002

Chapter 2

  

**Elara**

The next few days blurred together in silence. Elias had vanished as if he’d never existed in my life at all.

No messages. No calls. Nothing.

The fear that I had truly lost him began to feel solid and real.

“Where did you go just now? I asked which color you prefer,” Mom said, pulling me back.

She held up two gowns—both elegant, both expensive. One soft blush pink, the other a deep, rich violet.

“Either is fine,” I murmured, already distracted by the notification light on my phone. I crossed the room and snatched it up.

It wasn’t Elias.

He had never gone this quiet before. Never disappeared for days without checking in. Something had to be wrong.

“Mom, Elias must be hurt. He might be in trouble,” I said, the worst possibilities already spinning in my head.

She only laughed softly.

“No, sweetheart. He left two days ago with his girlfriend for some weekend getaway.”

“What?”

She stepped closer and patted my back.

“He called our beta asking about last-minute flights. I overheard. Apparently the girl insisted on first class only. He only got help because he’s your friend.”

The words landed like a slap.

His crushes usually burned out in a week. He would come back to me after the latest girl walked all over him, and life would settle into its familiar shape again. I had always hoped the cycle would end with him realizing no one else would stand by him the way I did.

Lena had broken that pattern.

“It would be wise if you started forgetting him,” Mom said gently. “Focus on your own future.”

I felt hollowed out. The silence felt like being erased from his life, as if the years of friendship had meant nothing.

I had never been heartbroken before—never had a real boyfriend—but the ache in my chest felt close enough.

My gaze drifted to the two dresses on the bed.

A memory surfaced: me bouncing around school in a pink dress while Elias’s eyes followed some girl in deep blue.

“That one,” I said. “The purple.”

Mom’s face lit up.

“Excellent choice.”

Maids filed in. They painted my lips, dusted rose across my cheeks, and left my hair loose around my shoulders. Mom clearly expected the usual arguments and complaints. I stayed quiet and let them transform me from the quiet girl with glasses into someone glamorous and unfamiliar.

When they finished, I stared at the mirror in stunned silence.

“Is that actually me?”

“You look beautiful, Elara. The alpha will be captivated. I’m certain of it.”

“I’ll do my duty for the pack,” I said. “I won’t drive him off this time.”

Not for Elias. Not when he had already proven he would never choose me.

Dressed and ready to impress an alpha whose name I hadn’t even bothered to learn, I waited with my parents in the living room.

One hour passed. Then three. Still no sign of him.

By the fourth hour the familiar feeling of being discarded returned—this time from a man who hadn’t even laid eyes on me yet.

Mom saw the disappointment on my face and squeezed my shoulder.

“They must have run into trouble. He’s said to be a man of his word.”

I wanted to leave, crawl into bed, and cry until the pillow was soaked. One look at my father’s face stopped me.

Real worry sat there. I could see the alliance slipping through his fingers and the uncertainty of our pack’s future pressing down on him, even though he hadn’t spoken a word.

My hurt hardened into irritation, then into anger. I was furious at the alpha who thought our time—and our pack—mattered so little that he couldn’t even send an explanation.

Night fell. Still nothing. I changed into my usual pajamas, cursing fate, Elias, the silent alpha, and everything else that had ever gone wrong.

Sleep wouldn’t come. I went to check on Dad one last time and found him on the phone.

“No, no, it’s perfectly fine, Alpha…”

He was bending over backward for a stranger who had already wasted hours of our time. I knew exactly how that felt.

So I did something reckless.

I yanked the phone from his hand and snapped,

“Who the hell do you think you are to treat us like our time and our pack mean nothing?”

“Elara!” Dad reached for the phone.

I turned away. “Enough, Dad. That arrogant bastard can go find another bride for all I care.”

A deep voice answered from the other end.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused. Forgotten. Wiped from our memory. I feel sorry for whatever girl ends up stuck with you—you’re so self-centered you waited six full hours before bothering to call.”

“You don’t know what happened—”

“And I don’t care. May the Goddess give you a taste of your own medicine one day.”

I poured every ounce of frustration and hurt into the stranger on the line—someone I had never met and never planned to meet.

I was finished be

ing taken for granted.  

Finished being the understanding, patient girl.

From now on, I was done playing nice.