Alpha’s Regret After His Pregnant Luna Left novel Chapter 252

(Arthur’s POV)

The cold stone floor of the lodge pressed against my back like a grave marker. I could feel the silver burning through my chest with each labored breath, spreading its poison through my bloodstream like liquid fire.

Six holes. Six pieces of silver embedded in my torso. Each one designed to kill werewolves efficiently.

But I wasn’t thinking about the pain. I wasn’t thinking about death approaching on silent paws. All I could see was Audrey’s face above me, her emerald eyes wide with shock and terror.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. For three years, I had tried to control her, possess her, bend her to my will. And now, in my final moments, I was finally doing something purely selfless for her.

“Audrey,” I gasped, reaching toward her with a hand that felt impossibly heavy. “I’m sorry… for everything.”

My voice came out as barely a whisper. Each word cost me precious breath I didn’t have to spare. But these words needed to be said. They should have been said years ago.

Audrey dropped to her knees beside me, her hands immediately pressing against the worst of the wounds. Her tears fell onto my face like warm rain.

“Don’t talk,” she whispered frantically. “Just hold on. We’ll get you to a healer. You’re going to be fine.”

But we both knew it was a lie. A desperate, beautiful lie that I loved her for telling.

I could already feel my wolf spirit beginning to fade. Logan was retreating deeper and deeper into the recesses of my consciousness, his strength bleeding out with my life force.

Silver bullets were designed for one purpose. To kill our kind quickly and efficiently. And they were very, very good at their job.

“Listen to me,” I struggled to form the words, fighting against the growing darkness at the edges of my vision. “The mate bond severance… it was real.”

Audrey’s hands stilled on my chest. Her eyes searched my face desperately.

“I was wrong to try to control you,” I continued, each syllable a monumental effort. “You deserve… to choose your own path.” My gaze found Florian across the ruined lodge. He had subdued Nathan and was now approaching us slowly, his golden eyes filled with something I had never expected to see there.

Respect.

“Take care of her,” I managed to say to him. “Be better than I was.”

Florian knelt beside us without hesitation. His earlier anger and rivalry had been replaced by something deeper. Something honorable.

“I will,” he promised solemnly. His voice was steady, certain. “I swear it on my pack’s honor.”

I believed him. For all our conflicts, Florian Stormhowl was a wolf of his word.

My hand found Audrey’s where it rested on my chest. I squeezed with what little strength remained, trying to pour everything I couldn’t say into that simple gesture.

“I did love you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible now. “In my own broken way, I did love you.”

The admission felt like a weight lifting from my chest. For too long, I had confused possession with love, control with caring. But in these final moments, I understood the difference.

Love meant letting go. Love meant wanting her happiness above all else, even if that happiness didn’t include me.

“Arthur, no,” Audrey sobbed, her tears falling faster now. “Please don’t leave. Not like this.”

But the darkness was closing in. Logan’s presence in my mind grew fainter and fainter until I could barely sense him at all. “Be… happy,” I managed one last time.

Then the world faded to black.

(Audrey’s POV)

“Arthur!” I screamed as his eyes closed for the final time. “Arthur, no!”

My heart shattered into a million pieces as I watched the life drain from his face. The proud, powerful Alpha who had dominated my existence for three years was gone.

I pressed my hands harder against his wounds, desperately trying to channel what healing energy I could muster. But it was useless. The silver had done its work too well.

“Come back,” I whispered brokenly. “Please come back.”

But Arthur’s chest was still. His hand, which had been squeezing mine moments before, was already growing cold.

A sound broke through my grief. Laughter. Harsh, maniacal laughter that sent ice through my veins.

I couldn’t bear to listen to another word from the wolf who had stolen Arthur’s life.

Instead, I returned to Arthur’s side and knelt beside his still form. I took his cold hand in mine once more, memorizing the weight of it. The calluses on his palm. The strength that would never protect anyone again.

Florian knelt beside me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. He didn’t speak. He simply offered his silent presence in my grief.

The lodge fell into heavy silence. Outside, I could hear vehicles approaching. Beta Kael’s voice directing someone. The sound of official pack council enforcement arriving to secure the scene.

But none of it felt real. Not with Arthur lying motionless beside me.

Nathan was escorted past us in silver restraints, his head hanging in defeat. As the officers led him toward the door, he paused and looked back at me.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m truly sorry, Audrey.”

I met his eyes for a long moment. I saw genuine remorse there, buried beneath years of obsession and manipulation. But it was too little, too late.

“I know,” I replied simply. Then I turned back to Arthur and said nothing more.

Nathan hung his head lower and allowed himself to be led away. Lyra followed shortly after, still laughing softly to herself as the officers struggled with her restraints.

Soon, Florian and I were alone with Arthur’s body.

“He saved my life,” I whispered, my voice hollow with shock and grief. “He took those bullets meant for me.”

“He died protecting the woman he loved,” Florian replied gently. “However complicated your relationship was, he found honor in the end.”

I nodded numbly. Arthur had hurt me the most, but in his final moments, he chose to let me go. To protect me… to ensure my happiness with another wolf.

It was the most loving thing he had ever done for me.

And now he was gone forever.