"I'm so sorry that you... went through all that" Estella murmured, almost to herself, but crassus still heard her.
Crassus let out a bitter chuckle, then he continued his story.
"I was only sixteen," he began again, his voice quieter this time, as if the weight of those memories pressed down on him.
"My father's death... it broke me. But the pack — they didn't care. They hardly gave me time to grieve before they started whispering about selecting a new Alpha."
Estella's breath caught in her throat. Sixteen... She could not imagine that he went through all that at such a young age. How could anyone expect a boy to carry such a burden?
"I still remember... the day after my father's funeral," Crassus continued.
"I sat by his grave the whole night, waiting—hoping—that someone would come to tell me that everything would be alright."
