Chapter 24
SERENITY KELLER
Marry him?
Those three words dropped into my heart like stones into still water, sending ripples spreading outward. My head spun. For a moment, I thought the one who had lost too much blood was me, not the man kneeling before me with a proposal.
I looked down and studied him closely. His gaze was focused and reverent. He wasn't joking. His hand holding mine was trembling. I couldn't tell if it was from his injuries or from nerves…
But nerves?
Could Elias Vernal actually be nervous?
I didn't know. I didn't know anything.
All I knew was that Novella was leaping for joy inside me, and no amount of scolding could quiet her. All I knew was that my heart was racing so fast I could hear the blood rushing through my veins.
The word yes rose to the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out. But then my mind flashed to all those days and nights I'd been imprisoned in the Vernal mansion. The dark, terrifying operating table in that birthing room. The leap off that cliff—
"Elias, you've been shot three times." In the end, my voice came out calm, without emotion. "You're not thinking clearly. You might be hallucinating."
I tried to pull my hand free, but he refused to let go.
"Once you recover and your head clears, you'll regret saying all this to me."
"No, I won't!" He answered firmly, fear and urgency threading through his voice. "Believe me, Serenity. I've never been more clear-headed than I am right now!"
He looked up at me. The posture made the proud heir of Lycan blood look like nothing more than a devoted believer. "I've regretted too many things already. This is the one thing I will never regret!"
I fell silent.
Wind gusted outside the cave, sweeping through the forest and carrying the damp scent of night—along with the scent of Elias's pheromones. That familiar, nostalgic smell made Novella restless inside me. She clamored to get closer to him, to lick his wounds, to curl up in his arms…
Shut up. I silently scolded Novella.
She whimpered in protest but obediently went quiet.
"I can't say yes, Elias." Bitterness edged my voice. "I can't bring myself to trust your promises so easily anymore."
Elias's bloodless face went even paler. Looking at him like this, I couldn't help remembering how he had charged into that church without hesitation. My resolve softened despite myself.
"I'm sorry, Serenity, I..."
"I don't want your apology." I bit my lip. In the end, I left him an opening. "What I want to see is action."
His head snapped up. Disbelieving joy blazed in his eyes.
"You mean—"
His expression reminded me of Arian. When my son wanted candy, he looked at me with that same cautious, hopeful gaze.
So the son took after his father.
The discovery left me feeling both touched and amused.
I kept my expression stern. "I won't agree to marry you. But I can give you a chance to win me back. Just a chance. Whether you can make it count is up to you. Elias, you'll have to prove to me that you truly love me."
Elias's face broke into an excited grin. He suddenly leaped up and threw his arms around me!
"Yes! Yes, I promise! I'll do it. Please, just watch me—" He babbled on as I squirmed uncomfortably and tried to push him away. "What are you doing? I didn't give you permission to hug me. Let go—"
But I stopped mid-sentence. Elias's body had gone terrifyingly cold, and his voice had cut off. His weight grew heavier and heavier against me. The emergency treatment had barely helped. His wounds needed real medical attention and he had been shot with silver bullets!
Panic seized me. I quickly looked at his face and found he had fallen unconscious. I couldn't even feel him breathing!
"Elias? Elias!"
I held him tight, desperately calling his name. Just then, I finally heard the rescue team outside the cave. They shouted our names. After I responded, a medical team rushed in and took us both away.
And that was how Elias and I were separated.
My injuries weren't serious. After a day or two of observation, I was discharged. But Elias remained in the ICU with no signs of waking.
The doctors said the silver bullets had damaged his internal organs. Whether he survived would depend on his will to live and an Alpha werewolf's healing ability.
As for when he would wake up—no one could answer that.
During his coma, the documents he had signed remained in effect. The divorce and property division agreements all required my attention. And then there was Arian—
He moved out of the Vernal mansion and came to live with me. Custody was officially transferred to me.
Not everyone in the Vernal pack was happy about this, but Herman, following Elias's orders, forcibly suppressed any objections. When I brought Arian to visit Elias, I ran into Herman. He stood outside the ICU window, looking more haggard than I had ever seen him.
"Luna, the doctors say the Alpha's condition is still critical. The odds of him waking up aren't good. Please prepare yourself."
Arian clutched my leg in fear. Sorrow flowed through Herman's eyes, but he didn’t shield the boy from the truth.
"And, Young Master Arian, if the Alpha dies, you will become the new Alpha of the Vernal pack. Whether or not you want that position, you need to understand this reality."
"I…" Tears welled in Arian's eyes. I gently stroked his head.
I lifted my gaze and told Herman firmly, "Elias won't die."
Herman said painfully, "I don't want to believe it either! I want him to survive, but—"
I cut him off, raising my voice. "Elias will wake up!"
Herman asked, "How can you be so sure?"
"Because he owes me a promise," I said quietly. "He hasn't kept his word yet. He hasn't even started trying. I believe he won't give up easily. He will wake up."
I turned my gaze to the man lying behind the glass. Herman said nothing more. The three of us stood there together in silence.
Elias Vernal, can you hear me?
I spoke to him silently in my heart.
You'd better wake up soon.
Because I won't wait forever.
Two months later, I walked into the visitation room of the territory prison.
