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.”

in the Northern Territory. They had nothing, no one to turn to.

My heart stopped. “Blackwood?”

erritory.

A held a grand mating ceremony in the North The most lavish celebration the territory had seen in decades. His

This wasn’t just a story

A’s mating.” Nathan continued relentlessly. “The betrayal,

mate who can support my pack, not one who

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

voice hollow. “The friendship had always been an illusion. A had never seen them

valued interests over friendship, power over love. B and A severed all ties that

his sister were fortunate to meet a benefactor who

90. The Sterling

the child. Never even inquired about her

“A died young, perhaps as a form

sat in stunned silence, processing everything he’d told

staggering.

“This story… A represents someone from the Blackwood family,

slowly. “A was Elder Augustus

world tilted.

great–uncle Benjamin Sterling.” Nathan confirmed. The sister was my great–grandmother Eleanor Sterling. My

like a physical blow. Nathan’s mother could have been

had been acknowledged. Instead, she grew up as an outcast, bearing

father’s abandonment.

I asked, my voice barely above

“Why are you

you to understand why I did what I did. And

with the deception

leaned forward, his amber eyes intense. “I initially intended to use you, Elena. I won’t lie about

though I had

and your mother showed me kindness I didn Patricia treated me like a

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

it.”

had been resting on the table, suddenly aware of how close we’d been sitting. “You still deceived us, Nathan. The

fell silent, unable to argue with the truth of my

erase what he’d done.

stood up slowly, feeling older than my years. “Thank you for your past assistance, despite the underlying manipulation. And I apologize – I won’t trouble

voice stopped

scraping against the

I couldn’t bear to see the regret in

Restaurant Corridor, but then his

the walls, sharp

torn between answering and pursuing

continued ringing, and I heard him reluctantly answer. “What

te ba. The Steding

The elevator doors opened just

(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 room like

my desperation. “I was beginning

his amber

from my job. The hospital wants to transfer me away from Marcus. When are you going to eliminate that

neck and pinned me against the wall. His fingers pressed against my throat,

inches from mine. 1 specifically

breathe, clawing at

he continued, his grip tightening. “Yet Patricia Blackthorne

vision starting to blur. “Patricia discovered

a shaky

the phone,” I continued desperately. “She knew about o

@gement. I

pragmatism. I could see him calculating the risks, weighing the

from his grip. “If I go down,

Sophia, Marcus has been having me followed. He’s likely

turned to ice.