Elara 7

“If I tell you the truth… will you let me go?”

Gareth gave no answer.

He remained perfectly still, his gaze fixed on Elara’s face.

What’s the point? Elara thought bitterly.

Even if she told him the whole truth from her perspective, there was no guarantee the Alpha standing before her would believe a word of it. The label of fugitive that had already been stamped on her would not disappear simply because she offered a few words in her own defense.

Elara drew a resigned breath.

Perhaps all she could do now was wait for whatever punishment he decided to give her.

Gareth remained silent, waiting for her to say more.

He had expected the girl to plead, beg, or desperately try to convince him to believe her.

Instead, Elara chose silence.

For some reason, that only irritated the Alpha.

Gareth wanted to hear her defense.

The same girl who had begged him the night before, nearly on her knees, not to send her back to Redlake—the same girl reckless enough to make him an outrageous offer—was now refusing to say another word.

“You don’t want to talk?”

“There’s nothing I can explain. I have no evidence to support my claims,” Elara replied flatly.

The corner of Gareth’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.

He found himself intrigued by the flicker of courage hidden beneath the girl’s fear.

“And you thought your offer last night would be enough to soften my heart and convince me to let you stay?”

“I’m only a lowly Omega who doesn’t even have a wolf. My life is entirely in your hands, my lord. Whatever decision you make, I’ll accept it.”

Her reckless offer the night before had been born from sheer desperation.

Now, it seemed, the girl was finally capable of thinking more clearly.

“That’s all?” Gareth asked. “Shouldn’t you be trying harder to persuade me?”

“Would an Alpha as powerful as you really be swayed by persuasion?” Elara countered.

“I don’t know. But if what you offer is worth the price, I might consider it.”

“I only want to live in peace,” Elara said softly, her gaze unwavering. “I’ll give you an heir. In exchange, if the child is born safely, I want you to allow me to stay here.”

“Do you truly understand what you’re offering?” Gareth tilted his head.

Elara frowned, confused by the direction of his question.

“Do you even understand what it means to give someone an heir? Do you know how a child actually ends up in your womb?”

The moment Gareth’s blunt question left his lips, heat rushed to Elara’s face.

A deep blush spread rapidly down her neck and into her ears.

Gareth’s lips curved into another faint smile.

The girl in front of him was clearly a virgin. So how could she innocently—and without the slightest shame—offer herself as his breeder?

The breeders who had carried Gareth’s children in the past had been women specifically trained for that role. They understood exactly what they were agreeing to and what the process entailed.

But Elara?

Yet seeing the way embarrassment painted the girl’s face and body with crimson brought Gareth a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

“There are only three ways for someone to leave their original pack and be accepted into mine,” Gareth said, breaking the awkward silence. “First, you must formally sever your bond with your original pack. Second, you can be claimed by one of my pack members—but that still requires the approval of the clan elders. And third…”

He paused.

“You become my Luna. And I doubt any of those options are particularly possible for you.”

If the first option were easy, Elara wouldn’t have had to flee like a wanted criminal in the first place.

If she had someone willing to claim her under the second option, she would never have made this outrageous offer.

As for the third…

Ever since the tragic death of his second wife, Gareth had sworn never to claim another woman as his mate.

Even though he hadn’t directly caused their deaths, the shadow of the deadly curse surrounding his women still haunted him.

Elara, on the other hand, had never dreamed of becoming anyone’s Luna.

Her heart had been shattered long ago, and she knew exactly where she stood as a wolf-less Omega.

Even if some man were willing to claim her, it would likely be someone from the lowest ranks—not an Alpha of Silverhollow, a man feared throughout the surrounding territories.

“You’re an Alpha. You have the authority to make your own rules,” Elara replied, fighting back her nervousness. “I won’t ask for much. I just want to live in peace.”

“And are you certain that living in my territory can give you the peace you’re looking for?”

Elara hesitated.

Yet deep down, she felt that Gareth Grimshaw was completely different from Jonathan Sterling.

There was a far more dignified dominance about him. Although Gareth was notorious for his ruthlessness on the battlefield, the way he carried himself now felt far more honorable to Elara than Jonathan’s carefully crafted falsehoods ever had.

At last, Elara slowly nodded.

“If—for the sake of argument—I accepted your offer to carry my child and allowed you to stay here, would you be willing to live in isolation?” Gareth asked firmly. “No one is to know you exist except me, my Beta, and those I personally trust. You will not be permitted to leave the territory I designate for you. You will have no contact with the people of Silverhollow, and you will do nothing without my permission until the child is born. Can you live like a secret prisoner?”

“But… I need money to survive.”

“You’ll be an Omega without a name. As for your living expenses, I’ll take care of everything.”

Elara fell silent for a moment.

Living in isolation could drive a person insane, but it would only last a few months—until the baby was born.

To Elara, that was a small price to pay for a lifetime of freedom from Jonathan Sterling’s grasp.

“There’s one more thing,” Elara said, gathering the courage to meet Gareth’s gaze. “I’m willing to live in isolation. But I have one condition… If I successfully give birth to your child, would you allow me to bring my grandfather here and let him live with me?”