Revelation

Elaine's pov

“Don’t be so surprised, Elaine,” Maxwell said with a calm tone and almost as if he were discussing what to have for breakfast instead of the complete hijacking of my life. “I didn’t actually kidnap you. Your father here gave his blessing. We just had to make it dramatic so that no one would suspect a thing.”

The reality that accompanied those words hit me harder than it should have. Probably because deep down,I knew he was saying the truth and there was nothing I could do to change that.

I turned slowly to face my father, tears already welling up in my eyes so bad that blurred my vision. My voice came out cracked and desperate, yearning for an explanation from my father.

“Tell me it’s a lie, Father. It can’t be true. I know you wouldn’t allow me to be put through this. Not in the hands of this monster.”

Castel Laurent and not Father,looked at me with an expression I had never seen on his face before. He appeared tired, resigned, and painfully firm. He didn’t deny it or even try to soften the blow.

“Elaine, you have to calm down,” he said. “What is going on here is bigger than you think and must play your part in it. By tomorrow night you will get married to your Alpha under the full moon and then the two of you must consummate the marriage for everything to be complete. That’s all you have to do. For your sake and for everyone’s good.”

I stared at him, short of words. The forest around us felt like it was closing in. My own father who had taught nothing but love and loyalty had just handed me over like a bargaining chip.

“Father, please,” I begged, my voice rising into a yell. “Stop this. This is a joke!Take me out of here!”

He only exhaled heavily and reached out to brush my shoulder in a gesture that felt more like pity than comfort.

“I’m only here to make sure you’re fine and I guess Maxwell is still a gentle man after all”he said quietly. “I’ll be going back now to make sure no one suspects what is going on. Goodbye, Elaine. See you soon love.”

I reached out to grab him,to scream again and maybe this time he would listen but before I could do any of that, he turned and disappeared into the night, his footsteps fading until there was nothing left but the crackle of the fire and the sound of my own ragged breathing.

I stood frozen for a long moment, the betrayal sinking deeper with every second. Then something inside me snapped.

“What the fuck is actually going on?” I demanded, spinning toward Maxwell. My eyes landed on the knife he had been using to sharpen a wooden spear. Without a single hesitation, I lunged forward and snatched it from the ground, holding the blade with both trembling hands.

I pressed the tip against the soft skin of my own throat.

“Tell me why I’m here,” I thundered, “or I swear to the God's,I’ll kill myself here and now.”

For the first time since he had stormed into my wedding to abduct, Maxwell looked truly startled. His eyes widened slightly, and the casual arrogance in his posture vanished. The reaction gave me a bitter flash of satisfaction. Finally,I have found something that could reach him.

“Elaine,” he said carefully, raising both hands in a slow, placating gesture. “Please put the knife down.”

“Speak now!” I cut in, pressing the blade a fraction closer. “Because I rather die that being stuck in this forest with you without having knowledge of what's actually going on”

He studied me for a long second, then exhaled through his nose.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll tell you everything.”

He kept his distance, lowering his voice to almost above a whisper.

“The thing is,it all starts with both our families. We go way back ,your family and mine” he began. “We’re one of the only blue-blood werewolves remaining. And by blue blood, I mean werewolves that are descendants of those who once mated with other creatures. Aside from us,the only other blue-blood wolves I know are the Silverthorns.”

I didn’t lower the knife, but I listened and I nodded after every phrase to show him that.

“Now you must be wondering where you come in,” he continued. “My family,my real family, except for my father was slaughtered years ago by the evil woman who sits on the throne now as your queen. She killed my mother and my sister and found a way to turn my father against me by convincing him that I was going mad. Because of his grief, my father fell for it so he banished me and cursed me to survive only by roaming these forests.”

Maxwell’s jaw tightened at the memory, but he didn’t stop.

“Nevertheless, before the banishment, your father had already betrothed you to me. And according to an old prophecy,it is on the night of the full moon, when I consummate my marriage with my first blue-blood betrothed that the curse will be broken. Only then will I be able to take the throne back from those monsters.”

The forest felt colder somehow after hearing all that.

“But tonight you entered the palace. The..”

“Stop Elaine” he interrupted before I could say the thought in my head “ Yes,I can go into the palace but only at my own risk. If I had stayed there a second later,I would decapitate. But I couldn't just step aside and watch you consummate with another Alpha. That would mean I will be stuck in the bushes without company forever and I can't imagine such horror for anyone let alone myself “

I stared at him, the knife still steady in my hands even as my mind reeled.

“Wow,” I said finally in a mix of disbelief and bitterness. “So I’m in this mess because of a promise my father made to you decades ago? A promise I had no say in?”

Maxwell’s expression didn’t change much, but something in his eyes softened for the briefest moment.

“It is what it is, Elaine.”

He stepped forward carefully and with surprising gentleness, reached out and took the knife from my fingers. I didn’t fight him this time. The fight had drained out of me at this point.

“Get some rest now,” he said, turning the blade away and setting it aside. “Tomorrow, we’re getting married. Whether you like it or not.”