~ELARA~
I sat quietly in the front passenger seat, staring blankly through the windshield.
I didn't even know how I'd managed to get myself out of the twins' quarters. I just knew I'd woken up still curled in Aaron's bed, wrapped in his scent, and in the comfort of his warmth.
And then my mind started replaying everything. Every single thing that had happened.
From the moment it all began… to the part where I actually fucking let Aaron bathe me… down to when I fell asleep wrapped in his sheets.
Just remembering it made my skin burn.
What the hell had I done? You should have gotten your shit together, Elara.
It all felt like some blurred dream, one of those hazy, half-real nightmares where you wake up not sure which part was truth and which was illusion.
I didn't even understand half of what I was feeling, but somehow, I found my way to Jeremy. Yeah, he was the last person I wanted to speak to after everything that had happened, the embarrassment that came along with even facing him was overwhelming but I eventually found him.
That alone had been its own kind of miracle.
I couldn't explain a thing to him — not properly, not without sounding insane or worse without sounding like I was on loud or something, yet strangely, Jeremy didn't press me. He just… looked at me for a long second and said he'd drive me home. On the condition that I stay the night at his place first, till the next morning.
He didn't ask any questions.
Almost like he already knew the words stuck in my throat.
Now, as he drove quietly through the dark stretch of road, the silence between us felt heavy, but strangely comfortable.
Jeremy had always been that kind of person, the type who could fill the air without saying much at all.
He always seemed to know when to speak and when not to. When to push and when to stay silent. That was Jeremy and that was why it was much easier to fall for his calm, thoughtful, and grounding demanuer.
And right now, he was all I needed.
I glanced down at my phone. 12:07 a.m. A bad time to be out especially not on the road. Vale wasn't the kind of place you drove through this late unless you had a death wish.
Packs often hunted at night, looking for strays or rogues to use as prey. Once you were caught, you were lucky if you only ended up as a tracker hound.
The worst that could happen, I didn't bear thinking about.
"You didn't answer," Jeremy said softly, breaking my spiral of thoughts.
"Huh?"
He kept his eyes on the road. "I asked if you wanted to grab something to eat. You've probably not had anything all day."
I blinked. I'd actually forgotten he asked. My mind had been too crowded with everything that happened, Aaron, Hardin, Enor, and all the chaos that came with them if I have to stay back and now I'd literally kidnapped the King's Beta to drive me to his place. Of all places.
I pressed my lips together, unsure if I even had the strength to eat, to think, to talk.
But I managed a weak smile. "I'm fine, uncle Jeremy. Really."
He didn't respond right away or at least, that was what I thought. The car rolled in silence until he finally turned off the road and pulled up in front of a small house.
It took me a few seconds to recognize it, and when I did, my stomach dropped, not because it was the worse place he could have brought me but because this place was tied to alot of memories, some I didn't want to remember.
Dammit. I should've remembered sooner the moment he started cutting corners.
This place was Jeremy's old place. When he was still my father's Beta.
Technically, he hadn't completely moved out, and that house… apart from the untold secrets, it also held a lot of memories.
Ours.
Sneaking out during Kimberly's punishments. Nights hiding from Enor's twisted pranks. And the whispered talks about everything and nothing.
That house was a whole chapter of my life I didn't expect to reopen tonight.
Jeremy got out first and came around to my side, his hand warm as he took mine and led me inside.
The house was exactly as I remembered, small, quiet, with one cramped room serving as everything. The dining table was still shoved into the corner, the same faded curtains still hanging.
He dropped onto the armchair with a dragged out sigh, rubbing his temples. I sank into the one opposite him, not even breathing yet when he spoke.
"So…" His tone was careful, but heavy. "You wanna start explaining what actually happened, or you wanna eat first to gather your strength?"
I exhaled, a half-laugh slipping out before I could stop it. Not the amused kind of laughter, but the are-you-serious-right now? kind of laugh.
