Elara I stared at the tiny rings made from flower stems, touched by the idea and yet feeling a strange heaviness settle in my chest. It was an innocent gesture, but the girls didn’t realize just how awkward the idea of us wearing rings truly was. After all, Alaric and I weren’t husband and wife.
Elara I glanced down at my hair, running my fingers through the strands carefully, trying to see what Grace found so offensive about it. Sure, it had been years since I’d had a proper haircut, and my curls might’ve been a little unruly around the ends, but I didn’t think they were ‘awful’ by any s
The hairdresser nodded again, and I could see a hint of respect in her eyes now. “Understood,” she said simply, then set to work. It took a while—cutting, conditioning, adding highlights. I watched in the mirror as my curls transformed from slightly unruly into nice, soft, bouncy waves. And the ba
Elara I had to turn away first, my shoulders shaking as I tried to hide my laughter. The image of the stern Alpha Alaric, with butterfly clips in his hair and streaks of sparkly makeup on his cheeks, was too much to handle. I pressed my hand against my mouth, stifling the giggles that were thr
“Can we help, Mommy?” Zoe asked. “Of course,” I said, beaming at them. “Here, put on these aprons.” I pulled out two small aprons from a drawer and helped the girls put them on. After that, I showed them how to wash vegetables, measure the bread crumbs, and stir the sauce. They ended up splatter
Elara The table fell silent in the wake of Grace’s outburst, Zoe’s hand still hovering halfway to the cheese dish. Already, both girls’ lower lips were trembling, their big eyes shimmering with unshed tears after being yelled at. I glanced at Alaric, hoping for some kind of a hint of reassurance
My heart gave a small, unexpected flutter at his words. Family. It was just a word, but hearing it out loud made my chest tighten. I dared to glance at him, catching the faintest trace of warmth in his eyes before Grace’s sharp stare quickly broke the spell. “Well, now that we’ve indulged in enoug
Elara The morning came far too quickly. It felt like I’d shut my eyes for no more than five minutes, and then suddenly bright sunlight was streaming in through the curtains as they were unceremoniously ripped open. Of course, none other than Grace was the culprit for the brutal awakening. “Out
But I forced myself to stay still. To not react. It wasn’t Sarah’s fault that her death had been faked and she’d been held captive for years. And it wasn’t Alaric’s fault that his emotions were running high. The wife he’d thought was dead had suddenly returned out of nowhere. Maybe I won’t get my
Elara The sound of all the shocked murmurs and the sight of the stunned faces quickly faded behind the heavy door as it closed behind us, leaving just the three of us in the quiet, private room. I sank down nervously onto the edge of the nearby bench, still too stunned to speak or even begin to
My heart tugged a little. I brushed my fingers over the necklace Alaric had given me the night before—a simple pendant, but the meaning behind it far outweighed the sparkle of the diamonds inlaid along its edges. “Maybe,” I whispered, the thought of Alaric standing at the altar enough to send a fl
Elara Somehow, a few months of bliss passed after that fateful night that Alaric proposed. Eventually we began to encroach upon the original six month span of our arrangement, but we barely even noticed. In fact, our arrangement had quickly become a thing of the past. We weren’t constrained by
Elara The door slammed harder than I meant it to, but I didn’t care. Let them hear it echo down the damn hall, for all I cared. Fated mate? Either Asher had lost his mind, or he really thought he could manipulate me into believing him.. I stormed down the corridor, my hands curled into fists a
“I can handle him,” I replied, my jaw tightening. Elara didn’t even flinch. “He’ll talk to me.” I let out a slow breath, running my hand over my face. This was the last thing I wanted—to have them in the same room, breathing the same air. But if Asher was the key to unraveling the rest of this, th
Alaric The cold metal of the watch glinted under the harsh lights of the interrogation room. I held it between my fingers, thumb brushing over the engraved initials for what felt like the millionth time that morning. A.S.D. Asher Samuel Donovan. The watchmaker had confirmed the watch’s owner wit
Elara Alaric’s hand was warm around mine, his thumb brushing once against my knuckles before he started toward the stairs. He didn’t answer right away, but the hesitation I saw briefly flicker in his eyes was gone just as quickly as it came. Whatever had been holding him back just moments ago se
His gaze snapped up, sharp as a dagger. “He’s not who you think he is, Elara.” “And maybe he’s not who you think he is either.” Alaric exhaled sharply, as if trying to keep his patience in check. “You don’t know him like I do, Elara. You didn’t grow up with him. You didn’t see what he was capabl