***Fast Forward***
"Beta, have you seen Damon?"
Jacob stood near the corridor outside the main hall, his expression calm but his heart already uneasy as he asked the question. The Beta, who had been reviewing reports, looked up at him in mild surprise.
"He's in his office," the Beta replied. "Why? Is something wrong?"
Jacob immediately shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just… heading out for a bit."
That answer only made the Beta frown deeply.
"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice dropping. "Does the Alpha know you're leaving today?"
"I'll only be gone for a short while," Jacob said, avoiding the question as he turned slightly, already preparing to leave.
The Beta shook his head firmly. "You know what will happen when the Alpha returns and finds you gone from the pack."
Jacob let out a heavy sigh. Of course he knew. Everyone in Lunar Fury knew.
"I'll be quick," Jacob insisted. "I'll be back before he arrives. There's just somewhere important I need to go."
"But—"
The Beta's words were cut off when another presence approached them.
"Why are you here, Kulas?" the Gamma asked, clearly surprised as he glanced between the two of them. "Aren't you supposed to be with the Alpha?"
"I wasn't ordered to accompany him today," the Beta answered. "The Alpha instructed me to keep an eye on Jacob instead."
His gaze shifted subtly toward Jacob, filled with concern.
Jacob scowled. "I'm not a child anymore," he said irritably. "I don't need to be watched."
Without waiting for another response, Jacob turned and walked away. He ignored the Beta calling after him and headed straight out of the main house.
Minutes later, Jacob was already seated in his car. As he approached the massive iron gates of the pack territory, two guards stepped forward, blocking his path. Jacob rolled down his window.
"Sir Jacob," one of them greeted respectfully.
"The Alpha is aware that I'm heading out today," Jacob lied smoothly.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances. They hesitated, clearly unsure, but after a few seconds, they moved aside and opened the gates.
Jacob drove out of the pack grounds without looking back, not allowing himself to think about what would happen once Damon discovered he had left without permission.
The drive was quiet.
Too quiet.
After several minutes, Jacob finally reached his destination. He parked the car, stepped out, and took the flowers from the passenger seat. His movements slowed as he walked through the cemetery, his footsteps heavy with memories.
He stopped in front of a gravestone and gently placed the flowers on the cold stone.
"Alpha George," he whispered softly.
His eyes lingered on the name carved into the marble—the Alpha who had once saved his life.
It had been an ambush.
Jacob had been only thirteen at the time. He didn't know how to fight. He didn't know how to defend himself. All he could do was freeze in fear as rogues attacked them on their way back to the pack.
Alpha George had stepped in without hesitation.
And because of that… he never returned.
When Alpha George died, it was as if Luna Elisabeth died as well—at least on the inside. She was still alive, still breathing, but the light in her eyes vanished the moment her mate was laid to rest.
She withdrew into herself, locking herself inside her chambers day after day, staring into nothingness. The warmth she once radiated disappeared, replaced by a silence so heavy it haunted the entire pack.
Watching her suffer broke Jacob in ways he never spoke of.
If only he had been stronger back then.
If only he had known how to fight.
Maybe Alpha George would still be alive.
"It's been a long time since you left us," Jacob murmured, his fingers brushing over the gravestone. "But even now, the wound you left behind hasn't healed. Especially for Luna."
His voice cracked.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry that because of me, you were taken from your family. I'm so sorry."
Tears blurred his vision.
Jacob knew—deep down—that neither Luna Elisabeth nor Damon blamed him for Alpha George's death. They had told him so countless times.
But no matter how many years passed, Jacob could never forgive himself.
Eleven years had gone by, yet the pain remained as sharp as ever. There wasn't a single day when Jacob didn't replay that moment in his mind, wondering what he could have done differently.
***
After leaving Alpha George's grave, Jacob didn't return home right away.
As he always did, he went to another place.
Every time he visited the Alpha's resting place, he made sure to visit his parents as well.
With every step closer, the weight in his chest grew heavier. His breathing became uneven as memories threatened to drown him.
He tried to steady himself—to keep his tears in check—but it was useless. Every time he came here, his emotions overflowed.
So many years had passed, yet to Jacob, everything felt as if it had happened only yesterday.
As if his parents had just left and promised to come back.
"How are you, Mom… Dad?" he whispered as he knelt before their gravestone.
Tears fell freely now, soaking into the ground beneath him.
"It's been so many years since you never came back," he continued, his voice trembling. "So many years… and yet I still can't forget what happened that night."
His sobs grew louder as he rested his forehead against the stone.
He had been only five years old.
But the memories remained painfully clear.
Gunshots echoing through the night.
The screams of his parents' guards as they tried to protect them.
The desperation in his parents' voices as they begged Alpha George and Luna Elisabeth to take him—to protect him.
And the promise.
The promise that they would come back for him.
A promise that was never kept.
"Mom… Dad… I miss you so much," Jacob cried.
He stayed there for hours, just like he always did—telling them stories about his life, about everything that had happened since the day they left him behind.
He talked until his voice grew hoarse.
"Every time you come here," a voice suddenly said, "I always see you crying, as if the wound in your heart has never healed."
Jacob froze.
He turned his head sharply toward the sound and hissed in pain at the sudden movement.
Not far from where he knelt stood an elderly woman, sweeping near another grave. Her back was slightly hunched, her movements slow but deliberate.
Jacob frowned. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
"My name is Lena," the old woman replied calmly. "I'm the caretaker of this cemetery."
Jacob's frown deepened.
He had been visiting his parents' grave for years, yet this was the first time he had ever seen her.
He chose not to respond. Alpha George and Luna Elisabeth had always warned him never to speak to strangers.
Jacob stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants.
"Mom, Dad," he said softly, "I'll go now. I'll visit again next time."
He turned away from the graves.
Just as he took a step forward, the old woman spoke again.
"You still don't know anything," she said.
Jacob stopped and turned back. "What do you mean?"
The woman smiled—a strange smile that revealed darkened teeth.
"You really do look exactly like him," she said. "And one day… you'll learn the truth. All of it."
Her eyes gleamed with something unreadable.
"I'm looking forward to that day," she added softly.
"Hoàng tử của tôi"