EPISODE 16.
Syrus brought me safely back to the tent. I almost sighed in relief when we arrived. The night had been long, and the weight of Seram’s touches still clung to my skin. I brushed it off, trying to shake the cold. Thankfully, the way to the camp was warm.E
I hurried beside Caleb on the bed, watching his small chest rise and fall with each breath. This child, despite his domineering act when awake, slept quite obediently. He never tossed or turned, content with just a pillow and a bed!!
I ran my fingers through his thick curls, my little angel, my one true light in this dark world. He nudged against my hand in his sleep, a soft hum escaping his lips.
Syrus leaned against the tent wall, arms crossed, his sharp gaze never leaving me. There was curiosity in his eyes, the kind that was quiet yet demanding. I sighed.
“You want to know what happened?” l’asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yeah,” Syrus admitted. “When I saw the commotion this morning, I didn’t suspect Seram. He looked too… collected. And his pack? Always a powerhouse.”
I nodded. Life with Seram had been
Caleb mirrored him in that aspect !!
good
once. A strong leader, a natural Alpha. His mere presence commanded respect.
But Seram had always been too much of a leader, too consumed by duty and power. When he took the Alpha position, he became fixated on having an heir, and it should be a male heir. I had not been enough.
“Even in Moon Shard Pack, Syrus said, “the Alpha title wasn’t strictly hereditary
It just happened that sons usually inherited the same abilities. But if the Luna couldn’t bear children, the title could go to someone else. Syrus’s father, the current pack Alpha, inherited the title from another unrelated pack member. It was just in their generation that it got passed down to Alpha Sayeru because he was worthy of it!
“And who’s to say a woman can’t be Alpha?” Syrus added. “There were plenty of female Alpha leaders at the last Pack Exchange. Gender doesn’t matter.”
I gave a bitter smile. “Seram didn’t see it that way. When I couldn’t conceive, he grew distant. Then he found Deanne.
He endorsed her, but I refused to accept it. I thought our bond was unbreakable. But things changed. She accused me of bullying her. She lied, but it didn’t matter. And then she was pregnant.X
It was a boy
Seram had made his choice. He doted on Deanne. He punished me.
I clenched my fists, the old anger simmering under my skin.
“Then, by chance, I fainted one day and was taken to the healer,” I continued. “That’s when i found out I was four months
pregnant.”
Syrus’s brow furrowed.
“Seram was pleased, well, at first. Two children, he said. A strong family. Until he found out my child was a girl.”
Silence settled between us. I hesitated before forcing myself to say the words that still haunted me.X
“The day I died… Igave birth to Caleb.”
Syrus straightened, his expression unreadable, but the slight tension in his jaw told me he was caught off guard. He stepped closer, taking my hand in his.3
“Hey, you can stop. You don’t have to share this with me… Well, if it will hurt you more, I don’t need to know.“%
His warmth grounded me, but I refused to stop.
“I was tied up, a few feet high on a stone. I had no help. No mercy. Caleb fell to the ground when he was born. By some miracle, he survived. The Beta warrior guarding me left to tell Seram about my labor. But then Deanne arrived, with wild wolves beside her.”
Syrus’s grip on my hand tightened. He already knew where this was going !!
“I saw them eat Caleb,” I whispered. “Until nothing was left. Then the rope snapped, and I fell before them. They tore me apart. Slowly. Until there was nothing left of me either.”
Syrus pulled me into his arms. He didn’t speak, but his embrace told me everything, his anger, his grief, his promise of protection. I wasn’t crying. I had long since accepted that night. But sometimes, the nightmare still returns
“I’m sorry for asking. Syrus murmured, “but I promise.. now and forever, I’ll protect you and Caleb.”
I believed him. He cherished Caleb as if he were his own son, and that was what I liked about him. We stared at each other, and without thinking, our lips met. A soft kiss that slowly deepened, heat stirring between us. But before anything could go further, a sudden kick jolted Syrus forward
We turned sharply. Caleb, still asleep, had scrunched his face in irritation, one tiny foot having struck Syrus’s back.
Suns chuckled shakinn his head. “He really is enmething”
45 AM
Syrus chuckled, shaking his head. “He really is something.”
I laughed softly, and he pulled me back into his embrace !
“Once we return after the Pack Exchange, we should get married. You know, my brothers had always been telling me to find a girl, but I guess I had never been interested in anyone until I found you.“X
I chuckled, seeing that he was rather serious at that moment. After all, he was proposing
“Hey, answer me,” he urged. “That way, I’ll have more time to bond with the little tyrant.”
“You just want to tease him by making him call you Dad,” I teased X
“Maybe,” he admitted. “But he called me that this morning, you know. And… I kind of liked it.“%
A warmth settled in my chest. For the first time in a long while, I felt at peace. That peace shattered the next morning. A loud voice broke through the quiet dawn, shaking the tent.
“Someone’s been killed!”
Syrus was up in an instant, his instincts sharper than a blade. I sat up, my heart pounding as the messenger stepped inside, his face pale
“Who?” Syrus demanded.
The messenger swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. “It’s Deanne. She’s dead.”
Dead? Deanne was dead?”
Syrus frowned. “How could that happen?“”
“She was eaten.” the messenger repeated the words he had told the other packs as well. “She was eaten by the wild wolves “I