I'd literally just praised him for not pushing earlier, and now here we were.
"Wait," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Were you planning to feed me just so you could interrogate me after?"
He groaned, dragging his hand down his face before standing abruptly. "Goodness, El, I can't believe you actually think this is something to brush off." His voice sharpened, still controlled but edged with frustration. "Do you even realize what this looks like for me? First Aaron claims you're his mate, then you call me for help, reeking of their scent. The wedding's called off, your father's furious, and I'm somehow supposed to just let you crash here like nothing happened?"
He let out a shaky breath, still pacing. "No, that's not happening this time."
I leaned back, weary. "Please, Jeremy, I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm too tired to even begin."
He stopped pacing, his hand shooting to his waist in that dramatic, exasperated way he always did.
"Don't give me that bullshit, El." His tone softened, but his eyes didn't. "You've got no idea how tired I am right now. Yet here I am, bringing you here instead of being where I'm supposed to be. With the king. That's a mess I'll still have to deal with later. So no, being exhausted doesn't cut it this time."
The words hung between us with this thick, heavy, too full of truths neither of us wanted to face. Yet.
"What if I really don't want to talk about it?" I asked quietly, my voice barely holding together.
The truth was simple, if I started talking, I'd have to reach that part. The part where Aaron and Hardin… mated with me.
And I could already tell Jeremy knew, or at least suspected. He just wanted to hear it from me.
But I couldn't do that. I couldn't face him. Not now atleast.
It felt impossible, like the words were knives I'd have to drag out of my own throat.
He crossed his arms, unmoved. "That's not an option. You're gonna tell me everything that happened. Right now. Or I'm sending you back to the twins."
I let out a tired scoff, rolling my eyes. "You won't do that to me."
He let out a short, humorless laugh. "You'd be shocked."
The look in his eyes said it all, that silent, unshakable warning.
He definately wasn't bluffing, and we both knew it.
He started toward the small shelf, his tone dropping lower. "Start talking. I'll get you some water while you do."
I rubbed my temples, frustration flaring. "I don't understand why you're going this far. Yes, I get it, this whole thing has some kind of implications but—"
He cut me off sharply, slamming the plastic bottle onto the small stool beside me. The sound cracked through the silence, making me flinch slightly.
"No," he snapped, his voice rising just enough to make me look up. "It's a lot of implications, Elara. Not just any."
His words hit harder than the noise did. And as he stood there staring down at me, the air between us felt like it could break from the weight of everything neither of us wanted to say.
"Are you still afraid of my father?" My voice dropped low. "Because I'm beginning to feel like you still are."
He gave a short, sharp snort. "Seriously? We're moving from your mess to mine now? Is that how you plan on dodging this? Because, sorry to break it to you, it's not working."
"No, I'm being fucking serious."
"Language, young lady," he cut in, his tone clipped.
I ignored him. Looking at it now, maybe Jeremy never really pushed me those times because he knew where it would end up, somewhere neither of us wanted to go.
"This isn't even about the whole mating thing with the Alphas anymore," I continued, my voice rising a little. "It's about you. You think I'm not dying to know what really happened that night? But you never asked about mine either, did you? Because you didn't want to talk about yours. You always avoid things when they start to cut too deep…"
I stopped when I noticed the look on his face, that sharp, frozen look that meant I'd just said something I shouldn't have.
"Wait," he said slowly. "Did you just say mating?"
My stomach dropped. I swallowed hard but my mouth moved before my brain could stop it.
"Yes! It happened. But I'm talking about you now. I'm not backing down from this tonight if we're really doing this talking about secrets."
He stared at me, disbelief clouding his expression. "I didn't want to believe it before," he said finally, each word dragging out like it hurt to say, "but you actually did mate with them."
He paused, studying me, waiting for some reaction, anything, a flinch, a denial, just anything.
When I said nothing, he asked quietly, his tone caught somewhere between anger and heartbreak,
"Did you… accept them already?"