My Alpha Hid Our Son for 12 Years… Now I’m the Royal Healer He Lost Chapter 08

My Alpha Hid Our Son for 12 Years… Now I’m the Royal Healer He Lost Chapter 08

[Kael’s POV]

The banquet finally came to an end.

Celeste reached for my arm.

“Kael, let me ride back with you—”

“Don’t.” I brushed her hand away without even looking at her. “Find your own way home.”

“But—”

I got into the SUV and floored the accelerator.

In the rearview mirror, Celeste stood alone at the entrance of the banquet hall.

For the first time, I didn’t care.

Alpha Manor was dark.

I stumbled through the front door, still unsteady from the alcohol.

“Elara!” The name left my lips on pure instinct.

“I need a calming draught!”

Silence. No answer. No hurried footsteps.

No gentle voice saying, “Right away, Kael.”

Instead, a tearing pain shot from my chest straight into my skull.

I clutched my head and dropped to my knees.

My wolf let out a tortured howl.

The shattered mate bond tore at my soul. It felt as though my mind was splitting apart.

She was gone. There would never be another calming draught waiting for me.

No one would patiently calm my wolf whenever I lost control.

No one would tolerate every cruel thing I’d done without asking for anything in return.

I forced myself to my feet and stumbled toward the kitchen, hoping some cold water would clear my head.

The moment I opened the refrigerator, I froze.

A wrinkled drawing was still taped to the door.

It was one of Rowan’s drawings from when he was five.

Three wolves.

One large. One medium. One small.

The large wolf stood proudly at the front. The medium wolf smiled gently beside him. The smallest wolf peeked shyly from behind them.

Beneath the picture, crooked handwriting read:

My Dad. My Mom. Me.

My hand began to tremble.

I stared at the tiny figure for what felt like forever.

Then the memories came crashing back.

That night, Rowan had curled into a ball on the floor, trembling in agony.

“D-Dad… why… the silver whistle… I’m not… I’m not a monster…”

His tears had soaked his tiny face. His eyes were filled with confusion and despair.

I had simply stood over him. Watching my own son suffer.

“This is your trial. A true wolf isn’t defeated by silver.”

What kind of trial was that?

He was only a child. A little boy who wanted nothing more than a hug from his father.

And what had I given him?

Silver. Pain. Cruel potions.

And twelve years of denying who he was.

I covered my face.

Tears slipped through my fingers.

Everything finally shattered the walls I’d built around myself.

I pulled out my phone. My fingers shook as I typed.

[Elara… I was wrong.]

[I’m begging you. Please come home.]

I pressed Send.

A red notification appeared immediately.

[Delivery Failed. User Not Found.]

I stared at it.

Then tried again. And again.

Each flashing red notification drove another knife into my heart.

She was really gone. She had even disconnected her number.

What did that mean?

It meant she never wanted to see me again.

I tried calling anyway.

A cold mechanical voice answered.

“The number you have dialed is no longer in service.”

The phone slipped from my hand.

I collapsed onto the kitchen floor.

At last, I dialed the only female elder in the Silvercrest Pack.

The call connected quickly.

“Alpha? Is something wrong? It’s very late.”

“…Elara.” My voice caught in my throat.

“Where did Elara go? Does the Council know? Why did she disconnect her number?”

Silence filled the line. Then Elder Helena sighed softly.

“I heard that she accepted an invitation from the Royal Lycan Court.”

“The Royal Lycan Court?” The room spun around me. “The ancient royal bloodline?”

“Yes. From what I’ve heard, Duke Lucien Valmont personally sent his private aircraft to escort her.”

Lucien Valmont. I knew that name.

The youngest Duke in Avaloria. One of the continent’s most powerful Royal Lycans.

A bitter jealousy burned in my throat.

“…Did she… take Rowan with her?”

“Of course. I heard Rowan will soon become an official member of the Royal Lycan Court.”

An official member.

Here, I’d never even allowed him to call me “Dad” in public.

There, he would finally receive the recognition he deserved.

Just then, a little boy’s cheerful voice drifted through the receiver.

“Grandma! Teach me how to howl! I want my howl to be loud and strong just like Grandpa’s!”

Elder Helena laughed warmly.

“Of course, sweetheart. Come here. Follow Grandma.”

The sound of them laughing together echoed through the phone.

A grandson’s innocent excitement. A grandmother’s unconditional love.

Such an ordinary moment pierced my heart like poisoned silver.

Rowan had never laughed like that around me.

He had always been careful.

Always afraid of saying the wrong thing. Afraid of making me angry.

And I had never once taught him anything with the patience Elder Helena showed that child.

“Elder…” My voice trembled. “…Did I make the wrong choice?”

The laughter stopped.

After a long silence, Elder Helena answered gently.

“Alpha. That’s not a question I can answer. But I do know this.”

“Elara was the finest healer and the greatest mother I’ve ever known. And Rowan was a wonderful pup.”

A wonderful pup.

Even Elder Helena knew what kind of child Rowan truly was.

Only me, his own father, had seen him as a burden.

“…Will they… ever come back?”

Elder Helena’s voice was filled with quiet pity.

“No, Alpha. They won’t. Not ever.”

The call ended.

I leaned against the cold kitchen floor.

The manor was empty. Silent.

The warmth of Elder Helena’s laughter with her grandson continued echoing in my ears.

A warmth I would never have again.

My voice became nothing more than a hollow whisper inside the empty manor.

“My mate, my son, my home… I didn’t lose them. I threw them away.”