AEROS“A car just pulled out of his house a few minutes ago,” Jonathan announced as he walked into my study, still holding a phone to his ear.He was clearly talking to our man stationed at Xavier’s house. I had kept a close eye on Xavier ever since the incident with Blair, using this spy because I became suspicious of him when I lost her. Over time, I had tried to let go, realizing I was just paranoid when I lost her. Xavier had no real reason to want the woman he loved dead.“Who left the house?” I asked, looking up from the report I had been reviewing.I had asked one of the guards to gather any information they could find on Vienna, the young woman currently in my dungeon, hoping to find some sort of connection. But there was nothing. She lived with her mother, who was a healer in Xavier’s pack. Nothing about her stood out, and the more I looked at her details, the more it dawned on me that Xavier could be right.Maybe I was grasping at straws. Maybe Elarian wasn’t there. But the
AEROS The moment my eyes locked onto hers, my entire world stood still. Seeing her again after all these months hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me breathless and reeling. My mind raced with questions, a jumbled mess of emotions swirling inside me.As I took in the sight of her, my heart swelled with a mix of joy and disbelief. But then my gaze dropped to her belly, and my world came crashing down. The sight of her swollen stomach felt like a ton of bricks, leaving me sucker-punched.Disbelief and shock gave way to a tidal wave of emotions: anger, hurt, betrayal, and an overwhelming sense of loss. I felt like something precious, something that was mine, had been stolen from me. My mind reeled with questions and doubts.But beneath it all, there lingered a deep sadness and longing. It felt as though I had lost her all over again, like I was reliving the pain of our separation. Her pregnant belly was a harsh reminder of what could have been, of what we had lost.“Please, Aeros,
ELARIAN It was clear that Xavier didn’t want me anywhere near Aeros. It felt like he was somehow trying to use me against him. When I noticed two other identical cars behind us, I knew something was going on.The erratic driving, as if the driver was trying to lose someone, worried me, but we eventually arrived at our destination. I was immediately surrounded by more guards than I had ever seen.I tried to keep myself occupied by exploring the apartment, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Gabby’s face as I left. The look in her eyes haunted me.Had I really made the right choice by hiding from Aeros?I just wanted what was best for my baby.Suddenly, the mark on my neck began to tingle. It was as if I could sense Aeros, but I knew he couldn’t possibly be anywhere near here. Deciding I needed to return to the mansion, I demanded the guards take me back. They refused at first, but after I threatened them with the possibility of losing the baby, they reluctantly agreed.When we arrived
ELARIAN The entire room fell silent as Aeros stared at me, his expression one of stunned disbelief. Jonathan looked just as shocked, and that’s when I noticed Xavier standing by the door. There was a look on his face that I couldn’t quite read.“What did you just say?” Aeros asked, taking a step closer, but I instinctively took a step back.“Don’t… don’t take another step, Aeros,” I stammered. Tears pooled at the bottom of my eyes, and I swallowed hard, fighting to keep them from spilling.“Why… why didn’t you say something, Elarian? You should have told me. You should have come back home to me. You should never have run from those rogues who were supposed to bring you to me. And you never should have left in the first place.” His tone was firm, and the way his eyes locked onto mine made me want to believe everything he said.But I couldn’t forget. I couldn’t forget how he kicked me out after the mind-blowing sex, how he made me crave him only to treat me like nothing but a pet. He w
ELARIAN Aeros excused himself to have a word with the elder, leaving Jonathan and me standing outside. After a few moments, I made my way toward Xavier’s room. Inside, Gabby was already tending to him, while Vienna nursed small bruises on her arms.As soon as I stepped in, they all paused and looked up at me.“I’m so sorry that things took such a drastic turn. I hope he’s not too hurt?” I asked, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible. Guilt weighed heavily on me—I felt responsible for everything that had happened.After all, Aeros was here because of me.Vienna and Gabby remained silent, and Xavier lay unconscious on the bed. I waited, hoping they might say something to reassure me they didn’t blame me for all this. But when no one spoke, I turned to excuse myself.Just as I reached the door, Vienna called after me.“It’s not your fault, Elarian. He’s the monster, not you,” she said.It felt good to know she didn’t blame me for everything, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that th
ELARIAN “You said you wanted to tell me something,” I said to Jonathan, who sat silently beside me. He remained quiet, not uttering a single word, and I could still feel Aeros' gaze on me.Realizing I was right, that Jonathan didn’t have anything to say, I got up and headed towards my room. Before I could make it inside, Aeros called my name and rushed to join me in front of the door.“Please, Elarian, you can’t keep shutting me out like this. I made a mistake, yes. I was stupid for thinking I could live without you and that you were just a pet to me. I’ve realized how wrong I was. Let’s just make this work, at least for the sake of our child,” he pleaded, stepping forward to touch my hand, but I stepped away from his reach.“Child?” I raised an eyebrow. “What child are you talking about? The one you didn’t even know existed until a few hours ago?”“The only reason I didn’t know about the baby is because you didn’t tell me, Elarian. I had no idea before you disappeared and—”“Disappe
AEROS “At least try and talk to her. It can not be that bad, Aeros. What you did was wrong, so you must make the first move and sort this out for your child and for the woman you almost went insane for.”Jonathan’s words kept ringing inside my head as I made my way towards Elarian’s room. I knew she probably wouldn’t respond because she was clearly very angry at me, but I didn’t have a choice.I desperately wanted to sort things out, to let her know that I sincerely wished to make our relationship better and stronger—for us and for our child—but she was shutting me out.Back at Xavier’s pack, after the healer rushed Xavier out, I was certain something transpired between them. I knew she didn’t just change her mind about coming with me. Something must have forced her to change her mind, but I wanted to believe she made that decision on her own.Even though she came with me willingly, Elarian continued to shut me out and made it so difficult to hold a proper conversation without arguin
Author’s POV.Blair stood outside the pack house in the darkness, a grin spreading across her face as she recognized the signal the maid had given. Elarian should have already drunk the water, and the pain should have kicked in by now. This was her cue to end everything.When Blair had left Aeros, casting a powerful spell to keep her true face hidden, she never expected him to take a liking to someone else so suddenly. She had kept her eyes on him all these years, watching him wallow in self-pity and pain, which was exactly what she wanted him to feel.After all, Aeros had imprisoned the man she truly loved. When she heard that he had brought another woman home, she was enraged. She did everything she could to stir guilt inside him, manipulating small things to push him into driving Elarian away.And he had done exactly that, after a few carefully planned nudges in the right direction."The bastard thought he could sweep me under the carpet that easily?" she scoffed into the darkness.