Secrets That Bind

Elara paced Kaelen's quarters like a caged animal. The room was larger than her entire cabin—with a massive bed, bookshelves filled with leather-bound volumes, and windows that overlooked the pack's territory. But all she could focus on was escape.

"You need to stay put," Jorin said, watching her from his post by the door. "Alpha's orders."

"Why would Northern Ridge wolves come here?" Elara demanded, ignoring his comment. "They've never had dealings with the Silver Moon Pack before."

Jorin's expression remained neutral. "That's not my concern. My job is to keep you safe."

"Safe?" Elara laughed bitterly. "I've been 'safe' on my own for ten years. I don't need your Alpha's protection."

Something flashed in Jorin's eyes—maybe respect, maybe pity. "You have no idea what's really happening, do you?"

Before she could ask what he meant, shouts erupted from outside. Jorin moved to the window and cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" Elara asked, joining him. Below, a group of wolves was entering the pack grounds, escorted by Silver Moon warriors. At their head walked a tall man with silver-streaked black hair and a face Elara would never forget.

"Father," she whispered, her heart dropping like a stone.

Alpha Thorne, leader of the Northern Ridge Pack, strode with the confidence of a man used to being obeyed. Beside him walked a woman with long blonde hair. Though Elara could only see her back, something about her seemed strangely familiar.

"Stay here," Jorin ordered, moving toward the door. "I need to report this."

The moment he left, Elara pressed her ear against the door, straining to hear. Footsteps and voices moved through the building below. She caught fragments of conversation—"treaty," "border," "alliance."

Then, a voice that made her blood freeze: "Where is she? I know you're hiding her."

Her father knew she was here. But how?

Elara glanced at the window. It was a long drop to the ground, but she'd survived worse. Just as she was calculating her escape, the door burst open. Kaelen stood in the doorway, his face a storm of emotion.

"Your father is demanding to see you," he said without preamble.

Elara backed away. "No. He'll kill me."

"He claims he only wants to talk." Kaelen's jaw tightened. "He says it's about your sister."

"My sister is dead," Elara whispered. "Because of me."

Something changed in Kaelen's expression. He closed the door behind him and took a step closer. "Is that what you believe?"

"It's what happened." Elara wrapped her arms around herself, the old guilt rising like a wave. "I was supposed to watch her that day by the river. I looked away for one minute, and she was gone. They found her shoe downstream, but never her body."

Kaelen was quiet for a moment. "And if I told you there might be more to that story?"

Elara's heart stuttered. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Kaelen moved closer until only inches separated them. The mate bond hummed between them, warm and electric. He reached out slowly, his fingertips tracing the curve of her cheek, and Elara found herself unable to pull away.

"I've searched for you my whole life," he said softly. "Even before I knew who you were. I felt the emptiness where you should have been."

His touch sent sparks racing across her skin. The pull in her chest flared, no longer painful but warm and welcoming.

"I don't understand any of this," Elara admitted. "Why me? I'm nobody."

Kaelen shook his head. "You're everything. The moment I saw you by that stream, something inside me that had been sleeping woke up." His thumb traced her lower lip. "But there are forces at work here beyond the mate bond, Elara. Your father's arrival is just the beginning."

A knock at the door broke the moment. Jorin's voice came through: "Alpha, they're growing impatient."

Kaelen stepped back, his expression hardening. "We have to go down. But know this—I will protect you, even from your own father if necessary."

"I can protect myself," Elara insisted.

A ghost of a smile touched Kaelen's lips. "Your stubbornness is both infuriating and impressive." He held out his hand. "Come. Let's face this together."

After a moment's hesitation, Elara placed her hand in his. The contact sent a jolt through the bond, and she gasped at the intensity.

"Does it always feel like this?" she asked.

"It gets stronger," Kaelen replied, his voice low. "This is just the beginning."

Together they descended the stairs to the main hall, where voices rang out in heated discussion. When they entered, the room fell silent. All eyes turned to them—particularly to their joined hands.

Alpha Thorne stood in the center of the room, his cold eyes fixing on Elara with a mixture of shock and something else she couldn't name. Beside him stood the blonde woman Elara had seen from the window.

