After Severance,Alpha Fell in Love With Ex-Luna

98: The Sterling Family Legacy

Chapter 98: The Sterling Family Legacy

(Elena Blackwood’s POV)

I was silent for a moment, feeling the weight of exhaustion pressing down on my shoulders. The thought of another confrontation made my chest tighten, but I couldn’t avoid Nathan forever.

“Lead the way.” I said finally, resignation hanging in the air like a heavy fog.

Server Jake nodded respectfully and gestured toward the staircase. I followed him through the bustling restaurant, past tables filled with pack members enjoying their meals, oblivious to the drama unfolding

around them.

Server Michael met us at the base of the stairs and led me to the second floor. The dining area here was quieter, more intimate, with large windows overlooking the street below.

Nathan Sterling sat by one of those windows, his amber eyes fixed on me the moment I appeared. His usually perfect appearance seemed slightly disheveled, as if he hadn’t slept well.

After Server Michael left us alone, Nathan gestured to the chair across from him with a smile that didn’t quite

reach his eyes.

“Please, sit. You should try the restaurant’s moonlight silver tea. It’s their specialty.”

I remained standing, keeping a careful distance between us. I won’t be drinking anything, thank you.”

Nathan’s smile faltered slightly, but he nodded in understanding. “I know you’re upset with me.a. And your

have every right to be.”

His voice carried genuine remorse, but I had learned not to trust appearances anymore. Too many people had worn masks of sincerity while plotting against me..

“I want to apologize,” he continued, his hands clasped tightly on the table. “For my actions, for the pain! caused you and your mother. I know words can’t undo what’s been done, but-”

“It’s all in the past, I interrupted, my voice calm despite the turmoil inside me. The words felt hollow, because forgiveness was something I couldn’t offer. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Nathan studied my face, searching for something I wasn’t willing to give him. After a long moment, he leaned

back in his chair.

“Let me tell you a story,” he said quietly. “About two close friends, A and B, who were like brothers despite coming from different worlds.”

I remained silent, curious despite myself about where this was leading.

“A came from a wealthy, powerful pack,” Nathan continued, his gaze distant. “B came from a modest family, but A treated him as an equal. They shared everything–their dreams, their fears, their hopes for the future.”

His voice grew softer, tinged with old pain. “B had a sister, a beautiful young woman who fell deeply in love with A. And A, despite the social differences between their families, reciprocated her feelings completely.”

Nathan paused, his fingers tracing patterns on the table’s surface. “A promised to mate with her. He swore

Chapter 98 The Sterlag E

that their love was stronger than any social barriers. For five years, they were inseparable. She believed in him completely.”

The story felt familiar somehow, though I couldn’t place why. I found myself leaning forward slightly, drawn in despite my reservations.

“After five years together, the sister became pregnant,” Nathan’s voice hardened. “A told her he would return to the Northern Territory to arrange their mating ceremony. She waited, trusting in his promise.”

His amber eyes met mine, and I saw decades of accumulated bitterness there. “But A never returned. He simply disappeared, abandoning both his promise and the woman carrying his child.”

My breath caught. The pain in Nathan’s voice was too raw, too personal to be just a story.

“B couldn’t believe his friend would betray them so completely,” Nathan continued. “He took his pregnant sister to the Northern Territory to find A, to demand an explanation.”

Nathan’s hands clenched into fists. “They were turned away at the gates. A’s father insulted them, called them fortune hunters trying to trap his son with a bastard child.”

The cruelty of it made my stomach turn. I could imagine the humiliation, the desperate hope turning to crushing despair.

“B tried everything to contact A, Nathan’s voice grew bitter. “He wanted to understand, to hear A’s reasons directly. But A refused to see them.”

stared out the window, his jaw tight with old anger. “B and his sister struggled to survive in the Northern Territory. They had nothing, no one

My heart stopped. “Blackwood?”

erritory.

lavish celebration the territory had seen in decades. His

This wasn’t just a

when she learned of A’s mating.” Nathan continued relentlessly. “The betrayal, the poverty, the shame – It all

looked at his former friend with cold indifference and said, ‘I need. mate who can support my pack, not one who needs our support. Just like

me flinch. I could see the scene playing out – a desperate man pleading for his sister’s honor, only to be

voice hollow. “The friendship had always been an illusion. A had

he reached for his water glass. “A valued interests over friendship, power over love. B and A severed all

sister were fortunate to meet a benefactor who helped them establish themselves

90. The Sterling

Never even inquired about her

“A died young, perhaps as a form of retribution. But the damage was already

in stunned silence, processing everything he’d

staggering.

I found my voice. “This story… A represents someone from the

nodded slowly. “A was Elder Augustus

tilted.

sister was my great–grandmother Eleanor Sterling.

hit me like a physical blow. Nathan’s

she grew up as an outcast, bearing

father’s abandonment.

this?” I asked, my voice barely above

“Why are you

understand why I did what I did. And because I

the

intended to use you, Elena. I won’t lie about that. I saw an opportunity to hurt the Blackwood family through Marcus’s

admission stung, even though I

me kindness I didn Patricia treated me like a son, and you you

cracked slightly. “I don’t want to deceive you and your mother any longer. I can’t bear

it.”

pulled my hand away from where it had been resting on the table, suddenly aware of how close we’d been sitting. “You still deceived us, Nathan.

fell silent, unable to argue with the truth of my words. The pain in his eyes

erase what he’d done.

your past assistance, despite the underlying manipulation. And I apologize

leave, but Nathan’s voice stopped me at the edge of the

called out, his chair scraping against the

didn’t turn around. I couldn’t bear to see the regret in his eyes, knowing it

footsteps following me into the Restaurant Corridor, but then his phone rang.

the walls, sharp

it, Nathan muttered, clearly torn between

continued ringing, and I heard him

te ba. The Steding

wait to hear more. The elevator doors opened just as I reached them, and

(Sophia Rivers‘ POV)

met me at the Crimson Moonrise Hotel Suite, his face dark with frustration. I had been waiting for over an hour, pacing the

him warmly, trying to mask my desperation. “I was beginning to think

past me without returning my smile, his

suspended me from my job. The hospital wants to

further. Before I could react, he grabbed my neck and pinned me against the wall. His

he snarled, his face inches from mine. 1

struggled to breathe, clawing

me you wouldn’t move against Elena’s family directly,” he continued, his grip tightening. “Yet Patricia Blackthorne is dead,

I gasped, my vision starting to blur. “Patricia discovered our alliance. She was

a shaky breath.

continued desperately. “She knew about o had no choice

@gement. I

frowned, his anger warring with pragmatism. I could

grip. “If I go

calculating. “Actually, Sophia, Marcus has been having me followed.

blood turned to