Shadows At Breakfast

Elara barely slept. The midnight woods meeting had been a disaster.

Kai had gone anyway. She’d followed. Serena had been waiting with more twisted “proof,” the rogues had attacked, and they’d barely fought their way out. Kai had been silent the whole walk back, covered in dirt and blood that wasn’t his, the bond raging between them. He’d locked himself in the main room without another word.

Now sunlight stabbed through the suite windows. Elara walked into the main area, nerves raw. Kai was already at the table, coffee untouched, staring at his phone like it had personally betrayed him. His knuckles were bruised from the fight.

“Morning,” she said, heading for the coffee pot.

He looked up… Shadows under his eyes. “The elders meeting is in an hour. Father wants us there together.”

“Of course he does.” She poured her coffee, keeping distance. “So are we going to talk about what happened last night, or pretend the rogues just showed up for fun?”

Kai’s jaw flexed. “Not now.”

Before she could push, the door flew open. Serena stormed in, Lila right behind her.

“What the hell, Kai?” Serena snapped. “You disappear to the eastern woods in the middle of the night and now you’re playing house with her? After everything?”

Lila crossed her arms, looking smug. “She’s already turning you against us… Same old Elara.”

Elara’s grip tightened on her mug. “I didn’t turn anyone, the Goddess did. Maybe take it up with her.”

Serena laughed bitterly. “You always played the victim. Kai knows what you really are.”

Kai stood slowly, tension rolling off him. “Serena, stop.”

But Serena stepped closer. “I waited for you. I helped you when she was tearing everything apart and now you’re letting this bond mess with your head after last night?”

Kai rubbed his face, clearly torn. The mate bond fed Elara flashes of his conflict… heat, doubt, frustration. He didn’t pull away from Serena completely.

“I’m not forgetting years of loyalty,” he said, voice low. “But some things… don’t add up anymore.”

Elara’s heart jumped. A crack… Small, but there.

Serena noticed it too. Her face twisted. “She’s getting in your head, just like before.”

Lila jumped in. “Remember the messages? The rumors? You saw them yourself.”

The rogue, Lila’s mate hovered by the door, avoiding eye contact.

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Everybody out. Now... Except Elara.”

Serena looked ready to explode but left with a slammed door.

Silence crashed down.

Kai turned to her, arms crossed. “Tell me what really happened back then. All of it... No more half-truths.”

Elara met his stare. “You really want the truth now? After believing them for years?” Her voice stayed steady even as her hands shook. “Fine. I wrote you every week. Serena copied my letters, twisted them, used them to get close to you. Then the rumors... The isolation… The rogue they hired to scare me. The photos they spread. I had no one, Kai. So I left and built a real life.”

She watched his face the whole time. His fists clenched. Something like pain flickered in his eyes.

But then he exhaled sharply. “I don’t know what to think. The bond is screwing with me. Making me question things but I can’t burn everything down on your word alone.”

Elara felt the words like a slap. “So I’m still on trial.”

Kai stepped closer. The bond flared hot. He almost reached for her arm, then stopped himself.

“I’m trying here,” he said roughly. “But this is a lot.”

Before she could answer, his phone buzzed violently. He glanced at the screen and his expression darkened… shock, then fury.

“What is it?” she asked.

Kai’s voice went deadly calm. “Anonymous pack-wide message. The old photos of you just went out again… with a new caption: ‘The alpha heir’s mate is the same whore who tried to destroy us.’”

He looked up at her, suspicion and the mate bond warring in his eyes.

“Tell me you didn’t have anything to do with this leak.”