Left the Pack, Fated Mate Regrets Chapter 09
He stood before the castle gates, covered entirely in snow, resembling a stone statue eroded by wind and frost for a thousand years.
I didn’t recognize him at first.
He had grown far too thin.
His collarbones protruded sharply from his open collar, his cheekbones were high, and his eye sockets were sunken so deeply it was as if something had been hollowed out from within.
Only his eyes were still Lucien’s, yet they no longer belonged to the Lucien I remembered.
His gaze in the past had been… confident, resolute, occasionally carrying a hint of condescending amusement, as if there was nothing in this world he couldn’t obtain.
But the way he looked at me now… was like a drowning man desperately clutching a piece of driftwood, like someone buried alive in the snow frantically digging upward.
“Sylvia…” He called my name, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper grinding against bone. “I’ve come to take you home.”
I stopped in my tracks, standing three paces away.
Snow fell densely between him and me, forming a thin, translucent veil.
“Go home?” My voice was completely calm.
“Yes. Go home.”
He took a step forward. The Snow Wolf guarding the gate instantly arched its back, a low, rumbling growl rolling from its throat.
He was halted in his tracks, but still reached out toward me, refusing to give up.
“I was wrong, Sylvia. I was truly wrong. I know everything about Selina now. She deliberately framed you, deliberately said those things in front of you, deliberately smashed your mother’s keepsake…”
“That doesn’t matter,” I interrupted him.
He froze in place, as if completely iced over.
“Doesn’t matter?” He repeated the words as if he had never heard such a combination before. “Sylvia, are you still blaming me?”
“I am not blaming you.”
“Then why won’t you come back with me? I will find a way to negotiate with the Snow Wolf pack.”
“Because I have let it go.”
The wind suddenly picked up, whipping snow pellets against him, against me.
Lucien’s expression shattered, inch by inch.
“You’ve… let what go?”
“Lucien.”
I called his name, my tone as flat and serene as the moonlight over the snowfields.
“You like Selina. I have given you my blessing.”
“No! You are my fated mate! Only you!”
He suddenly grabbed my hand. His fingers were freezing cold; I had no idea how long he had stood in this blizzard.
His palms were covered in frostbitten cracks, rough as sandpaper.
His other hand cupped my face, forcing me to look into his eyes.
“Sylvia, look at me. I’m telling you I was wrong. I truly know my mistake. I shouldn’t have pretended not to see you crying…”
I slipped my hand out of his grasp.
The movement was so gentle I didn’t even shake him off; I simply took his hand away from my face, held it for a moment, and placed it back by his side.
“The first gift you ever gave me was a wooden rabbit. I still remember its grain. Its ear was chipped because you lost patience halfway through carving it. But I loved it. I loved it so much that I had to sleep with it in my arms every single night.”
His eyes reddened.
“I kept every single gift you gave me afterward. I kept that box for ten years.
“You never once asked me if I liked them.”
“Because I thought you didn’t care about such things….”
His voice broke.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t care. It was that I was afraid if I showed I cared, you would stop giving them to me.”
It seemed as though the wind stopped in that very instant.
“Tell me, what do I have to do for you to forgive me? Do you want me to kneel? Do you want me to die? Anything… anything at all…’
He collapsed as if all the bones had been drained from his body.
He fell to his knees in the snow, pressing his forehead against the tip of my boot, his shoulders shaking violently. But there was no sound; even his weeping was entirely silent.
“Lucien, you don’t need to do anything. Because I am not going back with you. Just live your life happily with Selina.”
Behind me came the sound of a heavy stone door being pushed open.
Alexander didn’t approach. He stood a few paces away, a thin layer of snow resting on his white fur coat.
His gaze swept over Lucien before returning to my face.
“It’s time to go back. The snow is getting heavier.”
I nodded.
“Sylvia!” Lucien rasped from behind, the sound tearing from the deepest depths of his chest.
A trace of madness finally surged into Lucien’s eyes.
His wolf pupils narrowed into vertical slits, his aura exploding outward as sharp wolf claws extended from his fingertips.
