Sent Away
Elara's POV
I knew I was in trouble the moment I saw my father's Beta standing outside the nightclub.
Beta Marcus wasn't the kind of man who went clubbing. He was fifty-two, permanently angry, and probably believed music created after the year 2000 was a personal insult to the Moon Goddess. So when I stumbled out of the club at almost two in the morning and found him leaning against a black SUV with his arms crossed over his chest, I immediately stopped walking.
“Oh, shit.”
“What?” Mia asked drunkenly beside me.
I grabbed her arm and turned her around. “Go back inside.”
“What?”
“Go.”
“Elara—”
“Now!”
She followed my gaze, her eyes widening. “Oh.”
Exactly.
Beta Marcus pushed away from the car. “Elara.”
I forced a smile. “Beta Marcus. You look handsome tonight. Is that a new shirt?”
Nothing. His expression remained completely blank.
I sighed, releasing Mia’s arm. “Fine. You can go.”
“You sure?”
“I'm about to be murdered, but yes.”
Mia giggled. Beta Marcus didn't. That was probably my sign to stop making jokes.
“I'll text you,” Mia whispered before quickly disappearing back inside. Coward.
I turned toward Marcus. “So…”
“Get in the car.”
“Can I explain?”
“No.”
“You don't even know what I'm going to say.”
“I don't care.”
I placed a hand against my chest. “That is incredibly hurtful.”
“Elara.”
The warning in his voice wiped the smile from my face. I sighed and walked toward the SUV. One of Father's warriors opened the door, and I climbed inside.
The moment I did, the air grew heavy. My father was sitting in the back seat: Alpha Darius Vale, leader of the Silver Crest Pack, and currently the angriest father in the entire werewolf kingdom.
I swallowed. “Father.”
He didn't answer. The door clicked shut behind me. Beta Marcus climbed into the front seat, and the car began moving, plunging us into a terrible, suffocating silence.
Father stared straight ahead. I looked out the window, then back at him, then at the window again. This was unbearable.
“So… I can explain.”
Father slowly turned his head. I immediately regretted speaking.
“You can explain?”
“Yes?” It came out more like a question.
His jaw clenched. “Then explain to me why my nineteen-year-old daughter was found inside a human nightclub outside pack territory at two in the morning.”
“I wasn't exactly found. Marcus came looking for me.”
“Elara.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “I wanted to have fun.”
“You wanted to have fun—after I specifically told you not to leave the pack territory tonight.”
I looked away.
“Look at me.” I reluctantly turned back toward him. Father's expression was filled with disappointment, and I hated that more than his anger. “You disappeared without telling anyone.”
“I left a message.”
“You left a note on your pillow.”
“That counts as a message.”
“It said, and I quote, ‘Don't wait up.’”
I pressed my lips together. Maybe that wasn't my greatest idea.
Father rubbed his forehead. “You are going to be the death of me. You think everything is a joke. You break rules. You disappear whenever you want. You drink. You party. You refuse your training.”
“I don't refuse training.”
“You attended twice this month.”
“I've been busy.”
“Doing what?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Father scoffed. “Exactly.”
I folded my arms. “I don't understand why you're making this such a big deal. I'm nineteen, not nine.”
“You are the daughter of an Alpha.”
“And?”
“And there are responsibilities attached to your name! You need discipline. You need structure. You need someone you cannot manipulate.”
My frown deepened. “I don't manipulate you.”
He gave me a flat look. Fine. Maybe occasionally.
“Where is this conversation going?” I asked, my stomach dropping.
Father didn't answer. “You will find out tomorrow.”
By eight the next morning, I had my answer. And I was absolutely furious.
“Absolutely not!” I stood before Father’s desk, my arms crossed tightly.
“You haven't even allowed me to explain,” Father said calmly from his chair.
“There is nothing to explain! No, no, no.” I pointed a finger at Beta Marcus, who was leaning against the door frame. “And stop smiling.”
Marcus’s face instantly smoothed out. “I wasn't smiling.”
“You were smiling inside.” I turned back to my father.
“Elara, sit down,” Father commanded. My wolf whimpered slightly at the Alpha tone woven into his voice, and I dropped reluctantly into the chair.
Father leaned forward. “I have been invited to join the Royal Council in the Northern Territory for the next three months. It is an honor, and I have accepted. But you are not coming with me, and you are not staying here alone.”
“Why? I can take care of myself.”
