Chapter 7: The Alpha at the Gate

Three months passed after I arrived at Highmoor.

By then, the rhythm of my new life had settled into something steady.

I woke before sunrise, worked in the archives until noon, helped organize relief supplies in the afternoon, and spent my evenings studying old peace agreements.

I rarely thought about the capital anymore.

At least, that was what I told myself.

One morning, the Sanctuary bell rang several times in quick succession.

I looked up from the document in front of me.

“What happened?” I asked.

A volunteer rushed into the archive, breathless.

“Someone from the Redoak Pack is outside the main gate.”

My fingers stopped moving.

“Who?”

She swallowed.

“Gavin Mercer.”

The room went silent.

For a moment, I wondered if I had heard her incorrectly.

Gavin had come to Highmoor.

But why?

I stood and walked toward the window.

From the upper floor, I could see the massive iron gates at the bottom of the mountain road.

A black vehicle was parked beyond them.

Even from this distance, I recognized the man standing beside it.

Gavin.

He was dressed in a dark coat, his expression tense as he looked toward the Sanctuary.

My heart gave one painful beat before becoming strangely calm again.

The old Celia would have run downstairs.

She would have asked why he had come.

She would have cried when he said he missed her.

She would have believed him if he promised that everything would be different.

But I was no longer that girl.

I turned away from the window.

“I have work to finish.”

The volunteer stared at me.

“You’re not going to see him?”

“No.”

She looked almost disappointed.

“But he traveled all the way here.”

I smiled faintly.

“That was his choice.”

An hour later, a royal guard came to the archive.

“Miss Langford, Mr. Mercer is requesting permission to speak with you.”

I continued sorting the documents.

“Please tell him I’m unavailable.”

The guard hesitated.

“He says he only needs five minutes.”

I finally looked up.

“I gave him six years.”

The guard went silent.

“Five minutes isn’t enough to change anything.”

He nodded and left.

That afternoon, Gavin remained outside the gates.

The weather turned colder as the mountain clouds rolled in.

Still, he didn’t leave.

By sunset, snow began falling.

I stood at the second-floor window and watched him from a distance.

He was still there.

A strange ache moved through my chest.

Not love.

Not anymore.

It was the sadness of seeing someone finally understand the value of what he had thrown away.

That night, Princess Helena came to my room.

“He’s still outside.”

I nodded.

“I know.”

“Do you want me to ask the guards to remove him?”

I thought for a moment.

Then I shook my head.

“No. Let him stay.”

Princess Helena raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“Because I spent six years waiting for him. If he wants to spend a few hours waiting for me, I don’t think it’s unfair.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“You’ve changed.”

I looked toward the dark window.

“I had to.”

The next morning, Gavin was still there.

And for the first time, the capital’s most admired Alpha heir was the one waiting outside a closed gate.

While I was the one who had finally stopped waiting.