Chapter 57 Ella's Forgiveness
Derek guided Alpha Moore into the Moonstone Pack’s infirmary, his steps heavy with worry and guilt. Moore had been weakened from his ordeal, his face pale and drawn, but his eyes burned with barely restrained fury. Derek could feel the tension radiating from him as he used his mindlink to summon Alex, his beta, to call for the pack doctor.
“Get him treated immediately,” Derek ordered Alex before turning his attention back to Moore. “You’ll be fine soon.”
Moore gave a curt nod, but his silence was ominous. Derek wasn’t naive enough to think Alpha Moore would stay quiet for long.
The doctor arrived swiftly, tending to Moore’s injuries with practiced efficiency. Derek stayed nearby, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching as Moore slowly regained some color.
When the doctor finished and left the room, Moore finally spoke, his voice sharp and cutting. “Derek, where’s Ella?”
The question hung in the air like a blade. Derek stiffened, his jaw tightening as he moved to sit across from Moore. He knew this conversation was inevitable, but the weight of it still pressed heavily on his chest.
“Before I answer that,” Derek began cautiously, “you need to know what’s happened since you were taken.”
Moore’s eyes narrowed, his fists clenching at his sides. “Then start talking.”
Derek explained everything—the rogue attack, Ella’s ambush on her way to rescue him, and her eventual capture by the vampires while recovering in a hospital. He spared no details, his voice steady despite the storm brewing within him.
Moore’s expression darkened with every word. By the time Derek finished, Moore's rage was palpable. He stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor as he slammed his hands on the table between them.
“This is your fault!” Moore roared, his voice echoing through the room.
Derek met his gaze, his expression unreadable but his chest tightening at the accusation.
“If you hadn’t shown up, none of this would have happened!” Moore continued, his voice cracking with anger. “Our lives were peaceful until you showed up. You brought chaos, Derek. To me, to my pack, and worst of all—to Ella!”
“I didn’t—” Derek began, but Moore cut him off.
“You didn’t what?” Moore snapped. “Didn’t mean to? You’ve done nothing but bring her pain! Your presence has always been a curse to her!”
Derek’s hands clenched into fists, but he forced himself to remain calm. “I came back to help.”
“Help?” Moore’s laugh was bitter. “Do you even know what Ella has been through because of you? Do you know why she fled from her pack in the first place?”
Derek’s silence was telling, and Moore seized the opportunity to press further.
“She left because of you, Derek! Because of your rejection! Do you have any idea what it did to her when you refused to acknowledge her as your mate? You humiliated her in front of everyone!”
“I didn’t reject her,” Derek said defensively, though his voice was quieter now.
Moore glared at him. “What’s the difference? You didn’t accept her either. You left her to suffer alone, to face the shame and judgment of her pack without a single word of support. You abandoned her when she needed you the most.”
Derek’s heart pounded in his chest, guilt clawing at him with every word Moore spoke.
“And then,” Moore continued, his voice trembling with emotion, “she lost her pup.”
Derek’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. “What?”
Moore’s glare deepened. “You didn’t know, did you? Ella was pregnant with your child before she left the pack. She lost the pup soon after fleeing her back and it almost cost her life.”
The words hit Derek like a physical blow. He felt the air leave his lungs, his body going numb as he processed what Moore had just revealed.
“I—I didn’t know,” Derek said hoarsely, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Of course, you didn’t,” Moore spat. “You were too busy turning your back on her to notice.”
Derek ran a hand through his hair, his mind racing. Memories of Ella’s hurt expression, the way she avoided his gaze, and her eventual disappearance flooded back to him with brutal clarity. He had always wondered why she seemed so broken, but he had never asked. He had assumed she would be better off without him.
“I never meant to hurt her,” Derek said, his voice cracking. “I thought—”
“You thought what?” Moore interrupted. “That ignoring the mate bond would somehow make things easier? That she would just move on? You were a coward, Derek, and now she’s paying the price for your mistakes.”
Derek lowered his head, his shoulders slumping under the weight of Moore’s words.
“I’ll fix this,” Derek said finally, his voice firm despite the pain in his chest. “I’ll get her back. No matter what it takes.”
Moore scoffed. “And then what? You think you can just waltz in and make things right? You’ve taken everything from her—her dignity, her child, her freedom. What could you possibly offer her now?”
