After Alexander finished speaking,he led Jessica and Rhiannon upstairs without once looking back at her.The warmth of the lodge felt meaningless;the rain still clung to her hair.Elena moved through the motions of a hurried shower and crawled into bed,heavy with exhaustion and the ache in her belly.
How long she slept she could not tell.When she woke,her throat felt raw,as if she had been screaming into the wind.She called Alexander’s name a few times,but the only answer was the muffled cadence of a story drifting through the wall.
“Rhiannon is so much like you,”Jessica’s voice chimed,bright and proud.“Even when she’s upset,she copies you and tries to comfort me.”
“Of course,”Alexander replied,the pride in his tone unmistakable.“I raised her right.She’ll look after you when I’m gone.”
The image of Jessica’s smile was vivid even through plaster and timber.Elena listened as Alexander patted Rhiannon’s small back.“Alright,get some sleep.I’ll tell you both a bedtime tale.”
A few moments later his measured voice floated through the partition.“In a distant valley,there lived a king and queen…”
Staring up at the plain,white ceiling,Elena could only offer a bitter smile.Three years of marriage,and Alexander and Jessica shared the easy intimacy of a true pair—and the child they tucked in together belonged to them in every way that mattered.
She tried to sit up for water and knocked a framed portrait from the bedside.The glass shattered and the photograph of her and Alexander skittered across the floor,scuffed and misaligned.She rose despite the dizziness,barefoot into the dark,and stepped on shards.Pain lanced across her foot as she reached for the switch,swept the mess,and poured herself a drink.All the while,the story from the next room continued on—soft,steady,another life being described for a child who was not hers.
Bandaged and back beneath the covers,a memory stabbed through her:a time when Alexander had cancelled council duties to infirmary attendants a fever she’d barely had.“Don’t worry,”he had murmured then,“I’ll stay with you.I ache worse than you do.”That gentleness felt like a relic now.Tonight he had handed the ginger broth to Jessica.
Tears tracked silently down Elena’s face as dawn pinked the sky.Laughter from below roused her the next morning.She opened the door and found Jessica and Alexander’s mother in the parlor,whispering and smiling.
When Jessica spotted her,a smug expression crossed her face.“Aunt Evelyn,”she cooed to the elder woman,“don’t worry.Alexander only allows us to stay for a few days because of Rhiannon’s heart.Once the pack medic tends to her,we’ll leave.Besides,Natalie might grow overemotional.”
Evelyn Greyson held Rhiannon with a practiced air of adoration.“Why would she be upset?”the matriarch said coolly.“They’ve been married three years without heirs.Our little Rhiannon is perfect.Call me Grandmother.”
Rhiannon peered up and chimed,“Grandmother.”
Evelyn’s face brightened.She patted Jessica’s hand.“Jessica,one daughter isn’t enough.When you bear a son,I’ll make sure Alexander marries you properly.”
Elena’s stomach turned.She moved toward the doorway,but Evelyn’s voice snapped like a whip.“Stop right there!”
Two attendants—pack attendants,accustomed to carrying orders as easily as trays—materialized and seized Elena’s wrists,not allowing her to step forward.
“You’ve grown insolent,”Evelyn declared with theatrical disdain.“You do not even come downstairs to serve me tea.Bring her here.”
They hauled Elena to the landing.She fought,but their grips were iron.Evelyn,face alight with superiority,directed them with a delicate cruelty.“Make me a cup of tea—ninety-nine degrees.Do not fail.”
Elena stood,jaw clenched,and pretended not to hear.Jessica’s voice slid forward like honey.“Auntie,please.Let me handle this.I’m used to doing heavy work like that.”
Evelyn placed her hand in Jessica’s,indulgent.“You are the future daughter-in-law,child.How could you stoop to chores?Let her do it.”
Elena watched the tableau as if seeing herself from a distance—the way Jessica tried to step away,then froze under Elena’s stare.Annoyance creased Jessica’s features.
“What use is she here?She cannot bear pups and now she won’t even serve tea.Lock her away.I do not want to see her about the lodge.”
Two attendants tightened their hold to take her away.
At that moment Alexander emerged from the study,frowning.“Mother,that’s enough.”
