The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Ghost Chapter 09

The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Ghost Chapter 09

Alaric’s POV

When Elara walked toward me in that Moonlight wedding dress, my mind actually went entirely blank for a split second.

The spotlights in the grand hall were blindingly bright, making my head spin. I knew Joanna was in the dressing room right next door. The door was incredibly thick and heavily soundproofed, yet I kept imagining that I could hear her teeth chattering from the cold.

It wasn’t as if I felt absolutely no guilt.

But I managed to force it down very quickly.

Joanna was the daughter of the Silver Moon Alpha—powerful, radiant, and sharp as a forged blade. She didn’t require any extra protection from me; she barely even seemed to need me at all. In stark contrast, Elara was different. She represented my past, a fragile Beta’s daughter trapped by a horrific curse. She was weak, pale, and entirely dependent on me to save her.

It was a deeply buried, incredibly twisted sense of superiority. Taking care of Joanna made me feel pressured, while taking care of Elara made me feel like a hero.

When Joanna’s makeup assistant sent me an urgent link, stating that she was demanding to know why the custom dress had been swapped, I actually felt a wave of profound relief. I even convinced myself that she was being entirely unreasonable.

“She’s dying. Can’t you just let her have this one thing?”

When those words left my mouth, I felt a tragic, sacrificial sense of nobility. I truly believed I was acting for the greater good, demonstrating the ultimate mercy of an Alpha. Even if Joanna got angry, I rationalized it as her being cold-hearted and immature.

That illusion shattered the moment I pushed open the dressing room door and saw her. She had stripped off all the bridal makeup, standing there in her sharp, practical combat gear.

In that exact moment, panic seized me.

She was no longer the bride who had endured aching feet in high heels just to match my height. She had reverted to the fierce Silver Moon heir—a dominant she-wolf most males didn’t even dare look in the eye.

I tried to grab her hand, wanting to leverage our seven years of history to soften her stance, but she ripped herself away with immense force, utilizing the raw, dangerous strength of her lineage.

She demanded the dress back, threatening to cancel Elara’s moment. Looking at the fire burning in her eyes, a wave of profound irritation washed over me. Why couldn’t she just be reasonable? Why did she have to back me into a corner at a critical moment like this?

So, I chose to run away. I walked out the door and turned the lock.

I genuinely believed this was just another one of our countless arguments. In the past, whenever we fought, if I gave her the cold shoulder or used Elara’s medical condition as a shield, she would eventually capitulate. She was incredibly proud—too proud to spend her energy sweating the small stuff with a dying girl.

But this time, the roaring celebration outside became an empty background noise, and I never heard her hit the door again.

The ceremony proceeded flawlessly, near perfect. Elara smiled beautifully, and as the AI-altered photos cycled across the giant screens, a sense of smug satisfaction washed over me. Look, Joanna, I thought, this is the grand spectacle I built for you. Even if the bride shifted temporarily, this magnificent stage will belong to you eventually.

It wasn’t until the ceremony concluded and I pushed the dressing room door open that reality hit. She was sitting on the floor, her combat gear bunched around her, looking completely hollowed out.

I figured it was time to start patching things up.

I offered compensations, promising a far grander event in the future. But her eyes remained entirely vacant. She simply said, “Don’t bother. They’re my parents, not yours.”

In that exact second, I finally realized she wasn’t throwing a tantrum, nor was she playing hard to get.

She had actually given up on me.

Over the next few days, I tried desperately to prove my sincerity through actions. I humbled myself at the Silver Moon pack house like a lowly rogue, enduring her father’s icy stares, her mother’s complex disapproval, and even that crazy girl Selene’s venomous insults.

As long as I could get Joanna back, none of that mattered.

Then, right at the dining table, Elara’s call came through. I actually hesitated. I knew Joanna was watching me intently, and her parents were staring right at me.

But I still pressed accept.

Elara’s voice was simply too fragile; that terrifying, breathless panic always managed to bypass my logic and trigger my protective instincts. Looking at Joanna’s perfectly calm expression, I made the idiotic, impulsive choice to leave and be by Elara’s side.

I assumed she would act gracefully like she always did, letting me go before waiting at home for me to return and beg for forgiveness.

But she actually followed me.

At the medical facility, as she watched Elara throw her arms around my neck, her face remained terrifyingly serene. She even managed a polite smile to wish Elara a successful operation.

At the time, I foolishly assumed she had completely accepted the reality of Elara’s presence in my life.

It wasn’t until I had stayed awake all night and dragged my exhausted body back to her apartment that I was completely blindsided by that Kael brat right at her doorstep.

I watched Kael perched on the rooftop railing like a wild hawk preparing for flight, while I stood below like a discarded clown.

Joanna sprinted toward him.

She ran—entirely for that boy.

I charged up the stairs, attempting to utilize every ounce of my Alpha authority to demand answers. “Are you seriously throwing away our seven years together for a kid like him?”

I expected the question to strike her like a physical blow.

But when she turned around, those gray-blue eyes held absolutely no trace of the devotion she used to look at me with. There was only pure, unadulterated mockery.

Mimicking my exact delivery, she dropped each syllable like ice. “What choice do I have? Let him die? It’s just a mating certificate, Alaric. Why are you being so cold-hearted?”

In that fraction of a second, it felt as though an invisible hand had gripped my heart and squeezed with brutal force, making it completely impossible to breathe.

I watched her take Kael’s hand, watched her sign the mating documents, and watched that small red booklet get tucked away against Kael’s chest like a priceless treasure.

The truth finally crashed down on me.

I hadn’t made a calculated, rational choice to prioritize Elara. I had simply, single-handedly destroyed everything.

Joanna had never been a fragile creature requiring my protection; she was a dominant, independent wolf who never needed to rely on any male. My arrogant, self-righteous demands for her to “compromise” had personally escorted the woman I loved straight into another man’s embrace.

The setting sun stretched my shadow long against the pavement as I stood outside her door, a single petal on the bouquet of wild roses in my hand turning brown and withered.

I finally understood that the true definition of sunk cost wasn’t measured by how much effort I had invested into our seven years.

It was the devastating realization that I had personally thrown away the only woman in the world who would have ever loved me entirely.