Elora’s POV
I had gone from hell and back since my parents died. And today, it made me remember all that.
My breath hitched as I tried my best not to let my sobs hear. It had been a while since I last heard my uncle’s voice but the memories it imprinted on my mind were as clear as water. My nightmares were filled with his croaky, cold vocals. I thought I had forgotten it but obviously, I didn’t. Now, my system was filled with unwanted memories. All because of him.
‘Calm down. Your uncle hasn’t seen you in three years. He might have forgotten how you smell.’
The words of my wolf gave me some assurance. She was right, three years was quite a long time for him to remember how I smell. I also shifted to my wolf form around this time so it affected my scent. Arwen got a solid point about her argument.
‘Breath, Elora. You can do this,’ Arwen added. After a few seconds, my heart rate became normal and I could feel that my body was no longer tense. Thank the goddess, I had a reasonable and smart spirit wolf within me. If not, my emotions might have taken the best of me and who knows what had happened.
Now, back to business.
“I have so many things to deal with. Tell me, Alpha. What is it that you wanted to talk about that you requested a private conversation with me?”
My forehead creased at what I heard. Even I was curious about my Uncle Lucian’s plans. I wondered what he needed from the Alpha King that he had to drag him here to his study. It was very unlikely for him to do that.
“Forgive me, your grace, but I need your help,” he stated with a pleading voice. “I am looking for a woman, my only family to be exact.”
Once again, my heart raced inside my chest. Could it be that…
“I was wondering if you happen to encounter a rogue named Elora Knightlock. She is my niece and has been missing for three years already.”
There, he said it. I didn’t expect that he would stoop this low just to get his hand on me but I guess he was on the brink of desperation. If not, he wouldn’t dare to ask such a ridiculous and trivial matter to the Alpha King himself.
What is it about him capturing me that made him do this? He already had his hand on Moon River Pack. What else does he need from me? He took everything from us…from me.
Will it ever be enough to satisfy his greed?
‘Good thing you didn’t tell our mate about your real name. Good thinking, Elora,’ my wolf remarked. I posed a faint smile, telling myself how I did a great job thinking this through ahead of time. I was pretty confident that Alpha Dominic would not tell him anything. Posing as Victoria Collins was the best decision I did while staying in the royal pack.
“I never heard of the name. I also knew that if my trackers do, they will let me know,” Dominic answered. Hearing this, I puffed a sigh of relief. “What happened to her?” the Alpha King asked afterward.
“Oh, dear. This will make me cry a bit so pardon me, your grace,” Uncle Lucian said. I smirked in silence. Playing the victim was his field of expertise.
“Elora was the daughter of my older brother, the previous alpha of Moon River. Ten years ago, our pack was attacked by rogues. Unfortunately, he and his luna died in that war. Meanwhile, Elora’s older brother, Fritz, remained missing until now. Everyone believed that he is dead already but not me. Until now, I am still hoping that my nephew will find his way back to us.”
‘You forgot to tell Alpha Dominic that you are the mastermind for my parent’s murder and the reason why my brother remained missing until now,’ I stated inside my head. I would never forgive him for what he did. If only I had a choice, I wouldn’t waste my time listening to his lies.
“My niece was only eight years old when she lost her family so she went through a trauma. She often jailed herself inside her room and refused to talk to anyone. But I didn’t lose hope. I helped her recover. I also tried to train her to be my successor while we are looking for her older brother. But as the years passed, she got worst. She began hurting herself. Worst, she hurt others too, and became very dangerous to the people around her. Until one day, she ran away.”
‘Liar! That’s not true!’ I yelled inside my thoughts. Once again, Arwen reminded me about our situation. One wrong move and our location would be disclosed to my sly uncle.
“So I implore you, great Alpha King, to help me find Elora so I can bring her home.” Uncle Lucian’s voice broke stating his last sentence. From a tiny hole in the bookshelf, I could see his teary face, an act he often use to get what he wanted.
I blinked a couple of times, trying to prevent my tears from falling. I wasn’t crying because I was touched by his words. Rather, I cried because hearing him lie in the presence of the Alpha King made me hate him even more.
