Chapter 208

ALPHA PARTHE.

"How do you feel?" I asked my wolf, but he was too weak to reply.

We had been bound to the beast for so long that, in many ways, we had become one. And now, with that darkness torn from us, the absence felt unsettling.

I exhaled slowly, feeling the exhaustion settle into my bones. I felt uncharacteristically weak. My limbs were heavier than I had ever known them to be, my mind sluggish, but I couldn't linger in weakness. I had to see this through. Luxuria's ritual was meant to happen immediately.

There was no time. Mine had taken up to half an hour.

I raised my hand to stop the cheering crowd.

"Bring him," I said to Urik who stood beside me and he bowed slightly before walking toward the dungeon.

I watched him go, a strange emotion settling in my chest.

I'd been thinking of ways to thank him but none seemed enough to show how thankful I truly am to have him by my side.

Apart from Luxuria, Urik was the one person I doubted a lot for years. I always picked Tervan's side over his, no matter what.

I had dismissed his advice more times than I can count.

Regret burned in my throat. I had been a fool.

Now, I wish I could turn back the hands of time so I could accord him the respect and recognition he truly deserved.

He was more of a friend than Tervan ever was. And he was more of a brother than Rorden ever was.

Tervan had been nothing more than a parasite, feeding off my name, my power and wanting to take over what was rightfully mine. Rorden… he had never truly been my brother. Blood alone did not forge bonds.

I clenched my jaw, pushing the thought aside for now. There would be time to right my mistakes, to give Urik the respect he had earned tenfold.

I already sent my gratitude to Alpha Colleen, promising to host him in my pack as soon as I was done dealing with the rituals. We had to re-establish our alliance on a more solid ground now.

Colleen was an Alpha worth keeping close, worth strengthening bonds with and I intend to do that.

Who knows, one day, one of my children would be bound to one of his.

A betrothal wouldn't be a bad idea.

Colleen had a daughter and a son. A union between our bloodlines would solidify what we had begun here. An unbreakable bond between our packs.

And in a world where alliances determined survival, I would ensure that ours endured.

My gaze swept across the gathered crowd, my warriors, my people—those who had stood by me through everything and those who were about to become my people.

They were waiting for me to address them, still charged with the energy of the ceremony.

They expected alot from me, but nothing would prepare them for what I was about to say... I was about to give them the truth.

"There is something that must be said," I began, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I have wronged someone who should have been my greatest ally. I have betrayed someone who should have been my highest priority."

I turned slightly, my eyes locking on hers. "My mate."

A murmur rippled through the crowd. I let them react. I let them process what they thought I was about to say.

Since she returned, I had not addressed my people yet, but this was the best time.

"I accused Luxuria of crimes she did not commit," I admitted, the words cutting me open as I said them. "I let the words of traitors and the poison of liars dictate my judgment. And because of that, I banished her."

Silence.

Not a single person spoke.

I could see the shock and questions in their faces.

"I chose to believe Tervan over her." My voice cracked slightly, but I pushed forward. "I chose to believe Shikta over her. I chose to favor those who only sought to use me, while turning my back on the woman who was always meant to be by my side."

A breeze rolled through the open space, cool against my burning skin.

I clenched my fists. Forced myself to keep speaking.

"She did not kill Dashi."

That got a reaction. Shocked gasps. Low murmurs of disbelief.

I let it settle before I continued, "It was Rorden."

The murmurs died down after a moment.

“Rorden killed Dashi. He framed Luxuria. He wanted me to think she had been unfaithful. He wanted me to think she had betrayed me in the worst possible way." I continued.

I forced myself to turn to my mate; her face was wet with tear.

I took a slow breath and turned back to my people.

"I was blind," I admitted. "I was a fool. And because of my foolishness, she suffered."

My voice dropped lower, so thick with emotion I never knew I was capable of.

"She suffered because of me."

The realization of this truth crushed me.

"She suffered because I failed her."

I inhaled shakily and did something I never thought I would ever do in front of my warriors, my people—before anyone.

I let my knees hit the ground.

Gasps rang out across the crowd. They all stiffened in shock, unsure if they should kneel with me or...

They all made to kneel but I halted them with a raise of my hand. Yes, it was forbidden for an Alpha to kneel in front of his people while they stood watching.

But this was different.

I didn't care.

I was kneeling before my mate. Before my people. Before the gods who had witnessed my failures.

"I am sorry for the pain I have caused. For the suffering I forced upon you, my mate. For the mistakes I refused to see."

My throat burned, but I pressed on.

"I let myself be turned against you. I let them convince me that you were the enemy when you—" My voice broke, my hands shaking at my sides. "When you were the only one who ever truly stood by me."

For the first time in my life, I was not the one in control.

"I do not deserve forgiveness." My throat burned. My chest ached. "But if there is any path to redemption, if there is any way I can prove that I will never again allow lies and deceit to guide my hand—then I will spend the rest of my life walking that path."

I bowed my head, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.

"I failed you, Luxuria," I whispered. "And in failing you, I failed my people."

I knew I had already done this in the secret of our chamber, but I had humiliated her countless times in the open, too. She deserved an open apology. Everyone had to see her for the good woman she was, and not the unfaithful, incompetent woman she had been painted to be.

"Parthe..." she whispered my name, her eyes sweeping over the crowd, and I could tell she was nervous.

Slowly, she reached out. Her fingers trembled as they grazed my face, tracing the sharp edges of my jaw and the roughness of my stubble. The moment her skin touched mine, a shudder ran through me, and I closed my eyes at the sensation.

"Stand, Parthe," she whispered.

I hesitated but her fingers curled beneath my chin, urging me up, and I obeyed. Rising to my feet felt heavier than any battle I had fought. When I finally stood, towering over her as I always had, she placed a trembling hand over my chest, right where my heart thundered beneath the layers of flesh and regret.

"I forgive you, Parthe," she whispered. "I forgive you."

The words shattered something inside me. A burden I had carried for too long cracked open, releasing a pain I hadn't even realized had been suffocating me. She forgave me. Despite everything I had done, despite the agony I had forced upon her, she had found it in her heart to forgive me.

The crowd erupted in a thunderous cheer but it all went silent when Urik resurfaced. And behind him, dragged forward in heavy iron chains, was the wretched figure of a man who had once walked proudly among us.

The sight of him sent a dark satisfaction curling in my chest. He was barely recognizable—his once-proud posture was utterly broken, his clothes tattered, his body a mere shadow of the man who had once stood beside me, spewing poison into my ears.

He had feasted on deceit, on betrayal, and now he was reduced to nothing.

I turned my head slightly to face Luxuria, my voice dipping into something softer and intimate, just for her.

"Your willing sacrifice is here, love," I murmured, my lips barely moving as I studied her expression. "We can proceed with your ritual."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me intently and I saw the questions swirling there, the storm of emotions battling inside her—shock, confusion, disbelief. But her lips only let out one question.

"T... Tervan?" She asked wide-eyed.

"Yes, love. Tervan."