Semua Bab The Alpha's executioner: Bab 31 - Bab 40

ELARA'S POVI waited until the house was completely still. Not the kind of stillness that comes right after everyone goes to bed, but the deeper kind, the one that settles in around two in the morning when even the guards have stopped pacing and the only sound is the wind outside my window. That was when I moved.I pulled on a heavy robe, the thickest one I owned, the kind that swallowed my body and made no noise when I walked. I tucked the folder inside my gown first, pressing it flat against my stomach, then wrapped the robe over it, tying the belt tight. No one would see it. No one would feel it. If anyone looked at me, they would just see a woman in a robe going to her kid’s room or getting water.I unlocked my door and stepped into the hallway. I locked it behind me. Old habit. I didn't want anyone walking in while I was gone.The hallway was empty. I walked to the children's room, slow and quiet, my feet bare against the cold floor. I opened the door and stepped inside. Lucan a

ELARA'S POVKael looked at me, his eyes moving over my face like he was trying to read something written there. "Hi," I said again, because I didn't know what else to say."Where have you been?" he asked. "You look flushed."My smile grew smaller. I just stood there, feeling the weight of his gaze on my skin. I looked down at my body, then back up at him. "I just took a bath. A very very hot bath."He nodded slowly. "Okay." A pause. "Where have you been?"I frowned. "What?""Where have you been? Because the kids have been asking for you. I've been home for more than an hour and I haven't seen you."I kept my face still. "Of course I've been in my room.""You've been in your room?""Yes. Did anyone come look for me in my room?"He crossed his arms. "I sent the maid to check on you. She knocked. No one answered."I blinked. "Oh. I didn't hear anyone knocking. That's strange. I was probably in the toilet for a long time."He squinted at me. "Really."I straightened up and folded my hand

ELARA'S POVThe days after Felix's death blurred together in a haze of tension and quiet panic. The house, usually so full of noise and movement, had gone still. The maids spoke in whispers. The guards stood straighter, their eyes darting to every shadow. Even the boys seemed to sense that something was wrong. Lucan asked me twice why Daddy was so angry. Zev clung to my leg when Kael walked past.I watched my husband unravel.He stopped eating first. Not all at once, but slowly, the way a man does when his mind is too full for his stomach. He would sit at the table with us, push his food around his plate, take a bite or two, then set his fork down and stare at nothing. I started bringing him food in his study, plates of things he used to love, and he would thank me and ignore them until they went cold.He stopped sleeping next and I moved into his room thinking that it would help. I would wake in the middle of the night and reach for him, but his side of the bed was empty. The sheets

RONAN'S POV The tracker was small. No bigger than a grain of rice. I had put it in her food days ago, when I fed her at my kitchen table. Buried in the rice, mixed in with the vegetables, disguised so she wouldn't notice. She ate every bite. She didn't know. She couldn't know. I didn't do it because I wanted to spy on her. I did it because she wouldn't let me help her any other way. Every time I offered, she pushed me away. Every time I asked, she told me she didn't need me. So I found another way. The only way she couldn't refuse. I started tracking her that same night. Her movements were easy to follow. Just a dot on a screen, moving through the city, stopping at places, staying still for hours. I watched her go to the hotel where Felix was meeting. I watched her wait. I watched her move when he came out. I didn't follow her to the crime scene. I knew better than that. If she saw me, if she sensed me, she would never trust me again. So I waited. I watched the dot on my scree

RONAN'S POVI drove back to the office and threw myself into work. Cases came across my desk one after another. My assistant brought me files on a missing person, a contract dispute, a background check for a client in the western territory. I read through each one, made notes, gave instructions. We had a meeting about the blackmail case. Then another about a theft that had been reported near the border. My mind was on her, but I kept moving. Kept working. Kept doing what needed to be done.By the time evening came, I was tired. Not just from the work. From holding myself together all day.I packed my bag and drove home.I had a feeling she would come tonight. I didn't know why. She hadn't said anything. She never said anything. But I felt it anyway.I went to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and looked inside. I wanted to make something good. Something that took time. Something that showed I cared.I took out fresh vegetables and started chopping. Tomatoes, onions, peppers. I seasoned