Yet she left as though she hadn't seen me at all.
The way she threw herself in front of the Matriarch's walking staff, shielding Dorian Frostclaw behind her without hesitation, made every comforting word she'd spoken to me moments ago seem utterly laughable.
"Grandmother! The plan was my idea—I did it for the Valeheart Pack! Please don't hurt someone who had no part in this!"
Matriarch Aurelia Valeheart froze, her sharp gaze instinctively cutting toward me.
When she saw the white bandages wrapped around my arm already soaking through with fresh blood, her expression twisted with frustration and disappointment.
"You wretched pup! He was stuck with over a hundred acupuncture needles just yesterday—can you not see all the wounds covering his body?"
Panic and regret flickered through Selene Valeheart's eyes. She started to rush toward me.
But behind her, Dorian Frostclaw collapsed straight to the ground.
In her alarm, she ignored her own injuries and moved to support him, clearly intending to leave.
The Matriarch planted herself firmly in Selene's path.
"You will not leave! You've just given birth—are you trying to kill yourself?"
"Your bonded mate is still in that room! Do you even want this family anymore?"
Hesitation filled Selene's eyes.
"I do! But Dorian was hurt by your staff! I can't just abandon him! Kael... you're watching over him, Grandmother. He'll be fine!"
There was a time when she would have thrown herself in front of danger for me without a second thought.
There was a time when I was never the one she chose to abandon.
I looked at her with hollow calm.
"Grandmother, let her go."
She seemed surprised by my composure.
After all, in the past, I had done anything to keep her from leaving. I had begged, thrown myself at her feet, clawed at my own flesh—cast aside every shred of dignity an Omega could possess.
Her expression grew complicated, as though she wanted to say something. In the end, she simply walked away.
The healer's assistant helped me dress my wounds again.
The pup was soothed back to sleep.
My communication crystal suddenly pulsed with her message.
[I'm sorry. I just didn't want to cause a scene at the Healer's Den—it would damage the Valeheart Pack's reputation.]
[Dorian is still unconscious and needs someone by his side, so I won't be coming over. We'll recover together. Don't worry about us.]
I stared at the glowing words for a long time.
Once, when I learned she'd been injured during a territorial mission, I traveled eleven hours across pack borders, stayed by her side through every examination, never leaving her for a moment.
Back then, she had been so moved she wept, swearing she would never betray me in this lifetime.
Seeing me sigh, the Matriarch snatched the crystal from my hand.
She read the cold words displayed there and let out a bitter scoff.
"That wretched girl! Just wait until she returns—I'll make her answer for this. Kael, don't worry, Grandmother will—"
At that, I suddenly laughed, meeting her gaze with quiet eyes.
"You allowed all of this to happen, didn't you?"
"I no longer care what becomes of her. You promised me before—once this pup was safely born, you would help me obtain my Bond Severance. I hope you intend to keep your word."
Her expression stiffened, guilt heavy in her eyes.
"Grandmother has wronged you."
"I've already tricked her into signing the severance documents. Rest and heal your body. Once her recovery period ends, you may leave."
The Matriarch took the pup into her own care, personally arranging for trusted wolves to watch over him.
I quietly returned to the den I'd lived in before the mating bond, avoiding the gossip that would have followed me otherwise.
But that very night, rumors still spread like wildfire through the territory's elite circles: the Valeheart Pack's heir had defied the Matriarch, risking her post-birth body to protect her Beta lover.
The Valeheart Pack's standing in the territory alliance began to slip. Selene Valeheart was buried under the chaos, scrambling to contain the damage.
Dorian Frostclaw's popular scent-journal account was overrun by outraged pack members. The scandal I had once exposed myself—how he had seduced his brother's bonded mate, only for Selene to suppress it—resurfaced with a vengeance.
The territory was filled with condemnation. If Selene hadn't intervened, his account would have been stripped and he'd have faced severe penalty oaths.
I didn't see her again until seven days later.
The moment she laid eyes on me, disappointment clouded her face.
"Kael Frostclaw, does destroying us like this truly make you happy?"
I blinked, quickly understanding. She had pinned the blame for the spreading rumors squarely on me.
