Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 476: Chapter 476 – This woman isn’t my mother.

The grief hanging over the snowy clearing felt almost too heavy to bear, like a thick blanket of sorrow that pressed down on everyone present.

A father had just learned that the woman he loved more than anything had suffered even after death, denied any real peace.

A son had discovered that his mother hadn’t been given the respectful burial she deserved after all these years. No amount of words could ever erase that kind of deep, soul-crushing pain.

Seraphine looked at both of them, her own heart aching fiercely in her chest. At that moment, every single grudge she had been holding onto suddenly felt completely meaningless.

Compared to the devastating loss Vladimir and Voren were going through, her own past hurts seemed so small and insignificant now.

If forgiving Vladimir, if fully accepting him as family, could ease even a tiny fraction of his overwhelming pain, then why keep clinging to the past? It was time to let it go.

She slowly walked closer to him. Vladimir lifted his head to look at her, his eyes red and swollen from crying. Seraphine smiled gently, her voice soft enough to cut through the storm raging inside him.

"You’ve already been a father to me, Alpha Vladimir. So..." She hesitated for only a heartbeat before continuing with quiet determination. "From today, I’d like to call you Dad." A warm, sincere smile appeared on her face. "That is... if you’ll allow me."

For a long moment, Vladimir simply stared at her in disbelief. He couldn’t quite process what he had just heard. The word echoed powerfully inside his heart. ’Dad.’ Not Alpha. Not Vladimir. Just... Dad.

The emotional wall he had been desperately holding together finally shattered. A broken, tearful smile spread across his face.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had already stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Seraphine. A heartbreaking cry escaped from deep in his chest.

Years of pain, years of guilt, years of crushing regret, everything poured out of him all at once. He no longer cared who was watching. He cried openly and without shame, holding onto Seraphine as though she were the only thing keeping him from falling apart completely.

Seeing his father break down like that completely overwhelmed Voren. His own emotions surged forward uncontrollably.

He stepped forward without hesitation, wrapping one strong arm around Seraphine and the other around Vladimir, pulling them both into one tight, comforting embrace. F

or the first time in a very long while, both father and son found real comfort and strength in the same woman. Neither of them wanted to let go, clinging to this moment like it was the only anchor they had left.

Ira quietly wiped away her own streaming tears. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Olivia anymore. For over ten long years, she had hated her father Ian with every fiber of her being.

She had blamed him for her mother’s death and believed every terrible, poisonous story she had been fed growing up. Only after getting married and having children of her own had she finally found it in her heart to forgive him. By then, Ian had already become a complete outcast in the pack.

When everyone believed Olivia had died, people pointed fingers at Ian, accusing him of driving his wife to her death. Life inside the Seasoned Pack had become unbearable for him.

Eventually, Ira had taken her father into her own home because no one else wanted anything to do with him. Now she had discovered the devastating truth.

The woman she had mourned for so long, the woman she had searched for endlessly, the woman she had desperately wanted to meet, was the one who had willingly abandoned her. Not only that, but five years ago when Ira had finally gathered the courage to visit the Grimroot Pack, Olivia had coldly turned her away without even agreeing to see her.

Fresh tears blurred Ira’s vision. She slowly shook her head in disbelief and pain. "This woman..." She looked directly at Olivia, her voice filled with raw hurt. "Isn’t my mother. She may have given birth to me, but she stopped being my mother a long time ago."

Ian’s eyes immediately filled with tears again. His heart broke for his daughter. She had spent years searching for answers, only to receive this kind of devastating rejection. "Dad..." Ira’s voice became small and vulnerable. "What happens now?" She nervously glanced toward Vladimir. "Will Alpha Faustus banish us?"

Ian slowly shook his head, his expression full of uncertainty and fear. "I honestly don’t know."

Before either of them could say anything else, Vladimir spoke up after pulling away from the hug, his tone calm once more even though deep grief still lingered beneath every word.

"Mind link him. The Full Moon Festival doesn’t begin until tomorrow night. They’ll spend the daytime preparing the grounds." He glanced toward the distant pack. "We have enough time. We can retrieve Oriana’s remains tonight, and still return before the festival begins."

His eyes softened with emotion. There was another deeply personal reason he wanted to get back before tomorrow night. He wanted to stand beneath the Full Moon just once and make a heartfelt wish, not for himself, but for Oriana.

Ian eye’s rolled to the back as he mind linked his Alpha. Several quiet seconds passed before his eyes returned to normal. "Alpha Faustus is at the safe house." A faint sigh escaped him. "He’s already on his way here."

Meanwhile, the deep claw marks across Olivia’s face had completely healed. Her wolf had began to heal her once again..

She sat on the snowy ground with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She didn’t cry anymore, beg, or plead. She simply waited in silence. Whatever punishment came next, she knew deep down that she deserved every bit of it.

Voren reached into his coat and pulled out his phone. Without wasting another second, he placed a call. The weather wasn’t ideal and visibility remained poor because of the lingering snow, but werewolves had advantages ordinary humans didn’t.

Their sights were more than capable of navigating through tough conditions like these. After ending the call, Voren looked toward Vladimir. "The helicopter will be here in ten minutes. We should head there as soon as possible."

Vladimir nodded in agreement. Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the snow.

An older Alpha quickly approached them, breathing harder after pushing through the thick snow. His weathered face carried equal parts disbelief and heavy guilt.

"Alpha Vladimir..." His eyes drifted toward Voren and Seraphine. "Alpha Voren. Luna Seraphine." He swallowed hard. "I never imagined we’d meet under circumstances like these."

His voice grew heavier with emotion. "Please tell me... is what I’ve been hearing true?" His eyes slowly moved toward Olivia. "The incident from thirty-two years ago, the woman buried in my pack..." He struggled to finish the sentence. "Was she really the true Luna of the Grimroot Pack?"

Guilt crushed his heart. Back then, he had been the one who approved the punishment after believing Ian’s drinking had driven his wife to her death.

He had ordered Oriana’s body to receive nothing more than the burial of an ordinary pack member because he thought she had committed suicide which was also an offense. Never once had he imagined the terrible mistake he was making.

Alpha Faustus was already an old man now. Plans were underway for his only son to inherit the pack after the Blood Moon Festival. He never expected that the final years of his leadership would be overshadowed by such a heartbreaking, devastating truth.

Vladimir looked him directly in the eyes. "Everything you’ve heard... is true." His voice remained steady despite the tears still clinging to his lashes. He drew a slow, painful breath. "Will you escort us back to your pack?" His expression softened with profound grief. "I can’t allow my wife to spend another day buried there."

Faustus lowered his head immediately. "Of course." There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his voice. "It would be my honor." He glanced toward the road. "It’s a long drive, though."

Before he could say anything else, Voren calmly interrupted. "A helicopter is already waiting at the gate. We’ll be there and back in no time."

Nobody expected their encounter at the Seasoned Pack to hit so hard that someone like Vladimir would straight-up faint for the first time in his life.