Chapter 10: The Truth He Could No Longer Escape

Atlas froze. His inner wolf let out a violent wave of denial, refusing to accept what he had just heard.

“Say that again.”

“The emergency record shows that hypothermia and blood loss induced premature labor. After her water broke, the pup was deprived of oxygen for too long. There were no signs of life when she was delivered.”

Atlas stared at the doctor.

“No signs of life?”

“Her heartbeat was absent, and she wasn't breathing.”

Atlas's hands began to tremble.

“But you said the doctors tried to save her.”

“We did.”

The doctor's expression was grim.

“But we couldn't bring her back.”

The words struck Atlas harder than any physical blow.

His daughter was dead.

His own daughter.

The child Elena had carried for eight months had taken her last breath because of what had happened at the pool.

Atlas's inner wolf howled again, but this time there was no denial strong enough to silence the truth.

He remembered Elena's pale face beneath the moonlight.

He remembered the way she had struggled to stay above the water.

He remembered the guards begging him to let her out.

And he remembered his own order.

“She is not to leave this pool until she finds that naming token.”

Atlas staggered backward.

The doctor watched him carefully.

“Alpha, there is something else.”

Atlas looked up.

“What?”

“Before she was taken into surgery, Elena specifically instructed us not to contact you again.”

Atlas's face went blank.

“She said she would bear all the consequences herself.”

He closed his eyes.

For years, Elena had always reached for him when she was frightened.

She had called him through the pack link when she was sick.

She had waited for him when he was late.

She had trusted him with every part of her life.

But when she was dying, she had asked them not to call him.

She had stopped believing he would come.

Atlas's chest tightened painfully.

“Where is she now?”

“She left the hospital this morning.”

“With the baby?”

The doctor hesitated.

“No.”

Atlas's gaze sharpened.

“What do you mean, no?”

“The baby was taken away by the Registry clerk.”

Atlas's heart stopped.

“Taken where?”

“I don't know.”

He grabbed the doctor's collar.

“You will tell me.”

“Alpha, let go.”

The doctor pushed his hand away.

“Your daughter was registered under the Hart bloodline. Elena also filed a transfer request.”

Atlas went completely still.

“Transfer to where?”

“Pine Ridge.”

The word echoed through his mind.

Pine Ridge.

That was where he had found Elena three years ago after their first separation.

The place where she had rebuilt her life without him.

She was going back.

But this time, she wasn't going back alone.

She was taking his daughter with her.

Atlas turned toward the door.

“Prepare a vehicle.”

One of the guards stepped forward.

“Alpha, the elders are still waiting at the naming ceremony.”

Atlas looked at him.

“Cancel it.”

The guard's expression changed.

“But Mara's son—”

“I said cancel it.”

His Alpha pressure filled the corridor.

The guard immediately bowed his head.

“Yes, Alpha.”

...

Back at the banquet hall, Mara stood frozen beside the decorated cradle.

The elders were whispering among themselves.

The ceremony had already been delayed.

Then the doors opened.

Atlas's guard entered alone.

“The ceremony has been canceled.”

Mara's face drained of color.

“What?”

“The Alpha has ordered everyone to leave.”

One of the elders frowned.

“Why?”

The guard lowered his voice.

“The Luna's pup died last night.”

The entire hall fell silent.

Mara's fingers tightened around the baby's blanket.

For the first time, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.

She knew exactly what had happened at the pool.

And she knew exactly who had given the order.

If Atlas discovered that Elena's labor had been caused by the punishment, everything could collapse.

Mara forced tears into her eyes.

“Atlas must be devastated.”

The elder looked at her coldly.

“He should be.”

Mara lowered her head.

But inside, panic was spreading.

Atlas had left the ceremony for Elena.

For the first time since Mara entered his life, he had chosen Elena's tragedy over Mara's demands.

...

Meanwhile, Elena sat inside the transport vehicle headed toward Pine Ridge.

Her body was weak from surgery, and every movement caused pain.

But the tiny bundle in her arms made everything else disappear.

Her daughter was gone.

There was no breath in her little body.

No heartbeat.

No warmth.

Yet Elena held her close anyway.

“I'm sorry.”

Her voice broke.

“Mommy couldn't protect you.”

Tears fell onto the blanket.

The driver glanced at her through the mirror but said nothing.

Elena lowered her head.

“You deserved a father who would choose you.”

She closed her eyes.

“And I failed to give you one.”

Outside, the snow-covered forests slowly disappeared behind them.

Blackwood territory was getting farther away.

Elena didn't know that Atlas had already discovered the truth.

She didn't know he was coming after her.

She only knew one thing.

She would never allow him to take anything else from her.

Not her dignity.

Not her freedom.

And never again, her child.

...

Hours later, Atlas's vehicle crossed the southern border.

His inner wolf was restless, pacing beneath his skin.

He could still feel the faintest trace of Elena through the old bond.

It was weakening by the hour.

Soon, there would be nothing left.

Atlas stared through the windshield.

“Faster.”

The driver increased the speed.

One thought consumed him.

He had spent three years chasing Elena because he couldn't bear to lose her.

Now, he had lost her anyway.

And this time, he had no one to blame but himself.