“Don’t be harsh, Raven,” Alaric said. “Ariel acted for our reputation. How would it look if I divorced her immediately?”
“What about me?” I pressed.
“One year,” he promised. “One year, and then I’ll divorce her and take you as my mate.”
But before that year passed, a strange request came.
“Raven, Ariel wants a child before she leaves. Her dying grandparents have wished for grandchildren,” Alaric told me.
I frowned. “Why involve me? She won’t even stay.”
“Just help her, Raven. She’s your friend, and she’s always been kind to you,” he insisted.
I didn’t understand at first, but Alaric explained, “Ariel cannot bear children. She wants you to carry them, so when she leaves, they’ll be yours to raise.”
I hesitated, but his words persuaded me.
“Don’t worry. Once Ariel leaves, we’ll marry—and the children will be ours,” he promised.
I agreed. I carried the twins for Ariel and Alaric. But before I could deliver them safely, Ariel died in a tragic accident.
I gave birth to twin boys, and Alaric, devastated by Ariel’s death, begged me to raise them.
Two years later, Alaric still hadn’t married me. When I asked, he refused, citing appearances.
“How would it look? People will say I’m celebrating my wife’s death,” he said.
“But I’m your mate, Alaric. I was meant to be with you,” I said.
“None of that matters now. Focus on the pups, Raven. Marriage will come later,” he replied.
So I dedicated myself to raising the twins. But no matter how much I gave, my sons despised me. They treated Morgana, their nanny, as their true mother and blamed me for Ariel’s death.
Eleven years I poured my heart into raising them, enduring insults and cruelty.
But today, I had reached my limit. I would no longer wait for them to love me.
Today, I decided to leave.
Raven’s Pov
After ending the call, I stood there for a moment, forcing myself to breathe slowly as my heart thundered wildly in my chest.
I refused to cry. I had already shed enough tears over the last eleven years—more than enough for one lifetime.
This time, I would straighten my spine, lift my chin, and find Alaric to tell him face‑to‑face that I was done. That I was leaving the pack.
Music drifted down the corridor, lively and loud. The celebration had already begun. The twins’ birthday feast was underway.
I slipped into a soft pink dress I found hanging in the wardrobe and stepped out of the room.