Elara's POV
The door burst open at midnight.
I jumped up from the bed where I had been crying for hours. Kaelen stood in the doorway, his chest rising and falling like he had been running. His golden eyes found mine in the darkness.
"I can't stay away from you," he said in a rough voice.
Before I could say anything, he crossed the room in three quick steps and pulled me into his arms. His kiss was desperate and hungry, like he was drowning and I was air.
When he finally pulled back, I was breathing hard.
"But you said... you said you were marrying someone else," I whispered.
"I am," he said, his face touching mine. "But not tonight. Tonight, you're mine."
My heart should have broken at those words. Instead, it soared. He couldn't stay away from me. That had to mean something, right?
"Kaelen," I started to say.
"Don't talk," he said softly. "Just let me hold you."
So I did. We lay together on the big bed, and he held me close. His strong arms wrapped around me made me feel safe and wanted. For the first time in my life, I felt like I mattered to someone.
When morning came, I expected him to leave. To go back to being cold and mean like he was yesterday.
But he didn't.
Instead, he brought me food himself. He sat on the bed next to me and watched me eat.
"You're different," he said quietly.
"Different how?"
"Other women... they want things from me. Power. Money. Status. But you just want me."
My face turned red. "Is that bad?"
"It's dangerous," he said. But he was happy when he said it.
That night, he came back again. And the night after that. And the night after that.
For two whole weeks, Kaelen spent every night with me. He would arrive after everyone else was asleep and leave before dawn. But during those precious hours, he was all mine.
We talked about everything. He told me about his childhood, about the pressure of being an alpha, about his fears and dreams. I told him about my family's shame, about feeling like I didn't belong anywhere.
"You belong with me," he said one night, touching my hair.
"Do I really?"
"Yes," he whispered. "I've never felt this way about anyone before."
My heart wanted to explode with happiness. He had never felt this way before. That made me special. That made me different from all the other girls.
During the day, I barely saw him. He was always busy with alpha tasks. But the staff started treating me differently. They brought me better food, nicer clothes, and spoke to me with respect.
"The alpha really cares about you," one of them whispered to me. "Everyone can see it."
I felt like I was floating on air. Everyone could see that he cared about me. This wasn't just in my mind.
But then I started noticing things.
Like how he never took me out of the room during the day. How he never ate meals with me in the dining hall. How he never introduced me to his friends or the other pack leaders.
"Why can't I leave this room?" I asked him one night.
"It's safer for you here," he said, but he wouldn't look at me when he said it.
"Safer from what?"
"From the other alphas. They still want you, Elara. Your scent drives them crazy."
That made sense, I told myself. He was protecting me.
But deep down, a tiny voice whispered that maybe I was being hidden instead of protected.
On the fifteenth night, something changed.
Kaelen came to my room later than usual. He looked tired and stressed.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just pack business."
But when he held me that night, it felt different. Desperate. Like he was trying to remember every moment.
"Kaelen, you're scaring me," I said.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into my hair. "I'm so sorry, Elara."
"Sorry for what?"
"For being selfish. For taking what I wanted instead of doing what's right."
My stomach felt sick. "What are you talking about?"
"I can't keep doing this," he said. "I can't keep breaking the rules for you."
"What rules?"
He pulled back to look at me. His eyes were sad and full of guilt.
"I've never kept the same woman for more than one night," he said. "Never. It's my rule. It keeps things simple."
"But you kept me for two weeks," I said, confused.
"Yes. And that was my mistake."
The sick feeling in my stomach got worse. "Mistake?"
"Elara, what we have... it can't continue. I have responsibilities. I have a pack to think about."
"But you said you'd never felt this way before!"
"I know what I said." He looked away from me. "But feelings don't change reality."
I felt like the world was crashing down around me. "So you're going to marry her? Cerys?"
"Yes."
"And forget about me?"
"I'll never forget about you," he said quietly. "But I can't be with you."
Tears started pouring down my face. "You're lying. You do care about me. I can see it in your eyes."
"Caring isn't enough," he said, getting up from the bed. "Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do."
"Please don't do this," I begged. "Please don't leave me."
He walked to the door but stopped with his hand on the handle.
"Tomorrow is the wedding," he said without turning around. "After that, everything changes."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this is goodbye, Elara."
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
I stared at the door, waiting for him to come back. Waiting for him to tell me this was all a bad dream.
But he didn't come back.
I crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over my head. Tomorrow was his wedding. Tomorrow, he would marry someone else and forget I ever existed.
But as I lay there crying, I felt something strange. A weird stirring in my stomach. Like butterflies, but different.
I put my hand on my belly and felt it again.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no.
I sat up in bed, my heart beating. That buzzing feeling. The way I had been tired lately. The way certain smells made me feel sick.
I counted the days in my head. Two weeks since the wedding. Two weeks since... My hands started shaking.
I was pregnant.
I was carrying Kaelen's kid, and tomorrow he was marrying someone else.