The Alpha’s Runaway Mate and Secret Son

ELARA’S POV The scream tears from my throat before I'm fully awake. “Mother!” I tried to hold her, but she did not stay. Just like before, her body dissolves into my arms. I jolted upright in my narrow cot, gasping, sweat-soaked sheets tangled around my legs as smells of stale beer from the tavern above my head spread to my nose. Four f*****g years of trying to make all ends meet, what do I have to show for it? A rusty cot, squeezed out dresses I picked from a dumpster, and the distinct honor of being the lowest-ranked Omega in a territory that treats us like vermin. My fingers shake as I grip the edge of the muggy mattress. The nightmare has teeth tonight— sharper than usual. The precise angle of her broken neck where Luna Kaida's hired thugs left her still vivid as hell. I push off the mattress and stumble toward the small window overlooking the empty street below. My reflection stares back at me. Haunted violet-blue eyes. Hair that refuses to behave no matter how many times I braid it. Skin gone pale from years spent indoors. I used to have a pretty face but all thanks to poverty. It has carved something harder into it. Twenty-four and I look forty. Welcome to Omega life. Something about today feels different in a way I can't quite name. I've survived based on how I trust my instincts but somehow it all feels wrong. I don't remember getting dressed or walking to the Red Wolf Pack's kitchen. The kitchen is already chaos when I arrive — a hurricane of organized motion, fifteen people crammed into a space barely large enough for half that number. The heat coming from the steam is unbearable even this early, sweat already beading at my temples as I tie my apron over clothes I bought secondhand six months ago. "Late," someone snaps. I don't look up to see who. That was always the norm here. "No, I'm not," I say. I move to my station and start chopping vegetables. Always prep work, and always invisible. Harriet nearly trips over her own feet trying to reach me with excitement vibrating through her. "He's making an announcement tonight. The Head Alpha is choosing his Luna! Can you imagine?” “Harry, I'm not interested in whatever he chose or who he chose.” “They're saying it's someone important. Someone from the North, maybe.” “Hun.” I focus sorely on the vegetables. “And?” “And definitely not some Omega.” She scoffs. “An Omega as Luna? Not in this lifetime." The knife stills in my hand for a half-second before I force myself to keep moving. “Whatever, Harry, I'm seriously not interested.” She leaves in obvious disappointment. I know what she doesn't, so what is the use of listening to her rant? Darius wouldn't announce Luna yet when the ceremony for his father's death hasn't even happened. It's only been three weeks. Or else he wanted to put the pack in danger of course. But… I stop chopping the veggies, my thoughts traveling faster. What if Darius had decided to jump the protocol? No. I shake my head fast. Hope makes you stupid. I tell myself. Hope makes you vulnerable. Hope makes you think that people like Darius Blackthorn can even look at someone like me. "Stop daydreaming and focus!” the Head Cook barks, jerking me out of my trance. I speed up, channeling the dangerous flutter in my chest into task. ~~ By noon, my whole body aches and my feet throbs. The nausea that's been plaguing me for weeks resurfaces, forcing me to grip the counter and breathe heavily. Again, this has been happening for three weeks now since THAT NIGHT. I've been exhausted and slept more than before, my breasts are tender and my emotions are dangerously close to the surface. It all points to something I dare not deal with because acknowledging it would mean confronting realities I'm not prepared for. "Are you dying or just being dramatic?" Nora, Luna Kaida’s maid walks in like she was the queen herself. I looked down. “I…” “Luna seeks your presence and fixes yourself before leaving. You surely don't wanna deal with her questions.” The command hits like a physical blow. Luna Kaida never summons kitchen staff. We were beneath notice and more like the furniture that occasionally speaks. So what can she need now or all the time? I wipe my hands on my apron and follow Nora through the hallways I usually see only when cleaning. Sculptures that probably cost more than I've earned in my entire life sit on pedestals as we pass. Everything in this space screams that I don't belong here, that my presence contaminates the very air and that was true. I feel odd. Luna Kaida's private chambers are on the second floor, in a section of the manor I've never entered. The moment we step inside, I feel the weight of her presence before I actually see her. She's standing by the window, back to the room, one hand wrapped around a wine glass despite the hour. Her posture suggests she's been waiting, that summoning me was part of a plan already in motion. When she turns, her brown eyes so similar to Darius's and yet so utterly different lock onto mine with the intensity of predator assessing prey. "You've been spending time with my son." She began. A cold shiver ran down my spine. I don't attempt to deny it. "I.. I work in the kitchen, My Luna. The Alpha sometimes visits the kitchens so…. I wouldn't say we spend time together like you think.” "Don't insult my intelligence." She takes a sip of wine, her gaze never wavering. "I know you've been in his bedroom.” I bow lower. “My Luna I dare not…” “An Omega's scent doesn't lie, no matter how much you might wish to.” I did not speak, she continued. “And you're pregnant, aren't you?”