CHAPTER 5: ELORA'S POV
1021 Words
The air outside the dungeon felt strange against my skin, too warm, too open, too unfamiliar. For days, I had known only the cold, damp walls of my prison. Now, dressed in a soft gown of emerald green and with a touch of makeup on my face, I felt like a stranger in my own skin.
Doctor Shins had arranged everything, clothes, makeup, and... the story.
The moment I stepped into the grand banquet hall, all eyes fell on me. Whispers rippled through the crowd like a rising tide. I felt their stares, sharp, questioning, doubtful.
And then, there he was.
Alpha Luther.
He stood at the head of the hall, his presence towering and cold, dressed in dark, regal attire. His sharp eyes met mine briefly, and something flickered there—a warning, a challenge.
“Welcome,” his deep voice carried through the hall, silencing the murmurs. “Tonight, I will make something very clear to you all.”
A hush fell. Every gaze now shifted between him and me.
Luther’s lips curled slightly, but there was no warmth in it, just the mask he wore so well. “This is Elora,” he announced, his voice steady, “my Luna.”
The room erupted in gasps, hushed conversations buzzing instantly.
My heart pounded, but I kept my face smooth.
Doctor Shins’s voice echoed in my head: ‘We’ll say you’ve been together in secret for a year. You’re a royal daughter of a distant Alpha, and now... you’re carrying his child.’
A web of lies, spun so delicately.
Luther continued, “Elora is pregnant... with my child.”
The crowd’s reaction was instant, shock, confusion, disbelief.
I heard their whispers…
“But he’s cursed...”
“Impossible. He can’t have children.”
“Could it be...?”
An elder stepped forward, his voice heavy with suspicion. “Alpha,” he said, his eyes narrowing, “how long have you been... seeing Elora? And why keep your relationship a secret? Were you... ashamed of her?”
Luther’s body tensed. His lips pressed tight, and for a moment, just a fraction, his mask cracked.
He hadn’t expected that question.
I acted before the silence could turn into doubt.
With a soft smile, I stepped forward and spoke, my voice smooth and steady, “We’ve been together for a year.” I felt every eye lock onto me, but I didn’t falter.
“Our relationship was never about secrecy, it was ours, something private, something sacred. We kept it between us because some things are too precious to parade around. But tonight, we share it with you because it’s time... and because we are expecting our greatest blessing.”
The room went silent.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I caught it—Doctor Shins’s quick wink, his silent approval.
“Enough questions,” Shins said, stepping forward with his usual calm authority. “Let us celebrate, not interrogate.”
The elder hesitated, then gave a small nod, and slowly, the tension in the room eased. Conversations turned light, and the banquet began.
I exhaled, my heart still racing beneath my calm exterior.
Hours later, the hall had emptied, and the grand echoes of the banquet faded to silence.
I returned to the dining room, the scent of wine and smoke still lingering. And there, at the table, was him.
Luther.
His coat was discarded, his collar loosened. His large hand gripped a half-empty bottle of whiskey, and his eyes, distant, cold, and stormy, stared at nothing.
His voice, rough and slurred, broke the quiet. “What do you want?”
I crossed my arms, my tone sharp but not unkind. “Answers.”
He scoffed, taking another burning swallow. “Go back to your room.”
I didn’t move. “You’ve chained me to this lie, Luther. So I need to know... about you.” My eyes narrowed. “Or will I be caught off guard the next time someone questions our ‘sweet love story’?”
He pushed his chair back, the legs scraping harshly against the floor as he tried to stand. But his body swayed, and suddenly…He collapsed.
“Luther!” I rushed forward, catching his arm. His body was heavy, deadweight in my grasp. He was completely drunk.
“Leave me,” he muttered, his voice barely more than a growl. “Just... go.”
But I didn’t. I couldn’t.
“Stubborn bastard,” I muttered under my breath. With effort, I heaved his arm over my shoulder. His heat pressed into me, and the scent of cedar and something darker surrounded me.
“You’re heavier than you look,” I grumbled, half-dragging, half-carrying him through the hall. His feet barely moved in time with mine, his weight threatening to topple me more than once.
After what felt like forever, we reached his master bedroom. My room was separate, by his order, of course. I wasn’t fit to share his space, and wasn't worthy of his bed.
I nudged the door open and stumbled inside, the soft glow of the fireplace casting the room in amber shadows.
With one last heave, I pushed him onto the massive bed…And fell with him.
The momentum pulled me forward, and I landed hard, my body against his.
And then…
Our lips collided.
A shock, raw and electric, snapped through me. My breath hitched, my body stiffening as my lips pressed against his.
The world around me vanished.
I felt it, deep, primal, and unmistakable.
The spark.
The bond that shouldn’t exist.
A mate bond.
My heart pounded so violently I thought it would break through my ribs.
But, how?
Zeus. Zeus was my mate. I had felt his rejection, his cruelty, felt the agony that only a severed mate bond could cause.
So how...
How could there be another?
I jerked away, my lips tingling, my chest heaving with confusion. My eyes met Luther’s, those stormy, cold eyes... and for a split second, I swore I saw confusion... and something else.
Something haunted.
My voice came out shaky, a whisper barely holding together.
“What... are you?”
- Writer
