened.“Why can’t she speak?”“Her vocal cords are not damaged. Physically, she should be able to produce sound. This appears to be trauma-related mutism caused by extreme fear. Her mind still believes she is in danger.”“How long will it last?”“Days or months. No one can say yet. She needs safety, stability, and no further emotional shocks.”Footsteps pounded down the corridor.Ronan appeared with ash on his coat and red wolfsbane burns across his hands and neck. He stopped in fr

  • He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home   Chapter 4

    At ten that night, I left the Alpha residence with Ivy.Two suitcases were in the trunk, while the Northern Crown travel papers and Ivy’s medical records were in my bag. The escort would reach Silverpine’s northern gate before midnight. We only needed to collect winter medicine and our exit permits at the transit station.Ivy sat in the back seat with her old stuffed wolf in her arms. Streetlights slid across the window, but she never looked back at the house where we had lived for seven years.“Is the north far away?” she asked.“It will take a few days by car.”“Will anyone there know me?”“Your grandfather will. He has been waiting a long time.”The transit station was still busy. Patrol teams, travelers, and supply vehicles passed through its inspection area before reaching the border road.Ivy stopped as we crossed the rest area.Through the restaurant window, I saw Ronan.Noah sat beside him with the medal from the ceremony still around his neck. Ronan was checking the band on No

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