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홈 / Werewolf / The Alpha's Widow Returned / Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

작가: Witch
Memory: Twenty-two years ago. The days after I first lost my wolf.

I lay on a filthy bed, carrying a pup.

The room reeked of rot. Maggots crawled across the table.

After losing my wolf, I didn't even have the strength to sit up.

Wolfsbane gnawed through my insides. Every breath felt like swallowing knives.

The pack's omegas refused to serve a "broken wolf."

No one had brought food in three days.

The door creaked open. Glen dragged himself inside.

He looked wrecked. Way too thin. Dark circles bruised his eyes. Stubble shadowed his jaw.

His pupils snapped tight when he saw the room.

"Lucia..."

He rushed the bed and dropped to his knees, hands shaking as he grabbed mine.

"I'm sorry... I'm late..."

He spun and bolted out.

A few minutes later, he came back with warm water. Slowly, carefully, he cleaned me.

The proud Alpha of Thanis Pack—on his knees. Clearing the rotting trash. Wiping grime off the table piece by piece.

"Glen," I rasped, watching his back. "Let's sever the mate bond."

He froze. The spoon slipped from his hand and clattered across the floor.

"Wh-What... what did you say?"

"I'm ruined," I said flatly. "My wolf's gone. Wolfsbane's eating me alive. The pup might not even survive. I'll only drag you—and the pack—down.

"Sever the bond. Find a strong mate. Crown a Luna. The pack needs stability."

"Shut up!"

Glen whipped around and crushed me against his chest. His arms locked tight, like he was scared I'd vanish.

"Don't say that. Don't."

His voice shook.

"Your wolf's gone? Then I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. Wolfsbane won't heal? Then I'll suffer with you. If the pup doesn't make it..." He swallowed hard. "We'll adopt."

"But the pack—"

"I'm the Alpha. I decide."

He cupped my face and pressed his forehead to mine. His gray-blue eyes were red and glassy.

"Lucia, I swore under the moon. You're the only mate I'll ever have." His voice cracked. "And if you ever try to leave...

"I'll walk away from the Alpha seat and wander the world with you."

I looked at him. My tears finally spilled.

"Idiot... you idiot..."

He kissed the tears off my cheeks, again and again.

"Don't be scared. I'm here. I'll always be here."

Out in the Judgment Grounds, several she-wolves wiped their eyes.

"Alpha Glen really loved her..."

"Then why would she—"

Nick stood in front of me, shaking.

He looked at his father's gentle face on the screen. Then at me—half-dead, strapped to the torture chair.

For the first time, doubt flickered in his eyes.

"Mother..." His voice came out rough as he crouched beside me. "You loved Father that much... so why protect the wolf who killed him?"

I tried to speak.

Blood slid from the corner of my mouth.

"Don't... dig any deeper..."

"Why not?!" He grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. "Father treated you that well! He fought the whole pack for you! He would've died for you! So why won't you avenge him?!"

His eyes burned red—rage, pain, maybe both.

"Just tell me... please..." His voice cracked. "Say the name and I'll stop the machine right now. I'll take you home. We... We can start over..."

That near-begging tone stunned the entire crowd.

But I just looked at him and shook my head. Again. And again.

The last spark of hope in Nick's eyes died.

He slowly stood, turning his back on me.

"Increase the power," he told the operator. "I want the memory from the night of the murder. Fifteen years ago."

"Alpha! Her heart's about to stop!"

"I said increase the power!"

The operator's hands shook as he shoved the lever.

The needles on the helmet started spinning, drilling deeper into my skull.

"Ah—!!!"

A scream ripped out of me, raw and feral.

My body convulsed violently.

Blood poured from my eyes, my nose, my mouth.

The screen flickered, glitching like it might shatter.

The image jumped.

A stormy night.

The forest.

Glen stood in front of me, shielding me, roaring into the darkness. "Come out!"

A shadow stepped from the trees.

That shape—

Every wolf held their breath.

Nick's pupils blew wide.

I saw it too.

The murderer I'd protected with my life.

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  • The Alpha's Widow Returned   Chapter 10

    Caroline saw the resolve in Lena's eyes. In the end, she gave in.Later, she gave birth to Nick. Not long after, she left him beside my bed and walked out of Thanis without looking back.Strangely, after Nick came to me, the wolfsbane in my body started to settle. My condition stopped getting worse.Maybe it was the Moon Goddess showing me a little mercy—one small comfort after I lost my pup.But that comfort didn't last.When Nick turned six, my body started failing again.The pain kept coming back worse each time. Every attack hurt so bad I wished I were dead.Glen watched me suffer. It wrecked him.He couldn't take it anymore. He decided to head south, to some hidden pack—whatever it cost—to save my life.I begged him to stop. I told Glen seven years was enough for me. I didn't want to drag him down. I just wanted him to live well.But once Glen made up his mind, that's it. He wouldn't listen.I never imagined Caroline would show up right then.Glen's guard was down. She

