Alaric’s POV
I could hardly breathe when the whispers reached me.
The omega servant stammered the words like she was afraid they’d slice my chest open, “Alpha… Lady Aveline… she’s gone. Burned in the garden.”
For a moment, I thought my ears deceived me. No—my mind refused to accept it. I stood there frozen, but my wolf stirred violently inside me, howling and thrashing against my ribs.
“No,” I muttered, shaking my head, clenching my fists.
But the look in her terrified eyes told me it wasn’t a jest.
My legs carried me before I even realized it, storming out into the garden with dread clawing up my throat. The scent of ash and char filled my lungs the moment I stepped outside. Wolves murmured, scattered about with their heads low, avoiding my gaze.
And then I saw it.
The earth was blackened, still smoking faintly, and there among the cinders lay a shape—small, scorched beyond recognition. My heart dropped into a pit so deep it felt endless.
Beside it, half-buried in the ashes, was a necklace. Her necklace. The one I gave Aveline when I swore I would never let her feel alone again.
My knees buckled. I stumbled forward, my hands trembling as I picked it up, its chain burnt and warped, the pendant charred but unmistakable.
“No…” My voice cracked, my chest squeezing so hard I could hardly get air. “Aveline…”
My wolf wailed inside me, the sound so raw I nearly doubled over. I wanted to deny it, to rage and demand proof, but the truth was burning in front of me.
She was gone.
And I had done this.
I sank to the ground, numb, my hands shaking around the broken necklace. My breath came ragged. My vision blurred with tears I didn’t even know I still had in me. My heart was breaking open, bleeding memories. Aveline’s laughter. The fire in her eyes when she challenged me. The warmth of her touch when she carried my pup inside her.
I should have been at her side. I should have fought for her. Instead, I let lies and schemes take root. I chose Elowen. And now… now there was nothing left.
“Aveline…” I whispered her name like a prayer, but the wind only carried smoke.
I didn’t know how long I knelt there before I heard footsteps. Elowen. Her scent reached me even before her soft voice did.
“Alpha…” She crouched beside me, her hand reaching for my arm. “Don’t… don’t look at it anymore. Come inside. Please.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
Her hand rested lightly against my shoulder, but it felt like ash against my skin. I flinched away, eyes still fixed on the ruin before me. Words choked me, trapped in my throat.
“She’s gone,” I finally rasped, the words tasting like venom.
Elowen’s breath hitched, but she tried to sound soothing. “You… you still have me.”
I turned to her then, and the look in her eyes startled her into silence. Because I saw it, clear as the flames that consumed Aveline—this was the cost of my betrayal. I had planned to return to Aveline once Elowen’s illness had run its course. I thought time would wait for me, that I could twist fate to my liking.
But fate had burned her alive before I could crawl back.
And I had no one to blame but myself.
The funeral was held the next day. The air was heavy, the pack cloaked in black. The wolves gathered, heads bowed as the pyre was lit anew. They spoke of Aveline as though she had been nothing but a troublesome she-wolf, a fiancée who had lost her way. Lies. All lies.
I stood apart, the flames reflecting in my eyes, burning the hollow inside me.
I hadn’t wept openly in years, but now I couldn’t stop. I let my pack see me on my knees, fists pressed to the earth, shoulders shaking. My wolf howled in mourning, echoing through the bond, raw and unrestrained. They were wondering why me—Theo—was weeping like I lost my other half.
I realized, in that merciless firelight, just how much I loved her still.
I had convinced myself otherwise, let myself be led by guilt, duty, and Elowen’s fragility. But Aveline, she was supposed to be my luna, my true heart. Every memory of her burned sharper than any blade. Her stubbornness, her courage, even the way she looked at me when she was angry, it was all gone, and I would never hear her voice again.
Elowen stood behind me, her hand brushing my arm, whispering, “You’re not alone, Alpha. I’m here.”
I didn’t move. My chest was stone.
Her words rang hollow. Because no matter how she clung to me, I couldn’t feel anything. Not warmth. Not comfort. Only regret so sharp it carved me open.
If I hadn’t agreed to Elowen’s plan, if I hadn’t staged my death to be with her, none of this would have happened. Aveline wouldn’t have spiraled. She wouldn’t have been left to suffer, to abort our pup, to stand alone against whispers and cruelty.
I had destroyed her.
After the funeral, I shut myself away. I didn’t want Elowen near me. I didn’t want anyone. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the flames, heard Aveline’s voice, remembered the feel of her hand in mine the night I first swore I’d never leave her.
But I had left her.
I became cold to Elowen. Her gentle touches, her attempts at comfort, they turned my stomach. My wolf snarled at her presence, a beast that wanted nothing to do with the woman I had sacrificed everything for.
“Alpha,” she whispered one night, tears brimming in her eyes. “Why won’t you look at me? I… I need you.”
“You need me?” I finally snapped, my voice breaking. “She needed me. And I wasn’t there.”
Elowen flinched, shrinking back. “I never meant for this—”
“Don’t.” My voice was ice. “Don’t speak her name. You will never understand what you cost me.”
I left her there, sobbing softly in the shadows. I didn’t care. Because the truth was simple, cruel, and unchangeable.
Aveline was gone. And I had loved her too late.
That night, I sat alone in the garden where the fire had claimed her. The scorched earth still smelled faintly of smoke. I clutched the charred necklace in my hand until it cut into my palm.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered into the night, though no one would answer. “If there is a moon beyond this sky, if there’s a place where your spirit roams, hear me, Aveline. I was a fool. And I’ll never forgive myself.”
The wind stirred, cold against my face. My wolf curled into himself, silent in his grief.
And I knew then that no matter how long I lived, no matter how strong I became, I would carry this regret until the day the Moon Goddess called me home.
