Chapter 82 The Alpha’s Tears

Chapter 82 The Alpha’s Tears
I feel her before I see her.

Clara’s pulse is slowing. Her strength the incredible power that had purged the Shadow Alpha, that had healed every wolf, that had awakened the Black Wolf is dimming before my eyes.

“Clara…” I growl, rushing to her side. Her fur is soft beneath my muzzle, yet it feels like it’s losing warmth, like the fire inside her is flickering.

She opens her eyes slowly, gold and black light fading to a gentle glow. She tries to smile at me, but it falters.

“Donald…” she whispers, voice weak but steady. “I… I’ve given everything… to save the pack…”

“No!” I roar, pressing myself against her. “You’re not leaving me. You can’t. You’re our Luna! You’re mine! You’ve done enough!”

She laughs softly, a faint, fragile sound. “Donald… you don’t understand… this power I wielded… it takes more than just energy. It… drains life. I… I’m fading.”

My claws dig into the dirt. My ears flatten. My growl shakes the air. “No. Not like this. You’re not fading. I won’t let you.”

She reaches up, placing a trembling paw against my muzzle. “You have to, Donald… You’ve got the pack… you’ve got… us… my bond… it’s enough to guide you.”

I shake my head violently. “It’s not enough without you! You’re the heart of the pack, Clara! You’re my mate! I can’t… I won’t survive this without you.”

Her eyes glimmer, faint but warm. “You will… because I trusted you… because you’re strong… Alpha strong. My bond… it’s always with you… even if I fade…”

“No!” I shout, but the sound is cracked, desperate. My claws scrape the dirt as I press closer, desperate to feel her warmth, her life, her heartbeat. “Clara… stay with me! I need you. We’ve survived everything together. This… this isn’t how it ends!”

She smiles faintly, leaning her head against mine. “Donald… it’s how it begins. The pack… will be safe… because of what we’ve done… You’ll lead… you’ll protect… you’ll keep the bond alive…”

I can feel her energy leaving, slipping, and my heart lurches violently. The bond between us the mate bond that had been our anchor through every battle, every trial, every danger is stretching, thinning.

“Clara… please… don’t leave me,” I whisper, voice breaking. “I can’t… I can’t lose you. Not after everything. Not now.”

She nuzzles me gently. “Donald… I’m still… with you… in every heartbeat… every breath… you’ll feel me… guiding you… always…”

Her body trembles. I feel her light dimming, her warmth fading. Panic surges through me, clawing at my chest, making my fur bristle. I press my head to hers, growling into the night. “Stay… stay! I won’t let you go!”

Her paws rest against my chest. She shakes her head slowly, fighting, trying to hold on, but it’s clear… her strength is gone. The Black Wolf energy she wielded so effortlessly is ebbing, leaving only faint traces.

“I love you, Donald…” she whispers, eyes closing slowly. “Always… my Alpha…”

“No!” I cry, shaking her gently. “I love you! I love you! Don’t leave me!”

Her breathing slows, her pulse thins, and I feel the warmth I relied on slipping from me like sand through my claws. My eyes blur with tears, my body trembling with grief.

“Donald… fight for them… fight for the pack… fight for me…” she murmurs, fading with each word.

I bury my muzzle against her neck, growling, whimpering, feeling her slipping away. “I will… I swear… I’ll protect them… I’ll protect you… I’ll carry your bond… always!”

Her paw brushes mine weakly, almost imperceptibly. “Always… my Alpha…”

And then… stillness.

Her chest stops rising. Her fur no longer shimmers with the faint glow of the Black Wolf. She lies against me, weight light, almost ethereal, but unmistakably gone.

I howl, low and raw, a sound of grief, rage, and despair that echoes through the battlefield. Wolves gather around us, sensing my sorrow, yet respecting the sacred moment of loss.

I bury my muzzle into her mane, claws digging into the earth. “Clara… don’t leave me… please… come back to me!”

Liam steps forward cautiously, voice trembling. “Alpha… she… she’s given everything… the curse is broken… the pack is safe…”

I shake my head, not listening. “Safe… without her… what’s the point of safety? She’s gone!”

Donald doesn’t want to admit it, but I do. The weight of leadership, of bond, of love it’s crushing. I nuzzle her, murmuring over and over, my voice breaking, “Stay… please… stay with me…”

A faint glow flickers, just barely, around her paw almost imperceptible. My ears twitch. My claws dig harder into the ground. “Clara? Can you hear me? My Luna? My mate?”

No answer. Only silence.

I rise on trembling legs, keeping her in my embrace, growling low, a sound of warning, grief, and defiance to the world: I will carry her. I will honor her. I will not let this loss destroy what she gave us.

I press my forehead to hers, murmuring through broken breaths, “I will carry the pack. I will carry you. Always… forever… my Luna…”

The battlefield is silent, the pack healed, the Shadow Alpha defeated but my heart is a storm. My mate, my Black Wolf, my Luna, has given everything, and I am left holding her memory, her bond, her love.

Tears streak my muzzle. Claws scrape the earth. And still, I growl, low and feral: a promise, a warning, a vow.

“She may have faded from this world… but she will never fade from me.”

And with that, I rise fully, carrying both grief and determination. The Alpha mourns… but the Alpha also stands.

Because even as she fades… her light, her bond, her essence… lives within me.