  • The Alpha's Widow Returned   Chapter 9

    Caroline spat the words out, dripping with hatred. "Lena's loved you her whole life. For you, she left her own pack and came to Thanis. Started at the very bottom as an omega."She gave you everything in silence. And even if you never once saw her, she never regretted it."Her voice rose, sharp with fury. "And you? You only ever had Lucia in your eyes. Even after she lost her wolf. Even after wolfsbane poisoned her. Even when she couldn't even give you a pup—you still chose her."Lena's devotion meant nothing to you. You didn't care!"Caroline's voice broke into a scream."So I'm going to make you pay! I'm going to destroy your love. I'm going to make Lucia wish she were dead."Her smile turned vicious."And I'm going to make you feel what it's like to lose everything."The hatred in Caroline's eyes looked like it could tear us apart.Glen roared, "No! I won't let you keep this pup! As long as I'm alive, you're not getting what you want!"I looked at him—wrecked, desperate.

  • The Alpha's Widow Returned   Chapter 8

    "Nick!" Lena screamed. "Have you lost it?! Did you lose your damn conscience?! For this wolf—this wolf shielding a killer—you've turned your back on your father and the pack! You don't deserve to be Alpha!"The wolves outside the platform erupted too, hurling insults."Nick's a traitor! He's not fit to be Alpha!""He abandoned the pack for that wicked mutt—disgusting!""Make him give up the killer! Avenge Alpha Glen!"Nick fought like a feral wolf to reach the controls, but Elsa and Lena held him down.The operator finally snapped and reached for the switch."Alpha, don't blame me. I just want the truth. Alpha Glen deserves justice—and you deserve your name cleared."Nick's eyes went bloodshot. He roared, voice cracking with desperation."No! Stop! Shut it down! The truth can't come out!"But the operator had already decided. He cranked the power to its limit.The second the device fired up, a scream of pain tore through my skull—worse than last time.I screamed until my th

  • The Alpha's Widow Returned   Chapter 7

    I went rigid, staring at him. "You... You know?"Nick dropped his gaze. A few seconds passed. Then he nodded.In that instant, every drop of blood in my body turned ice cold."How is that possible? I fought with my life to seal that memory. How did you see it? That wolf was so blurred there wasn't even a face. Even I couldn't recognize her. How could you—""Mom."He cut me off and looked up.Those eyes—so much like Glen's. No hate now. Just guilt. Deep. Bottomless.He grabbed my hand, gripping it tight, the way he used to when he was little and scared I'd leave him behind."I'm sorry." His voice came out rough. "I did this to you. I didn't even know the truth, and I still used that machine to torture you alive. I don't deserve to be your son."He lowered his gaze, forcing the emotion down."The one who needs to atone... is me."And just like that, I understood.Of course he knew.In fifteen years, he'd grown into an Alpha respected by wolves across North America. A mind li

  • The Alpha's Widow Returned   Chapter 6

    When I woke, I was lying in the pack's healing room.Nick sat beside the bed, wiping my fingers again and again with a warm towel.I watched his profile.For a second, he looked just like Glen used to when he took care of me—except Nick's brows held a heavier, messier kind of grief.In the corner, Elsa leaned on her cane, her face dark as a storm.Lena stood beside her, eyes swollen and red.Both of them stared at me like they wanted to burn straight through my skin.The second my eyes opened, Lena lost it. She stormed over. "Lucia, have you lost your damn mind? For the murderer, you almost killed yourself?"If you hadn't fought to seal that memory—if you hadn't pushed back against the Mindfang Rig with everything you had—you wouldn't have nearly died."What are you trying to do? What do you want?"Elsa spoke slowly, her voice cold as ice."Do you even realize what you've done? You almost let Glen's murder stay buried forever. Are you really that cruel? You'd just let him di

  • The Alpha's Widow Returned   Chapter 5

    Half a month later.Glen showed up at my bedside with wild hair and a face full of stubble, practically buzzing with excitement."Lucia, I found it! I found a way to save you!"There's an ancient remedy in a remote southern pack. If you use the heart of the mate you love, you can restore your wolf and purge the wolfsbane completely."I'm ready to give my heart. As long as you're safe, I'll do anything."I snapped.I grabbed his hand and shook my head hard."No! Are you insane? I'll never let you do that. I'd rather suffer wolfsbane for the rest of my life than watch you die!"Glen brushed my cheek, determination blazing in his eyes."I already betrayed you once, chasing an antidote blindly. This time, let me make it right."His hand rested gently over my stomach."And you're carrying our pup. I can't let anything happen to you—either of you. I want you both to live."The image froze there.All around the platform, the watching wolves were shaken."Oh, Moon Goddess... Alph

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