“I don’t believe it! You used to cling to me since childhood! You said I was the only mate you would ever claim Sylvia, you must just be angry right now, that’s why you refuse to forgive me!”
He lunged toward me in a frenzy.
In the next second, a silver-white shadow intercepted him directly in front of me.
Alexander’s movement was so fast it was nearly invisible.
He didn’t even bother shifting. With a mere raise of his hand, he completely nullified Lucien’s attack, his palm firmly gripping Lucien’s wrist with such force that a muffled groan escaped the latter’s lips.
“In my territory, no one will ever force her to do anything.”
Alexander’s voice was low and calm, yet it carried an overwhelming, commanding pressure.
Lucien struggled to break free, but his efforts were utterly futile against the absolute gap in their strength.
With bloodshot eyes, he stared fiercely at me over Alexander’s shoulder, looking like a cornered beast driven mad.
“Sylvia! Come with me! You shouldn’t stay in this place! You said you hated the cold the most! You clearly…”
I stopped listening.
“The love you refuse to accept will be accepted by someone else.”
I stood on my tiptoes, reached up to turn Alexander’s face, and kissed him right in front of Lucien.
Alexander’s body visibly stiffened for a fraction of a second.
His ice-blue eyes widened in shock, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his breath hitched.
Very quickly, the hand gripping Lucien’s wrist released, only to immediately wrap around my lower back, pulling my entire body flush against his.
He lowered his head and returned the kiss with profound depth.
His lips carried the crisp chill of the snowfields and a scorching heat, entirely different from that brief, tentative kiss from before.
This time, he held nothing back. His tongue parted my lips, carrying a long-suppressed yearning and a careful, precious reverence, stealing away every ounce of my breath.
I could feel the fingers resting against my waist trembling slightly, as if he were holding a long-lost treasure, terrified that even a fraction too much pressure would shatter me.
Lucien took a step back.
His face was as pale as paper. Our embracing figures were reflected in his amber pupils, the light within them dimming bit by bit, until it was finally extinguished completely.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, not a single word escaped.
He turned around and stumbled blindly into the howling blizzard.
Alexander finally released me, resting his forehead against mine as he panted heavily.
His eyes were cast downward, delicate snowflakes clinging to his lashes, yet the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve upward.
He swept me into his arms and carried me back into the castle with long, steady strides.
The snow outside grew thicker by the minute, but it could not contain the passion burning within.
From that day on, Lucien did not leave.
He lingered at the very edge of the Frostlands, like a lone wolf abandoned by his pack.
Sometimes, when I opened my window in the early morning, I could see fresh footprints in the snow, stretching from the mountain ridge to the woods outside the castle, only to turn back and retrace the exact same path.
Alexander never stopped him, nor did he send anyone to drive him away. He simply added an extra loop to his daily territory patrol, ensuring no dangerous creatures roamed that area.
At dusk, half a month later, Alexander pushed the door open, thick snow clinging to his shoulders.
Instead of taking off his cloak as usual, he walked straight to me, his expression somewhat solemn.
“Lucien’s wolf has shattered. He is now nothing more than an ordinary rogue.”
I fell silent for a moment.
“Also,” Alexander pulled a letter from his coat. The edges of the parchment were wrinkled and damp from the melted snow. “This is from your father. Selina has been banished.”
I took the letter and unfolded it.
The Council of Elders had unanimously voted to banish Selina from the pack.
The firewood in the hearth crackled, casting an orange glow across his profile, warming those ice-blue eyes. “Let’s not think about this anymore. It’s all in the past. You are carrying a pup now, and you need to rest properly.
His hand gently rested over my lower abdomen. His palm was scorching hot, yet his fingertips trembled ever so slightly.
“Sylvia…” He called my name, his voice thick with emotion.
I leaned in and kissed his forehead.
Alexander lowered his head, burying his face in the crook of my neck.
Outside the window, the howling wind gradually ceased. Fine snowflakes drifted down in silence, covering every footprint and scar across the Frostlands.
Leaning against Alexander’s chest, I placed my hand over his. Beneath our overlapping palms, a new life slept in perfect peace.
This time, at the end of the wind and snow, I had finally found my home.
