Chapter 10：I Deserve Better
556words
The once powerful, commanding Alpha became a shell of himself.
Every day, he climbed to the mountain church to pray for my soul.
The mountain path was lined with stone steps.
At each step, he would kneel and pray to the Moon Goddess.
Begging for my return.
He continued this ritual for exactly ten years.
My spirit watched from above, utterly baffled by his devotion.
If given another chance, I would wish only that our paths had never crossed.
Perhaps the Moon Goddess heard my wish. Suddenly, a searing pain shot through my consciousness.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in my childhood bedroom.
The door swung open as my mother, wearing an apron, called out: "Aren't you up yet, Sophia? You'll be late for school!"
I felt disoriented, as if floating through a dream.
I had actually returned to when I was seventeen!
After stumbling through breakfast in a daze, reality finally hit me as I stepped outside.
I really had returned to the past—before I fell for Dane, before I lost Lucy.
I was still the strongest female wolf in the pack.
Emily pedaled up on her bike. "Hop on, slowpoke. You don't seem in any rush to get to class."
I hopped on the back of her bike. "Let's roll."
When we reached school, a commotion erupted at the entrance. A sleek Maybach pulled up, surrounded by squealing girls.
Dane stepped out with practiced elegance, gallantly helping Flora from the backseat.
Emily nudged me. “Dane really dotes on his sister. He's the Alpha heir, Sophia. Only you're good enough for him!”
I used to believe that too. From the moment I first saw him, I'd fallen hard.
I'd pursued him relentlessly.
But now, I simply shrugged and walked past without a second glance. “He's not worthy of me. I deserve better.”
I deserve better.
For months afterward, I didn't spare Dane a single thought.
I only heard through gossip that the proud young Alpha heir had been poisoned in the forest.
He lost his wolf spirit, his powers, and his claim to the Alpha position.
“They say Flora was with him but ran away when he was attacked. The pack banished her for her cowardice.”
My brother Mike fell into depression after Flora's expulsion.
At eighteen, I successfully completed my first shift and bonded with my wolf spirit, Lucy.
My father named me his successor in the family business.
I had become the strongest Beta wolf our family had ever produced.
And with that strength came true freedom.
——
Dane kept having the same dream, night after night.
In his dream, he married Mike's sister, Sophia.
But through his negligence, he caused her death.
This nightmare haunted him for years.
Until one day, Mike mentioned that Sophia had a crush on him, and Dane felt a surge of hope.
He vowed to treat her differently this time—nothing like in his nightmares.
So he waited for Sophia to make the first move—he was the Alpha heir, after all. But Sophia never approached him.
Later, when he was poisoned and reduced to an ordinary human, Sophia had already risen to become the leader of the Beta clan.
Countless wolves sought her attention.
And he, Dane, no longer had the right to his pride—or to Sophia's heart.
(End of text)
