Chapter 33

Elara

That night, Alaric surprisingly came to bed before I fell asleep. I was already tucked under the covers, the soft glow of the bedside lamp casting a warm circle of light across the room as I flipped through my book.

He loosened his tie as he entered, barely looking at me. I glanced up furtively from my book, my cheeks warming ever so slightly at the sight of his handsomely mussed hair and five o’clock shadow, then quickly averted my gaze as he strode to the wardrobe and began unbuttoning his shirt.

It was hard not to watch as he undressed. His tense movements, his broad shoulders, the way his dark hair curled at the back of his neck… Suddenly, I realized that I hadn’t turned the page of my book in some time.

Finally, I cleared my throat and looked back down. “I saw the invitation earlier,” I said.

He paused, glancing over his shoulder at me as he folded his tie and placed it on top of the dresser. “The charity auction?”

“Yes,” I said, setting aside my book and sitting up a little. “I wasn’t expecting something like that. Are you planning to go?”

“I am,” he said simply.

“With me and the girls?”

He nodded, his gaze flickering toward me briefly before he returned to his task. “It’s important that I go.”

“You made a donation, right?” I asked.

“I did.”

My eyes widened a little at that. The invitation had mentioned a sizable donation, but I didn’t fully believe it until he said it out loud. Alaric Donovan was a lot of things, but I didn’t expect ‘charitable’ to be one of them. In fact, the Donovan family had never been known much for their philanthropy.

“Why?” I asked, the word slipping out before I could stop it. “I mean, no offense, but you don’t exactly strike me as the philanthropic type.”

Alaric paused, his hands stilling on the last button of his shirt. He turned to me, his brow furrowed slightly. “Because of you,” he said after a moment.

I blinked, caught off guard. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” He shrugged out of his shirt, folding it neatly before sitting on the edge of the bed. His shoulders were tense beneath his white t-shirt, but his tone was sincere. “Watching you with Zoe and Ella… It made me realize how hard it must have been for you. Raising Zoe on your own, doing everything you could to protect her despite the odds being stacked against you. You didn’t have to tell me how challenging it was—I could see it.”

I swallowed, caught off guard by the unexpected honesty in his voice. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. Not even other Omegas seemed to care that much. To hear an Alpha saying it felt… surreal.

“I… I didn’t think you noticed,” I murmured, looking away. Or cared, I wanted to add, but I kept that part to myself.

He scoffed lightly as he slipped off his shoes.

“I notice more than you think,” he said, his gaze meeting mine once more for the briefest of moments. “And for what it’s worth, I have donated to charities before.”

My eyebrows shot up at that. “You have?”

Alaric nodded. “Yes, but I’ve always been selective about where I donate money, so it’s not often that I do. I don’t throw my funds at causes just for the sake of appearances. But this organization—I’ve done my research, and it feels like the right place to contribute. I figured, if it can make things easier for someone else, someone like you… then I think it’s worth it.”

I stared at him, my heart twisting in a way I hadn’t expected. Alaric Donovan, the stoic and guarded Alpha, had seen me—really seen me. And not just me, but the struggle I had endured for years. The struggle that so many women endured still.

I didn’t know what to say, so I simply nodded and opened my book again.

He cleared his throat, breaking the silence once more. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I…” He paused, looking away. “I’d like you to go with me. You and the girls. As a family.”

A faint warmth spread through my chest at his rare sincerity, and my finger stilled just as I was about to turn the page of my book.

Family.

It was all just for show, of course, but I couldn’t help the way that the thought of it made my heart do a silly little flip in my chest.

“Alright,” I said softly. “We’ll go.”

His lips twitched, almost forming a smile for once, but then he quickly schooled his expression back to neutrality and stood. “Good,” he said, turning on his heel and heading toward the bathroom.

Alaric didn’t say another word as he shut the bathroom door. A moment later, I heard the shower turn on.

Having lost interest in my book, I laid down and pulled the covers up to my chin. Despite myself, despite the weight of the last few days, a tiny smile touched my lips as I laid there and stared up at the ceiling.

Family.

Something that I never thought I’d be able to give to Zoe. But now, even if I had to lose custody after the next six months, she would grow up surrounded by it. That thought was enough to soothe me into contentment.

Soon enough, my eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it, sleep took hold of me.

I dreamed about Grace that night. She loomed over me, her fists raised to beat me. But this time, something was different. I didn’t cower or shrink away like I normally would.

Instead, I rose up.

I grew taller and stronger until I towered over her. Her looming form grew tiny and insignificant, like an ant, her words too faint to reach my own ears. She shook her fists up at me, but I just smiled down at her.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I said, lifting my foot.

And then, just as she had crushed the flower stem ring beneath her shoe, I crushed her under my heel.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of raised voices outside my door. I blinked groggily, rubbing my eyes as the muffled argument grew louder. Alaric’s deep voice was unmistakable, and I caught snippets of Grace’s voice as well.

“You have no choice—”

“Well, of course I have no choice now. You should have consulted me before you—”

“I didn’t ask because I knew you would find a reason to say no!”

I sighed, throwing off the covers and reaching for my robe. Wrapping it around myself, I padded to the door and cracked it open.

Grace and Alaric stood in the hallway. Grace was dressed impeccably, as always, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Alaric looked tired, his jaw clenched as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

The door creaked, and they both turned to face me, halting their argument.

“Good morning, Luna,” Grace said venomously. Her eyes flicked over my robe, her lips curling into a sneer. “I see you’ve decided to grace us with your presence at this late hour.”

It was only five-thirty in the morning, but I ignored her jab. “Good morning,” I said evenly. I then turned to Alaric, arching an eyebrow. “Why are we shouting so early in the morning?”

Alaric sighed heavily. “My mother has invited members of the Donovan family over for lunch today.”