Elara’s nails dug deep into the soft skin of her palm as she watched,her breath hitched in her throat.
Then,the memory returned.She recalled the time she suffered internal bleeding after drinking too much with the Pack’s trade allies.The next morning,Ryder only asked the Omega servants to prepare her a common,bland soup.She had once tearfully asked him to tie her hair into a simple ponytail for her,but he had simply stated,“I do not possess the human skill for such a trivial task.”
Elara stood frozen until Ryder finally guided Lyra out of the room,their forms vanishing down the spiral staircase.
Her legs were numb,but she stubbornly refused to move.
She refused to descend and play the part of the foolish,irrelevant Claimed Mate—the useless shadow in their perfectly scripted fated love story.
Perhaps because her mind was elsewhere,lost in the icy solitude of her decision,Elara misjudged the steep,carved stairs as she finally walked down.She stumbled.Then,she fell heavily,her body thudding painfully against the polished stone steps.
“Ah!”
A sharp,searing pain exploded in her lower abdomen.She curled up on the cold ground,feeling a warm,metallic liquid—the undeniable scent of fresh blood—slowly spreading beneath her.
Her face,usually pale,turned a ghostly white.With trembling fingers,she pressed her lower belly.A horrifying,visceral realization hit her:The life she carried was trying to leave her.
“The Mate!The Alpha’s Mate!”
The elderly Pack Servant rushed over in a panic.When the servant saw the dark blood spreading on the floor,her composure shattered.“I—I will call the Pack Healers immediately!And the Alpha’s private comm!”
The servant quickly seized Elara’s rejected phone.“I have tried the Alpha King’s private line ten times,Mate,but he is outside the range!I have tried seventeen times on your line...No response from the Alpha’s comm-link…”
On the harsh metal gurney,Elara weakly opened her eyes and grabbed the Healer’s sleeve.
“I…I will sign the decree myself…I do not want the pup…”
Her voice was barely a whisper,but it carried the chilling,crushing weight of a final judgment.
Elara remembered how Ryder had commanded her to prepare for a Pack heir just two moon cycles ago,securing the future of their shaky bond.She had ceased the human suppressant.This pup had come unexpectedly—a desperate,fragile link.
Now,it was leaving her,just as unexpectedly.