And then there were the furious Elders and board members who stormed into my study regularly, pounding on my desk and screaming, only to be forcibly escorted out by Herman and the others.
Occasionally, between paperwork, I couldn't help asking about Serenity.
The warriors watching over her reported that she had accepted the human man's proposal.
A proposal. A wedding.
My heart sank. So she was going to become someone else's mate?
I sat in my study and snapped the pen in my hand. Ink splattered across the document I'd just signed, ruining it. Fenrir roared at me, telling me to follow my instincts and take back my mate. But the moment the thought surfaced, I crushed it. I no longer had the right to do that.
"Pull back," I finally ordered the warriors who had come to report. "You're dismissed."
"Should we continue attacking the hunters?" they asked.
Ever since I had learned that hunters had bought Liv's cooperation and were targeting Serenity, I had been planning counter-hunting operations. The pack had raided hunter strongholds multiple times, trying to drive them permanently out of Vernal territory. I hoped this would divert the hunters' attention from Serenity while creating a wider safety zone for her.
"Continue until those hunters are completely driven out," I said flatly. "This is war between us and them. Wars don't stop. Send more patrols and expand the perimeter. But don't let Serenity's side know we're still watching. We can't follow her forever."
Cutting the last tie between her and the Vernal pack—setting her free—this was the final thing I could do for Serenity.
Even if it meant spending the rest of my life enduring the pain of losing my mate.
I signed the last document. My fingers trembled slightly as I set down the pen.
But it wasn't from regret or reluctance. It was relief. I looked at the stack of contracts, agreements, and transfer documents I had organized. Each page represented wealth that had taken generations to accumulate. In one month, I had sorted through all of it and properly separated half.
"Done. Give this last one to the lawyers. The rest is up to you," I instructed Herman, who was waiting.
He looked at me with a complicated expression but didn’t argue. Over this past month, he had witnessed my determination and effort firsthand. He just sighed, stepped forward to collect the documents into a file folder, and asked, "Do you need to meet with the Luna now so she can receive these assets?"
I nodded, then shook my head. "That's not urgent. Since I've come this far, someone else should know about this first."
Herman immediately understood. "You're going to the sanatorium?"
"Yes." I stood and rolled my stiff shoulder. The gunshot wound from Liv had healed, but the silver still caused occasional pain. None of it dampened my mood. I smiled slightly. "That old man always wanted these things. Now they're about to disappear right before his eyes. I want to see his face."
Herman shook his head. "You and your father really are… Never mind. I'll have the car ready."
He arranged a vehicle, and soon I was on my way to the sanatorium where Alfred was being held.
The oppressive atmosphere of the place never changed. After all, the entire facility existed to watch over just one patient. I followed the medical staff to Alfred's room, opened the door, and found him lounging on a sofa with a book, looking nothing like a man who had lost his power.
I glanced around at the décor and furnishings of his room, then looked away.
As the pack's former Alpha, even under house arrest, his living conditions couldn't be too poor. Nothing like what Serenity had endured when she was imprisoned here.
But that only made me feel more off-balance. I was paying a massive price for hurting Serenity. Why should Alfred get to enjoy his life as if nothing had happened?
He needed to be punished too.
"You actually came to see me. What's wrong—is there something you can't handle and you need my help?" Even now, Alfred spoke to me in that condescending tone.
I walked straight to his side and showed him the backup copies of the documents. "No. I came to tell you something."
He glanced at the papers. "What is this?"
I pulled out document after document, explaining each one. "This is the custody transfer for Arian. These are the asset division agreements for half of my holdings."
