THE ALPHA WHO ONCE LOVED ME

THE RETURN OF THE STORM

I didn’t wait for either of them to speak. I’d seen enough, and, surprisingly, he didn’t even bother to chase me.

I stormed back to Eli’s car, shaking with rage. I didn’t know what I’d expected. The bond connected us, yes, but was there still an emotional connection to begin with? Was any of this real? Fate? Mates? Or just a pretty lie dressed up as destiny?

The drive back to my place was silent. Eli knew better than to speak. Whatever he might have said would’ve shattered against the storm inside me.

I took a long shower and slid into something comfortable.

I didn’t sleep. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything on a cruel, endless loop.

The bond refused to settle. It pulsed erratically, flaring whenever I thought of him, then crashing hard enough to blur my vision.

By morning, my head was pounding. My body felt wrong, like my skull had been split open and never put back together properly.

I stared at my phone for a long time. I had never missed work. Not once. Not ever.

My fingers hovered before I finally typed:

I won’t be coming in today. I’m sick.

Three dots appeared almost instantly. Then disappeared.Then appeared again.

My chest tightened.

I didn’t wait for the reply. I turned the phone face down like it had burned me.

I wanted to ignore him. I wanted to rest. But there were disadvantages to being magically bound to someone; eprivacy was one of them.

ELI’S POV

It was exactly 4:00 p.m. when Lucian texted, asking to meet at my diner.

That alone was strange. We didn’t talk. Not really. Tessa had always been the bridge between us.

I heard the door open and turned to see him step inside, dressed in a black suit that screamed power. Authority. Everything that should’ve been mine.

“Brother,” he greeted.

“Just cut to the chase, man.”

He hesitated. “Yeah… um. I wanted to ask you for a favour.”

“Okay?” I said flatly.

“Tessa called in sick today,” he said. “I was hoping you could help me check on her.”

I laughed once, sharp and humourless.

“You’ve always been bad at this, Lucian.”

“Pardon?”

“Love,” I said. “You put your pride and ego before the people you care about.”

He blinked at me like I’d struck him.

“That’s not fair.”

I leaned back against the counter. “It’s very fair. You just don’t like hearing it from someone who actually knows you.”

He exhaled, dragging a hand through his hair. For a second, I could see the panic underneath.

“After the text. The bond felt...… wrong."

My jaw tightened.

“Yeah,” I said. “Imagine that.”

“You know where she is.”

“Of course I do,” I replied. “But you don’t get access just because you’re worried now.”

His eyes darkened. “Eli—”

“No,” I cut in. “You don’t get to pull rank in my diner. Not today.”

Silence settled between us, thick and uncomfortable.

“You denied her,” I continued. “In front of our mother. In front of Sienna. In front of herself. Do you have any idea what that does to someone bonded?”

“I was protecting her,” he snapped.

“That’s what you tell yourself,” I shot back. “What you actually did was choose the path of least resistance. You picked comfort over courage.”

“She’s hurting ” he said after a moment. “I can feel it. The floodlines aren’t settling. If this keeps up—”

“She’ll crash,” I finished. “Hard.”

He nodded once.

“And you think checking on her fixes that?” I asked. “You think coffee and concern undo what Eleanor just started?”

He didn’t answer.

I rubbed my face, exhausted. God, I was tired of cleaning up after their messes.

“She didn’t sleep,” I said. “She’s been awake all night. The bond is spiralling, and she’s holding herself together because that’s what she does. She endures.”

Lucian’s head snapped up. “You’ve seen her?”

“Yes,” I said flatly. “Because unlike you, I didn’t leave her alone with the fallout.”

Something ugly flickered across his face. Jealousy. Fear. Regret.

“Take me to her,” he said, not as a command, but a plea.

I studied him for a long time.

“You don’t go as her Alpha,” I said finally. “And you don’t go as her mate. Not yet.”

“Then as what?”

I leaned forward, voice low.

“As the man who hurt her and now has to sit with that.”

He swallowed.

I grabbed my keys, ready to take him when a familiar, unwanted voice cut through the room.

“No one told me about the family reunion.”

I stiffened.

Eleanor Vale stood at the entrance, perfectly composed, eyes sharp with quiet disdain.

“No one invited you,” I said coldly.

“Eli,” she replied, looking around, “I see the diner still looks… miserable. Much like you.”

“Thank you, Mother,” I said sarcastically, folding my hands to keep from shaking.

She turned to Lucian. “Where’s your little assistant? Or should I say....your mate?”

“Took you long enough,” I muttered.

Her gaze snapped to me. “I am deeply disappointed in you.”

“A human cannot be Luna,” Eleanor continued smoothly. “Luna is power. Presence. Authority. What will she bring to the pack besides sentiment?”

“Enough,” I snapped. “I won’t tolerate Tessa slander.”

“She’s weak,” Eleanor said coolly. “Just like you, Eli.”

“No, she's not!” I shouted. “She’s a bloodline seer.”

“Eli!” Lucian yelled.

Too late.

The words were already out; our carefully guarded secret shattered in the open. Eleanor had always known how to get under my skin.

And now, she had exactly what she wanted.

“Think carefully, Lucian,” she said, adjusting her gloves. “Power is not inherited through sentiment. When she breaks, and she will, remember that I warned you.”

Then she was gone, her guards following like shadows.

The silence she left behind was heavy.

Lucian didn’t look at me at first. He just stood there, fists clenched, jaw tight.

"Take me to Tessa. Now." he said, this time sounding more like an order.

I drove him through the familiar roads that led to her house.

“She was at her house all along?” he said suddenly.

I frowned. “What? You didn't bother looking or asking. Besides, I was going to check up on her anyway."

“Screw you.” he mummered.

He was already moving before I could even park my car properly.

Lucian slowed as he approached the door.

The door wasn’t locked.

That was the first wrong thing.

The second was the air; it was too thick, too still, like the world was holding its breath.

“Tessa?” Lucian called.

No answer.

We stepped inside.

The curtains were drawn, the lights off. A blanket lay half-pulled from the couch, like someone had tried and failed to get comfortable.

Then I saw her.

She was on the floor.

“Tessa!” Lucian crossed the room in three strides and dropped to his knees beside her.

Her skin was pale, too pale. Sweat clung to her hairline, her body trembling in shallow, uneven breaths.

“Oh no!” Lucian whispered, hands shaking as he brushed her hair back. “She’s been burning herself out.”

I knelt beside him. “Lucian… she didn’t faint.”

He looked at me.

“She crashed,” I said softly. “This is what happens when a bloodline seer suppresses their power while bonded.”

His face broke.

“I did this,” he said hoarsely. “I denied her. I broke the bond.”

Tessa stirred then, a faint sound leaving her lips. Not a word.

The lights flickered.

The floor creaked beneath us.

And somewhere deep in the cottage, something ancient answered her pain.

Lucian gathered her into his arms.

“Don’t you dare leave me,” he said, voice cracking. “Not now. Not like this.”

Her fingers twitched weakly, just enough to curl into his sleeve.

And that was when I knew.

This was the beginning of something far worse.