Semua Bab The Alpha's Beta: Once Rejected, Now Desired: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Elora’s POV Lloyd stepped back from the orb, pulling his arm away like it had drained something vital from him. His face was pale. Not the kind of pale that came from fear—no, this was something deeper. Like something had been scraped raw from inside him, like he had seen too much and couldn’t look away from it no matter how hard he tried. Even now. He didn’t speak at first. He just stood there, one hand still twitching slightly at his side, breath steadying. I waited, not wanting to push him harder than the orb had. But he still didn't say a word. So I ran out of patience. “Lloyd?” I stepped forward, slowly. “What did you see?” He glanced up at me. Eyes darker than usual. And distant too. “I saw a room with stone walls. It was cold. Freaking cold. There were candles in a circle, and you were in the center. Lying still. You were pale... and unconscious.” My breath hitched, but I didn’t interrupt. I let him continue. “There was ash—drawn in patterns, same as what’s etched here

Elora’s POV The vault felt different now. It wasn’t just the silence. It was the weight of it. Every step I took seemed to press me deeper into something ancient, something that didn’t want to be disturbed. My boots scuffed against the dust-covered floor, and even that faint sound felt like an intrusion. The orb’s dim light pulsed behind me, each glow fading slower than the last, as though it, too, was watching. Lloyd was still near it, one hand resting against the pedestal, his shoulders drawn tight beneath his coat. He hadn’t said a word since he tried to open the doors again. Something was bothering him, but he wasn't ready to say anything. Neither had I. Because I didn’t trust my voice not to betray the jumble of feelings clawing at my chest—shock, confusion, the burn of betrayal that was still too fresh to put into words. First, I found out Zeke had found his fated mate, second, he had cheated on me but used the Ashen Pendant to hide it, and now I found out that he and a

Elora’s POVThe runes lit up beneath Lloyd’s palm, lines of pale silver crawling outward across the surface like veins under skin. For a moment, I thought they might burn through his hand. But he didn’t flinch.The vault door rumbled in response, groaning like stone waking from centuries of sleep. A crack split down the middle, a jagged seam of light slicing into the dark.Then it came—the blast of air, cold and sharp. It rushed over my skin and forced my breath from my chest.I squinted, lifting my arm to shield my eyes as the light seeped in. The vault had been dark so long that my eyes stung against the sudden change.“Is it… opening?” I whispered, my eyes slightly open, but not enough to see everything that was going on.Lloyd didn’t answer immediately. I watched his hand press firmer to the stone, shoulders taut beneath his coat. Only when the split widened into a narrow passage of pale moonlight did he step back, his breath steady but tight.“Yes,” he said at last. “It’s letti

Elora’s POV “You’re right,” Lloyd echoed, although something was off with the way he answered. “Let’s head back to the house.” I shrugged, dismissing his unusual acts as jitters; we had seen a lot of strange things today, so if would make sense if he acted the way he did. We continued down the path to the house, but my chest was tight. My mind raced. I failed continuously the more I failed to dismiss everything I’d seen today as coincidence. Because to be candid, the events that has happened recently were too real to be termed coincidences. “You’re okay there,” Lloyd asked me. I nodded animatedly. Slowly. From the gaze on his face, I could tell something was going on within him, but I was too overwhelmed by what I’ve seen to care about it. “I’m fine,” I murmured. He nodded, and we continued down the path in silence. My mind strayed back to Mira’s participation in the ceremony and my father’s warning. It was as if my father knew too much, but thought it was right not to share

Elora’s POVI was startled awake by a knock from the door. Turning this way and that way in bed, my eyes flipped open. I was getting used to sleeping alone and waking up alone. And to be honest, it felt good. That was better than having someone pretend to be what they are not while cheating under your nose.And keep lying about it.I shook the thought off my head and sat up. The knock came again, a bit louder.Scrambling to my feet, I headed to the door and opened it a crack. My eyes met a high council courier, face blank.Shoulders growing tense, I straightened, my feet on the floor slightly adjusted. I pulled the door open wider.“This is an order from the supreme council,” the man thrusted a sealed envelope before me. “On no account shall you refuse the order of the supreme council."“I’ve pledged to submit, and I pledge to serve,” I said the pledge, taking the letter from him. He sent me a nod, hesitating a beat, before he spun around and walked away. I closed the door behind