Chapter 5

Elara’s POV

I looked at Selene’s hand resting over her stomach then I remembered the words I’d spoken at the Moonstone Registry.

I don’t want another child contesting Rowan’s place.

I had asked Adrian for one thing and fate had already given him the exact thing I feared most.

“But you promised me you'll not have any other child,” I said without thinking.

Adrian’s expression turned cold. He caught my arm and dragged me into the corridor before I could say another word.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I pulled my arm free.

“You promised Rowan would always be your only heir.”

“He is my heir.”

“And Selene’s pup?”

His jaw tightened. “She’s carrying my child so that child will be mine too.”

“You promised me.”

“I made that promise five years ago, Elara.” His voice was cold. “Before I knew my fated mate would give me another pup.”

I stared at him. “So that’s it?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Keep your promise.”

Adrian laughed without humor. “No one is taking Rowan’s place.”

“Not yet.”

I looked toward the room where Selene was still sitting with Rowan.

“Today, she’s your fated mate. Tomorrow, her pup will be the one standing beside you. What happens to Rowan then?”

“Enough.” His voice shook the walls. “I will not abandon my child because you’re jealous of Selene.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Then stop acting like this.”

My chest tightened. “You know what, Adrian? You’re right.”

I stepped back. “I should stop expecting you to care.”

Before he could answer, Rowan appeared at the end of the corridor.

“Rowan—”

“You’re always ruining everything!” His little face twisted with anger. “You ruined Dad’s anniversary. You ruined the ceremony. And now you’re trying to take Dad away from Mom.”

I couldn’t breathe.

“I’m not trying to take anyone away.”

“Yes, you are!” He stamped his foot. “I hate when you’re around. I wish Selene were my real mom.”

My wolf whimpered so loudly that I had to press a hand against my chest.

Adrian pulled Rowan against him. “That’s enough.”

But he didn’t correct him. He didn’t tell our son that I was still his mother. He simply held him while I stood there alone.

I nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

Rowan buried his face against Adrian’s chest.

I looked at them one last time. The man I’d loved for half my life and the child I’d nearly died bringing into this world.

Neither of them needed me anymore.

I turned and walked away. By the time I reached the gates, the world had started spinning.

My bond with Adrian was breaking. Every breath felt like something was tearing through my chest.

I barely made it onto the road before my knees gave out.

—

When I woke, I was lying in an unfamiliar room. A man was sitting beside the bed. He had dark hair, sharp features, and eyes I had seen before.

My breath caught as my wolf suddenly went still.

Mate, she cried out.

I stared at him and he stared back.

“Elara?”

I couldn’t speak.

Eight years ago, I had met my fated mate. I’d rejected him because I was madly in love with Adrian.

Then I’d buried the memory and spent the next eight years believing Adrian was the man fate had never given me.

But my wolf remembered. She had never forgotten him.

“You’re my fated mate,” I whispered.

His expression tightened. “You remember.”

I swallowed.

His voice was quiet. “You rejected me.”

“I was in love with someone else.”

“I know.” He looked away for a moment. “I waited anyway.”

My eyes burned.

For eight years, I had chosen Adrian and this man had spent eight years living with the rejection I had given him.

Now he was the one saving my life.

I stayed with him for several days while my body recovered.

Adrian never called then one afternoon, my phone finally lit up. It was a message from him.

Don’t contact me again unless you're dying.

I stared at the words until my vision blurred.

I laughed quietly.

The cruelest part was that I had almost died, and Adrian still hadn’t cared enough to ask if I was alive.

I turned the phone face down.

“I need a favor,” I told the healer.

She looked at me. “What kind?”

“Tell my pack I died.”

Her eyes widened. “Elara…”

“Please.” I looked toward the window. “I don't want anyone to know I'm alive. I want to grant him his wish.”

I touched the empty place around my neck where my Luna necklace had once rested.

“I don’t want him to find me.”

—

Three days later, the news reached Blackwood territory. Adrian was tending to Selene when the messenger arrived with the urn and handed it to him.

“Alpha, Luna Elara Blackwood is dead and all that's left of her is her ashes.”

The urn slipped from his hands.