NovelXXXThe Alpha King is unavailable 176
"No, Lily has long been buried." My voice was hoarse, barely recognizable even to my own
ears.
The words hung in the sterile air of the Silvercrest Pack Medical Den. Each syllable felt like
broken glass in my throat.
Victoria's hand tightened around mine. Her blue eyes widened with what appeared to be
shock.
"Five years," | continued, the admission tearing at my soul. "She's been gone for five years, and
I didn't know."
The weight of this truth crushed me. My daughter had died, and | hadn't been there. Hadn't
known. Hadn't mourned.
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Memories flooded my mind-painful, sharp-edged fragments of a life I'd barely acknowledged.
Lily's small face looking up at me, her emerald eyes-so like her mother's-filled with hope
whenever | entered a room.
| remembered how she would approachcautiously, always careful not to displease me.
Her tiny voice would tremble slightly as she greeted me.
"Hello, Father," she would say, standing straight, trying to make herself worthy of my attention.
And what had | done? I'd barely acknowledged her. I'd been too busy with pack business, too
preoccupied with Victoria and Emma.
Emma. The thought of Victoria's daughter sent a fresh wave of guilt crashing over me. How
many times had | showered Emma with affection while my own daughter watched from the
shadows?
| recalled a particular day at Imperial Gardens when both girls had been present. Emma had
run to me, throwing herself into my arms with complete confidence that | would catch her. |
had swung her around, laughing at her delighted squeals.
And Lily? My own daughter had stood apart, watching with longing in her eyes. When Emma finally released me,
Lily had approached hesitantly.
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< Chapter 103 Lily's Death
"Father," she'd said softly, "would you like to see the drawing | made?"
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| had glanced at it briefly, muttered something about it being nice, and turned back
to Emma who was demanding | watch her dance.
The memory madephysically ill. How could | have been so blind? So cruel?
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"| failed her," | whispered, more to myself than to Victoria. "I failed my daughter in every way
possible."
| thought of the night I'd just spent at Sacred Moonlight Cemetery, kneeling before Lily's
Moonstone Tombstone until dawn. My knees had ached against the cold ground, but I'd
welcomed the pain. It was nothing compared to what Lily must have felt, watching her father
love another child while ignoring her.
"I never deserved her love," | said, my voice breaking. "But she lovedanyway. She loved me
despite everything."
Victoria's face contorted with what appeared to be sympathy. She stroked my arm gently, her
touch meant to comfort.
"Ethan, you need to heal," she murmured, her voice honey-sweet. "Lily wouldn't want you to
suffer."
Her words, though well-intentioned, felt hollow. How could she know what Lily would want? How could anyone?
A terrible thought struckthen. | could have known about Lily's death sooner. Olivia had
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