Chapter 54

Elara

I stared at the spot where Asher had just been sitting, my jaw working hard. For a moment, just a moment, I wondered if I should turn around and leave. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.

“A strip club, Asher?” I ground out. “Why here?”

He simply shrugged one shoulder. “It’s low-key. And neither the staff nor the patrons here are going to snitch if they recognize us together.”

I frowned, finding that hard to believe. But the way he was looking up at me, not a hint of mischief in his eyes, made me stay—even if it was the stupidest thing I’d ever done.

Finally, with a sigh, I slid into the booth and set my bag down beside me. I kept my distance, though, opting to keep the table between us. He didn’t seem terribly bothered, and just gestured toward me when the waiter came to take my drink order. I shook my head and leaned back in my seat.

“So,” Asher said coolly, taking a sip of his drink, “what did you want to meet me for?”

I paused for a moment, considering, but finally decided that it was best to just cut straight to the point. So I wasted no time.

“I need your help,” I said, folding my hands tightly in my lap to keep them from shaking. “Whatever is happening between you and Alaric, you need to put it aside. It’s not just him who will suffer if his businesses fall apart. It’s the entire Donovan family. The girls, too. I… I can’t let that happen.”

Asher took another slow sip of his drink, his dark eyes never leaving mine. It was moments like this that he truly looked so much like Alaric, and yet nothing at all like him at the same time.

“So you’re asking me to save my dear big brother from himself. Intriguing.” His gaze flicked briefly to my neck, where Alaric’s mating mark still burned faintly beneath my collar. “And what will you offer me in return, Elara?”

I swallowed. “Anything. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

The air between us shifted then, and I instantly regretted my words. I should have been more specific, but it was too late. Asher leaned forward, his glass clinking softly against the table as he set it down.

His voice dropped to a deep and sultry yet chilling timbre, like silk wrapped around the tip of a knife. “Anything? Then let me cover that mark with my own,” he purred.

My heart stopped.

His fingers brushed the side of my neck before I could jerk away, grazing the mark just enough to send a shiver skittering down my spine. I slapped his hand away, but he caught my wrist before it fully retreated.

“Don’t touch me,” I hissed, twisting in his grip.

But Asher only tugged me closer, his breath warm against my ear as I fell into him. “Relax. I’m just trying to help. You deserve better than Alaric, you know. He doesn’t see you for what you are. To him, you’re a necessity, a convenience for the next six months. But me?”

He paused, and his thumb brushed over the pulse point in my wrist. The touch was lazy, almost tender. “I could give you everything,” he continued softly. “I’d make you feel like a queen. Loved. Worshiped. Alaric will never love you the way I could. I could ensure you get custody of the girls, too.”

Yeah, right, I thought. I shoved against his chest with my free hand, finally breaking his hold as I scrambled back in my seat. “And you think betraying your own brother is love?” I snapped, rubbing my wrist as if I had been burned. “Is that how you show affection, by trying to steal what’s his?”

Asher’s smirk faltered. For a moment, I thought he might lash out like usual, but instead, something shifted in his eyes. The predatory glint almost seemed to dim, replaced by something heavier and darker.

“You don’t understand what it’s like living in his shadow,” he muttered, his tone just a touch lower now. “Alaric was always the golden son. The perfect Alpha. I was just the mistake. The unwanted second-born, cast aside and forgotten.”

I froze.

The raw bitterness in his voice caught me off guard, and despite everything, I felt the familiar pull of sympathy stirring in my chest. I knew what it was like to feel like an outsider. To be overlooked, dismissed as unimportant.

But still—

“That’s not Alaric’s fault,” I said quietly. “You know that as well as I do. It’s your parents who are to blame. Not him.”

His gaze snapped to mine, sharp and untrusting, but I didn’t look away. I held it steadily, even as my heart thudded unevenly against the inside of my ribcage.

“I know what it’s like,” I added, softer now. “To be left behind. To feel like no matter what you do, you’ll never be good enough. But hurting your brother won’t fix that. You won’t feel better. You’ll just end up more alone than you already are.”

Asher’s face hardened, his hands curling into fists against the table, but he didn’t respond. The tension between us felt brittle and fragile, like glass about to shatter.

Then, I reached out without thinking and covered his hand with mine. “Make up with him,” I urged him gently. “It’s not too late.”

His eyes flickered down to where our hands touched, and for a moment, something unreadable flashed across his face. To my surprise, when he looked up at me again, his usual smirk was gone. In its place was a quiet resignation, as if he already knew he had lost before he had even started.

I withdrew my hand slowly. “I’m sorry, Asher,” I said. “But I can’t—I won’t—betray Alaric.”

And with that I stood, smoothing down my coat and stepping out of the booth. His gaze followed me, but I didn’t turn back. It was clear that this conversation was over, and that I had been mistaken in assuming that Asher would help his brother.

I hadn’t given him what he wanted. I hadn’t given him myself—the one thing he thought he could lord over Alaric—and so our business was done.

But as I reached the door, Asher’s footsteps sounded behind me.

“Elara.”

I turned, meeting his gaze. For the first time since I’d met him, there was no trace of mischief or arrogance. Just quiet acceptance. Without a word, he opened the door for me, the chilly night air brushing across my skin as he did. He followed me all the way to my car, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Once I reached my car, however, he turned to me and broke the silence. Sort of.

He still said nothing. But he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me.

I stiffened in his embrace, my eyes widening over his shoulder. I honestly expected Asher to do something heinous, something to retaliate against me for turning down his half-hearted advance. But he didn’t.

He just… hugged me, burying his face into the crook of my neck.

Finally, when the shock wore off, I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him. I wasn’t sure what any of this meant, if it was some kind of sign that I had struck him deeper than I thought I had. But just as he pulled back, he paused, lingering just long enough to whisper in my ear.

“I’ll help you,” he murmured. “No strings attached.”

And then, without another word, he pulled away and strode off into the dark parking lot.