lphas Second Choice novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Three years later.

The female special forces team I led performed excellently in a drill, earning a collective

second–class merit.

During the award ceremony, I saw Issac in the audience.

He had been severely injured in a mission a year ago, leaving him with a permanent disability in his

right leg.

He walked with a noticeable limp and, finally, had been stripped of his Alpha status by the Elder Council, reduced to a mere logistics soldier in the unit.

After the ceremony, he came over. “Congratulations, Freya.”

“Thank you.”

Polite, distant.

He looked at the major insignia on my shoulder with a complicated expression. “You did it.”

“Yeah, on my own.”

Silence.

“Freya, I’m being reassigned to the border to assist with construction.”

I froze for a moment. “How long will you be gone?”

“Maybe three to five years, maybe longer.”

I nodded. “Take care.”

He stared at me for a long while, as if wanting to say something. In the end, he simply said, “You

too.”

He turned and left, his figure stretching long in the sunset.

Later, my brother told me that Issac had requested the transfer himself.

“He said he couldn’t stay here anymore, seeing you do so well. He’s happy for you, but also in pain.”

I fell silent. Some wounds, not even time can heal.

Later, when I led a mission to the border, I ran into Issac by chance.

His skin had darkened from the sun, but his smile was more genuine than before.

We locked eyes from a distance, and he saluted me.

Chapter 9

1 returned the salute,

We didn’t get any closer, didn’t speak.

We were like two trains passing by each other, honking in acknowledgment, then speeding off in

different directions.

On the helicopter ride back, one of my team members asked, “Captain, do you know that guy?”

I looked out the window at the snow–capped mountains.

“An old acquaintance,”

“An important one?”

I thought for a moment.

“Once, yes.”

“And now?”

Now… Now he’s just a scar in my memory–no longer painful, but the scar remains.

A reminder of how deeply I once loved, and how completely I once suffered.

But now, I am a Major. I’m the captain of the female special forces team.

Every medal I have earned on my own.

Every step I’ve taken has been bold and righteous.

And that was enough.

The helicopter soared over the snow–covered mountains, the sunlight piercing through the clouds

and casting a golden glow on the ground.

There’s still a long road ahead.