Whispers followed me everywhere.
I kept my head down as I carried the basket of bread into the kitchens, but I could still hear them.
“Did you see Alpha Kael?”
“He actually helped her.”
“Why would an Alpha kneel beside an omega?”
“It must have been out of kindness.”
“No…”
Another servant lowered her voice.
“There was something different in the way he looked at her.”
My cheeks burned.
If only they knew.
I didn’t understand it any more than they did.
By evening, the entire estate buzzed with gossip.
Even the housekeeper seemed distracted.
“Elara,” she said sharply.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Take tea to the library. Alpha Rowan and Alpha Kael are meeting there.”
My stomach tightened.
“Me?”
“Do you see anyone else standing here?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then stop wasting time.”
I picked up th
