C3

ELOWEN WHITLOCK POV

"I know you hate me, but stay," I say. I force my eyes to stay on his big wolf eyes. "I will sign the paper to leave the Thorncroft Alpha Dominion. I will give you the divorce, but you have to stay here tonight and walk next to me at Alpha Alaric's funeral tomorrow. When the pack ritual is done, I will sign."

"You want to bargain with me?" Caelan asks. He drops his hand from my jaw and takes a step closer. His mouth touches my ear, and his breath is very hot. "Then please me right now, Elowen. Words do not mean anything to an Alpha."

"I can do that," I say. I put my big human arms around his thick waist. I have to look way up because he is so tall and I am short. I know this is a bad way to make him stay, and it makes me feel very small and sad inside.

I move my hands down his back to hold him tight, but his big hand claps down on my wrist.

"That is enough," Caelan says. His voice is very flat. He pulls away, grabs his gray night clothes from the bed, and puts them on fast.

"Are you staying?" I ask. My mouth stays open. I feel a little bit of hope in my chest.

"Ashton..." a loud cry comes from the dark woods right outside our balcony window.

"Isolde," Caelan says. He does not look at me for one second. He runs to the glass doors and throws them open to look down at the muddy ground. His face gets very dark and angry. He grabs his heavy black coat and runs out of the bedroom.

I look through the rain and see Isolde Ashbourne standing by the pack gates. Her thin white dress is completely wet and sticks to her skin. She looks very small and shaking like a sick pup in the cold downpour.

Caelan throws his big coat over her wet shoulders to keep her warm. He looks like he wants to yell at her, but she throws her arms around his neck and starts crying very loud against his chest.

"She wins again," I whisper to myself. I finally see the truth. Two years of being his wife means nothing compared to one sad cry from Isolde.

Caelan keeps his big arm tight around her waist and brings her inside the front doors. I run out of the bedroom and stand right at the top of the stairs, blocking the way to the rooms. Their wet clothes are dripping dirty water all over the floor.

"Move out of our way, human," Caelan snaps. He looks at me like I am a piece of dirt on the trail.

"Do I look sad to you?" I ask. My eyes burn very bad, but I do not let the tears drop. It hurts more than my heart to see him treat her like a beautiful queen while he steps all over me.

"Caelan, you promised," I say. I hold the wooden railing tight. "When we joined hands for Grandpa Alaric, you promised she would never step inside this pack lodge while I live here. This is our home."

"You think you are important?" Caelan laughs. He uses his big shoulder to push my body hard against the wall. "You look down on yourself, Elowen."

"Do not push her," Isolde says, but she hides her face in his chest.

I cannot do anything. I just stand there like a ghost and watch him carry her into the warm guest room at the end of the hall.

The night gets very bad after that. The cold rain made Isolde's small body get a very hot sickness fever. Caelan stays by her bed like she is a precious pack treasure, helping her change into dry clothes and putting cold cloths on her head.

He looks up and sees me standing by the door. His eyes turn to cold yellow ice.

"Get out of this house and go to the Thorncroft family home right now," Caelan orders. "Isolde is too sick to look at your face tonight."

"You want me to walk into the dark woods at midnight?" I ask. My voice shakes.

"I do not care where you go," he says.

"I am going back to my bedroom," I say. I hold my stomach where the little baby is. "It is not right for me to leave before the Alpha's funeral ritual."

I walk out into the dark hallway, and my chest feels like it is breaking. Suddenly, another wolf runs up the stairs very fast. It is Lucan Blackmoor. He is still wearing his black sleep pants, and his boots are covered in wet mud from the forest path.

"Is she okay?" Lucan asks. He is breathing very hard, and his clothes are completely soaked from the storm.