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

My heart stopped. “Blackwood?”

erritory.

was sharp and humorless. “Then A held a grand mating ceremony in the North The most lavish celebration the territory had seen in decades. His mate? The daughter of a powerful

clicked into place with horrifying clarity. This wasn’t

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

voice dropped to a whisper. “A 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 that, he

scene playing out –

hollow. “The friendship had always been an illusion. A had never seen them as equals. To him, they were just amusing diversions from

interests over friendship, power over love. B

and his sister were fortunate to meet a benefactor who helped them establish themselves in the Northern Territory.

The

child. Never even inquired

held no humor. “A died young, perhaps as a form of retribution. But the damage was

processing everything

staggering.

found my voice. “This story… A represents someone from the Blackwood family, doesn’t

was Elder

tilted.

was my great–grandmother Eleanor

Nathan’s

grew up as an outcast,

father’s abandonment.

telling me all of this?” I asked, my voice barely

“Why are you

need you to understand why I did what I did.

with the deception

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

I had

kindness I didn Patricia treated me like a son, and you you trusted me despite having every

deceive you and your mother

it.”

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

with the truth of my

erase what he’d done.

you for your past assistance, despite the underlying

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

his chair scraping against the floor as

I couldn’t bear to see the regret in his eyes, knowing it

heard his footsteps following me into the Restaurant Corridor, but

walls, sharp

muttered, clearly torn between answering and pursuing

and I heard him reluctantly answer. “What

te ba. The Steding

The elevator doors opened just as I reached them, and I stepped inside without looking

(Sophia Rivers‘ POV)

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

mask my desperation. “I was beginning to think you

pushed past me without returning my smile, his amber eyes cold. “What do you want,

sank at his tone, but I pressed on. “Margaret Blackwood suspended me from my job. The hospital wants to transfer me away from Marcus. When are you going to eliminate that old

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

face inches from mine. 1 specifically told you not

clawing

continued, his grip tightening. “Yet Patricia Blackthorne is dead, and you were conveniently

was threatened,” I gasped, my vision starting to blur. “Patricia discovered

draw a shaky breath. His

continued desperately. “She knew about o had no choice

@gement. I

with pragmatism. I could see him calculating the risks,

I emphasized, my voice hoarse from his grip. “If I go down, you

“Actually, Sophia, Marcus has been having me followed. He’s likely downstairs right now

turned to