THE PROMISE THAT BROKE MY HEART

CHAPTER FOUR

Elena's POV

The weeks that followed my dinner with

Adrian became the happiest I had ever known.

I had spent most of my life believing that love was something meant for other people. I watched couples walk through the pack grounds holding hands, heard young women whisper excitedly about their mates, and listened to stories about the powerful bonds that connected wolves to the people destined for them.

I had always been on the outside, watching.

But Adrian was changing that.

He began finding reasons to see me.

Sometimes, he visited the gardens while I worked. Other times, he asked me to bring documents to his office, only to spend half an hour talking about things that had nothing to do with work.

Little by little, I began learning the man behind the Alpha's title.

He drank his tea without sugar.

Whenever he was worried, his fingers moved towards the ring he wore.

He loved the quiet after a storm, even though he rarely admitted it.

And despite the power he held, there were moments when he looked as lonely as I felt.

I learned that he carried responsibilities he couldn't easily share with anyone. The council expected him to make difficult decisions, the warriors depended on his leadership, and his father's legacy seemed to follow him everywhere.

Yet whenever we were together, he allowed himself to relax.

Sometimes, we talked for hours.

Other times, we simply sat in silence, and I discovered that silence didn't always have to mean loneliness.

One evening, I found myself beneath the old oak tree behind the estate.

I had gone there to escape the noise of the kitchen and the whispers of the other servants.

I thought I was alone.

Then I heard footsteps.

"Elena?"

I quickly wiped my cheeks.

Adrian stopped in front of me.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"You're crying."

I looked away.

"It's nothing important."

He sat beside me.

"Then you won't mind telling me."

I wanted to laugh at his stubbornness, but the tears came before I could manage it.

I told him what had happened.

Sophia and her friends had been standing near the servants' quarters when I passed.

They had been discussing mates and the upcoming mating ceremony when one of them mentioned me.

They laughed about the idea of a wolfless girl finding a mate.

Sophia had said that even if the Moon Goddess gave me one, no respectable wolf would ever accept me.

I had pretended not to hear them.

I always pretended not to hear them.

But their words followed me until I could no longer keep the pain inside.

Adrian's jaw tightened as I spoke.

"Who said that?"

"Please, don't make trouble for them."

"Elena—"

"I mean it. I don't want everyone to hate me even more."

He turned towards me.

"Look at me."

I slowly lifted my eyes.

"You are not worthless because you don't have a wolf. You are not less deserving of love. And you do not have to earn the right to be treated with kindness."

My lips trembled.

Nobody had ever said those words to me with such certainty.

I had heard people tell me to be strong. I had heard them tell me to ignore insults and accept that life wasn't fair.

But Adrian wasn't asking me to endure their cruelty.

He was telling me I didn't deserve it.

He lifted his hand and gently brushed a tear from my cheek.

"Do you believe what they say about you?"

I hesitated.

"Sometimes."

"Then I'll keep reminding you that they're wrong until you believe it yourself."

I stared at him.

My heart was beating so fast that I could barely breathe.

"Why do you care so much about me?"

He looked at me for a long moment.

"Because you're important to me, Elena."

The words settled between us.

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to believe that the Moon Goddess had not made a mistake by connecting us.

But I was afraid.

Afraid that one day he would remember who I was and decide that I wasn't enough.

"Adrian," I whispered, "what happens if you discover that I'm not the woman you want?"

His expression softened.

"Then I'll discover who you really are."

I looked down at my hands.

"And if you don't like what you find?"

He gently took my hand.

"Let me decide that for myself."

For a moment, I forgot every insult I had ever endured.

I forgot the whispers, the loneliness, and the years I had spent believing I would never be loved.

All I could see was the man sitting beside me.

The Alpha who had found me in a dark storage room and looked at me as though I mattered.

He moved a little closer.

"Elena?"

"Yes?"

"May I kiss you?"

I couldn't find my voice.

I simply nodded.

He leaned towards me slowly, giving me time to change my mind.

Then his lips touched mine.

The kiss was gentle at first, almost hesitant.

I had imagined what it might feel like to be kissed by someone who wanted me, but nothing could have prepared me for the tenderness of that moment.

When I reached for him, he drew me closer.

For a few precious seconds, the world seemed to disappear.

There were no mocking voices.

No whispers about my missing wolf.

No reminders that I was unwanted.

There was only Adrian, holding me beneath the old oak tree, and the frightening, wonderful possibility that I might finally have found someone who wanted me.

When we separated, he rested his forehead against mine.

"I don't know what the future holds," he whispered. "But I want you in my life."

I closed my eyes.

For the first time, I allowed myself to believe him.

I didn't know that the same man who held me so gently would one day stand before the entire pack and destroy the future I had begun imagining.

I didn't know that the love growing between us would soon become a secret I would have to protect.

And I certainly didn't know that a tiny life was already waiting to change everything.

All I knew was that, beneath the old oak tree, I had fallen a little deeper in love with Adrian Blackwood.

And I was no longer certain I could find my way back.

End of Chapter Four.