004

ELARA

I heard the door click open and I turned, staring at Mom as she peered into my room. She walked in,

“You are studying?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Did you see Alistair at school today?”

I closed my book, taking off my glasses. “Yes, why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t want to hear about him. Besides, I told you we should go there the other night and you just—”

“I can’t believe you actually went after all of that.”

“That’s enough, Elara. If you are not fine being with them, I get it. Hate him all you want, but you can’t expect me to follow your bidding. I can’t do everything you want.”

“How are you not mad?”

“Why should I be?”

“Your father chose to die himself. If I'm going to be mad at him.”

“Alistair could have saved him.”

“He couldn’t!” my mother snapped.

“He could!” I shot.

My mother stared at me, anger evident in her eyes. “Elara, you don’t have the right to hate the person your father sacrificed his life for. Just know that.”

In simple terms, you do not have the authority to grieve the death of your father because the person involved is the alpha prince.

The door closed behind her and I was left alone, once again, in the darkness that tried to consume me every day. I was barely keeping my head above the water and now, he came to ruin everything. Every single wall I’d tried to build was coming, crashing down.

My hands fisted beside me. 

He would take the brunt of it all. After all, we had a promise to keep.

The next morning, I stepped out of my gate, just to see a familiar face waving at me.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

Alistair.

“What are you doing here?” My eyes narrowed.

“Walking you to school. What else?” 

“You don’t exactly seem happy to be doing that, so why are you here?”

“You are so smart,” he smirked, pocketing his hands. He had no school bag on, his tie was practically loose, and the buttons of his inner white shirt were open.

The Alpha Prince was supposed to be a role model for the members of the pack, but Alistair looked like the kind of guy whose parents would beg their children not to emulate. 

“Am I that sexy?” His voice broke my train of thoughts and I stared right back at his face.

“Roux,” I called, adjusting my glasses with my fingers. “Don’t you dare come to my house again, or else, you’ll leave here, dead.”

“Have you actually tried murdering someone before?” He suddenly asked.

I froze. “What?”

“It’s not as easy as you think it is,” he shook his head.

Our eyes locked in a fierce heated gaze and all I wanted right now was nothing more than wiping that smug look off his face. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes shifting between mine. 

“You are still beautiful, Elara.”

My breath went the wrong way. A slight cough escaped from my throat and I tapped my chest slightly.

“You are crazy, Roux,” I said and walked away, stopping a cab at the junction. I got in and closed the door immediately.

“Driver, move—“

Alistair pulled the other door open and sat beside me. 

“What exactly are you doing here?!” I shot. 

“Your mom requested that I go to school with you. Besides, my things are in my car. I don’t have any money on me,” he tapped his pockets. 

“How is that my business? Walk if you have to. Just get out.”

“Be nice, okay? We were childhood friends.”

“Alistair,” my voice went cold.

He stared at me before turning to the window.

I refuse to let him win by leaving the car for him. I grabbed my seat belt, fixing it before turning to the driver. “Let’s go.”

The cab stopped in front of the school gate and I got out, paying the driver before I walked away. 

“You and Alistair came to school together?” Kris walked towards me.

“No, we did not.” I cut her off.

“Look, everyone at school is talking about it,” she muttered.

I looked around and people were staring at me, whispering. My eyes caught Alistair, walking towards the sports center opposite the classes.

“Can’t you guys fix whatever is going on between you?” She asked.

“It can’t be fixed,” I said. “We’ll always be against each other without failure.” 

Class sped by and soon it was the lunch period. For no particular reason, I didn’t feel like going for lunch, but Kris grabbed my hand pulling me up. 

“What’s for lunch today?”

“Soup and bread rolls,” 

I rolled my eyes, sighing as we made our way to the cafeteria.

“Elara!” Alex’s voice resounded the moment we got to the cafeteria. He left his mates and walked towards Kris and me. 

“Hi, Alex.”

“Hi, Kris.” 

How the same sentence could have different emotions when it came to Alex and Kris was something I could never study. Sadly, Alex already made it clear that he didn’t like those older than him. And Kris…I shouldn’t break her heart by telling her that.

“You and Alistair came to school together?”

“Where did you hear that from?” My eyes narrowed.

“Rumours. Everyone is talking about it. You tried to stab him with a pen yesterday and you are coming to school with him today. Epic stories, aren’t they?”

“He forced his way into the cab,” I gritted my teeth. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

I grabbed a bread roll and dropped it on my plate, before taking the soup.

Alex and Kris did the same and we all walked to a seat at the far end of the cafeteria.

“I don’t know if this would make you feel better or angrier though,” Alex started, staring at me. 

“What?”

“The marriage your mom spoke about…”

I bit my lips, shaking my head. Kris shouldn’t hear this.

“It’s not between us,” Alex didn’t get the clue. But more than that,

“It’s not? Who then? I’ve never heard of a cousin brother in your family.”

“We do have three, but they are not in this pack.”

“Then that’s….” The realization hit me. Harsh, painful stab in my chest.

I’d always known that my marriage was not something to be decided. Whether you liked it or not, both the Alpha and Beta’s children had strategic marriages. So it wasn’t a shock when mom brought up that topic. But because she had mentioned Alpha, I had thought…

My fingers tightened around the bread rolls. 

Alistair? Of all people in the world? 

My chair moved behind me as I suddenly stood up. 

“I’m going to see the Alpha.” 

“What? Elara!” 

No one rejected the Alpha’s order face-to-face. But me…I would be the first.