All Chapters of The Alphas Second Chance Mate : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Elaris’s POVI wait on the staircase as the council escort enters the palace unbidden.Two council warriors escort Virelle through the main hall, with Lord Sennik following behind them. They are not asking the Alpha for permission to deliver the woman the law has decided should be placed outside of his jurisdiction for the time being.Virelle carries her head high, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.People take notice.I see a maid lower the folds of linen she was carrying against her chest and two kitchen servants exchange a long glance before feigning busyness. Even the guards seem hesitant as the council escort arrives at the Alpha’s residence.I understand what they see.Virelle is carrying the Alpha’s child.I stand beside him.I have no public bond with Averic.I am the woman who returned to him, rejected by another Alpha.The complication.Rumors begin to swirl in the great hall.“She came back…”“That is the Alpha’s child…”“Then who is the other woman?”I hear en

Elaris remains in the guarded side chamber from the previous night when finally Averic comes for her. He looks as though he has barely slept, and has already seen the second bottle retrieved from Virelle's west guest wing, though he says nothing about it, Elaris can tell it has upset the certainty he had been clinging to.He hesitates outside the doorway rather than immediately entering and tells the guards "She is coming with me. No one touches her unless I give the order."Elaris notices the difference. Yesterday, she was being treated as though she might have poisoned Maevra. Today, she is being treated as though she may know where the poison came from."Walk with me to the west wing," he says. "I want you to show me exactly where Maevra's medicine was kept and I want every person who could have reached it."Elaris agrees without protest.She knows this is not trust.This is an opportunity to prove she has nothing to hide.They move along the private corridor with two warriors ahea

Elaris's POVFor several seconds, Averic says nothinghe stands by the table, gazing at the untouched cup as if he thinks perhaps the answer will come if he stares long enough.Then he picks it up."Don't," the healer warns us. "We need to preserve--""I know."Averic lifts the cup himself to check the tea's scent, careful not to shake the contents. His face is pensive as he moves from studying the liquid to noticing the darkened rim on the floor.It must have been when the tray was set it fell and the servant only just had time to remove it before returning the tray to us.The healer kneels to the floor and peers at the single darkened stain.Averic watches me.“You didn’t drink?”"No."Did your lips touch the cup?"I shake my head."I saw the residue before I even lifted it."He says nothing more. The darkness on the edge of the bottom is almost identical to what I had seen on Maevra's drink.Averic replaces the tea on the table. Then his voice is firm."Seal the entire tray."The c

Elaris’s POVThe hall seems to hold its breath.I am still on the stairs, my hand against the banister, as every set of eyes in the room watches Virelle’s bloodied gown and me.I have not moved toward her.I have not spoken.It seems the very act of believing the accusation has already begun to turn the household against me.The distance between us should be enough to prove my innocence, but I know within seconds that it will not matter.Virelle has chosen the center of the hall so that the drama of her punishment would ensure witnesses to whatever tale she decides to weave.A woman on the lower stairs murmurs my name.Another servant slips away from the steps.Someone asks where the guards were.No one questions why Virelle stood in the middle of the room.That last I find most upsetting.Averic reaches Virelle first.He does not kneel at once.He drops to his knees beside her to inspect the blood on her gown and the scrape on her ribs, and he watches the distance between us before l

Elaris’s POVAveric takes the silver clasp from my open palm without meeting my fingers.He carries it towards the nearest lamp and considers the broken edge.I watch him turn it over in his fingers, comparing it to the clasp already secured from beneath my tea tray. He traces the scratches along the metal and the small bit of wax still clinging to its underside.We do not need to speak about the message I burned.He understands I would never have destroyed it if I had not memorized it first.“The words were five,” I say.Averic continues studying the silver link.I repeat them to him.“Next time the blood will be yours.”Averic finally looks up at me.He wants to know where I found the note.“Under my door.”He instantly focuses on the guards stationed outside.I tell him no one entered.The note had simply appeared beneath the threshold.His expression tightens.The first threat was directed at the unborn child, but this one was aimed at me.Averic orders the captain to sweep every