Chapter 15 I Can't Lose Her

Chapter 15 I Can't Lose Her
Evan

I paced around my room, unable to sit still, my chest tight with a weight I hadn’t even recovered from. I haven’t finished grieving my mate, haven’t even allowed myself to breathe through that pain… and now another threat rises in its place.

Now that the entire pack will learn the Alpha King has found his mate, they will all come for my Verona.
They will want her dead.

It would be better if they hated the Alpha King—but they don't. They adore him. They worship him. Both men and women are in love with him, endlessly, foolishly… obsessively. And one of those people is Verona’s own father—Venus. That monster. The man who murdered my daughter. I will never, ever forgive him.

He walked into my home like he was a blessing from the goddess herself. He blinded all of us, made us see what he wanted us to see. And then he tore my family apart, flipped our entire house upside down because the Alpha King rejected him.

He came into our lives for just one purpose—to get closer to the Alpha King, Soren. The very same king who makes every person who lays eyes on him lose their sense of reason.

People become weak around him. His gaze alone turns them into fools. They fall at his feet. They tremble under his stare. They would worship him without hesitation.

Even I loved him once—when I was a boy. The moment I saw him, something bloomed in my chest. Not romantic love, but the desire to possess, to hold, to keep him close. But I learned quickly that it wasn’t just me. Everyone felt it.

And with time, we realized there was nothing mystical about it—only that he was created too beautifully. The goddess carved him with her full attention, her full devotion, giving him a presence that pulls people in. A love that blooms instantly.

But it was never real. And so we learned to live with it, accept it, and move on.
But not everyone could.

Many have ended their lives because he never looked their way.
Many turned that love into hatred and jealousy for anyone who managed to catch even a moment of his attention.

That is why we the elders had believed it was better for Ina to become his Luna and our queen—she is strong, her bloodline mixed and powerful enough to defend herself. But not choosing her as his queen and Luna will make her another of his enemies and one who would seek death for my grandchild.

The danger coming for my Verona will be greater than anyone can ever imagine.

The Alpha King—whom all these people desire—will not give up on her. Not when he believes she is the one who can end his suffering, the one who can give him a successor and break his curse. The one whose existence holds the key to his death.
His destined mate.

He will not reject Verona.
He will mark her.
Marry her.
Bind her to him.

And in doing so… he will put her in unthinkable danger.
Yes, he will protect her with everything he has—but that does not guarantee she will be safe. The world can be cruel, and jealousy can be louder than love.

I have already lost too much.
My daughter, Sarafina.
My beloved mate—the woman I still ache for, even now.

And I will not lose my granddaughter.
She is the only blood I have left.
My only family.

If protecting her costs me my life, then so be it.
I would die before I let anyone get to my Verona.

“Come in, Obed,” I called out, and he stepped inside. He bowed his head in greeting, but the moment he lifted it, I knew how furious he was. The expression on his face was tight, troubled, it mirrored my own too.

“The Alpha King needs to reject her, Evan,” he said immediately, his voice clipped. “You know what’s coming for her won’t be easy in the slightest.”

I didn’t respond. I just stared at him, my hands curling into fists at my sides. He wasn’t lying. Every word hit like a stone in my chest.

“I know he’s desperate to die,” Obed continued, anger simmering beneath his voice. “I know he’s tired—bored of centuries of the same life. But we are NOT putting Verona’s life on the line for that. If we had known earlier, we would’ve sent her back to the human world.”

I turned away from him, jaw tight. He was right. He was painfully right.
But going against the Alpha King? Only a fool would dare. He is our king, and once he declares something, it becomes law—unchangeable, immovable.

Trying to pull him away from his goal… his obsession with dying… would be almost impossible.

“I can’t lose her like I lost Sarafina,” Obed said suddenly. His voice cracked, and I snapped my brows together, teeth grinding unconsciously.

“I know,” I muttered, because I did. I understood that pain too well.

“So please,” he pressed, frustration and helplessness thick in his voice, “let’s do something about this before it’s too late.”

I faced him again, though the words didn’t come easily. Still, I forced them out.

“I failed you once, Obed. Failing you again is not an option.”

His expression twisted—hurt, fear, hope all fighting for space—as he listened silently.

“But he is the king,” I went on, my voice low. “We both know we can’t stand against him. So for now, all we can do is stay vigilant. We watch over Verona with everything we have.”

Obed’s eyes drifted away, his lips trembling faintly.

“And also…” I added slowly.

He looked at me again, waiting.

“We need her to awaken her power.”

Obed held my gaze for a moment before finishing the thought himself, his voice steady but cold.

“Only then can we kill him.”

I nodded.

That was the truth neither of us had said aloud until now.
We shouldn’t waste strength trying to fight the Alpha King to reject Verona.
Not yet.

Our focus needed to be on Verona—on awakening the power she didn’t yet know she carried.
Only then could she truly protect herself…
Only then could Venus’s curse finally break…
And only then could I avenge my family once and for all.

“So for now,” I said quietly as I stepped toward Obed and rested a hand on his shoulder, “we focus on what we can control. We have work to do. Call Lydia—she’ll become Verona’s tutor. And you…” I paused, meeting his eyes. “You stay close to Verona. While I go retrieve Verona’s essence from the king.”

Obed swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he nodded. “Yes. The sooner she awakens her wolf too, the better.”

I gave him a faint smile, watching him turn and hurry out. The moment the door closed behind him, I let my eyes fall shut.

Memories I tried so hard to bury rushed back with full force.

When we were forced to flee with the newborn because of the chaos Venus unleashed, my mate—my beautiful, stubborn, selfless mate—gave her life for that child. She sacrificed everything that made her who she was. And when I saw her again… gods, I knew she wouldn’t last. Not after what she had done to save the baby.

She had taken Verona to the Alpha King herself, and he had stripped her of her wolf… just as he stripped the child of hers. It was the only way for them to blend seamlessly into the human world.

In mere seconds, my mate had gone from the vibrant, youthful looked woman I loved to an aged human with no magic, no strength, no wolf. That was the price we paid—the consequence of allowing Venus into our home, of trusting a monster disguised as a blessing.

And now she is gone. My precious mate, the only light I had in this life.

I reached into my pocket, pulled out her pendant, and pressed it to my lips. The metal was cold, but it throbbed with memories.

There was nothing left for me to live for—not truly. I had lived four hundred and ninety-five long years. Nearly five centuries of battles, heartbreak, and loss.

So if death came while protecting the last piece of my bloodline—my granddaughter—then that was a fate I would accept wholeheartedly. Because she was all I had left. The only reason I still drew breath.