[Elara''s POV]
"What is it?" Liana asked, peering over my shoulder.
"Just some business. I need to meet with Kaelen''s mother. It seems she''s here in the castle too." I folded the letter. "You go on ahead. I''ll catch up."
"Alright," Liana nodded, then added with a worried frown, "but your former mother-in-law is a snake. Be careful. It''s suspicious that she''d want to meet you here."
"I know," I smiled faintly, my eyes on the letter. At the bottom, a "helpful" note instructed me to pick up the key for room 1205 at the annex front desk.
A trap, laid out in plain sight.
Inside the grand ballroom, Seraphina saw Liana enter alone. A cold, triumphant smile touched her lips.
So, Adelina had successfully lured Elara away.
Elara wanted her thousand Moon-crystals, but she wouldn''t live to spend them. Not only would Elara fail to collect her money, but her reputation would be in tatters. By morning, Kaelen would have no choice but to finalize the rejection, whether he wanted to or not.
Meanwhile, in a dark corridor on the twelfth floor of the castle annex, Adelina and Giselle waited impatiently.
"Why isn''t she here yet? It''s been half an hour. You don''t think she figured it out and bailed, do you?" Giselle fretted. They had prepared everything perfectly for tonight.
"She''ll come," Adelina said with absolute certainty. "As long as she wants that money, she''ll come." In her mind, a lone wolf from a fallen clan like Elara could never resist the lure of a thousand Moon-crystals. She had to be greedy.
Just then, Elara''s figure appeared at the end of the hall. A look of glee spread across both their faces. But when they saw her in that magnificent starlight gown, Giselle''s eyes burned with jealousy. Elara looked so elegant, so fierce… like a true noble lady.
Noble my ass, Giselle thought. The more beautiful she looks now, the more pathetic she''ll be later.
A malicious smile twisted Giselle''s lips as she watched Elara get the key from the front desk, unlock the door to room 1205, and step inside.
Perfect.
Now, she would get to watch Elara beg and cry, and finally get her revenge for all the humiliation she had suffered lately. She was the Alpha''s sister, a project director, but all her subordinates ever talked about was Elara. How good Elara was, how smoothly things ran when Elara was in charge. They all looked down on her.
What was so great about Elara? She couldn''t wait to see their faces when they saw what would become of their precious Elara.
Giselle''s communication crystal vibrated with a new message.
Her smile widened. "Mother, they''re done. We can go in."
The two of them entered room 1205. Elara was slumped against the bed, her body limp and powerless. Standing over her were two hulking brutes—the Rogues they had hired.
"She walked right into the Wolfsbane mist," one of them reported, his grin a leering slash across his face. "She can barely lift her head, let alone struggle."
Giselle laughed, walking up to Elara and looking down at her with contempt. "Surprised? Did you really think you could just end the bond and walk away with a thousand Moon-crystals? In your dreams!"
Elara was breathing heavily, her eyes fixed on the mother and daughter with a glacial fury. "So this is what you wanted to ''talk'' about?"
"It''s your own fault for being so greedy!" Adelina spat. "That money belongs to my son! You won''t get a single crystal!"
The irony was suffocating. Three years of pouring her heart and soul into Kaelen and his family, and they saw none of it. And she had once thought of them as family, had given them everything.
"Alright, you two can have your fun with her," Giselle said to the Rogues, her voice dripping with venom. "The more you break her, the better. And make sure you record everything with a memory crystal!"
The two men''s faces twisted into grotesque, lustful smiles as they advanced on me.
I stared at the two she-wolves. "Have you thought about what this will do to Kaelen? No matter what, I am still his mate! He would never allow this!"
As I spoke, my right hand, hidden by the full skirt of my gown, was clutching my communication crystal. My fingers moved deftly across its surface, finding the buttons by touch alone.
The training of a Silvermoon warrior never truly left you.
Kaelen was just a few halls away. If he answered this mind-link, he could be here in minutes. He could stop this.
This was his last chance.
"Ha! My brother has Sister Seraphina now. Why would he care about you?" Giselle scoffed. "Even if he found out, he wouldn''t lift a finger!"
I pressed my lips together. The mind-link was connecting. I had turned the volume to its lowest setting, a signal so faint that only I could feel the vibration of it through our bond.
In the ballroom, Kaelen felt the pulse of an incoming mind-link. The caller ID was Elara.
He was about to answer when Seraphina laid a delicate hand on his arm, her tone a silken caress. "Oh, is that Elara? If my presence is upsetting her, Kaelen, perhaps I should leave."
"Don''t worry about her," Kaelen said with a flash of irritation, and severed the connection. It would just be more of her endless complaining and drama. He had more important things to do. He would deal with her after the gala.
Just then, a stir at the entrance to the ballroom drew his attention. "King Malachi is here," Seraphina murmured. "We should go and greet him."
Kaelen looked up and saw the magnificent figure of the Lycan King, surrounded by an entourage, making his entrance. His handsome face was a mask of cold nobility, his deep violet eyes surveying the room with an air of detached superiority. He was a true king, born to rule.
How could he have ever thought such a man would be interested in Elara? Kaelen chided himself for his earlier jealousy. Malachi's interactions with her must have been nothing more than a passing whim. They were from two different worlds.
Back in room 1205, the moment the mind-link went dead, the bond between us gave a final, agonizing shriek and fell silent.
My heart didn''t just sink; it turned to stone in a pit of absolute cold.
So cold…
I had given him a chance. I had given him so many chances. And each one had only left my heart colder than before.
I looked up at Giselle and Adelina. "We were family for three years. If you stop this now, I will forget it ever happened."
"Forget it?" Giselle's laugh was pure poison. "Even if I agreed, I don''t think these two gentlemen would. I made sure to pick out two strong, healthy ones for you, out of ''familial'' concern."
I lowered my gaze.
He had hung up on my last hope.
So be it.
He would learn what it felt like to have all hope extinguished.
My fingers, still hidden by my skirt, continued to move across the crystal''s surface. A silent, encrypted audio signal was sent to Liana.
In the corner of the room, a tiny camera, disguised as one of the Moon-crystals on my gown, was streaming everything live to her device. I had prepared it after receiving Adelina''s letter, my instincts screaming that something was wrong. The moment I stepped into the room and smelled the Wolfsbane, I had held my breath and discreetly activated it.
I never imagined they would stoop to something this depraved.
Since Kaelen wouldn''t come to save me, then he would bear witness. He would see the true, ugly faces of the mother and sister he cherished.
My fingers typed out one final command to Liana.
—Make it public.