Chapter 234 She Chose His Mother Over Him

“I thought you agreed to sleep over,” Emma said.

Elara gave a small shrug. “I did. I was curious. Now that I know everything, I’m going back to the estate.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow at the council meeting,” Emma said.

They hugged. Emma stood where she was, watching as Elara climbed into the SUV. The rest of the convoy pulled out behind her, and she stayed there until the last vehicle disappeared through the gates.

“My Moonblessed one, are you planning to stand here like the Statue of Liberty until they get home?” Brandon teased, slipping his arms around Emma’s waist from behind.

She turned to face him with a small pout. “I already miss my gossip buddy.”

Brandon laughed softly. “Then I’ll have to work overtime to earn the position of your new gossip buddy.”

She laughed softly, leaned in to kiss him, then slipped her hand through his arm as they walked side by side toward the elevator.

Bernard and Elara drove home in silence. He kept his eyes on the window the entire ride, his jaw tight, answering none of Elara’s questions. She glanced at him more than once, but he never looked back.

By the time they returned to the Silverville mansion, it was already late. Elara and Maelis had already eaten at the Nightclaw estate, but Bernard walked past the dining table without touching a bite.

Elara looked exhausted, so she didn’t ask Maelis any more questions. After a quick bath, she slipped into bed and was asleep within minutes.

A few minutes later, Elara stirred and blinked sleep from her eyes. She reached across the bed, but her hand met nothing but cold sheets. Bernard’s side was empty.

She frowned.

After a moment, she slipped out of bed and crossed the chamber. She pushed open the bathchamber door, used the bathchamber, then stepped back into the chamber, her eyes drifting toward the bed again. It was still empty.

At this hour?

She stepped into the hallway, and a familiar voice drifted through the quiet, stopping her in her tracks.

“Please… I don’t want to go.”

Maelis’s voice drifted down the hallway.

Elara stopped in her tracks. Her head turned toward the sound, a crease forming between her brows.

She adjusted her nightgown as she stepped into the hallway and made her way downstairs.

She froze halfway down the stairs.

Bernard was trying to send Maelis away.

“No! That’s not going to happen,” Elara whispered under her breath.

She quickened her pace, taking the remaining steps as quietly as she could.

Then Maelis’s voice drifted through the hallway the second time.

Elara stopped where she was, hidden just out of sight, and listened.

“Bernard, it wasn’t my fault! Naomi took Joel’s picture out of my bag!” Maelis cried, her hands trembling.

Bernard took a step toward her.

“Then why did you bring his picture here?” His voice rose. “Were you hoping some wolf would find it? Answer me!”

“No. I never thought about it. Believe me,” Maelis said. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. Please… don’t send me away. Please.”

Bernard didn’t soften. “You have to leave. If I ever see you near me again, you won’t like what happens next. We made an agreement, and I kept my word. Now pack your things, get out of my house, and don’t come back. Before Elara wakes up tomorrow moonrise, I want you gone.”

Maelis wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. “Please… let me see her before I leave.”

Bernard shook his head.

“No. I don’t want you anywhere near her. Joel is your pup. Go find him and leave us alone.”

He turned and took a few steps, then stopped. Looking back over his shoulder, he said, “And don’t call her either. If she calls asking what happened, tell her you traveled out of the country. Better yet, block her number.”

Before she could respond, he reached for her device and took it from her hand.

“I don’t trust you,” he said, slipping it into his pocket. “I’ll get you another one tomorrow before moonfall.”

He pulled the door open.

The moment he looked up, he stopped.

Elara stood in the doorway.

Her eyes locked on his, cold and unblinking. Her jaw tightened as she stared at him.

Bernard’s hand slowly slipped from the doorknob.

She had never looked at him like this before.

They had grown up together, yet the man standing in front of her felt like a stranger.

He knew.

He had known who Maelis was all along.

We made an agreement…

His words echoed in her mind.

What agreement?

She held his gaze, waiting for him to explain.

“Elara, I…”

“Don’t talk to me.”

She walked past Bernard without sparing him another glance and went straight into Maelis’s chamber. The moment she stepped inside, she shut the door and locked it.

