The next morning, Elara moved through the infirmary as if nothing had happened. She cleaned wounds, changed bandages, and mixed remedies with steady hands. But inside, her heart still echoed with Kaelen’s words.
My claimed one.
She tried to shake it off. She tried to bury it. But every time she closed her eyes, she heard his voice again, deep and certain, wrapping around her like a chain she couldn’t break.
The whispers hadn’t stopped either. If anything, they had grown louder.
“She bewitched him. Must have.”
“No Omega deserves the Alpha King.”
“She’s trouble. Mark my words.”
Elara ignored them, her face calm. She had learned long ago not to give the pack the satisfaction of seeing her break. But deep inside, the old wounds Lysander had left behind had reopened, raw and bleeding.
B
