After that,she never suggested another shared marking again.
Elara took a deep,steadying breath,forced her body to ignore the overwhelming,intrusive scent of Lyra that permeated the territory,and went to pack the last of her few personal belongings.She had grown accustomed to the Alpha’s indifference.After so many disappointments,her inner wolf had gone numb.
She quickly packed the remaining clothes and her precious human scrolls(books)and dispatched them to the Vance Clan Territory via protected courier.
That evening,both Elara and Ryder received coded invitations to a mandatory Alpha/Beta dinner gathering from an allied Clan.Since the invitations were sent separately—one in the name of the Vance Clan and the other in the name of the Thorne Clan—both of them arrived at the event alone.
When Elara reached the Neutral Zone gathering point,she saw Ryder exiting his armored transport with Lyra clinging to his side.
Ryder noticed her and,displaying a flicker of Alpha discomfort at the public optics,stepped forward.“My apologies,Mate.I should have ordered a patrol transport to collect you from the Den.”
“It is of no consequence,Alpha,”Elara replied with a polite,brittle smile.“Besides,I secured my own escort.”
As more guests—high-ranking Alphas and Betas—arrived,someone from an older,more traditional Pack asked curiously,“When did Alpha Thorne and Beta Vance become so close in proximity?”
Ryder hesitated.He had promised Lyra that he would publicly solidify their alliance at an official Pack gathering.But when he glanced at the petite,pale woman beside him,his Alpha tongue seemed unable to form the declaration.
Elara smiled brightly,the sound carrying a deceptive confidence.“Have you forgotten,Elder?Alpha Thorne is my direct superior now,the Alpha King.Naturally,I follow his command.”
Someone from the crowd laughed,easing the tension.“The eldest daughter of the Vance Clan working as a mere Beta secretary?Is that not a wasteful assignment for such a sharp mind?”
Another Alpha joked,“Still marking the Alpha King’s territory,Elara?Surely you know he is already Claimed!”
The people around them chuckled knowingly.
Almost everyone in their social hierarchy knew that Elara had fiercely pursued Ryder years ago,an open secret everyone acknowledged—everyone,that is,except Ryder himself.Hearing this,Ryder froze,the reality of her long-term devotion hitting him belatedly.