When the woman turned, Elara's world stopped.

Older, changed, but unmistakable. The same green eyes, the same small scar above her eyebrow from when they'd climbed trees as children.

"Liora," Elara whispered, her voice breaking. "You're alive?"

Her sister—her dead sister—stared back at her with eyes full of hate. "Hello, big sister. Surprised to see me?"

The room spun around Elara. She gripped Kaelen's hand tighter, needing his strength to remain standing.

"But how?" she managed to ask. "We searched for weeks. They said you drowned."

"They told you what Father wanted everyone to believe," Liora replied coldly. "That I was dead and you were to blame."

Alpha Thorne stepped forward. "Enough, Liora." He looked at Kaelen. "We didn't come here to revisit the past. We came to discuss the future of our packs."

Kaelen's posture shifted subtly, becoming more dominant. "You came here demanding to see my mate. Now you've seen her. What exactly do you want, Thorne?"

"Your mate?" Alpha Thorne's eyebrows rose. "So the rumors are true. My disgraced daughter is fated to the mighty Alpha of Silver Moon."

"Father—" Liora began, but he silenced her with a look.

"I'll be direct, Kaelen," Alpha Thorne continued. "Our packs have been enemies for generations. I'm proposing an alliance, sealed by marriage."

Elara's confusion grew. "Marriage? But you exiled me."

"Not you," her father said dismissively. "Liora. I'm offering Liora's hand to unite our packs."

The room erupted in murmurs. Kaelen's grip on Elara's hand tightened.

"I already have a mate," he said, his voice deadly quiet.

Alpha Thorne smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "A mate bond can be broken in exceptional circumstances. The council allows it when a stronger alliance is at stake."

Elara looked at her sister, whose expression was a mix of triumph and apprehension. What game was her father playing?

"And if I refuse?" Kaelen asked.

"Then we remain enemies," Alpha Thorne replied simply. "And I'll be forced to demand the return of my daughter for her crimes against our pack."

"What crimes?" Elara burst out. "You exiled me for an accident!"

Her father's cold eyes turned to her. "Not for the accident, Elara. For what you did after. For the forbidden power you used that day by the river."

The room fell silent. Elara stared at her father in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Alpha Thorne laughed, a chilling sound. "Still hiding from the truth, I see." He looked at Kaelen. "Did your mate tell you about her special abilities? About what makes her bloodline so dangerous?"

Kaelen stepped slightly in front of Elara, his posture protective. "You have until tomorrow to leave my territory, Thorne. There will be no alliance, and you will not threaten my mate again."

Alpha Thorne's smile faded. "Very well. But I warn you, Kaelen—you don't know what you're dealing with." He nodded to Liora. "Come. We're leaving."

As they turned to go, Liora paused and looked back at Elara. "I never drowned that day," she said quietly. "But you did something far worse than failing to watch me. You just don't remember."

With those cryptic words, Liora followed their father out, leaving Elara trembling with confusion and fear.

The room emptied gradually, leaving only Kaelen and Elara standing together in the sudden silence.

"What did she mean?" Elara whispered. "What power? What did I supposedly do?"

Kaelen's expression was troubled. "I don't know. But we'll find out." He cupped her face gently in his hands. "Together."

The warmth of the bond wrapped around them, offering comfort in the storm of questions.

"Why would my sister come back like this?" Elara asked. "Why does she hate me so much?"

Before Kaelen could answer, Jorin burst into the room, his face grim.

"Alpha, there's trouble. The Northern Ridge wolves didn't leave. They've surrounded the pack grounds." His eyes darted to Elara. "And they're not alone. Someone else is with them."

"Who?" Kaelen demanded.

"A rogue wolf with silver-tipped fur." Jorin's eyes narrowed. "He's asking for Elara by name. Says he's an old friend."

Elara's blood ran cold as she remembered Finn's words from the forest: I have my reasons for keeping an eye on you, Elara Thorne. You're more important than you know.

What game was Finn playing? And how did he know her dead sister wasn't dead at all?