The metal door closed behind me. Liv was brought into the room on the other side, her wrists and ankles in restraints. We faced each other through the glass. She looked terrible. Every aspect of her once carefully maintained appearance was now disheveled, with no trace of her former innocent act.
But the moment she looked up, I knew she hadn't changed. Her eyes still burned with the familiar malice.
"I thought prison life might make you reflect on what you've done," I said through the intercom.
"I didn't do anything wrong." Liv glared at me viciously. "It was you. You're the ones who took everything from me!"
"How can you even say that?" I genuinely couldn't understand her logic. "Elias is my fated mate. The Vernal pack chose me as his bride. No matter how you look at it, you're the one who tried to steal my mate."
"Before you showed up, Elias was going to marry me!" Liv snarled.
I responded calmly to her fury. "Maybe so. But that's because you impersonated the person who saved his life. He only agreed out of gratitude, didn't he? In the end, you were still the one deceiving everyone."
She froze. She stared at me in shock. "How do you know… No, that's not true!" She recovered quickly, still trying to lie. "I know. Elias told you, didn't he? But let me tell you, I am his savior. He can't deny it! He's nothing but an ungrateful man!"
She laughed wildly. "I heard Elias is in a coma now and might not wake up. See? This is his karma! All because he chose you instead of me. He should have died that day!"
BANG!
I slammed my fist on the table.
"Let me tell you the truth, Liv." I stared at her coldly. "The girl who saved Elias back then was me. Stop lying!"
Shock flashed across her face before twisting into jealousy and hatred. "You again. Why is it always you? You're just a lowly Omega. Why do you always get everything? I'm smarter than you. I have better blood. But Elias's fated mate isn't me!"
"So you admit it." I ignored her ranting. "I've been curious, Liv. How did you learn every detail about that day? How did you use that to impersonate his savior and gain his trust? When we escaped, it was just the two of us."
Liv clenched her teeth in silence.
I held her gaze, refusing to let her escape.
"Let me guess. You were actually there that day, weren't you?
Now that I think about it, something always seemed off about that day.
Why wasn't anyone guarding Elias when I found him?
Even if the vampires had left for some reason, they wouldn't leave their captive completely unattended—"
She screamed. "Shut up!"
I pressed on. "Unless they really did leave someone to watch him, but that person was hiding for some reason and never showed themselves—"
"I told you to shut up!" Liv screamed hysterically. Her voice echoed again and again through the visitation room.
"Liv." I looked at her with disgust. "Betraying the pack to work with hunters wasn't actually the first time you did something like this, was it?
Long before that, you'd already betrayed werewolves once—you collaborated with vampires.
That's how they were able to capture the young heir of a major pack, isn't it? !"
By the end, my accusation had become a roar.
Liv panted, glaring at me with pure hatred.
"Fine! So what if I did it!" She laughed.
"Are you going to run and tell Elias? Too bad—he's never waking up.
He'll die soon! And without him, you're nothing!
You think anyone in the pack will believe an Omega like you?
I'll tell everyone I'm locked up because you framed me.
I'll say you're the one who killed the Alpha.
Elias died because of you! And then no one will be on your side! "
She screamed and ranted like a lunatic. I watched her and felt an eerie calm settle over me.
"Is that so?" I said softly. "Then take a look around."
Her laughter died. She stared at me in confusion.
At that moment, the room suddenly grew brighter. The gray-white walls gradually faded, becoming transparent glass. Behind that glass stood the high-ranking members of the Vernal pack.
Every one of them glared at Liv. Fury and hatred blazed in their eyes. Fists were clenched. They looked ready to burst in and tear her apart at any second!
But they didn't move. Because the man at the front hadn't given the order—
Elias sat in a wheelchair, his arms crossed over his chest. He still looked weak, but the cold fury in his eyes was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
She froze.
"This… This…"
I looked at her. "Forgot to mention—the walls in this room are special one-way glass.
They block werewolf senses of smell and hearing.
Everything you just said and did has been publicly recorded.
Including your confession that you impersonated the Alpha's savior.
And your crimes of conspiring with vampires and hunters to betray the pack—"
Liv collapsed. She slid off her chair and crumpled to the floor.
"This isn't real!" she screamed in despair. "This can't be happening—"
"What can't be happening?" The one-way glass dropped its blocking function. Elias's voice came through crystal clear. "That I'm not dead yet? Sorry to disappoint."
Liv curled into a ball, trembling.
Elias formally pronounced her sentence. "Liv Laster's guilt is undeniable. Blood debts must be paid in blood. As Alpha, I hereby sentence her to the Blood Hunt—and permanent exile from the pack!"
"No! Please, no—" Liv shrieked in terror. Werewolf guards stormed in and dragged her out like a dead dog.
Of course she was terrified.
Because the Blood Hunt wasn't a simple banishment. It meant the entire pack would treat her as prey. Every wolf would shift and hunt her down until she died beneath their fangs…
It was the most primal, most brutal punishment a pack could inflict. Reserved only for when the pack demanded vengeance.
Liv's screams grew more and more piercing, audible even as they dragged her from the room. I rose from my chair and walked out.
Outside, every pack member greeted me with regret, shame, and—for the first time—respect.
My spine stayed straight.
Never again would I fear anyone.