Chapter 7
Elsa
The airport terminal was noisy and impersonal, perfectly matching my mood. I sat in a corner, phone pressed to my ear, listening to Sophia, my best friend, rage on the other end.
"That controlling bastard is at it again!" Her voice shook with anger. "He can't just banish you to some fucking island in the middle of nowhere!"
"He's an Alpha and also my boss. He can do whatever the fuck he wants," I replied wearily. "Besides, I screwed up."
When will I learn? He owns me. That was the deal. I sold myself for my mother's treatments, and now I'm paying the price.
"Bullshit!" Sophia fired back. "James is a known predator, and that so-called Alpha is blaming the victim? That's fucked up!"
I closed my eyes, feeling tears threatening again. "Soph, I really don't have the energy to argue about this right now."
What's the point? Drake made his choice. He chose her. He's been choosing her for months while I've been pathetically hanging on.
There was silence on the other end for a moment. Then Sophia's voice turned gentle but hesitant.
"Elsa... when I came to see you yesterday, I was organizing some old files... I saw your medical records by accident."
My heart stopped. A cold sweat broke out across my skin. "What records?"
"The surgery you had at the hospital," she said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me?"
The tears finally came. I curled into myself on the cold plastic airport chair, sobs tearing from deep in my chest.
Oh god. Oh fuck. Not this. Not now.
"Yes, I lost his baby," I finally admitted, my voice breaking. "And that bastard doesn't even know!"
"Oh my God, Elsa..." Sophia's shocked voice came through the phone.
"It's none of his business," I said, wiping my tears. "He doesn't need to know. That son of a bitch would only kick me further away."
Or worse, he'd pretend to care, and I'd fall for it again. Like the pathetic, desperate fool I've always been where he's concerned.
"I kept the records," Sophia said firmly. "Someday you might need to prove something to that controlling asshole."
I laughed painfully. "Prove what? That I'm a complete idiot who fell in love with someone who never loved me back?"
The boarding announcement interrupted our conversation.
"I have to go," I said, my voice hollow.
"Elsa, call me when you get there," Sophia pleaded. "I'm worried about you."
"I will," I promised, though we both knew all I wanted right now was to disappear.
I stared at the boarding pass in my hand. Destination: Crescent Island Resort. Maybe this was what I needed—distance from Drake, from all the pain and humiliation.
If you can't handle that, don't bother coming back. His words echoed in my mind.
As the final boarding call came, I stood up and grabbed my small suitcase. This isn't the end , I told myself. It's just another beginning.
But as the plane took off, the city lights becoming tiny pinpricks beneath me, I knew I was leaving behind more than just a place. I was leaving behind my life, a one-sided love.
The tears came again, but this time, I let them flow freely. Because up above the clouds, on my way to a new life, no one could see me breaking down. No one but myself.
Drake
Two months later ，I loosened my tie as I guided my car through the winding roads of Black Obsidian territory. My head throbbed like someone had taken a fucking sledgehammer to it—too much whiskey at tonight's pack gathering. These gatherings had become suffocating—everyone sniffing around my business, especially about my relationship with Vera.
I glanced at the woman beside me, her black curls perfectly styled despite the late hour. She'd spent the entire night parading herself as my mate, clinging to my arm like a damn trophy.
"You're awfully quiet," Vera said, sliding her manicured hand up my thigh, getting dangerously close to my crotch. Her scent—drowning in expensive perfume—filled the car.
"Just tired," I replied, keeping my eyes on the road. The alcohol made her scent more irritating than appealing. The contrast with Elsa's natural scent—clean, slightly sweet, with that hint of arousal whenever I got close to her—hit me like a punch to the gut.
My wolf's ears perked at just the thought of Elsa. He remembered her scent, the way she'd bare her throat to me, submitting completely while her eyes still challenged me.
Damn it. Stop thinking about her wet pussy every time you're with Vera.
When we reached the Horton mansion, Vera turned to me with a shy look. "Mother's away," she purred, pressing her tits against my arm. "You could... stay tonight."
My cock didn't even twitch. Instead, my mind flashed to Elsa. It had been two months since I'd banished her to the island, and my body was feeling every day of her absence. My wolf howled mournfully inside me, mourning the loss of our Elsa.
Fuck. Why can't I get her out of my head? Why can't I want the woman I'm supposed to want?
"I can't," I said abruptly. "Work tomorrow."
Disappointment flickered across Vera's face before she covered it with a smile. "Of course. Always so dedicated."
I kissed her briefly. As I watched her to her door, a wave of self-disgust washed over me. What the hell was I doing?
As soon as she disappeared, I pulled out my phone.
"Where is Elsa Hale?" I demanded when my security head answered.
"Still at the island site, sir. Hasn't left in eight weeks."
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. Eight fucking weeks without leaving that island once? Was she working herself to death out there?
And whose fault is that, asshole? a voice in my head taunted.
"Send me her status," I ordered before ending the call.
I started driving toward Elsa's apartment, then caught myself. What the hell was I doing? I redirected toward the pack mansion, but the alcohol and my wolf had other ideas. The beast inside me was restless, pacing and clawing to get to Elsa.
You're her Alpha, not her boyfriend. You sent her away. You have Vera now. The proper choice for the pack. For the bloodline.
The mansion felt too empty when I arrived. After downing another drink that did nothing to dull the ache, I found myself back in my car, driving to Elsa's apartment.
I still had the key. I shouldn't use it. I used it anyway.
This is fucked up, even for you , I thought as I turned the key.
Her scent hit me the moment I opened the door—faint but unmistakable. Pure Elsa, without artificial enhancements. My cock hardened instantly, a primal part of me recognizing something that belonged to me. My wolf surged forward, nearly taking control.
I moved through the darkened apartment until I reached her bedroom. Memories flooded back—her beneath me, around me, the taste of her cunt, her moans when I hit that spot deep inside her, the way she'd submit to me completely while somehow never losing that spark of defiance that drove me fucking crazy.
"Goddamn it," I muttered, sitting heavily on her bed and picking up the pillow she'd slept on. I buried my face in it, inhaling deeply. My cock strained painfully against my zipper while my canines lengthened involuntarily.
You're pathetic , I told myself. Sniffing around her empty apartment like some dick-hungry teenager.
I stretched out on her bed, still fully clothed, surrounded by what remained of her presence. My wolf finally settled, content to be surrounded by our Elsa's scent. As sleep claimed me, one thought circled in my mind: I shouldn't be here. But I couldn't bring myself to leave.