Bernard reached for the handle from the other side, but it didn’t budge.

Elara dragged a chair across the floor and placed it in front of Maelis. Then she sat down and looked at the older woman.

Maelis’s face was buried in her hands. Her shoulders trembled as quiet sobs escaped her.

“What’s going on here?” Elara asked.

Maelis slowly raised her head. “Princess…”

“Start talking.”

“Please…”

“I said, start talking!”

Maelis flinched at the sharpness in her voice. She wiped her tears away, but fresh ones quickly replaced them.

“Naomi took Joel’s picture out of my bag,” she said at last. “Bernard saw it… and he got angry.”

Elara’s brows drew together.

“Why?”

Maelis lowered her gaze to her lap.

“He warned me never to tell anyone that I’m his birth mother.”

Elara stared at her, hardly blinking.

“He knew all along?”

Maelis nodded.

“I told him two winters ago.”

The words settled heavily between them.

Elara drew a slow breath, trying to steady the storm rising inside her.

“So he knew…” she murmured. “And he never told me.”

Maelis closed her eyes for a moment.

“He doesn’t want anything to do with me,” she said quietly. “None of them do.”

Elara leaned forward, her eyes never leaving Maelis’s face.

“You mentioned an agreement. What agreement?”

Maelis clasped her hands together so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“I kept following him,” she admitted. “I joined the team because I wanted to stay close to him. After a while, his moonallies started asking who I was and why I was always around him. He didn’t want them to know the truth.”

She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“So he called me aside. He said I could stay as long as I kept my mouth shut. No one was to know I was his mother. That was the agreement.”

Her voice broke as she lowered her head again.

“He said he didn’t want anyone else hearing my pathetic story.”

Maelis covered her face with both hands. When she finally looked up again, her eyes were red and swollen.

“How long was I supposed to keep hiding it?” she asked, her voice trembling. “You could see it every time you looked at me. I was carrying this secret everywhere I went.”

She pressed a hand against her chest.

“Princess Elara… he’s my pup. My own flesh and blood.” Her voice cracked. “It took me seven winters to find him.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother wiping them away.

“I wasn’t looking for him because I wanted to force my way into his life. I just wanted to see him once. I wanted to know what my second pup looked like.”

A faint, broken smile touched her lips before it disappeared.

“When I finally found him… I saw Linc.” She laughed softly through her tears. “He looks just like his father. His smile… the way he talks… the way he walks. Every time I looked at Bernard, I saw the man I loved.”

She lowered her head.

“I tried to stay away. I really did.” Her voice cracked. “But I couldn’t.”

She pressed a hand against her chest and blinked back tears.

“Look at me. I have pups… but I live like I don’t.” She swallowed hard. “I’m tired of carrying this secret.”

Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress.

“I wanted to be his mother.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “He doesn’t want me.”

Elara was quiet for a moment.

“Before today, did you ever tell him who his father was?”

Maelis slowly shook her head.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“He wouldn’t listen.” She swallowed hard. “The moment I tried, he shut me down.”

Elara studied her for a long moment.

“He likes you… doesn’t he?”

“Princess…”

Elara raised a hand, stopping her.

“No, wait.”

She looked away, her thoughts racing.

“I thought he cared about you. I believed he did.” She bit her lower lip and drew in a slow breath. “Was he pretending the whole time?”

The question hung in the chamber.

After a long silence, Elara looked back at Maelis.

“He wants you gone because you told the truth he was trying so hard to hide.”

Maelis nodded, tears filling her eyes again.

“Yes.” She clasped her hands together. “I don’t want to go. Please… will you talk to him for me?”

Elara pushed herself to her feet.

“No.”

Maelis’s face crumpled.

Elara held her gaze without looking away. “You’re leaving,” she said quietly. Then she stepped closer until only a small space separated them. “And I’m going with you.”

Maelis froze. Her eyes widened as she searched Elara’s face, as if she wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet.

“Princess…” she whispered, her voice trembling. “What… what did you just say?”

“You heard me,” she said. “We’re leaving together.”

Her voice was steady, but her hands shook as she reached for the doorknob.

“I’m done with him. Pack your things. We’re leaving now.”