Chapter 205: Chapter 205 The Weight of Betrayal
Author
Because of everything with Sophie, Tommy barely looked at Nadia anymore.
And Nadia, to her credit, knew she had no place left in his house. She moved out without a fight.
At the next family dinner, Jack couldn’t resist poking the wound. "See, Tommy? I told you. Elara has been bad news from day one. But you did not want to listen."
Tommy’s wife dabbed at her red eyes. "How were we supposed to know she would be this cruel? Nadia should have kept her in line. If anything happens to Sophie in that place, I swear I am divorcing you, Tommy."
Divorce. That word had been circling Tommy’s head like a vulture for days now.
"Enough," he snapped. "It is family day. Can we not do this right now?"
His wife burst into tears and stormed off.
Alpha Grant’s face went dark. "Where is Nadia? Get her back here."
When Nadia walked in, she barely had time to sit down before her father started tearing into her. He even demanded she pay Tommy back for his losses.
She stared at him, shocked. "Tommy was the one who thought about sleeping with Elara’s husband first, wasnt he?"
Tommy’s little plans had never escaped Nadia’s notice. But getting called out in front of everyone lit a fire under him.
"Nadia, you cannot just say things like that!"
Tommy’s wife jumped in, her voice sharp. "So you are on Elara’s side now? Turning against our Sophie? No wonder Jack talks about you the way he does. I was wrong about you."
"From now on, Nadia, you should stay away. Before you drag this whole family down with you."
Nadia’s chest tightened. "I paid for Sophie’s victim settlement. Or did you forget that part?"
She threw her own daughter under the bus to keep the family name clean. And this was the thanks she got. Cold words and colder shoulders.
Alpha Grant’s voice was flat. "Nadia. Do not come back here anymore."
The words hit her like a slap.
"Fine," Nadia said, her voice shaking. "Fine. I won’t."
She sat in her car afterward and cried. Almost fifty years old, and this was what her life had come to. Abandoned by everyone.
She tried calling her son, Anthony. The number was disconnected.
She reached out to Alpha Enzo, only to find out Anthony had left the country.
"Your precious daughter’s fault," Enzo spat. "I regret the day I married you, Nadia."
"Enzo, please," she begged. "Help me leave too. I can take care of Anthony overseas. Please."
Alpha Enzo laughed, bitter and cold. "Help you? I would have to be insane. My son has nothing to do with you anymore. Do not call me again."
The line went dead.
Desperate, Nadia scrambled until she finally got Anthony’s new number.
"Anthony, sweetheart, it is Mom. Why did not you tell me you were leaving?"
"You are not my mother," he cut her off. "My mother is dead. Do not contact me again. I hate you."
He hated Elara. But he hated Nadia more.
That was when it hit her. She had nothing left. No son. No daughter. No husband. No family.
She collapsed against the steering wheel and sobbed.
But no one was left to care.
--
When Elara got back from the honeymoon, she brought Hannah a gift.
Hannah lit up like Christmas morning. "Oh my God, you are the best! Love you!" She threw her arms around Elara and hugged her tight.
Elara caught Alpha Dominic’s eyes in the rearview mirror. His gaze slid to them, sharp and possessive, like a wolf watching someone touch his food.
Hannah must have felt it too. She pulled back fast. Her eyes said everything: [This guy again? Really?]
Elara shot Alpha Dominic a look. He just smirked.
"Ignore him," Elara said. "Now what was the big emergency? Your text made it sound like the world was ending."
Hannah’s smile vanished. She looked like she had not slept in days. "Elara, my grandfather is forcing me into an arranged mating."
She said it like the words tasted bad.
"Arranged matings are so old school. I do not want this."
Hannah was a romantic. She read too many romance novels and believed in soulmates. She had never even held a guy’s hand. The idea of getting paired off with some older wolf made her stomach turn.
"Elara, he is thirty three. Thirty three! I am pretty sure he is going to smell like retirement and regret."
Alpha Dominic, who was exactly thirty, shifted in his seat.
Elara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. "Actually, Hannah, arranged matings are not always bad."
She and Alpha Dominic started as a political deal. Sure, the road had been rough. There were fights. There was that one time she threw a shoe at him. But they made it work.
Hannah’s face went red. "Oh. Right. Alpha King, I was not saying your arrangement was outdated or anything."
"Or that you smell old."
"I just do not want someone that much older than me. You get it, right, Elara?"
Elara nodded. "I get it."
Alpha Dominic glanced back. His face was hard to read. "Luna Wolfe. Am I old?"
Elara met his eyes. If she said yes, tonight was going to be a very long night. He would make sure she understood exactly how not old he was. Probably multiple times. With enthusiasm.
"No," she said carefully. "Not old."
He smiled, satisfied. "Good. So, Miss Hannah, who is this wolf your grandfather is setting you up with?"
Hannah groaned like she was in physical pain. "His name is Xavier. He is Vincent’s cousin."
Alpha Dominic’s smile turned knowing.
