Chapter 220
220
Third Person’s POV
Valentin waved his hand and said, “None of that matters now. What matters is that Adelaide doesn’t want any unresolved accounts with the Bloodmoon Pack. We all need to move on, so, Alpha Ulrik, will you pay the fifty thousand or not? If not, I’ll take this IOU to court.”
Ulrik had someone fetch a fifty–thousand–dollar check and handed it to Valentin on the spot.
Suppressing his fury, he said, “Please extend my apologies to Adelaide. I hope she can be gracious and forget this incident.”
He didn’t know why he was so angry.
Technically, since Velda was the one who caused trouble at the Frostfang Pack, he should apologize to Adelaide, and he did feel sorry.
But Adelaide’s words-“she doesn’t want any unresolved accounts with the Bloodmoon Pack“-sounded so cold, as if she was avoiding him like a venomous snake.
When Valentin took the check, he detected remorse in Ulrik’s pheromones.
The Alpha’s cedar scent, usually commanding, now resembled damp firewood, acrid and smoke–filled.
Valentin sneered, “With the money paid, Adelaide won’t dwell on it. It’s just a rabid dog barking. She’s no stranger to such things. Some people, the farther they stay away, the clearer the Moon Goddess’s light shines.”
Ignoring Ulrik’s ashen face, Valentin left with two pack guards.
Technically, they weren’t formal wolf guards but rogues who joined the Frostfang Pack and were assigned to patrols due to their physique.
Ulrik stared at the empty doorway. He recalled Adelaide’s words–every cent of the Frostfang Pack’s money was stained with fallen wolves‘ blood.
The check in his hand could buy a vase but couldn’t retrieve the “one and only” promise scattered by the wind and snow.
His rage simmered, wanting to confront Velda immediately.
But recent quarrels had exhausted him, leaving him too tired to even speak with her.
However, an omega reported the Frostfang Pack’s visit to Rosmary. She summoned Ulrik at once.
Knowing the truth couldn’t be hidden, Ulrik recounted everything.
Rosmary’s wolf claws were digging into the oak desk, cracking the moonstone–inlaid wolf–head emblem.
Her silver–tipped neck hairs bristled with aged authority. “A menace! You’ve chosen a real menace!”
She cursed, “Why on earth did you pick her? She’s not only smashing things at home but now at the Frostfang Pack too. Do you realize who we’re dealing with? Can’t she see how she disgraces us?”
Clutching her chest, her Moon Goddess necklace faintly glowed.
Her aged pheromones weakened but still carried undeniable authority. “Velda must have gone to Adelaide to sabotage your mating with Gloria.”
Ulrik’s pupils narrowed to slits, sulfur bursting in his ceḍar pheromones.
He remembered Velda’s delirious muttering last night, “Don’t mate with Gloria.”
Ulrik suddenly realized–she wouldn’t provoke Adelaide for nothing. Could it be about his upcoming mating bond with Gloria, as Rosemary suggested?
This realization unsettled him.
He had reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
Juggling work, family, and pack duties, he constantly clashed with Velda.
After learning the truth about the Bloodscar Border, he found Velda terrifying and deeply disappointing.
Tamara’s timid nature made her unfit for pack leadership. Just caring for Rosmary’s illness drained her.
The pack needed a Luna to manage affairs, and the Royal Elder Council President’s mate had proposed Gloria .
This implied royal favor.
Ulrik later learned Gloria was from the Ironclaw Pack and a widowed she–wolf.
This upset him.
Yet her brother Tad commanded the Royal Army.
Oddly, Lance had relinquished control of it.
Ulrik couldn’t comprehend Lance’s actions. Why relinquish command? Why mate with Adelaide? With his status, he could choose any she–wolf.
Adelaide, despite her battlefield heroism, prestigious family, and striking beauty, had dissolved a previous bond.
“Ulrik, Velda’s up to no good. You must ask her what she said to Adelaide. If she coerced Adelaide into interfering with your bond to Gloria, we’re in trouble.”
“Adelaide despises us. She’ll certainly try to sabotage us.”