Elena just stood motionless, her body tense and frozen. She didn't know if she should follow. Her father had spent his entire life making her feel like she wasn't truly his daughter. Would he want her by his side now?
The surgical doors shut again, leaving a haunting silence.
Again, they waited and waited. Two hours passed and still no news. Moments later, the surgeon finally stepped out, removing his gloves with a heavy sigh.
"Mrs. "Sterling Blake?" he said quietly.
Her mother stood. "Yes?"
"I'm very sorry. We did everything we could… but his heart stopped on the table. And we couldn't revive him."
The wail that left her mother's mouth was raw and brutal. Roman instinctively caught her as she collapsed.
Elena was in shock, she didn't move. She didn't cry.
She simply just stood, staring at the man who had never loved her… and now never would.
"He's gone," her mother sobbed. "The Alpha is gone."
Roman lowered his head. His voice cracked. "Moon Goddess guide him."
Elena pressed a hand to her chest. It should hurt. It should feel like something had been ripped out of her. But all she felt was… nothing.
And then it hit her. A truth colder than death.
Aurora would have to come home now.
Later that night…
Elena sat in a hard plastic chair, sipping the coffee Sebastian had brought her. He'd arrived quietly, not asking questions, just sitting beside her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
"Elena.."
"Don't," she said sharply. "Don't pretend like you care now."
Sebastian sighed, looking away.
Across the room, Roman was talking to someone on the phone. After a few minutes, he hung up the call. "Aurora's on her way," he said dutifully.
Elena's grip on her coffee tightened.
"She doesn't know Dad's gone," he added. "Mom wanted to tell her in person."
Of course. Aurora deserved the gentle truth. Aurora deserved softness. Elena had never been given that luxury.
"Is she bringing her mate?" Elena asked.
Roman blinked. "No, she's coming alone."
Sebastian's body immediately shifted slightly beside her. Elena felt the energy in him change, tense and alert.
"She's not your concern anymore," Elena said coldly.
He didn't answer.
"Elena," her mother suddenly snapped. "When your sister arrives, I expect you to behave."
Elena turned, disbelief coloring her tone. "Behave?"
"This isn't the time for your drama."
Elena rose, the chair scraping loudly behind her. "Drama? You think I came here for me?"
"You came here to make everything about yourself," her mother shot back. "Just like seven years ago."
"Don't you dare."
"You embarrassed this family. You broke your sister's heart."
"I was trying to protect her!" Elena shouted.
"Protect her?" Her mother laughed bitterly. "You ruined her."
Sebastian stood up, his voice low and warning. "That's enough."
Elena turned on him. "Don't speak like you're neutral. You were her choice. You were never mine."
He stepped back, jaw clenched.
"I'm not your Luna anymore," Elena said. "And I never really was." She immediately stormed out.
Outside…
Elena stood in the back garden, the night air sharp against her skin. She stared up at the moon, trying to remember how to breathe.
A nurse appeared. "Ms. Blake? We need someone to identify the body."
She nodded. "I'll do it."
The body was barely recognizable. Her father's face was swollen, his wounds still fresh. But there was no anger in him now. No disappointment. Just stillness.
Elena reached out to touch his cold hand.
"I'm sorry, Dad," she whispered. "I'm sorry I could never be her."
Back in the waiting room, the air shifted.
The automatic doors slid open, and just then, Aurora walked in.
Her golden hair. Flawless features, with grief painted perfectly across her face.
"I came as soon as I could," she said softly. "Where's Daddy?"
Sebastian moved instantly, his wolf practically leapt to the surface.
He pulled Aurora into his arms like nothing else in the world mattered.
When Elena saw that, her chest caved in. She just turned and walked out of the hospital.
No one tried to stop her.
"I can't believe he's gone," she said, her voice trembling.
Sebastian brushed a tear from her cheek. "I know. I'm so sorry."
Elena turned her face away, swallowing hard. Her stomach churned. She had spent seven years in Sebastian's house, raising his son, holding on to pieces of affection he barely gave. And yet, she had never once seen that look in his eyes not for her.
It wasn't just the grief anymore, It was everything.
Every whispered insult, every cold shoulder, every moment she was made to feel like less, less than a daughter, less than a Luna, less than a woman.
"Please, Goddess," she whispered into the night. "Please make this pain stop."
Elena sat in silence, the coffee in her hand had long gone cold. Across the room, her mother wiped her eyes and adjusted her posture the moment she heard the hospital doors hiss open.
A voice came through behind her, sharp and cold.
"Pathetic."
Elena turned sharply. Roman stood behind her, hands shoved in his coat pockets, watching her like she was some unwanted pest.
"What do you want, Roman?"
"To understand how you can still make everything about you. Our father is dead, and you're out here crying over a man who never belonged to you."
She laughed bitterly. "Go to hell."
"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Roman stepped closer. "Did you really think Sebastian would ever choose you? You? A wolfless woman with no power, no bond, no connection? He was never yours."
"I know that," she snapped. "I've always known that."
"Then why are you out here crying like your world just ended?"
"Because I loved him and I have sacrificed seven years of my life for him and that, too, with a son !" Her voice cracked, you wouldn't understand, she snapped?. "Even if he never loved me back, even if I was just a stand-in, I still gave him everything. I raised our son alone while he pretended I didn't exist. I tried. Every damn day."
Roman scoffed. "You shouldn't have tried. You should've let them be. You were always in the way."
"Do you think I wanted this?" Elena shouted. "Do you think I asked to be the one left behind? I never tried to take her place. She left. And he married me."
"And you knew he was still in love with her."
"Yes," she whispered. "Every day."
Roman stepped back, arms crossed. "Then do the right thing. Stay out of it now. Don't interfere. Let them have their life."
"I never planned to. Trust me."
"Elena," he said, quieter now. "Don't show up tomorrow if you're just going to start drama at the funeral."
She stared at him, stunned. "You want me to be absent at our father's funeral?"
"You know what I mean."
"No, Roman. I really don't."
He said nothing.
"I arranged that funeral," she went on. Every detail. While Mom cried in her room. While you made calls to God knows who. I made sure his favorite spot in the forest was cleared for the burial. I chose the music. I coordinated with the Temple Elders."
Roman didn't respond.
Elena shook her head and walked past him. "You don't have to like me. But don't you dare question my right to say goodbye."
The next morning, the Moon Temple grounds were already filling with mourners.
Elena arrived with Leo by her side, dressed in black. The moment they stepped inside, whispers started. She could feel every stare, hear every murmured judgment.