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Beranda / Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore / Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Penulis: Lyra
I wiped her cheeks.

“Okay, sweetheart. Then we won't.”

That evening, I canceled our room at the seaside inn and took Aurora home.

She was asleep in my arms when I opened the front door, clutching a small wooden wolf.

Adrian had sent it through his Gamma for her third birthday. The gift box had said Aurelia instead of Aurora.

She'd loved it anyway. For years, she'd taken that little wolf everywhere.

I had just tucked her into bed when I heard the front door unlock.

Adrian walked in and stopped when he saw me.

“What are you doing home?”

“Aurora doesn't want to go to the beach anymore.”

He frowned.

“Why didn't you tell me? I was planning to come meet you both tomorrow.”

I took out the little diary Aurora had made for him.

Beside her uneven letters was a drawing of a bright blue sea.

“Daddy said he'd take me to see the seagulls when I started first grade.”

“I'm in school now. Why hasn't Daddy come?”

Adrian stared at the page. His face tightened.

“Evelyn, you know how busy I've been. Couldn't you explain that to her?”

I gave a humorless smile.

“You have time to take Asher to the training grounds and celebrate his birthday. But you can't keep one promise to your own daughter?”

He rubbed his forehead.

“I know I've let Aurora down. I do.”

“But Asher doesn't have a father. It's different for him.”

A small voice came from the bedroom doorway.

“Different how?”

Aurora stood there barefoot, hugging her wooden wolf to her chest.

“Daddy, Asher doesn't have a dad.”

She looked up at him.

“Do I?”

Adrian crouched in front of her.

“Of course you do, sweetheart. I'm right here.”

Aurora shook her head.

“On my birthday, you said you were still out on border patrol.”

“Mommy took me out for cake. But I saw you cutting Asher's birthday cake on his Instagram.”

“And on parents' day, you said you had a meeting with the elders.”

“But Asher told me you came to his school and told everyone stories about fighting at the border.”

Adrian's face went pale.

Aurora's voice broke.

“Daddy... is it because you don't want to be my daddy?”

He looked stunned.

“What? No, sweetheart. You're my baby girl. Of course I want to be your daddy.”

He reached out to pull her into his arms. Aurora stepped back.

His hand stayed in the air. Slowly, his smile disappeared.

After a moment, he looked at me.

“Evelyn, how long has she known about all this?”

His voice was rough.

“I thought she was too young to take it this way.”

He turned back to Aurora.

“Sweetheart, I've just been trying to help Asher. He doesn't have a daddy anymore. You understand that, don't you?”

Aurora didn't answer. She moved behind me and held out the little wooden wolf.

“I don't want it anymore.”

Adrian's expression changed.

“Aurora, I picked that out just for you.”

She sniffled. “But that's not my name on the box.”

She set the wolf gently on the floor.

For years, she'd held on to it like it was the most precious thing she owned. Now she could barely look at it.

“You can have it back, Daddy.”

Then she ran to her room.

Adrian bent down to pick up the wolf. His fingers were trembling.

I stared at Aurora's closed door. I knew what I had to do.

“I'm enrolling Aurora in a new school tomorrow.”

He looked up sharply.

“What?”

I turned back to him. My voice was steady.

“The Moonshadow Pack offered me a job. I've already arranged a place for us to live, and I've spoken to Aurora's new school.”

His face darkened.

“Evelyn, are you using our daughter to threaten me?”

I switched off the living room light.

“You've got it wrong. I'm not trying to threaten you. I'm telling you we're leaving.”

By the next morning, the whole pack was talking.

Someone had shared a clip from the previous night's livestream in the pack's group channel—the moment Asher called Adrian “Daddy.”

Then footage from the lost and found started going around, too. It showed Aurora asking for help finding her father.

The Omega at the counter had noticed Aurora coming in again and again and had reported it to the elders. That was how the footage had surfaced.

Before long, everyone had seen it.

“The late Beta's son calls our Alpha Daddy, while the Alpha's own daughter has to go to lost and found to look for him?”

“That poor girl. She's only seven.”

Aurora sat at the breakfast table, growing paler as she read the messages.

She put down her spoon.

“Mommy,” she whispered, “I don't want to go to school today.”
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  • Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore   Chapter 10

    Evelyn’s POVGamma's message came while I was doing the final checks on a new batch of potions.Adrian was dead.It was a beautiful sunny day.I thought about the first time Adrian brought me to the Moonstone Pack eight years ago. He'd smiled and told me this was going to be our home. Back then, I really believed we'd grow old together.I didn't cry. But there was a heavy feeling in my chest that wouldn't go away.Cassian came in and noticed my face. “What happened?” I showed him the message.“Want me to go back with you?”“No.” I put my phone away. “I think I need to go alone.”After Aurora came home from school, I told her Adrian had died.She sat on her bed holding her teddy bear. For a long time, she didn't say anything.“Daddy's really never coming back?”“No, sweetheart.”“Was he very sad?”“He was sick. He did get treatment, but his body couldn't get better.”“Was it because I said I didn't want him?”“No. Absolutely not.” I took her hands and waited until she looked at me. “His

  • Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore   Chapter 9

    Adrian’s POVAfter I returned to the Moonstone Pack, I stepped down from leading the daily patrols.Most days, I sat in Aurora's room and looked at the star lights I'd fixed.It had taken me an entire afternoon to put the biggest star back together.Aurora used to say that one was Daddy's star.Serena came by once. She stood in the doorway, speaking more quietly than she used to.“Asher keeps asking when you're coming to see him.”“Gamma will make sure you have everything you need. The Beta's family will always be looked after.”I remembered the Beta grabbing my sleeve as he lay dying. All he'd asked was that I look after Serena and their son. I'd sworn I would.But he'd never asked me to forget my own daughter. He'd never asked me to make Evelyn suffer to repay him.“I acted like looking after you and Asher didn't cost anyone anything,” I said with a bitter smile. “But Evelyn and Aurora paid for all of it.”“But his father died saving you.”“I remember.” I was too tired to hear the re

  • Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore   Chapter 8

    Adrian’s POVThe Moonshadow Pack's research institute was busier than I'd expected.I'd gotten an invitation by proposing a potion research project between our packs. On the way there, Gamma checked the gifts at least three times. I'd brought Evelyn her favorite laurel flowers and a new art set for Aurora.“Are you nervous, Alpha?” Gamma asked. I touched the vial in my pocket but didn’t answer.I spotted Evelyn outside the institute before the meeting even started. She was laughing with a silver-haired man.“Cassian, if you mess with my data again, I'm kicking you out of my lab.”“I fixed your spelling,” he said lazily. “Your handwriting looks like a wolf scratched it into the page.”Evelyn swatted his arm.I stopped walking. Suddenly, I didn't know how to go over to her.“Aurora, slow down!”A little figure came running from the other side of the building.Aurora ran to Cassian with a drawing. “Look! I made your tail even bigger this time!”“Are you doing this on purpose? That tail's

  • Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore   Chapter 7

    Adrian’s POVThe first thing I noticed when I woke up was the smell of medicinal herbs.Gamma sat beside my bed, with dark circles under his eyes. He told me I'd collapsed at the lost and found and been unconscious for two days.I put a hand on my chest. The pain was still there, but the silence inside me was worse.“The healer says the broken Mate Bond hurt your wolf. Noah's still there. He just needs time to recover.”After a while, Noah answered in a weak voice.Gamma said the elders wanted me to rest for a few days. He'd take over border patrol until I was better.Serena came to see me with Asher.“Daddy, does it still hurt?”I looked at him and wondered if Aurora had been crying for her mommy like that last night.“Call me Adrian from now on, Asher,” I told him. He went still. His eyes started filling with tears.“I’ll still provide for you both, but I’m not his dad.” I closed my eyes and continued.The color drained from Serena's face.“So Evelyn leaves, and now you're turning y

  • Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore   Chapter 6

    Evelyn’s POVThe potion tasted bitter, like rust, as it went down my throat.I'd thought I was ready. When the witch gave me the bottle, she'd warned me more than once. A Mate Bond lived deep in the soul. Breaking it would hurt.As the train passed through the mountain gap, something seemed to squeeze my heart. I had to fight for every breath.But the next wave of pain was too much. I doubled over and hit my forehead on the seat in front of me.“Mommy?”“Mommy! What's wrong? Are you bleeding?”Her little hands flew to my mouth. Only then did I realize I'd bitten my lip hard enough to draw blood.I pulled her close, though my arms were shaking so badly I could hardly hold on to her.“Is it because I said I didn't want Daddy anymore? Is that why you're hurting?”“No, sweetheart. Of course not.” I lifted her chin. “I made this choice. You aren't responsible for what grown-ups do. Do you understand?”“But you're crying because it hurts.”“Yeah,” I admitted, kissing her forehead. “It hurts

  • Too Late, Alpha. We Don’t Need You Anymore   Chapter 5

    Adrian’s POV“Evelyn... How dare you?!”I grabbed the edge of the table, but my knees still hit the floor hard.It felt like someone was tearing my chest open. Noah, my wolf, was going wild inside my head, calling her name over and over.Evelyn had been arguing with me in this house just last night. Aurora had only been gone a few hours. Evelyn had loved me for eight years. She couldn't just cut our bond and walk away.She was angry. That was all.I pulled out my phone and called her again and again. At first, I thought the signal was down. It took five failed calls before I finally let myself believe she'd blocked my number.I closed my eyes and reached for her through our Mind Link.It didn't matter how far apart we'd been before. All I had to do was call her name, and she'd answer. Sometimes she'd complain that I was interrupting her work with her potions. Other times she'd ask if I'd eaten.Now there was nothing.That was when the fear finally hit. Noah whimpered inside my head, gr

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