The Baby Is Not Yours But My Ex-Mate's - The Lycan King's Dilemma

“Elara you know that I have always loved you,” Kaelan whispered. Seraphine’s blood ran cold. “To be precise,” Kaelan said, “I have waited for the right time to inform Seraphine of us.” Seraphine’s knees nearly buckled. ‘Us’. The words twisted in her mind. Each phrase cut deeper than the last. Her heart rate dropped as if the rest of the world, everything that was real had frozen and she hung there in what felt like a cruel reality that could not be all too real. She blinked, swearing and sure her ears had deceived her, her mind had taken a twist to imagining what in reality could not be. Kaelan would never... her thoughts whispered weakly. Elara wouldn’t... But the scene before her didn’t waver. Kaelan’s warm hand was still cupping Elara’s cheek, his finger gently tracing her check in a way that Seraphine used to find so comforting. She looked at their linked hands and memories of her past with Kaelan threatened to overpower her: Kaelan’s laughter as they chased the stars through these very trees at night with nothing but full moon as their guide. The way his arms felt when he’d held her close, whispering promises of forever. It was a memory that seemed to be a dream Seraphine could not wake from – one of those times when everything seemed beautiful. It was the night they escaped from the pack. They laid together under the stars. The quiet night carried the smell of pine and wildflowers. She remembered all that. Kaelan's warm palm followed the contour of her face; his thumb simply brushed her cheek as though he was afraid that if he applied too much pressure she may disappear. Silver as the night sky and filled with warmth, his gaze captured hers giving her the sensation that nothing existed in the universe besides her. “I could stay like this forever,” he said in a low personal voice that encircled her heart like a shield. He leaned in so close that their foreheads touched. His wolf hummed in sync with hers. The bond they shared was so natural; it was so easy. It felt like breathing. She remembered how her heart beat faster listening to him calling her name; how his laughter caused her skin to rise into goose pimples and how she felt complete with him. Kaelan pulled her closer. His lips grazed the soft skin just below her ear and that sent warmth spiraling through her body. His touch had always been as passionate as the golden flames in his eyes; it burned her through the clothes. “I love you Seraphine,” He whispered. “We are going to remain as one and nothing will ever get in between.” Seraphine smiled–gently taking his lips with hers lightly. In that moment there was no doubt, no fear. Only love. He loved me. He told me he loved me. Her mind clung desperately to those words. She tried to reconcile them with the man now standing not far away, pouring the same sweet promises into Elara’s ear. Her best friend. The one she had shared her secrets with, the one she had depended on during every torment of her heart. They had talked, laughed, and even discussed their plans for the future. ‘Elara knows me. She knows how much I love him. How could she...?’ A hollow ache settled in her chest making it hard to breathe. She remembered the nights they had all spent together the three of them inseparable. But now, the memories she held in her mind seemed to be tainted – Kaelan looking at Elara, the gentle hand contact she disliked. Was it all a lie? She stared at them. She was frozen to the earth by the weight of her disbelief. It can’t be real. This can’t be happening. “I didn’t want to hurt her,” Kaelan continued. His voice was full of guilt that Seraphine could no longer believe was genuine. “But I can’t keep pretending. You’re the one I want to be with, Elara. Always have been.” Seraphine pressed her hand on her mouth to hide the sob that tried to escape. The world began to spin and the comforting smells of pine and earth filled her lungs with sickening sensations. How could this be happening? How could the two people she trusted the most turn on her and hurt the living daylights out of her? Elara smiled faintly, but she could have sworn there was hesitation or guilt—something there, that she buried quickly. Her eyes shifted nervously for a moment, her voice lowering. “I know,” She whispered and her fingers were trembling as she wrapped her arms around Kaelan’s neck. “But... I didn’t want to hurt her, Kaelan. She’s my friend. I never wanted it to come to this.” And her voice broke, like she was trying to convince herself more than him. Kaelan pulled her closer and his hold tightened. He murmured “It is too late now, Elara. We’re going to stop hiding soon. And no one will stand in our way, we’ll be together.” Elara's gaze dropped. Her lips parted as if wanting to say something more, but she said nothing. When the hesitation had passed she leaned into his embrace, her forced smile concealing her reluctance. Her. As though Seraphine was nothing. As though she had been nothing all along. The ground under Seraphine’s feet seemed to disappear. Her vision blurred from tears, but she couldn’t take her focus off the scene in front of her. And so every word was a knife in her chest, watching Kaelan and Elara touch was a slow turning of the knife. She wanted to scream, to go up to them and shout, to ask them questions. She froze in the shadows of it, all she could do was stand there, her world crumbling around her. The man she thought she would spend her life with, the man she loved, the man she thought was her future, had betrayed her the most unimaginable way. She managed to turn around and run but what was making her move was not her heart alone. The shame was asphyxiating – choking her up to the neck, like a noose. How could she face them? The bare naked feeling of betrayal by the two people she held in high esteem was a feeling that churned her up inside and made her chest contracted with pain. Her mind screamed for confrontation, for answers, but deep down, she knew she wouldn’t be able to control herself if she did. The prick of her skin from the heat of rage, the threat of her wolf lurking just below the surface. If she stayed, if she let that anger build up inside of her then she would change – and she did not want them to see her like that, she did not want them to see her as a defeated girl. No, she had to run. She had to run away before the animal inside her – the wolf – came out. The cold night air hurt her cheeks as she ran through the trees. Branches scratched her arms as if they were trying to punish her too. Tears streamed down her face, blurring the path ahead, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to escape – from Kaelan, from Elara, from a feeling of the oppressive lie – and most of all, from herself. She panted heavily, tearing as her heart broke with each thump. How had she been so blind? How had she not seen the way they looked at each other, the whispers behind her back? Her sorrow now felt so heavy that the weight pressed with such force upon her, she could barely breathe. Seraphine, all alone by the river side with great heaving sobs, was realizing what she lost, that everything she knew was a lie. Her pack, her love, her future, all was a lie. And now there was only the unbearable sensation of rejection, the feeling of betrayal. And she would not let all go just like that. She must make them pay for breaking her heart.