Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 426 - 426: Empty

The one-hour ultimatum that Everard had given to Ruby to appear before him came and then passed, bringing nothing but emptiness and fear into Everard's heart.

He felt empty because obviously, his first pack member, the one who he sired, was not by his side. And he was afraid because a lot of negative thoughts were crossing his mind.

'She's not in a bad state, right? What if something happened to her?'

He felt a shrilling pain in his heart when the worst thought occurred to him for a split second.

'What if she already lost her life?'

However, he violently shook his head and repeated in his head, 'No! She's fine! She's fine! She's a very strong woman. She can take care of herself. Wherever she is, I know she is fine.'

Jerome had asked him not to have high hopes from days ago. Yet, Everard was very hopeful that Ruby would come to him if he ordered her during the full moon night. And when that didn't happen, he also wondered if Ruby was already way too far away from his reach.

'What if she's already crossed the seven seas and is currently living in a Kingdom that is on the other side of the world? Would she still be able to hear me?'

Since there was no reply from Ruby, that reason was very much believable.

However, even when the full moon was about to take its leave from the night sky, Everard refused to leave the Great Hall.

All the elders of the clan had already transformed back to their human forms and were dressed up. They went and stood around the black wolf so as to ask for his permission to leave.

"Alpha, we would like to return to our homes before the sunlight hits the ground," one of the elders spoke first.

Everard was still intently staring at the door of the Great Hall. He wasn't paying any attention to what others around him were saying.

"Alpha Everard? Are you listening to us?" another elder asked again.

But there was still no response from Everard.

Jerome saw that and sighed. He also rushed to the transformation room at the back of the hall and returned to his human form. He wrapped a robe on his body and then went to the corner where the elders and the Alpha were.

He then bowed to the elders and spoke on behalf of the Alpha, "That's a good idea, Lord Amos. All of you must be tired from the long ceremony. You should head home first. Alpha and I will wait here to see if some more new wolves come here. And then we shall also head for the castle before the sunrise."

The elders nodded and then prepared to leave.

Jerome ordered some of the guards to prepare the carriages for the elders. And before they left the hall, Jerome gently stroked Everard's fluffy fur to wake him up from his trance.

When the red eyes stared back at Jerome, he whispered, "Alpha, the elders are leaving. Why don't you thank them for today?"

"Ah!" Everard gave a nod and then directly spoke in all the elder's heads, "Thank you for attending today's ceremony and supporting my ascension. I really appreciate all the support that all of you showed to me."

The elders were once again fascinated when they got to know that Everard could not only communicate with them like that when they were in their wolf forms, but he could also do that when they were in their human forms.

They were eager to know if this gift from the Goddess worked at all times or if it was only a once-in-a-full-moon thing.

However, they kept their questions to themselves when they saw Everard staring at the door again, and quietly left the hall.

When the hall was quiet again, Jerome gently patted Everard's head and then spoke to him in a soft, consoling manner, "Everard, I know you are still waiting for her but… if she wanted to come then she would already have. You wouldn't need to pressure her like this."

"I don't think the pressure is working anyway…" Everard said in a dejected tone.

Everard sat down on the floor with his head resting on his paw. And he began whimpering while fixating his eyes on that tall door.

Everard looked so sad and worn out that Jerome couldn't take it anymore. So, he decided to shatter Everard's heart completely so that he wouldn't keep hurting himself like this, and breaking his heart little by little.

He also sat down beside Everard and began to mumble in a sad tone, "I think you also have realized it by now but let me spell it out for you…"

He took a deep breath in and then blurted out, "I think Ruby doesn't want to return. You told me that she was a simple farmer girl before you crossed paths with her, right?"

Everard gave a gentle nod.

And Jerome continued what he was saying, "Maybe the life in the castle was too suffocating for her. Maybe she is happy where she is now. She might have already built a good life for herself somewhere. So, why don't you just let her be?"

Everard whimpered again and asked in a disappointed tone, "How can I just let her be when I had promised to take care of her? I don't even know if she is okay! What if she is struggling right now?"

The idea of forgetting Ruby was too much for Everard. So much so that he was in physical pain just by the thought of it. He didn't know why Ruby had so much effect on him. But he knew that it was going to be this way for life.

He didn't just want Ruby by his side, he NEEDED her by his side.

Jerome, however, couldn't let Everard feel this miserable forever. He wanted Everard to let go of the weak tether that he was using to bind Ruby because obviously, Ruby didn't want to be bound.

Jerome caressed Everard's head and tried to make him understand, "You can't forever feel guilty for what you did to her. You didn't do that on purpose. She will learn to adapt to her new self. And just because you turned her into a werewolf doesn't mean that you have to be responsible for her for life."

Everard simply chose not to answer because Jerome would never understand how much he was struggling right now.

He had promised Ruby a family but all that he ever gave her was emotional trauma and a body that she never wanted in the first place.

After a while of silence, Jerome looked at the new pups. They were starting to get restless because the full moon would be taking its leave soon. It meant that they would go through a reverse transformation soon, and they were getting afraid of what was about to come.

So, he decided to be by their side and guide them back to their human form.

He got up on his feet. But before he left Everard's side, he gave a last piece of advice, "Let Ruby choose her own path. You know she is capable of doing that."

'I know… but still…'

*Crack*

Everard immediately got up on his paws when he heard a loud crack at the door of the hall.

'W-Who's there? Ruby?'

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