《He Chose Another Child, So I Took Ours Home》全部章節：第 1 章 - 第 9 章

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 hi

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

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

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