บททั้งหมดของ THE ALPHA'S FORSAKEN SECRET : บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Ava’s POV When I heard the slight tap on my door, the sun had hardly dropped below the horizon. Already before I opened it, I knew who it would be. Jackson stood there, a storm in his eyes, and we just stared silently for a time. He was my best buddy, my compass through the storms, not just the alpha. That compass was also whirling right now.His voice low yet firm, he continued, "Walk with me."Closing the door behind me as we descended the steps and into the crisp evening air, I pulled on my jacket. The night noises of the forest alive—rustling leaves, the far-off shriek of an owl. His pace slower than normal, as though he were gathering his ideas, we strolled in silence for some time.At last he started talking. "You should be aware of something. Around Eli.Hit me like a stone with the name. "I thought he was at last proving himself," I added carefully. "He has been performing as promised.”Jackson's facial expression was incomprehensible, but his jaw was tense. "That is also wha

Ava's POV I knew the weight of the unspoken words between us as soon as I entered the room. Eli was standing beside the old desk, his fingers following a line in the dust, yet he was staring at me. His demeanor had something raw, even vulnerable—something I had hardly encountered."Close the door," he murmured gently.I did; the faint click of the latch locked us into an unusual familiarity. The walls were closing in, the secrets whirling about us like a ghostly mist. It was time to face whatever lies beyond weeks of half-truths and tight silences.Eli, what are you concealing from me? Feeling the words come out of my mouth like a dare, I inquired. Particularly given all we had gone through together, he owed me the truth. I stayed firm for whatever he was about to say.Eli looked down, his jaw tightened as though he were battling himself, then his eyes locked with mine, sharper and more intense than I had ever seen. He said, "Ava," his voice low and nearly cracking, "there's a reason

Ava's POV Between Eli and me, the stillness is dense and heated. I stayed still, my fingers tightly holding the notepad he had handed me so I could feel its edges cutting into my palm. There were all those secrets, all those times he had avoided my inquiries or shrugged off my worries, ready to be unearthed in this little journal.I opened it, steeling myself with a long breath. Quick, nearly frantic handwriting covered the pages, as if someone had hurried to organize their ideas before they might go. Not only were names and dates involved here, though. There were specifics, rich descriptions of people I knew, others I didn't, all twisted in a web of relationships I hardly comprehended."Eli: what is all this??" My voice was hardly consistent, I asked. I was sorting names that sounded familiar from others that made me shiver down my back. He sat silent while I turned the pages, his eyes fixed on me, inscrutable.His voice low, he replied at last, "It's everything." "Everybody involve

AVa's POV As we raced down the lonely road, the stillness in the automobile seemed more weight than it had ever done. The gloom outside appeared to push against the windows, and I could not help but believe it was crushing on us, too—wrapping up every hidden secret, every bit of truth Eli had omitted.Eli kept his eyes on the road, his jaw closed to indicate he was grappling with what he had not uttered. Years had passed between us, and throughout all that time I had never felt so far from him. Alternatively he might have just improved at concealing."Who else knows?" My voice startled the quiet and sounded more strong than I had meant. But following what I had discovered and all the falsehoods... I had to know.He looked at me momentarily then back toward the road. "It was just me and a handful of people. Ava, you were kept out of it to guard you."To guard me?" I gave out a sour laugh. "Keeping secrets just leaves me in the dark; it does not protect me, Eli."He moaned, tightening

Ava's POV Watching Eli pace the room, his expression locked between regret and something darker—probably fear—and I could not breathe. Since he began talking, he hadn't yet looked me in the eye; however, this time I was letting him evade me."So, you are telling me this has been going on for... exactly how long?" My voice hardly steady as I asked. "You concealed all this from me for years, and felt it was alright since it was for my protection?”"It was never that simple," he said at last, looking directly at me. His eyes reflected a mix of vulnerability I had never seen before and embarrassment. "I felt I could keep you out of it all and manage it. But things were increasingly difficult.I laughed, then clenched my hands. " Complicated? Eli, I have been in danger without even seeing it! Do you know how powerless that renders me?Thick with suspense, the room went still for a minute. Eli's face softened and his shoulders slumped as though he carried a weight too great for one person.