His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 32

The cells around her remained silent. No footsteps echoed through the corridor. No voices drifted through the iron bars. There was not even the faint rustle of another living soul nearby.

Ivy was accustomed to being alone. Ever since returning from the capital, she had rarely left her room unless necessary. Most days passed in complete solitude. The highlight of her routine was often the sunset spilling through her window, painting her walls gold before disappearing beyond the horizon. Other than that, her life had become little more than a blank canvas stretched across endless days.

Because of that, she had assumed the silence of the prison would not bother her.

She was wrong.

The silence here felt entirely different.

The quietness of her room had always been warm, accompanied by sunlight, the rustling of curtains, and distant sounds from the pack house. The silence in the cell was cold and jagged. It wrapped around her like icy vines, pressing against her skin and crawling into her bones.

There wasn't even a window. No sunset, no moonlight, nothing but stone walls and darkness.

A helpless sigh escaped her lips.

With nothing else to do, Ivy leaned her head back and closed her eyes again. Waiting was the only thing left to her now. Waiting for news. Waiting for judgment. Waiting for someone to remember she existed.

Perhaps that was why prison walls were always covered in scratches and carvings.

A person could only sit alone with their thoughts for so long before their mind began searching for an escape.

Ivy didn't want that to happen to her.

Then again, very few things in her life had gone the way she wanted during the past three years.

Somewhere along the way, she had grown tired of fighting the current.

The harder she struggled, the faster everything slipped through her fingers.

So perhaps it was time to stop.

The challenge against Emma had drained her completely. Not only physically, but emotionally as well. She had poured every ounce of strength, resentment, grief, and determination into that confrontation. Now there was simply nothing left.

For the first time in a very long while, Ivy stopped trying to control what came next.

If something was truly meant for her, it would find its way to her eventually.

Whether it was fortune or disaster, she would accept it.

As that thought settled inside her heart, a strange feeling washed over her. The invisible burden she had carried for years seemed to loosen ever so slightly. Her shoulders relaxed. Even the stale air of the prison felt less suffocating than before.

What Ivy didn't realize was that while she sat alone in the darkness, fate had already begun moving.

On the darkest night of the year, the Goddess had finally decided to send her a long-overdue blessing.

Outside the prison cells, the Silver Mane Pack lay beneath the glow of a rare celestial blue moon.

Midnight had long passed. Most of the pack slept peacefully, their homes dark and quiet beneath the silver-blue light.

Only the Alpha's residence remained illuminated.

Not because its occupants were awake by choice, but because none of them could find the peace necessary for sleep.

Less than half an hour earlier, the border patrol had delivered urgent news.

An unexpected visitor had arrived.

The vehicle bore a crest that nobody in the werewolf territories could afford to ignore.

"What is happening?" Luna Doris asked, unable to hide the unease in her voice. Her hands tightened around each other as she looked toward her husband. "Why would someone from the royal family visit at this hour?"

The events of the previous day had already left her exhausted. The confrontation between Emma and Ivy continued to haunt her thoughts, and Emma still hadn't regained consciousness despite an entire day passing since the challenge.

Every minute that Emma remained asleep added another stone to the weight crushing Luna Doris' heart.

She wanted nothing more than to stay beside her daughter's bed.

Instead, she had been forced to leave Emma in the care of healers and servants so she could stand beside Alpha Victor and receive a guest whose status far outweighed their personal concerns.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably against her ribs, each beat louder than the last. She bit down on her lip until the delicate skin turned red, unable to suppress the unease gnawing at her from within.

Whatever business had brought the royal family to Silver Mane Pack in the middle of the night, it was important enough that they had no choice but to meet it head-on.

And somehow, that realization made Luna Doris even more uneasy.

"How would I know?" Alpha Victor grumbled. "Nobody informed me either."

He paced restlessly across the hall, his polished shoes striking the marble floor in steady rhythm. One possibility after another flashed through his mind.

For a smaller pack like Silver Mane, hosting a member of the royal family was considered a rare privilege. Yet an unexpected visit in the middle of the night was hardly something worth celebrating.

Opportunities and disasters often arrived wearing the same face. Until the visitor revealed their purpose, Alpha Victor couldn't allow himself to relax.

Luke descended the staircase just in time to witness his parents in a tense state, something he rarely saw. His steps slowed instinctively.

The sight was strange enough to catch his attention. Alpha Victor was usually composed no matter the situation, while Luna Doris rarely allowed her worries to show so openly. Yet both of them looked visibly tense.

Neither of them noticed his arrival.

Luke glanced toward the dining table out of habit. The long table stood empty beneath the warm lights. Not a single dish had been served.

A deep frown immediately appeared on his face.

Emma still hadn't regained consciousness, and Ivy had been locked in the cells for more than a full day. The atmosphere inside the pack house was strained enough to suffocate anyone living under its roof.