LOGINELARAMy mother had always known. The thought of that settled deep in me, causing my heart to ache. A brutal painful ache. I felt like howling. I felt like…tearing out my heart and throwing it somewhere far away from me, so this pain would just…stop.“Alistair would dedicate his whole life to protecting you. If there is something I'm sure of in this life,” her jaw tightened, “it is that Alistair would protect you all his life.”How good was he?Just how good was Alistair that he had everyone backing him up this way? Just how good?!I folded my hands into fists as I swallowed the dryness that clawed up my throat. I didn’t stay there a second longer. Instead, I forced my feet to move, walking wherever it would take me.~~~The door pulled open and Kris stared at me, her eyes wide. “Elara,” she gasped, pulling me in. “What’s going on?”“Can I,” my voice cracked, “can I stay with you tonight?”“Elara,” she pulled me in, closing the door behind me. “Is everything okay?”I gulped, forcing
CHAPTER FORTY FIVEALISTAIRShe could see through me. Of course, she could. As a child, Elara had been the closest person to me. As a matter of fact, there hadn‘t been anyone other than her. Not even Alex.The Alpha Prince of a pack gave more responsibility and drew boundaries more than a child would ever want. But someone had crossed those boundaries wearing a red gown after being lost in a cave. She had laughed with him, insulted me, and she had never been scared to speak to me.Yes, there were some privileges but still, not many people knew how to use those privileges. Elara had scored a goal in my brain without even knowing it. To her, we might just have been friends, only friends. To me, there was something deeper that I couldn’t place my finger on.Something that was keeping me from tearing myself apart. My frontal lobe had practically grown with Elara, same as my emotions, so how on earth did I even think I could lie to her? I wanted Elsie to know I would only look to one pe
ELARAI grabbed the box off my mother’s wardrobe, pulling the books out. At the bottom of the box, I froze. My father’s picture was right there, staring back at me.His hands were wrapped tightly around my legs as he held me up on his neck, a large smile on his face. It wasn’t forced. Even if I was just a child, I had known that the love my father had for me had never been forced. He was always excited to have me in his arms, to carry me, to go out with me. He played with me almost everyday and never let me be by myself. The work of a beta was totally serious and demanded most of his time, but father always found a way to create time for me. He always did that.But on that day…my hands tightened as I took the picture, running my hand over it. I missed him. I missed him so much that I felt my throat close.Then my eyes moved. Beneath the photograph, a small jotter stared right back at me. I picked it up, pulling the lock off it. My father’s handwriting was written boldly in it.Words
ALISTAIRCall me stupid for agreeing to Elara's terms and conditions even when I knew how dangerous what we were getting into was. Whoever was behind the rogues wouldn’t take it easy the moment they found out we were investigating them. I knew that, yet I was letting Elara join the game. There was only one thing I could hope for, that she would never find whatever she thinks she might have to find. Or that we find it before her every single time.As I walked out of the cafeteria, Alex rushed after me, grabbing my arm. “What is going on?”We hadn’t had a discussion about whatever he must have heard that day while Elsie and I talked and I hadn’t asked. In me, I don’t think there was any more energy left to use to protect the truth.“She wants to investigate the rogues with me,” I shrugged.“But you can’t let her do that. It’s dangerous. What if she becomes a target because of you?” his brows notched up. “First, she patched you up in that forest, followed you to Silver Crest, and is now
ELARAKris and Alex stared at me from their table, their eyes narrowed tightly, probably wondering why I hadn’t come to sit with them at our usual lunch table.My eyes peeled away from them as the cafeteria door opened. I had thought it was Alistair, but it was Elsie. Whispers shot across the room almost immediately.“She’s so pretty.”“Did you see her and Alistair under the staircase earlier? She was so gorgeous with him.”“I feel like they are the perfect match. Besides, she’s an alpha princess. It brings a connection with both packs.”My nose almost flared from their comments. Elsie was pretty no doubt but what made them think she and Alistair were the perfect match just because they stood beside each other. I stood beside Alistair so many times and—Elara, what are you thinking!I forced my eyes away from Elsie back to the seat opposite me, I froze.Alistair sat there, his head lazily on his palm as he stared squarely at me.I blinked. “When…did you get here?”“I wonder,” he said
ALISTAIRI’d been counting the days since the woods. Five. Five days and Elara still hadn’t said a word to me. Not like we met since that day, I really didn’t think I could bring myself to say something reasonable either. Not after what Elsie had said the other day.What do I do with this kind of silence between us?“She’s been weird,” Jaren said without looking up from his notes. Just then, Elara walked into class, the usual edge she carried into every room missing this time around. “Define weird,” my voice came out quieter than I'd wanted it to be.“She has been quiet. Didn’t you notice?” I had noticed. I just hadn't decided what to do with that.“Do you plan on letting her know? About the rogues and stuff?” he finally looked up at me.A sigh left my lips. “I don’t know about that. But one thing I’m sure of is the fact that I'm going to protect her whether she likes it or not. Even if she hated me.”“Elara is not the kind of girl you can bend like that.”“Who said anything about
ALISTAIR She laughed. She actually laughed.My father would force a marriage between us. Elara would put a sword to my neck. Kai would never stop talking in my head. But nothing had ever irritated me more than her laughter in this situation. Besides, ‘I have a crush on Alistair,’ was the most r
ELARA“Miss Vance?” The guard looked shocked to see me. It’s been five years since I set foot into the Roux’s mansion. And it still looked the same as it was.“I’m here to meet with the Alpha,”“He’s at the pack house for a meeting currently. However, he will soon return,” he said.“How soon?”“In
ELARAI 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
ALISTAIRI heard the door close with a loud bang as Elara exited the training room. It’s been five years, five years, and Elara Vance still hadn’t learned how to miss. She still aimed for the kill.I had prepared myself for her hatred. What I had not prepared myself for was how much it would feel l







