My Alpha Mate’s Regret After I Died

To save his childhood sweetheart Selene suffering from a congenital heart condition, my mate—the storm pack’s Alpha—forced me to remove my heart to be given to his beloved.

"Selene saved my life when I was suffering from silver poisoning a year ago, so I have to save her. She needs your heart. But don't worry, you are the rarest white wolf with the strongest healing ability. I have prepared an artificial heart for you, and you will be fine." Ethan said.

I tried to explain to Ethan that my healing ability has become very poor in the past year, so that transplanting my heart would kill me.

But Ethan didn’t believe me.

He didn’t know that I was the one who had exchanged my rare white wolf's healing ability with a witch a year ago to save him from silver poisoning.

But to spare Ethan the guilt, I never told him what I had sacrificed.

While Ethan stood vigil outside Selene's hospital room, I lay on the cold operating table, hopelessly waiting for death.

Tubes pierced my entire body, the beeping machines sounding like the Moon Goddess calling me home, reminding me it was time to go.

Just as my heart monitor flatlined, news of Selene's successful surgery came through. The emergency light in the operating room went dark, and my eyes closed forever.

But Ethan had already blocked our pack-bond, so he didn't even notice my wolf was gone.

Perhaps my spirit was too heavy with resentment, because my soul took the form of a wolf and appeared by Ethan's side.

Watching Ethan embrace Selene, who had escaped death, his eyes red with emotion, my spirit howled silently in grief.

I wanted to ask Ethan if, when we were both wheeled into surgery at the same time, he had worried about my life for even a moment.

The answer was no. After all, it was Ethan himself who ordered the healers to remove my heart.

When they removed my heart, pain ripped through my body like silver-tipped claws. I sent a message through our mate bond, my tone pleading.

" Ethan, I’m sorry. Please... the artificial heart won't work... I've exchanged my rare white wolf's healing ability with a witch to save your life. I’m not a white wolf anymore..."

I, who had never shown weakness before Ethan, thought that if I surrendered and accepted all the false accusations, would he spare my life for the sake of our five years together?

But Ethan responded with a cold laugh.

"Stop talking nonsense! When did you save me? Don't think you can get away with your lies. All these years, all the ways you've hurt Selene, one by one—when she recovers, I'll settle accounts with you."

"You want to die? Well, you'll have to apologize to Selene first!"

I tried to open my cracked lips to tell him about the witch's bargain, about sacrificing my white wolf for him, but I had no strength left.

Ethan, as if still unsatisfied, growled at me, his Alpha voice making my fading wolf whimper.

"You disgust me!"

As the bond was blocked, my heart sank completely, and with it, my five years of love for Ethan vanished like morning mist.

Ethan said I disgusted him, but when he marked me as his Luna, he told me passionately that he would love me forever, that I was his first choice, his exception, his favorite.

But once Selene appeared, he forgot about his mate.

Ethan's hand gently caressed Selene's face, as if looking at some rare jewel from the pack's treasure.

"Thank the Moon Goddess you're alive... thank goodness."

His choked voice and bloodshot eyes told me that Ethan hadn't slept all night because of Selene.

But while Ethan worried about Selene, did he even think about the fact that I was already dead?

Selene forced her pale lips to move.

"Ethan, I'm sorry for worrying you. Where's Aurora? Is she still angry with me? I should go apologize to her."

As she spoke, Selene tried to get up, though the fakeness was obvious to anyone with eyes—except Ethan, who couldn't see it.

Sure enough, Ethan gently pressed Selene back down, stroking her head affectionately.

"Silly she-wolf, Aurora is the one who should apologize. What wrong have you done? You‘ve saved my life. You're always so kind—you'll get taken advantage of."

The pack healer, watching the two, couldn't help but tease.

"You two really are affectionate."

Then he looked at Selene.

"During your surgery, your Alpha waited in the hallway all night, never leaving for a single moment."

Selene's face flushed with embarrassment, but Ethan just froze, making no attempt to explain the misunderstanding.

Then the healer changed the subject, sighing deeply.

"Unlike the operating table next door. That she-wolf... I've never seen anything like it. Her wolf changed color during the surgery, from gray back to pure white. But it was too late. Even with the artificial heart, she couldn't survive. Such a pity."

Ethan's expression softened slightly, and hope flickered in my spirit. If Ethan could guess that the pitiful person was me, would he be merciful enough to claim my body?

After a long wait, Ethan just sighed.

"That is indeed sad."

My ghostly gaze grew defeated. I laughed bitterly at myself. Ethan's heart and eyes were full of Selene now—how could he think of me?

Ethan didn't continue that topic but followed the healer as he wheeled Selene into the recovery room.

When passing by the operating room where my body lay, Ethan's footsteps faltered. He glanced inside where my cold body was lying, but my feet were facing the door, so no one could see my face.

But if only Ethan had looked carefully, he would have seen the crescent moon mark on my calf—the one that appeared when I gave up my white wolf to the witch to save his life a year ago.