CHAPTER FOUR

Elara’s POV

A full week had past, yet my mind refused to let go of that moment. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him again—that Angel with Ocean Blue eyes. I didn’t even know his name, and yet he haunted me more than Jude ever had. In my head, I played out different versions of us—sometimes he pulled me close, sometimes he leaned in so near I could almost feel his breath, sometimes he simply looked at me with that same sharp gaze until I broke apart inside.

It was foolish, I knew. He was a shadow I couldn’t chase, a man who didn’t belong to me. But still, I imagined him. I imagined what it would feel like if his hand brushed against mine, if he spoke my name like it meant something. And every time, my chest ached with a want I couldn’t name.

But no amount of fantasies could shield me from reality.

The pack house was alive with movement that morning. Bright banners draped across the hall, long tables were set with food and wine, and soldiers stood in their best uniforms along the walls. The bonding ceremony was not a simple affair—it was the moment the future of the pack was sealed. The Alpha’s son was finally going to be mated to his chosen mate. Of course, it called for a grand celebration.

My eyes swept across the sea of happy faces, and then there was Jude.

He stood tall, dressed in black, his hand brushing against Lily’s arm as though it belonged there. My stomach twisted at the sight. Lily looked radiant in a white gown that clung to her frame, her smile wide, her eyes shining as though she had won something precious. Perhaps she had. My mate. My once future. My heart still burned with it, even when I told myself it shouldn’t.

I hated that it still hurt. I hated that even as I stood there, hidden among the crowd, my chest tightened every time his gaze drifted across the room, even though it no longer stopped on me.

Step by step, the event began to unfold into a beautifully organised ceremony.  Cheers filled the hall each time a presentation was made, most especially when the pack dancers mounted the stage. I clapped when expected, smiled when watched, but my thoughts were far away.

And then it was time for the main business, where the whole pack witness my mate bonding with another woman.

 If it were to be a nobody, there wouldn’t have been need for a grand celebration just to bond with their mate. But he was the fucking Alpha’s son. We could more or less see it as a wedding ceremony. 

I couldn’t bear it. My legs carried me toward the door, my head spinning.  I told myself I was only going to take some air, that I didn’t care, but deep down I knew the truth. I couldn’t watch him bind himself to her. Not when the pieces of my heart were still sharp inside me.

I was one step from the exit when the hall erupted with a voice that thundered through the walls.

“All hail the Lycan King!”

Every head turned at once, a ripple of shock and awe running through the room as he stepped in. 

Everyone bowed in unison, but I froze, hand still beside me, my breath locked in my throat.

The Angel from that night. 

Only he wasn’t the Angel I thought he was.

He was the Lycan King. The cruel Lycan King