Aiden Beaumont POV:
I left the garden and leaned against the wall in the hotel corridor. The cold of the tiles steadied me.
That woman. Elara Hayes. Just thinking of her made my heart ache again. My inner wolf stirred restlessly, urging me to go back, to hold her, to kiss her again.
But I knew I couldn't. To her, I was a stranger she had met for the first time tonight.
In truth, I had seen her three years ago.
I closed my eyes, slipping back into the memory.
It was at a pack gathering. When I caught Elara's scent from ten meters away, my inner wolf nearly lost control, snarling "Mine!" The sheer, explosive possessiveness that erupted within me startled even myself.
I knew instantly. That woman was my fated mate.
I picked up two glasses of champagne, intending to approach her and begin the bond that the Moon Goddess had ordained. But then I saw her arm linked with another man's. My wolf reacted before my mind could, rage tightening my grip until the glass nearly shattered in my hand.
I overheard someone say that the man was her newlywed husband, a lesser Alpha named Garrett Miller.
How could this be? Why would my fated mate be a married woman? The Moon Goddess had played a cruel joke on me. Why?
The moment I recognized her as my fated mate, her very existence, her scent, her being, became an irreplaceable attraction to me. The Moon Goddess's arrangement was supposed to be absolute. But she showed no awareness of me, not even a glance in my direction. I realized she must be wolfless, her senses so dull that she had never felt the pull—and thus had married another before she ever met me.
I did not approach her then. Though my wolf howled, I suppressed the maddening urge. I would not be the man who harassed another's wife in front of a crowd.
But I am the Alpha King. I would never allow anyone to take what was mine. So I made a plan.
The memory faded. I opened my eyes, took out my phone, and dialed a number with no contact name.
A woman's voice answered hesitantly. "Is this... Hicks?"
"It's me. You did well tonight. Continue as planned."
Then I ended the call.
Elara, this time, you came to me first. Thank you for walking into my trap.
Elara Hayes POV:
I sat in the garden for a long time, the cold seeping into my bones. The obsidian token from Aiden was a heavy weight in my hand, a tangible symbol of a choice I didn't know how to make.
Finally, I tucked it into a hidden pocket of my clutch. It was a lifeline I didn't know if I'd ever use, but it was the only one I had.
I walked through the garden toward the main entrance, bypassing the line of black cars waiting for their Pack members. I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber. I didn't want anything to do with the Miller family's driver, or the Miller family, ever again.
While I waited, I saw Aiden slide into the back of a black Bentley. He turned his head and looked back toward the crowd, our eyes meeting. He left me with a meaningful look.
The crowd from the summit began to spill out. I could no longer see Aiden. I saw Garrett and Leah emerge, walking a few feet apart. They were trying to look casual, but under the dim lights, I saw Garrett's fingers brush against the back of Leah's hand.
Leah's face was flushed with satisfaction. When she saw me, she froze for a second before plastering a look of concern on her face. "Elara! Where have you been? We were looking all over for you."
I stared at her, at her flawless performance. I felt nothing but a cold, heavy disgust. There were even a couple of red marks between her collarbones, a blatant provocation to me. I suppressed the urge to gag, said nothing, and just glared at her.
Garrett walked over, his brow furrowed with irritation. "Why did you run off by yourself? Do you have any idea how rude that is?"
He didn't ask where I had been. He didn't ask if I was safe. He didn't ask if I was upset. He just accused me. Looking at his handsome, deceitful face, I felt the last three years of my life curdle into a sick joke.
My Uber pulled up to the curb. I ignored them both, opened the back door, and got in.
"Elara!" Garrett called out from the sidewalk.
I shut the door and said to the driver, "Go, please."
As the car pulled away, I watched their figures shrink in the rearview mirror, standing together under the streetlight like the final scene of a cheap play.
I directed the driver to the house I shared with Garrett, a sprawling colonial in a wealthy New York suburb. Everything here had been provided by his parents, including me, the "lady of the house."
The house was empty and cold, just like our marriage.
I went straight to the walk-in closet and pulled out a suitcase. I started packing. I couldn't stand to be in this place for one more second.
I only took what was mine. The things my parents had given me, some clothes I'd bought with my own salary, and my law school textbooks.
The designer bags and jewelry Garrett had bought me, I left untouched in their velvet boxes.
I was dragging my suitcase down the grand staircase when the front door opened. Garrett stumbled in, reeking of alcohol.
His eyes landed on my suitcase, and his face hardened. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm going to my parents' house for a few days," I said calmly. I was too tired to even argue.
He was slightly annoyed by my attitude. He lunged forward to grab my arm, but I sidestepped him.
His body brushed past mine. The cloying scent of Leah's perfume mixed with the stale smell of whiskey on his breath made my stomach churn.
"Elara, stop this," he said, his voice softening into a placating tone. He tried to wrap his arms around me from behind. "I was wrong tonight. I only focused on business and neglected you. Let me make it up to you, okay?"
Business? I let out a cold laugh. Betraying me with my friend—was that business too?
His hands slid down to my waist, his lips close to my ear. His warm breath on my skin made me recoil. I could smell the faint, waxy scent of another she-wolf's lipstick on his neck.
A wave of revulsion, so powerful it was physical, washed over me.
I shoved him away. Hard. The force sent him stumbling back several steps.
"Don't touch me!" I snarled, my voice shaking with a disgust I could no longer contain. "You're filthy."
Garrett's face darkened, the feigned gentleness vanishing. It was replaced by the raw anger of a man whose pride had been wounded. "What do you mean?! Elara, don't push your luck!"
Seeing the mask finally drop, the last vestiges of affection I might have held for him turned to ash.
I didn't say another word. I just grabbed the handle of my suitcase and walked toward the door.
"You walk out that door, and you'll regret it!" he roared from behind me.
I didn't look back. I opened the door and stepped out into the cold night.
As the door clicked shut behind me, I closed the door on three years of living like a transparent ghost.
I dragged my suitcase down the silent, tree-lined street with nowhere to go. Finally, I stopped under a streetlight, pulled out my phone, and dialed the one number I knew I could trust.
The phone was answered on the second ring. "Elara? It's the middle of the night. What's wrong?"
