The days that followed felt heavier than usual.
Elara tried to bury herself in work—mixing herbs, treating fevers, stitching wounds—but nothing silenced the feeling of eyes always on her. Wherever she turned, whispers followed.
“She’s not fit for him.”
“She was thrown away once. Why would a king want her?”
“An Omega like her will only shame the pack.”
The words cut like knives. Elara kept her face still, her steps steady, but inside her chest something twisted. She had heard it all before. Years ago. When her world had broken the first time.
Back then, she had believed in the mate bond. She had dreamed of it, prayed for it, built her hopes on it. Until the day it came true—only to be ripped from her in front of everyone.
She shook her head, trying to focus as she tied a clean bandag
