~ALARIC'S POV~
Sleep refused me--every time I closed my eyes, I saw the flames.
The way they ate through the walls and silence that followed. The threads snapping, scent of burnt ash where her heartbeat used to be.
I sat on the bed, jaw locked, hands stained with dried blood from another shattered glass. My wolf had stopped howling and that was worse than the screaming.
At least when he raged, I could pretend she was still tethered to us. That there was still something to protect.
But now... he was silent, grieving.
Tazira hadn't left the infirmary since the fire. The healers hovered around her like she might snap in half if someone raised their voice.
She'd cried, once. Then demanded her favorite silks, her tea brewed a certain way, and new guards posted outside her door. No one questioned her, not with the child inside her... my child.
She looked up when I entered. "Alaric," she breathed, voice soft, perfectly strained. "You're not sleeping again."
I didn't answer.
"Come sit with me, the healer said the bleeding's stopped. I think… I think the baby's holding on." She placed my hand over her belly like it was sacred. "Maybe the Moon Goddess spared us something."
I gently pulled my hand away.
Her eyes held that same look I'd seen the night of the fire, fear wrapped in performance. She didn't smell like grief, just the lingering scent of smoke and opportunism.
"There are conflicting reports," I said quietly.
Tazira froze. "About?"
"Elowen."
She tensed, but only slightly. "But they said she didn't make it."
"They also said her body wasn't found," I replied sharply.
"Maybe she was burned beyond recognition," she offered too quickly. "It was a massive fire, Alaric."
I turned away after her words before my rage surfaced. "And yet, the scent trails stopped near the back door. The same door that was locked from the outside."
There was silence and then I asked, "I thought you said you saw the housekeeper help her out?"
"Not really," she scratched her neck, more like she was jittering. "You know I was hurting too inside the fire, so maybe I saw wrong."
"Really?" I stood up, glaring into her soul.
"Yes Ric," she mumbled and instinctively stepped back. "I'm even having headache right now because of the baby."
"It's fine..." I said flatly. "I'm reopening the investigation. I want to know who barred that exit."
"Ugh," her voice sharpened, "so now you think it was a setup?"
"I think someone wanted her dead."
"And you think it was me?" she snapped but I didn't answer. I walked out before I said something I couldn't take back.
An hour later, I stood in the training yard where one of the perimeter guards, Malen, waited--shoulders straight, expression tense.
He wasn't ranked high, but he had a reputation for knowing the ins and outs of mate bonds better than most.
Rumor was, he'd lost his once, and survived it.
"You felt her die?" I asked, no preamble.
"No, Alpha..." Malen hesitated.
"You're sure?"
"Yes," he swallowed hard. "I was stationed near the western ridge the night of the fire. I felt something break, yes, but not the final snap. More like… a rejection."
I stared at him. "She rejected me."
"Only one side has to walk away for that kind of rupture, Alpha. It severs the tether, but doesn't mean death. If both were dead, the bond threads would've burned completely. You wouldn't have found anything left."
"But we did." I stepped closer. "They were scorched around the edges, but intact."
"Exactly," Malen nodded. "She's alive--somewhere."
I closed my eyes as relief hit harder than pain but so did the next realization. "She left me." I muttered more to myself and Malen only bowed.
Then, I ordered the burned ruins to be swept again. This time by wolves I trusted and not Tazira's hand-picked guards.
I wanted everything cataloged... the remains, the patterns of the fire, and the source point. I needed answers and truth buried inside that living room.
The rest of the day blurred—pack duties, false sympathy, whispered condolences. I dismissed them all.
My wolf still wouldn't speak. He hadn't moved since the fire, like he'd gone dormant. I couldn't feel his strength anymore, just the cold inside my bones. The kind that made me question my right to the title Alpha.
At dusk, I walked back to the ruins alone.
The structure had collapsed inward, charred beams stuck out like broken ribs. I knelt near what used to be the back wall and my hand brushed through soot and fragments of wood.
Something glinted, and I leaned in.
Half-buried under a cracked stone was a small blackened object. My fingers wrapped around it slowly, pulling it free. A metal chain, a pendant. Scorched, but intact.
I knew it immediately... Elowen's trinket.
She never took it off. It was the only thing she brought with her from her old pack, the Morvain sigil etched faintly beneath the soot.
My thumb rubbed over it. She'd been here and got out. I stood, gripping the necklace, and turned toward the wind.
That's when I caught it... faint, barely there but unmistakable, it was her scent. Fresh enough to make my wolf stir for the first time in days.
His growl started low--wounded, angry, and awakening. My lips parted, breath unsteady.
"She's alive," I whispered, my hand tightened around the pendant. "And she ran from me? Why? To meet her lover?"
***
~TAZIRA'S POV~
I paced the guest room, palms clammy, jaw clenched so tight it ached.
"There are conflicting reports," Alaric's cold and distant voice from earlier still echoed in my head.
He didn't even look at me the same way anymore, not since the fire and has started asking questions.
My nails dug into my palm.
I burnt the damn place to the ground and made sure the door was locked. I saw the smoke, their bond broke.
She should be dead.
But now he was doubting, digging and sniffing around like he didn't know how far I was willing to go to protect what's mine. I reached for my phone and tapped into the encrypted line.
The screen glowed as I typed: "Locate Elowen Thorne and beat the Alpha's trackers. If she's found, kill on sight without hesitation!"
I stared at the message for three long seconds before hitting send. They'd get it done as always.
I walked to the mirror, ran trembling fingers through my hair. My reflection didn't lie—I looked pale, frayed, and too raw around the eyes.
Alaric barely touched me anymore. Even after I told him the bleeding had stopped and placed his hand on my stomach, he just walked away?
I bit down a sob and grabbed the phone again, this time dialing. It rang twice before a familiar voice picked up.
"Tazira dear," my mother said. Calm, steady, everything I wasn't. "Any problem?"
"I think… I think I messed up." My voice broke, just enough to be believable. "Alaric--he's acting different and asking about her."
"Who? Elowen?"
I nodded, forgetting she couldn't see me. "He's starting to doubt the fire and keeps saying there's no body. That her scent—"
"She's gone," my mother cut in sharply. "You did what had to be done. You burned that wretched girl to ash and gave your child a future."
"I don't know anymore, Mom." I dropped into the armchair by the window, holding my knees. "What if he finds out I was the one who ignite the fire?"
"You listen to me," she said, voice steel wrapped in velvet. "Alaric will never find out! Elowen's gone now and you are the Luna of Dravenmere Pack. Do you understand me?"
I didn't respond.
"She manipulated him and bewitched that man into loving her. You severed that bond before it destroyed everything your child deserves."
I let the silence stretch, letting her words settle. My breathing slowed, my hands stopped shaking.
"You've done well, sweetheart..." she added. "...better than I hoped. Now keep your head calm. You and I will meet soon, we need to discuss what comes next."
"In two days," I said quietly. "I can't leave now. Not while he's still... uncertain."
"Of course, I understand," she murmured. "Reel him back in, then we move."
"Ok, Mom," I hung up.
I sat still for a long time, phone resting against my chest.
Let her be alive, I thought. Let them chase her and hunt shadows because if she dared show her face again, I'd make sure she disappeared for good this time.
I stood and walked to the window, watching the guards shift below, their heads low in deference.
Alaric still hadn't returned. He was probably at the ruins again, digging through ash like he expected her to rise from it but she wouldn't. And even if she did… my grip tightened on the edge of the window, I won't lose him to her anymore!
She was a mistake he would learn to forget soon. I touched my stomach gently and whispered the only truth that mattered.
"No matter what… Alaric is mine and my child will be the future Alpha."