“Last night proved otherwise. You will be staying with an old friend. He has agreed to take responsibility for you until I return.”
“Take responsibility for me?” I stood right back up. “I'm not a puppy! Who is he?”
Father remained silent. I stared at him, and suddenly, the pieces started clicking together. No. Impossible. My heartbeat violently quickened, and my palms grew sweaty.
There was only one person Father trusted blindly. One man who had practically been raised under our roof before ascending to his own throne. One man whose name I had spent the last four years trying to scrub from my mind.
His godson.
A man exactly ten years older than me. The boy my father had mentored, the warrior he always compared me to, and the absolute bane of my existence.
“Tell me it's not him,” I whispered.
Father sighed. My heart dropped into my stomach.
“No! Absolutely not! I am not living with him!”
“You don't have a choice.”
“I will stay with Mia. Or Grandmother. Or I'll stay here alone!”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have already made my decision.”
I stared at him, my chest heaving. He didn't understand. Father didn't understand anything. He didn't know that I couldn't be in the same room as Cassian without forgetting how to breathe. He didn't know that when I turned fifteen, I stopped seeing him as the cool older godbrother who taught me how to throw a punch, and started seeing him as a man. A dominant, terrifyingly attractive man who haunted my dreams.
I had spent four years putting distance between us, pretending I hated him just to protect my own pride. Because to Cassian, I was just his godfather's annoying, rebellious little daughter.
A sharp knock cut through the tension. The door opened, and before I even turned around, his scent hit me.
Mint. Rain. And dark, intoxicating alpha spice.
My wolf instantly lifted her head, letting out a soft, restless whine. Heavy, commanding footsteps entered the room. Beta Marcus immediately bowed his head. “Alpha King.”
Slowly, I turned.
And there he was: Alpha King Cassian Blackwood. Twenty-nine years old, six-foot-four of pure, lethal muscle, and the absolute ruler of the northern packs.
His dark eyes swept over the room before landing squarely on me. For a split second, something unreadable flashed in his gaze as he took in my appearance—specifically the short, tight dress I had worn to the club last night, which I had been too furious to change out of. His jaw tightened.
“Elara,” he murmured. His deep voice sent a treacherous shiver straight down my spine.
I forced my chin up, masking my panic with pure attitude. “Alpha King.”
Cassian looked at my father, his brow arching. “You said there was an emergency, Darius.”
“There is,” Father said.
I gasped. “Excuse me? I am not an emergency!”
Cassian ignored me completely, keeping his focus on my father. “What did she do?”
“Why do you automatically assume I did something?!” I snapped, stepping between them.
Cassian finally looked down at me, his gaze cold and impossibly intense. “Because you are standing in an Alpha’s office at eight in the morning wearing a dress meant for a nightclub, Elara. You clearly haven't been home long.”
My mouth snapped shut. I hated how observant he was.
Father stood up. “I need you to take her to your territory, Cassian. Just for the three months I am away. She doesn't listen to anyone here. She breaks rules, she skips training, and she thinks everything is a game. She needs someone she actually respects.”
Cassian let out a dry, humorless laugh. “She doesn't respect me, Darius. She hasn't spoken a polite word to me since she was fourteen.”
“She fears you,” Father corrected.
“I don't fear him,” I interjected, glaring at Cassian.
Cassian took a slow, deliberate step toward me. His towering frame completely blocked out the light in the room. His scent swamped my senses, making my mouth instantly go dry. He tilted his head, his dark eyes boring into mine.
“No?” he murmured, his voice dropping an octave.
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. “No,” I repeated, though it lacked any real bite.
Cassian stared at me for one more agonizing second before turning back to my father. “Fine. I'll take her. But she follows my rules. She trains every morning, she stays within the boundary lines, and she doesn't leave the palace without my permission.”
“Agreed,” Father said in relief.
“Are you two finished planning my life? I am nineteen! You can't just ship me off like luggage!”
Cassian looked back at me, checking his watch. “You have one hour to pack your things, little wolf.”
“I am not going anywhere with you.” I crossed my arms, digging my heels in. “And you can't make me.”
The room went completely silent. Marcus looked at the floor. Father closed his eyes.
Cassian didn't seem angry. Instead, the corner of his mouth ticked upward in a slow, dangerous smirk. It wasn't friendly; it was a challenge.
“I won't repeat myself,” he murmured, stepping close. "An hour, Elara. Don't be late.”
