Four Alphas Took My Moon Crown To My Adopted Sister Chapter 09
I pushed open my bedroom door and found him kneeling beside my bed. He held an old coat I’d once given him.Â
It was the coat he’d wrapped around me on the snowy night I returned to Silvermoon Pack. I’d mended every loose thread on it myself.Â
“Stella, I’m sorry. Please come back to me.”Â
He lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot, stripped of all the pride and dignity of an Alpha.Â
He grabbed the hem of my dress, his voice utterlyÂ
humble.Â
“I’ve sent Teresa far beyond Moonwild’s borders.Â
She’ll never return. If you come back to me, I’llÂ
obey your every word.”Â
I looked at him, my heart as still as stagnantÂ
water.Â
“Cedric, you once taught me that a pack leaderÂ
can never show weakness.”Â
I knelt down and pried his fingers loose one byÂ
one.Â
“You also taught me that the lowest form ofÂ
surrender is to crush yourself into the dirt.”Â
“And you’ve done that perfectly now.”Â
Cedric swayed unsteadily on his feet.Â
The last spark of light died in his eyes as heÂ
looked at me.Â
“You really won’t give me even one more chance?”Â
I extinguished his last shred of hope without. hesitation. “I gave you plenty of chances. You destroyed every single one with your own hands.”Â
Bowen pushed the door open and walked inside.Â
He came to my side, wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed a cup of warm milk into my hand.Â
Tears rolled down Cedric’s cheeks as he stared at Bowen’s hand on me.Â
“Alpha Cedric, it’s late. You need to leave.” Bowen’sÂ
voice was cold as a blade.Â
Cedric rose slowly, his spirit broken. He stared at us standing side by side and suddenly laughed.Â
It was a bitter, crazed sound.Â
He stumbled down the terrace steps and vanishedÂ
into the darkness.Â
I knew he would spend the rest of his life trappedÂ
in regret.Â
That regret would eat away at his wolf soul night and day, till his dying breath.Â
Three years later.Â
Word came that Teresa had fallen ill and died fromÂ
overwork in a foreign land. I was helping BowenÂ
pick out a crib when I heard the news.Â
I said nothing, and simply had someone arrange the cheapest burial plot for her.Â
Carl stepped down from his position as Alpha.Â
Rumor said he’d gone to a remote territory to teach young werewolves how to hunt, spendingÂ
his days in penance.Â
Louis fell off a cliff while chasing rogue wolves.Â
He would spend the rest of his life confined to aÂ
wheelchair.Â
Gordon clung to his tattered notebook, drivenÂ
half–mad. He rambled constantly about losing theÂ
best friend he’d ever had.Â
As for Cedric.Â
He never took a mate. He remained at Blackwood Pack, watching its strength fade year after year.Â
He showed up at every auction without fail.Â
Yet he never raised his paddle. He only stared at the crowns displayed on stage.Â
I crossed paths with him at a feast once.Â
He tried to speak to me, but the cold unfamiliarityÂ
in my eyes stopped him cold.Â
I gave him a brief nod, as if we were totalÂ
strangers.Â
Then I linked arms with Bowen and walked intoÂ
the bright, glittering lights.Â
Bowen leaned down and whispered. “Do youÂ
regret any of it?”Â
I shook my head firmly and squeezed his hand tight.Â
“Not for a moment. They merely reaped what theyÂ
sowed.”Â
The night view over Moonwild was breathtaking and peaceful.Â
Everyone who’d hurt me deeply had finally gottenÂ
what they deserved.Â
My late mother’s crown was locked safely insideÂ
Silvermoon Pack’s vault once more.Â
This time, it was no longer just proof of my ThorneÂ
bloodline.Â
It was the fruit of my victory, my pride.Â
Dawn was drawing near.Â
I’d finally built a life that was grand, free, andÂ
entirely my own.