“The truth,” Derek said, meeting Moore’s gaze with newfound determination. “I’ll tell her everything. Why I couldn’t acknowledge her as my mate back then. Why I had to make the choices I did. And I’ll beg for her forgiveness if I have to.”
Moore stared at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he sighed, the anger in his eyes giving way to weariness.
“Derek,” Moore began, his voice steady but sharp, “there’s something you need to understand about Ella—something you clearly never took the time to know.”
Derek’s gaze lifted, his chest tightening. He didn’t respond, sensing Moore wasn’t done.
“Ella has been through more pain than any person should endure in a lifetime,” Moore continued. “When she came to my pack, she was a broken woman. Do you know what it’s like to watch someone try to rebuild themselves while carrying the weight of rejection, loss, and humiliation?”
Derek swallowed hard but said nothing.
“I made her my Luna not because we shared some romantic connection but because I wanted to protect her,” Moore said. “After all she had been through, I couldn’t stand by and let her fend for herself. She was rejected twice, Derek—twice. By you and by another alpha who claimed she wasn’t good enough for his pack.”
Derek’s jaw clenched, guilt flooding his chest.
“That second rejection came at a time when she was still reeling from the first,” Moore continued, his voice thick with emotion. “And then she found out she was pregnant—with your child.”
Derek’s heart sank even further.
“Ella wanted to keep the pup more than anything,” Moore said, his expression softening. “It was her last connection to you, whether she admitted it or not. But the stress of everything she’d endured—your rejection, the whispers of the pack, the shame—was too much for her. She lost the pup, Derek. And she nearly died during the plague that swept through our lands soon after.”
Derek’s eyes burned, and he lowered his head, unable to meet Moore’s gaze.
“When I found her, she was a shadow of herself,” Moore said, his voice quieter now. “I took her in and gave her a place where she could heal. But even then, she carried the pain of what happened. She blamed herself for everything, even for things that weren’t her fault.”
Derek finally looked up, his voice hoarse. “Why didn’t you mark her? you clearly love her and she deserves you more.”
Moore gave a bitter laugh. “Because Ella never loved me, Derek. She doesn’t see me that way, and I’ve never forced her to. At one point, I thought I was developing feelings for her. How could I not? She’s beautiful, strong, resilient, and fiercely loyal. But I killed those feelings as soon as I realized where her heart truly lies.”
Derek frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She still loves you,” Moore said bluntly, his eyes boring into Derek’s. “Despite everything you’ve done, she’s never stopped loving you. That’s why I could never mark her. It wouldn’t be fair to her or to myself. Our relationship has always been one of mutual respect, not romance.”
Derek’s heart twisted painfully at the revelation. The thought of Ella still carrying feelings for him after everything he had done was almost too much to bear.He leaned back, his breath catching in his throat. The weight of Moore’s words crushed him, each one a reminder of the pain he had caused Ella.
“You’ve destroyed her in ways you can’t even imagine,” Moore said, his tone hardening again. “But if you truly care about her, you’ll do everything in your power to save her. This is your redemption, Derek. Your second chance to make things right—not just for her, but for yourself.”
Derek nodded slowly, his mind racing with thoughts of Ella. He had known he had made mistakes, but hearing Moore’s account of her suffering brought the reality crashing down around him. His resolve hardening–he wouldn’t let Ella suffer because of his mistakes any longer.
“I’ll bring her back,” he said firmly. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the pain I caused her.”
Moore studied him for a moment before nodding. “For her sake, I hope you mean that,” he said quietly.
“I do,” Derek replied, his voice steady. “I won’t let her down again.”
As the weight of their conversation settled, Derek’s resolve hardened. He had made mistakes—grave ones—but he wouldn’t let Ella face this fight alone. He would bring her back, and he would do whatever it took to make things right.
But beneath the determination lay a deep well of guilt and grief, a wound that would take a lifetime to heal. For now, all he could do was focus on the task at hand—saving the woman he had once pushed away and proving that he was worthy of her forgiveness.
As he turned back to face Moore, he said, “Rest for now. We’ll need your strength for what’s to come.”
Moore nodded but said nothing, his expression pensive. Derek left the room, his steps heavy but purposeful. His resolve had never been stronger, and for the first time in years, he allowed himself to hope that maybe, just maybe, he could mend what had been broken.
He didn’t deserve Ella’s forgiveness, but he would fight for it with everything he had. For her, for their lost pup, and for the future they might still have together.