~Rayel’s POV I was so scared that something bad might have happened to Elara when Beta Boris told me that the only place we have not searched was the Lake’s forest. Taking down the wild animals and the rogues in the Lake’s forest was not a problem for me but it had been a tradition in our pack not to always go to the forest without a tangible reason. Before the demise of my father, he had promised to tell me the reason behind that but he was unable to do so and also Boris explained to me that I shouldn’t let the member of the council know that I wasn’t aware of the situation or else they would make an issue out of it. There was a time that I even planned to wipe out the rogues and other things in the forest but I had a lot of resistance from the members of the council and I had no choice but to stay put and do nothing about the forest. Everyone stared at me waiting for me to give out the orders and I thought to myself that it was probably the best moment to take care of the forest an

Rayel's POV Boris stared at me without saying anything and I knew that I had allowed my emotions to get the best out of me. I kept quiet as well and waited for the guards to return back to me with good news. After some minutes, Boris turned to me and then he looked a bit unrest, probably trying to choose his words carefully. "What do you plan to do, Alpha?" Boris asked, breaking the silence. I didn't have an answer. I was still grappling with the situation, torn between my love and my duty. "I... I don't know yet," I admitted, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over me. "But I will protect her, Boris. I swear it. Even if it means sacrificing everything." Boris placed a hand on my shoulder, his touch a source of comfort in the midst of my turmoil. "We will figure this out together, Alpha," he said with unwavering loyalty. "Just remember, you're not alone in this." From his words, I had a feeling Boris knew more than he was letting on. And although I was not ready to ask him and

Rayel's POV "Hazel…" I was lost for words at Hazel's sudden change in behavior. Just a few minutes ago, she was crying and sobbing about what had happened to Elara. And now, she was saying words that I found hard to understand. "Hazel, she died. Elara died today and it was all our fault." There was a hitch in my voice that prevented me from being able to continue. "It was not our fault, Rayel," she replied softly, looking up at me through her lashes. Before Elara, I would have melted the very moment she looked at me that way. But this time around, I was enraged. I felt like I was dying inside, but no one felt the same way, which made me want to scream and shout and throw things. My hands curled into fists, coaching tightly as Hazel continued, oblivious to the intense emotions raging within me. "She left. No one forced her to. She was taken well care of here…" "She was in a literal prison!!!" I could not stop myself from yelling out those words. It had been eating at me ever si

Elara's POVRufus stared at me with a bewildered expression on his face, one that seemed so funny yet adorable at the same time that I could not stop myself from bursting into laughter. “Are you okay, Elara?” He asked again.“I’m fine, Rufus,” I replied to him as I wiped off some tears off my face.“You know you can confide in me, Elara,” he said, sounding like an elder brother I never had. I nodded my head and then he asked me to continue eating my food. I glanced at him occasionally and saw that his attention was on me. He watched what I was eating, telling me the food to eat and not to eat.I stuffed everything he gave me into my mouth and then I told him to eat as well.“I will stop eating if you keep staring at me, Rufus,” I said.He smiled at me and told me that he wanted to be sure that I was fine.“I’m fine, Rufus,” I said curtly and then motioned for him to eat. I watched as he dug into his food and continued eating his food as well. I stopped eating when I was full and then

~ Elara's POVA flicker of concern crossed Rufus's face. "A job? You don't look well enough to be working right now.""I know," I admitted, "but I'll get better… I hope."He sighed heavily, not saying anything else and we resumed walking back to the house. I looked around the house and there was only one bed. I wondered how our sleeping arrangement would be. I thought to myself that Rufus should be the one to sleep on the bed since he was the owner of the place. I quickly took a bedspread on the bed and laid it down before sleeping on it.“What are you doing?” Rufus asked, staring at me with the same adorable, confused expression that had been on his face when I had been sobbing while eating. "Um… sleeping," I replied, looking down at the sheets on the floor and then back at him. "What does it look like I'm doing, old man?" I teased him. He rolled his eyes at me and huffed out an exasperated breath. "I know that. But why are you putting blankets on the floor?" He asked. "Did you