The faintest smile touched Marcus’s lips, but Darius leaned closer, eyes glinting.
“Not always,” he said, lowering his voice as though the words were meant only for her. “Just to the people I am close to.”
Her brow furrowed, and confusion washed over her. “But… we only just met.”
“I know,” Darius replied, his tone shifting, carrying an edge of sincerity that rooted her in place. “But can’t you feel it? That connection between us? Because I do. And I cannot explain it.”
Her heart thudded, painfully loud in her ears. She wanted to say it-that she could feel something. That strange pull, not a mate bond, but something safer, warmer. Something that reminded her of the way she used to believe safety existed.
But she swallowed the words, biting them back until they burned in her chest.
How could she trust this feeling? She had trusted before, and every time it had broken her.
She had felt safe with Michael, her fated mate-until he betrayed their bond.
She had felt safe with her parents-until they turned away and left her to face humiliation alone.
She had felt safe with Kathy-until her own sister took Michael from her.
She had felt safe with Alpha Efrein and Luna Beatrice-until they forced her to surrender the one thing that belonged to her, all for the sake of duty.
Every time she opened her heart, it was ripped apart. Why should this be any different? And besides, in just a few days Darius and his Beta would leave. They would return to their lands after the mating ceremony. And she, too, would be leaving-leaving behind the pack that abandoned her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sharp, clipped voice of Alpha Efrein pressing into her mind through the pack link.
“After breakfast, we will see you at the Alpha’s office.”
The command was cold, authoritative, and final.
There was no room to refuse.
Elaine’s stomach dropped, her fingers tightening around the edge of her plate.
What do they want with me now? She thought bitterly, though a part of her already feared the answer.
Breakfast dragged on endlessly, though Elaine barely touched her food. The laughter and chatter around the tables sounded muffled, distant, like she was caught in a fog. Every so often she caught Alpha Darius watching her-sometimes openly, sometimes from the corner of his eye. His presence pressed on her senses, unsettling yet strangely grounding.
But the pack link from Alpha Efrein still burned at the back of her mind, reminding her that her reprieve was temporary. As soon as the meal ended, she would have to face them again-her Alpha, her Luna, her parents, her sister, and Michael. The people who had stripped her of everything she thought was hers.
When at last Darius excused himself, leaving her with a lingering smile that only deepened her confusion, Elaine rose slowly from the table. Her legs felt heavy, as if every step carried the weight of invisible chains.
She followed the familiar corridors of the pack house, passing smiling faces, murmured conversations, and curious stares. To them, she was no more than the rejected girl swept up in the attention of the most powerful Alpha alive. To her, each glance felt like a knife.
By the time she reached the Alpha’s office, her palms were damp with sweat. Two guards stood outside the doors, their expressions unreadable, their bodies taut with discipline. They didn’t speak to her-didn’t need to. They opened the heavy doors in silence, allowing her to step into the room she dreaded.
The air inside the Alpha’s office was suffocating. It wasn’t just the heavy scent of dominance that clung to the walls, or the way the sunlight failed to soften the room’s severity as it filtered through the tall windows. No-what made it stifling was the presence of the people gathered within.
Alpha Efrein sat behind his massive desk, posture rigid, the weight of his authority radiating with every measured breath. Luna Beatrice stood tall beside him, her expression unreadable but her eyes sharp, carrying that same quiet judgment Elaine had grown up under.
Her parents were there as well-Beta Richard and Lucille-sitting stiffly, their gazes cast downward as though the polished floor might offer answers they didn’t dare look for in their daughter’s eyes.
Near the window, bathed in the soft glow of morning, stood Kathy. Her hands rested protectively over the gentle swell of her stomach, and though she said nothing, her presence was louder than words. She glowed with pride, secure in her place, carrying the future heir of the pack. And beside her-Michael.
Elaine’s heart clenched painfully at the sight of him.
His jaw was tight, his face locked in a mask of control, but his eyes betrayed him. They flickered toward her with a storm of emotions she couldn’t decipher. Anger? Guilt? Possession?
Something else buried beneath them all? She didn’t know. She didn’t want to know.
Elaine’s throat tightened. All of them. Of course it had to be all of them.
“Sit,” Alpha Efrein commanded, his tone sharp enough to cut through her thoughts.
Her legs moved on instinct. She lowered herself into the chair opposite his desk, spine straight but fingers twisting together in her lap, betraying the storm she fought to keep hidden.
“You’ve caused quite the stir this morning,” Luna Beatrice began, her voice calm but edged with ice. “Drawing the attention of Alpha Darius so… directly.”
Elaine blinked. That was what this was about? Not her future, not her rejection, not the humiliation she lived with every day, but him?
“I didn’t-” she began, but Efrein lifted a hand, silencing her instantly.
“How did you meet Alpha Darius?” His voice left no room for anything but truth.
“I met him when he saw me after his run.” She said carefully, steadying her tone.
“And what did you tell him?” Efrein pressed.
Elaine shook her head. “Tell him? Nothing. I didn’t tell him anything.”
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Michael stepped forward then, his voice harsh. “If you only met him this morning, why does he act as though he has known you for years?”
Her lips parted, but no words came at first. She could feel their eyes on her-all of them- measuring, judging, dissecting her every breath.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” she finally whispered. “I don’t know why he acts the way he acts.”
Michael’s voice sharpened. “And what did he mean when he said there was a connection between the two of you?”
Her frustration cracked through.
“I don’t know! What is this-this interrogation?” Her voice trembled, but not with fear-with outrage.
Alpha Efrein’s gaze bore into her, hard and unyielding. “We have an alliance with his pack, Elaine. I will not see it jeopardized. You will not say or do anything personal that can threaten it.”
“Say anything to affect the alliance?” She stared at him, incredulous. “I don’t even know what you’re implying, Alpha. As I said, I met him today-this morning. If he feels something, if he believes there is some connection, I cannot control that.”
Her words had barely settled when Michael snapped, his voice breaking like a whip. “I don’t want to see you with him!”
Elaine’s head turned sharply toward him. Her eyes narrowed. “What right do you have to say that to me?”
His chest heaved as he thundered back, “I am your mate!”
The words struck her like a blow, but the fire inside her rose stronger.
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