When The Moon Hides Her Crown (Seraphina) by Pooja novel Chapter 260

**He Promised to Give Me the World, Yet the Price Was My Soul by Caden Blake**

In the heart of the forest, two wolves emerged from the dense foliage, their powerful forms straining under the weight of large boxes. “This is all we could salvage from the Academy’s cafeteria, Alpha Hugo. Everything else was destroyed,” one of them reported, panting slightly from their exertion.

Hugo, the Alpha, wasted no time as he opened the boxes, revealing a modest bounty of bottled water, soft drinks, and packaged food. A wave of relief washed over him. “Good, place it in the center of the clearing. Let everyone help themselves as they need it,” he instructed, grabbing a bottle of water for himself, the coolness of the liquid a welcome relief against the heat of the day.

As his wolves began to set up the makeshift food station, Hugo took a moment to quench his thirst. Yet, a flicker in his peripheral vision drew his attention away. There, nestled behind a large tree, sat Alpha Darious, isolated from the rest of the group. His stature was rigid, and his gaze was lost in the distance, as if he were staring into an abyss that no one else could see.

Hugo’s eyes flickered to Alpha Gideon, who was already observing Darious with a furrowed brow. Without uttering a single word, Gideon began to make his way toward Darious, a determined look on his face.

Darious remained seated under the tree, his focus fixated on a small bird’s nest where a mother bird tended to her young. The sight was tender, yet it only deepened the ache in his heart. His eyes, once vibrant, now appeared dull and hollow, reflecting a soul burdened by despair. The nest, though fragile and small, cradled the little ones with a gentle warmth that seemed to mock his own inability to provide such comfort.

“You look like you’re hiding, Alpha Darious,” Gideon broke the silence, his voice cutting through the stillness as he approached. He pressed a soft drink can into Darious’s hands before taking a seat on a nearby stone, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavily between them.

Darious’s gaze remained fixed on the can, unblinking. “Yes, I am hiding,” he replied, his voice barely above a whisper, laced with resignation.

“Hiding from your daughter?” Gideon probed, cracking open his own drink with a sharp pop that echoed in the quiet.

A tremor ran through Darious’s hand as he continued to stare down at the can. “From her eyes,” he admitted, his voice cracking like fragile glass. “You know what I’ve done. You know the horrible things I’ve done… ripping her away from her birthright, disowning her… I don’t even know what the hell I was thinking all those years. I-I don’t understand why I hated her so much. Why I let my anger spill onto her when it was my soulmate’s choice not to have another child. Why I couldn’t see the truth, why I was so blinded by my need for a son.” He paused, the weight of his words tightening around his chest as emotion surged within him. “I know my greed destroyed me, but I walked down a path I can’t return from. The damage I’ve done… it’s irreversible. I—” His voice wavered, quaking with suppressed sorrow. “And yet… she still came to save me. I’m… ashamed. So ashamed that I can’t even face her. I don’t deserve her.”

Gideon remained silent, allowing the torrent of Darious’s emotions to wash over them. The forest around them seemed to hold its breath, as if it, too, understood the gravity of the moment.

Taking a deliberate sip of his drink, Gideon finally spoke, his tone flat and unyielding. “I won’t lie; you’re the biggest asshole of a father I’ve ever seen.”

Gideon paused, glancing back over his shoulder. “Why not?”

Darious’s voice quivered as he spoke, the burden of years of regret pressing heavily upon him. “The years of ignorance and hatred I showed her can never be repented. There’s nothing I can do to undo the damage I caused. All I gave her was pain… and now it’s too late. When her soulmate destroyed my pack because I made her cry, I thought he was insane. I cursed him and refused to accept my fault. But today, when I saw them together… how he got wounded to stop her from slipping over the edge and pulled her back, it reminded me of the times with my own soulmate, when we held Seraphina in our arms.”

His voice broke, tears spilling down his cheeks. “We were so happy back then. I even told her that we had our whole world, that we had our princess, our everything. But I forgot those things in my own greed. I failed her, Gideon.” He choked on his words, eyes red and swollen. “As her father, the only thing I can do now is stay away. I have to let her go, watch her embrace her happiness… even though it breaks my heart that when she recalls the sadness and suffering, there will only be me in her memory. I want her to live her dreams, even if I can never be part of them. The one regret I’ll carry with me is that I can never tell her… she’s a daughter that I’m proud of. A daughter who gave me the honor of being her father. And if there’s a next life, I swear I’ll be a better father to her.”

Unbeknownst to Darious, Seraphina stood behind a tree, her heart shattering as she absorbed every word. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she clutched the dress she had brought to wear. She sank to the ground, sobbing quietly, her grief enveloping her like a heavy shroud.

Unseen by either, Ronan lingered a short distance away, silently watching the heart-wrenching scene unfold before him.