I rolled up my sleeves and gazed upon my upper arms. There, the scars of Uncle Lucian’s physical abuse were revealed to me. The numbing pain I felt every time his whip touched my tiny body went back to my senses. It was an obvious reminder of how evil my uncle was.
“I understand. Rest assured that I will let you know once I got some clues about her whereabouts. You can now leave,” Alpha Dominic uttered. Seconds later, I heard the door open and closed again indicating that my uncle already left.
At that moment, I could no longer contain my emotion. Finally, I let all my tears out.
I guess my life would be like this until I die; running away from the people who wanted to hurt me. First, from my Uncle Lucian. Now, from the mate that the moon goddess had given me. Will I ever find any peace in this life? Why is it that I feel that I didn’t belong in any place that I went to?
It seemed that I would never fit anywhere in this world.
‘You’re wrong, Elora. This is where you belong. Now that your uncle was here and asked the Alpha King’s help, it would be dangerous for us if we would escape now. Who knows if his men were roaming around the territory and looking for you? I am sorry to tell you but the royal pack would be the safest place for you. For us. At least, for now.’
I was left speechless, grasping the truth of Arwen’s words. Once again, my wolf was right. We couldn’t continue our plan to escape because of the situation. I hate to admit it, but the most terrible place for me would be the safest too.
And so, I decided to stay. Even if I had to deal with Ashley’s bitchy attitude. Even if I had to continue being hurt by my mate’s indifference.
In order to survive, I had to continue living as the rogue omega named Victoria Collins.
I was in this moment when Alpha Dominic went in my direction, the old, shabby bookshelf sitting in a dark corner of the room. He scanned through the files as if he was looking for something. Finally, he took an old, dusty book from it and turned his back. But before he stepped away, his voice echoed in the room.
“Come out now. I know that you are here.”
Oh, shit! I am doomed…
Dominic’s POVI slammed the papers on top of my desk, frustrated that until now, the paperwork didn’t seem to end. I had been scanning my eyes through this the moment I woke up and yet, nothing seemed to enter my head. Lazily, I leaned my back in my office chair and looked at the ceiling. I had been an Alpha King for years and the administrative tasks were part of my life. I ate mountains of paper for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if there was no training, pack convergence, or out-of-the-pack trips I had to attend. These never bored me, for I took my duties and responsibilities very seriously. Some even joked that I was married to my post, which I didn’t mind for it was the truth. So what’s wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way? I only started acting strange ever since Victoria Collins entered my pack. Ah, that woman. She hadn’t been here for a week but the damage she inflicted was far beyond any rogue had done to the Royal Cavern. She constantly quarreled with sweet Ashley, the
Elora’s POVMy feet went to a sudden halt hearing him utter my real name for the first time. I remained rooted in my spot, still trying to figure out what I should do next. ‘He already knows the truth, Elora. What are we going to do?’ Normally, Arwen was the one who would tell me what to do. But now, even she was caught off guard by the turn of events.A few hours ago, I was so sure that I would be leaving this pack for good. But now, my very existence was being threatened by the truth that I was desperately hiding for three years. There was no point in hiding the truth from Dominic. He was an intelligent wolf and probably read between my lines. I wanted to scold myself for being so emotional. Maybe, I wouldn’t be caught lying only if I hid my emotions expertly in front of the Alpha King. Yeah, I screwed up, and would probably be the end of me. But, no! I wouldn’t let myself be handed over to my evil uncle that easily. I would not give him the satisfaction. If I had to fight Domini
Silence engulfed us over the next set of minutes. I turned my head on him, and he did the same. Our eyes met in the process. Lub-dub!My heartbeat became louder. It was like my chest was going to explode. I knew to myself that I hated the Alpha King but at that moment, I saw something different in his eyes making me think twice about what I felt for him. Is that a hint of concern? Compassion? I have no idea. His eyes remained fixed on mine, making me uncomfortable. It was different from the way he looked at me in the past. His gaze was full of warmth. Finally, he moved. He lifted his hand and began caressing my upper arm. In a normal circumstance, I might have shoved his hand away. But this moment was different. No, it was he who suddenly became different.Is he beginning to sympathize with me? ‘Can’t you feel it, Elora? Dominic’s heart is aching for us’ Arwen stated.‘How did you know? Have you talked to his wolf?’ I asked her back in my thoughts.‘No, I haven’t,’ Arwen answered
