He's back

ELARA

The grand chandelier above felt less like a beacon of celebration and more like a spotlight on my upcoming execution. My father’s question was like a blade in the air, freezing the warmth out of the ballroom.

“Where is your true mate, Elara?” His authoritative tone sent a shiver down my spine.

Calix ran away. He abandoned me.

My knees trembled beneath the layers of my silk gown. The fabric, meant to make me look like royalty, felt like a shroud. I could feel the collective gaze of five packs pinning me to the spot. Hundreds of high-ranking wolves, Alphas, and elders were staring, their sharp senses tracking the erratic spike in my heart rate.

“I…” My voice caught in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut for a fraction of a second, praying for Chloe to burst through the doors with a hired rogue. Anyone.

But no one came.

“Speak up, Elara,” Father commanded, his voice dropping an octave. The Alpha pressure in his tone was a strong weight, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to draw breath.

“The entire Malvern Hills is waiting. Do not embarrass me or the Sylvester name.”

“M-Maybe he’s just late, Father,” I lied, my voice shaking so violently it betrayed my terror. “It’s snowing too hard.”

A cruel laugh cut through the tense silence.

Mira stepped forward from the crowd, a glass of champagne held delicately between her fingers. Her blonde hair caught the light, looking perfect, just like the smug grin on her face. “The snow, Elara? Truly? A true mate bond can pull a wolf through a raging blizzard. Distance means nothing when the Moon Goddess calls.”

“Exactly,” Lyra chimed in, stepping up beside our sister, her sharp gaze raking over my pale face with pure malice. “Unless, of course, the man realized exactly what kind of mate he was being saddled with. Can you really blame him for running away? Who would want to tie themselves to a wolf so weak she can barely shift her eyes?”

“She’s right,” Mira sighed dramatically, looking around the room to ensure everyone was listening. “Our sister has always been fragile. Her wolf is probably so pathetic and deeply buried that her true mate felt the disappointment from miles away and decided to reject the bond entirely before even laying eyes on her.”

“No, that's not true…” I clutched the fabric of my dress. “He didn't reject me.”

Whispers erupted across the ballroom like dry autumn leaves catching fire. The gossip spread through the crowd in a low, devastating hum.

“She’s abandoned?”

“The Alpha King’s daughter, rejected on her birthday?”

“How humiliating for the Sylvester bloodline.”

I looked toward the front row where the pack elders sat. Their ancient faces were hardened, their eyes cold and judgmental. They valued strength above all else, and right now, I was the definition of vulnerability.

My brother, Denver, stepped out from the shadows near the fireplace. He didn't look at me with sympathy; his expression was masked with pure disgust. “You’ve always been a liability, Elara. We tolerated your isolation because we thought you were just timid. But this? To stand before the entire council and prove yourself too weak to even draw your mate to your side? You are dragging our family name through the mud.”

“Brother, it's not true.”

The words sliced through me, opening old wounds. I wanted to scream, to tell them that I didn't choose to be born this way. I didn't choose to be wolfless. But the truth would only guarantee my death.

Father’s patience finally snapped. The air in the room grew hot as his aura flared. “Enough!” he roared. The room went dead silent.

He crossed his arms, staring down at me as if I were a stranger, a stain on his perfect legacy. “Elara, I have spent a fortune on this banquet. I have gathered the leaders of our world to witness the continuation of my lineage. And you give me nothing but silence and excuses.”

One of the oldest council members, Elder Thomas, leaned on his wooden staff as he stepped forward. His gray eyes locked onto mine, sharp and calculating. “Alpha King Silas, this is unprecedented. Even the lowest omega, the weakest wolf in the outer packs, finds their mate on their twentieth birthday. The Moon Goddess’s law is absolute. It does not fail.”

He turned his gaze fully to me, his voice dropping into a dangerous, interrogative register. “Elara. A weak wolf might experience a delayed reaction, yes. But to feel absolutely nothing? To see no one in your dream?”

“No, I-I saw the dream. The Moon Goddess showed me his face. I swear. We met at the temple. We bonded.”

Father stepped closer, his shadow completely eclipsing me. His light brown eyes, usually cold, were now blazing with a terrifying suspicion. The warmth of a father was absent; he looked like a judge delivering a sentence.

“If that's true… Mind-link him.”

“Father, we didn't…”

“Do you even have a true mate, Elara?” Father asked, the question vibrating through the floor.

The crowd gasped. The whispers turned into sharp, shocked inhalations.

“Did the Goddess truly grant you a bond, or are you hiding something from this council?” Elder Thomas pressed, taking another step. “Because if you didn't find your mate, could it be that you are…”

Before the word wolfless could leave his lips, a sudden gust of wind rattled the glass windows of the grand hall.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance hallway, cutting through the silence of the ballroom. They weren't the steps of a panicked guest or a servant. Each stride carried a staggering amount of weight.

The massive double doors of the ballroom swung open. Every single head in the room snapped toward the entrance.

Alphas instinctively squared their shoulders, and omegas shrank back, sensing a sudden, massive shift in the air pressure.

My eyes slightly widened as they landed on him… Calix. He was back.

He wore a tailored black suit that perfectly accentuated his broad shoulders and towering frame. His dark hair was brushed back, exposing the sharp lines of his jaw and the faint scar on his left brow.

But it was his eyes that held everyone captive. They were a striking, icy blue, glistening under the grand chandelier with a terrifying intensity.

He didn't look like a lost puppy anymore. He looked like a king walking into his own court.

His piercing blue gaze locked instantly onto mine, cutting through the sea of people until I was the only person left in his vision.