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홈 / Werewolf / He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home / Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

작가: Hyacinth
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 Noah’s wrist, making sure another incomplete shift had not begun. Mara sat across from them beside an unfinished dinner and a bag of medicine.

Ronan had told me he would not be home until tomorrow.

Ivy watched them.

“He knew we were waiting at home, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

I led her toward the exit. In another hour, we would be gone.

An alarm screamed above the northern gate.

The first explosion came from outside the inspection area and shattered a wall of glass. Burning canisters filled with wolfsbane landed inside the hall, releasing gray-green smoke through the corridors. Guards ordered everyone down while rogue howls rose beyond the gate.

The crowd surged toward both exits.

I pulled my coat over Ivy’s face and held it against her mouth as we moved along the wall. A second blast overturned the central barriers, sending beams and metal frames into the crowd. The impact threw me aside, and Ivy’s hand slipped from mine.

“Ivy!”

She was trapped several feet away, her right leg pinned beneath a fallen beam. Flames had begun spreading across the carpet. The wolfsbane smoke drained the color from her face, but she remained conscious and kept both hands over her mouth.

Ronan rushed out of the restaurant. He helped clear the passage, then saw Ivy and ran to her. He dropped beside the beam and checked her leg and breathing.

“Dad…”

Ivy caught his sleeve.

Mara screamed from the other passage.

“Noah can’t breathe!”

A metal frame had collapsed across the restaurant entrance, trapping Noah beneath it. Wolfsbane and fear had forced him into another incomplete shift. His limbs jerked, and his breathing had weakened. Mara knelt beside him with an injured arm, unable to lift the frame.

Ronan looked at Noah, then at me as I pushed through the smoke toward Ivy.

“Elena is here.” He held Ivy’s hand. “She can get you out. Stay awake. I’ll take Noah outside and come straight back.”

Ivy did not release his sleeve.

“You saw me.”

Ronan froze.

Noah’s breathing worsened, and Mara called again. Ronan pulled his sleeve from Ivy’s grip and ran toward the other passage. With two guards, he lifted the frame, carried Noah toward the nearest exit, and helped Mara follow.

Ivy watched him leave without crying or calling after him.

I reached her, covered her mouth again, and checked the beam. Her leg did not appear broken, but the wolfsbane was already weakening her.

“Look at me, Ivy.”

Her eyes found mine.

“He left again.”

“I’m here.”

I braced my shoulder beneath the beam and forced it upward. An injured guard helped drag it aside. I lifted Ivy and carried her through the cleared passage as her breathing grew weaker.

Emergency vehicles waited outside. The medical team placed an oxygen mask over her face.

At the Silverpine healing center, Ivy was taken straight into emergency treatment.

I gave her records to the healer on duty and called a Council advocate.

“File the petition to dissolve my mate bond with Ronan tonight. I also want sole custody of Ivy.”

After the advocate confirmed the request, I contacted the Northern Crown.

“Send the escort to the healing center. We will leave as soon as Ivy is stable.”

I didn't want to spend another second in the Silverpine Pack.

Ronan, you had already lost us.

Forever.
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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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