Reborn Hybrid: I Tame the Ruthless Alpha King

Elara’s POV I thought love was supposed to protect you. I was wrong, I was always wrong. Jaxon’s living room smelled like expensive perfume and cold hatred. Every face around me has the same expression, disgust, triumph and the particular cruelty of the people who had a long time to finally say what they truly thought. My eyes scanned the six pairs of eyes staring at me. “You dirty little hybrid.”Jaxon’s mother's voice was calm, which made it worse than anything. “Did you think sleeping with the Alpha King made you special? You’re nothing but a used rag he threw away.” It was Jaxon who made me go to him. He’d knelt before me, begging, saying it was the only way to protect our families. I wanted to scream at her, tell her to go to hell but something was wrong. My legs were barely holding me up. Something was wrong with my body, it had been wrong for weeks. A heaviness in my limp that I couldn’t explain. That was the moment I understood. After three years of marriage, of sacrificing everything, of swallowing every insult and convincing myself it was love, Jaxon could not even look at me. His gaze lingered on the wall beside me, as if I were a stain he couldn’t stand to see. “Jaxon.” My voice came out smaller than I wanted. “Say something.” I pleaded, my voice breaking into pieces. The face I had memorized. I had kissed, trusted and cried into, it was like looking at a stranger “What do you want me to say, Elara?” His face was actually bored, like this was nothing more than a tedious chore. “You went to Kael. You warmed his bed. Everyone knows. You made me a laughingstock!” “You sent me there.” The words tore out of me. “You told me it will help…..” “Careful.” His eyes went sharp. “Careful what lies you tell in front of my family.” His sister Lila laughed from the corner of the room. A short ugly sound. “She’s still trying,” Lila said. “Even now, she’s trying to play the victim.” The room titled. I pressed my hand against the wall to steady myself. My finger felt numb. My chest feels like something was sitting on it and slowly pressing down. Something is wrong with me. I had thought it was grief. Then I thought it was exhaustion, now standing in the room with these faces, looking at me like I was already dead. A different thought crept in. Had he been doing something to me? But that wasn’t what happened. Nia. Where is Nia? “Where is my daughter?” I asked, the memory suddenly hit me. “ Where is my daughter!” I screamed. I scan through all the pairs of the eyes, expecting them to give me a proper answer of where my daughter is, but the only thing I got is silence. “Where is Nia?” My voice broke on her name. Jaxon’s mother looked away. His aunt stared at the floor. Lila stopped smiling. “Jaxon.” I stepped toward him. My legs were shaking. “Where is my daughter? Where is Nia? What did you…. She is your daughter!” “Well,” Lila's voice sounded amusingly as she played with one of her fingers. “Your daughter might be gone before you.. who knows?” She smiled. My eyes widened in shock. What have they done to my daughter, she is innocent, a kid. She’s just a kid. “She was a problem,” Jaxon's voice sounded. Tears streamed down my cheeks, hot and urgent. Three words. Just three words, and my entire world stopped. “What does that mean?” I whispered. “What did you do to my baby?” He didn’t answer, he just stared at me with disgust. I don’t remember moving. I only remember the sound that came out of me, something between a scream and a sob, and then I was running, sprinting down the hallway, through the back door, into the garden. It was by the last place I’d seen Nia, chasing fireflies in her little pink dress.. When I got to the garden, I stood frozen. My daughter was there.. My Nia. My sweet girl with her soft curls and her bright smile, face down in the shallow pond that should never have been deep enough to hurt her. I dove into the water, pulling her small body into my arms. Her skin was ice-cold, her little chest still. I pressed my lips to hers, begging her to breathe, to move, to cry—anything. I rubbed her back, shook her gently, screamed her name until my throat was raw, but she didn’t move. She was gone. I don’t know how long I kneel there in the wet grass. But when I finally looked up. Jaxon was standing at the back door watching me. His expression was not grief. It was not even guilt. It was satisfaction. The last strength of hope I had came crumbling. Everything I had been, the patient wife, the grateful woman, the girl who believed that enduring pain was the same thing as being strong, all of it collapsed into one single feeling. I will take him with me to hell. I laid Nia down gently in the grass. I pressed one last kiss to her cold forehead and then stood up. My body was failing slowly, I could feel it now, clearly, undeniably. Whatever he had been giving me was already deep in my blood. My wolf was long gone, silenced since the accident he had also arranged. I had no power, no pack, no allies. I had nothing, but I still had my hands. I walked toward him. He saw something in my face that made him step back. “Elara….” I threw myself at him, I grabbed his collar, I stretched, I clawed, I fought with every last piece of strength left in my ruined body, but he was stronger, he shoved me and I hit the ground hard, a painful groan escaped my lips. I stared intently at him, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. "You want to nail me to the pillar of shame while you enjoy your wealth and glory? Dream on! Do you know what I said about you to the King?" He stepped forward, grabbing my collar, his face contorted with rage. "What did you say?!" With my last ounce of strength, I lunged at him, biting his ear, refusing to let go no matter how hard he hit me, until his ear was ripped off, bloodied and raw. I collapsed to the ground, exhausted, too weak to hear Jaxon's cries of pain and curses echoing in my ears. The cold from the earth seeped into my back, I stared up at the grey sky. My fingers wouldn’t close anymore. My chest wouldn’t rise properly. The heaviness had spread everywhere now. So this is how it ends. The grey sky blurred, Nia’s face appeared in my eyes, her curls, her laugh, the way she called my name like it was the best word she knew. I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I couldn’t….. It’s all mommy’s fault….