He paused briefly. Faced with my unusually serious demeanor, he didn't dodge this time.
He sneered. "Look at yourself right now, Elias. Have you looked in a mirror? You don't look anything like a calm, powerful Alpha. You've already lost your mind over that Omega, and you don't even realize it! You ask why I had to eliminate Serenity? Because of her influence over you!"
"A pack's Alpha must be the strongest and most ruthless. He cannot have any weaknesses—especially not a mate of low birth and weak abilities becoming his vulnerability!"
"Even setting aside that Serenity might be the traitor who sold out the pack, even if she weren't, I would never allow her to stay by your side!"
Serenity was my weakness? Hearing this felt laughable, yet I couldn't laugh.
Fenrir whispered inside me that Alfred was right. I did care about Serenity. No matter how many times I said I wanted to divorce her, I still wanted her alive. I didn't want her to actually die.
In that moment, I felt like a child suddenly jolted awake from a dream, confronting an icy reality. I couldn't bear the consequences of losing her! Just imagining the possibility made Fenrir howl in agony inside me.
I had thought I didn't love Serenity. I had denied my true feelings countless times… I had assumed she would always be by my side. But I was wrong! Completely wrong!
As long as she was alive somewhere in this world, even if not beside me, I could always find her, see her face.
But if…if she left this world, where would I go to see her?
In that moment, my heart ached beyond measure. Faced with Serenity's life or death, things like deception and betrayal no longer mattered. I just didn't want to lose her. I didn't want her to vanish from this world forever! The pathetic thing was, only on the eve of losing her completely did I finally wake up and understand this!
I was such a fool.
"Tell me where the sanatorium is." My voice was terrifyingly low.
I couldn't breathe. My heart hurt so much I wanted to pass out. But I couldn't collapse here. Because it wasn't over yet. I still had a chance to find her and save her!
Annoyed, Alfred pulled out a business card and tossed it onto the table. "The address is on there. Go find her yourself. But don’t waste your effort. Even now, all you'll probably find is a corpse?—"
I couldn't listen anymore. I swung my fist and slammed it into his face.
Alfred fell backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He stared at me in disbelief. "You actually hit me? Elias, get back here!"
I ignored his shouting. I grabbed the card, turned, and stormed out of the room.
Liv was standing outside the door, her ear pressed against it. When I opened it, I knocked right into her. She let out a pained cry.
"Elias, where are you going? The gala isn't over yet! What about our dance? Elias?—"
Her voice faded behind me.
Alfred, Liv, the startled guests. None of them mattered. I ran out of the venue with only one thought in my mind.
Serenity, wait for me.
Please, wait for me.
Following the address on Alfred's card, I led a team and stormed into the sanatorium hidden deep in the mountains.
The gates were locked. I kicked them open with one blow. Metal screeched and snapped as the entire gate crashed to the ground.
"Get in there and search!" I shouted harshly.
The drive from the gala normally took two hours. Tonight, I made it in forty minutes. The speed had left Herman pale. He had probably never seen me this way.
No one hesitated. Herman immediately led everyone into the sanatorium, and they tore through every room.
"Report—nothing on the first floor!"