Elora’s POVIt had been two days since that confrontation with the Alpha King Dominic about my troubled past. Contrary to that fateful day, the next set of sunrises and sunsets were typically boring. I heaved a deep sigh, looking at the ceiling, staring at it blankly. I haven’t seen anything aside from the four corners of this shabby quarter for two days straight. And as a rogue who lived in the woods for three years, this was lowkey torture. ‘I’m bored, Arwen,’ I told my wolf inside my head. ‘I want to get out of this barless jail.’‘You know you can’t do that until the pack convergence is over, right?’ Arwen answered. I could see her sitting in a corner and grooming herself. ‘Your uncle and his men are still inside the royal pack land.’‘Yeah, I know,’ I responded, covering my head with a pillow. ‘I just need…company. I want to talk with another individual, that’s all. Maira is serving in the convergence from dusk until dawn. She barely has time to chitchat with me before bed beca
Elora’s POVI fastened my steps and wasted no time changing into my omega uniform. I almost forgot to tie my long hair but good thing I remember. The omega leader hated to see the omegas with messy and untied hair. The last thing I wanted was to have unnecessary confrontations with her for something as trivial as untied hair.Careful not to make any sound, I pressed my ears to the wooden door and listened if the guards were still there. I cussed on the wind after hearing their irritating laughter. It was almost midnight but they seemed to not let me have even a tiny opportunity to leave this room. Perhaps this was one of the many distinct qualities of a royal guard. They treated the Alpha King’s order very seriously. So, it led me no choice but to use the rope I hid under my bed. It was the same rope I used when I attempted to escape and ran away last time. Good thing I decided to keep it for emergencies like this.After tying the other end to one of my bed’s legs and the other end
Dominic's POVJust like any other day, I was back to my study and thinking about the things that happened in the past days. I shook my head in disbelief whenever I think about how an ordinary pack convergence turned into something very complicated. I had known Alpha Lucian Knightlock of the Moon River Pack since time immemorial. He was an ally to my father and a loyal subject of the royal pack. I had seen him quite a few times here at Royal Cavern during the days of my father’s reign. He was there when we held my father’s last rites during his funeral. He was also one of the alphas who personally witness my ascension ceremony. So to cut the story short, he was a constant figure in my life and bore no ill feelings toward him. But my perfect depiction of him shattered when I heard my mate’s story. Never in my wildest dream that I pictured him to be as ruthless and merciless as how Elora described him to be.The goddess knew how much I restrained myself from clawing his face out wheneve
Dominic's POV“Tell me, soldier. Where did she go?”The goddess knew how much I tried to keep my cool. My eyes were heating up, and I almost let my primal urge take over. But I reminded myself to calm down. Because if not, I could kill these two dumb soldiers for being careless. Do I need to repeat myself, soldier? I said, where is she?” I held the soldier’s shirt tighter, making him see my eyes in closer range. Through my orbs, I could see how his body shuddered in fear, with tears of fright forming in his eyes. On the other hand, the other soldier bowed his head. Through my flaring nostrils, I could smell both of their distress. They should be because they obviously failed that one job I assigned them to do. “Please, your majesty. We didn’t know anything,” uttered the shaking soldier. The other one supported his colleague's claim. Both of them were teary, pleading their hearts out for me to consider. “We swear to the goddess, we didn’t leave this post—”“Then tell me where the fuc
Elora’s POV“What happened? Why are we here?”From my end, it was just an innocent question. But looking at Maira, it seemed that something triggered with that simple query. “I am sorry, Victoria! It was all my fault. If only…If only I didn’t believe his empty promises and listened to you and my wolf, we would not be in this situation!”Once again, Maira’s faint sobs echoed through the dungeon. My lips remained shut, waiting for her to continue with her story. There was more to her being abused by my uncle and I could definitely sense that. “I was one of the omegas assigned to serve the Moon River delegates when they arrived, specifically, to its Alpha.”There was some brokenness in her voice and I couldn’t blame her. Relieving that very painful memory was not an easy thing to do.“It was nothing but a task for me at first, until the Alpha started noticing me. Amongst his peers, he was the most charming, and the kindest if I were to ask. Many times, he defended me from his men whene