ELARA“I should have fucking killed you that day,” Kieran growls as he charges at Lucas and punches him hard on the nose, breaking it. Lucas jumps backward to dodge his next attack, but Kieran is quick to jump after him, kicking him hard in the stomach with his foot. “Kieran, stop, please!” I yell, grabbing his arm to stop him, but he jerks his arm away. He begins to throw blow after blow at Lucas, making him groan in pain. Lucas tries to fight back, but he can’t, as Kieran is an Alpha and much stronger than him. “Kieran, please,” I scream, tears rolling down from my eyes. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have asked Lucas for his help. Now he is suffering because of his kindness. “Kieran!” I yell again as I try to forcefully jerk him away from Lucas, shaking him with every bit of strength I have. He snaps his gaze at me, growling. “I am going to kill him!” “Please...” I plead, crying profusely. “Mommy?” I suddenly hear the twins say, and
ELARAThe kids keep crying, demanding to return to the pack. I am frustrated, not knowing what to do as I try to get them to keep quiet. Lucas has since left, saying he has an emergency.“Babies, that place is not safe for us,” I tell them, placing my hands on their shoulders.“How?” they cry.A lump forms in my throat and I swallow. I don’t know what to tell them, damn.“Mommy, please. We don’t like it here,” Aria cries. “There’s no tablet. My Elsa dress too is not here.”“I can save up and get another one for you, okay?”“No!” she cries.After what feels like an eternity, I finally get them to keep quiet—that’s after lying to them that we’ll return the next day since it is late already. I hate lying to them, not wanting them to lose their trust in me, but I have no other choice. They’ll eventually get used to being away from that pack.They fall asleep and I tuck them in before walking out to take some fresh air. It’s been a really long da
KIERANRage and the fear of losing Elara again vibrate through me. I will do anything to find her. I must not lose my Alpha title. Different thoughts course through my mind, and I begin to wonder if Ryder took them. If the confrontation was only a distraction to get to them and kidnap them. “Your future Luna is missing. Check everywhere for her,” I mind link all my men. Without hesitation, I rush to the control room to watch the CCTV footage and see how they disappeared. I start from when I left her in the hallway, and I watch as she walks back into the room. Moments later, she comes running out with her kids and a bag. I follow as she walks out of the pack and runs into the woods. That’s the last image I get of her. She ran off herself. They weren’t kidnapped, and that makes me even angrier. “Reid, Harold. Check all the surrounding hotels for her. She shouldn’t have gone very far,” I mind link my Beta and Gamma. Picking up my phone, I call Jaxon to confirm she hasn’t returned t
ELARA“What is wrong with you, Cynthia?” Lucas yells. He is visibly angry at her. The girl moves to attack me, but Lucas grabs her, holding her back. She continues to lunge forward, screaming while trying to free herself from his hold. “Who the hell is she?” she yells like a raging tiger. “Calm the fuck down!” He retorts as he shakes her. “Do not tell me to calm down when you brought a whore home!” she yells. Whore? A frown creases my face at the term she uses to address me. “I really don’t have time for this, Cynthia,” He growls. He doesn’t seem to be surprised by her reaction. He is used to it. I stand there, taking in the scene unfolding before me. What the hell is happening? Why is she furious about him bringing another woman home? “Is she your mate?” I ask him curiously. Suddenly, Aria and Adrien’s cries fill the air, and I quickly turn to open the backseat door. They look really terrified, and that causes a slight ache to tug at my chest. “Mommy, what is happening?” A
ELARA The moment Kieran leaves, I know this is the perfect opportunity to escape. All focus will be on the invaders and no one will even notice our disappearance. We just have to be gone before the war erupts or they settle their disputes. I run inside and reach for the wad of cash I have seen sitting on the bedside table. I am not a thief, but taking that money is a necessity. We have to find a place to stay after we leave here. We also have to eat, and all those would require money. I’ll just take this money as a payment for all the years of trauma and pain Kieran has caused me since banishing me from this pack. I’d probably send it back when I make something for myself. Grabbing a bag, I stuff the money inside, then take my children’s hands, running with them towards the door. “Mommy, where are we going?” Adrien asks as I pull the door open and continue running down the hall. “There’s a war and we have to run to safety,” I quickly say. They like it here already and I realize
KIERAN For six years that I have been away from Elara, it has all been over false allegations made against her. How didn’t I even see that those pictures are AI-generated? I had allowed my rage to control me, that I didn’t even give her a chance to explain herself, and I regret that now. Despite the fact that we aren’t mates anymore, I am still affected by her as much as I was while we were still mates. I wonder how that is even possible. The tingles, the attraction, are supposed to end the moment we reject each other. I wonder if she still feels the same. I have wronged her in so many ways, and I would do everything in my might to do right by her. After Reid informs me that Alpha Ryder is by the pack border with his men, I place a quick kiss on Elara’s cheek before dashing off. Rage consumes me as I approach the border, with all my men following behind me. After sending his man to kidnap and kill what he thought was mine, he has the guts and effrontery to come down to my pack to