Page 68 of Knocked Up By My Fated Alpha
I tooka walk outside the pack house.
In the next few hours, the mutinous members of the council and Elias needed to be handled, but all I could think of was the ultrasound I’d unintentionally missed and the glint of pain I’d seen in Raven’s eyes earlier.
As though conjured by my thoughts, a whiff of Raven's vanilla and spice scent hit me.
My legs began moving before I was fully aware of it, and as I neared the garden grounds overlooked by an overhead balcony, my footsteps slowed. Above, Raven stood on the balcony. But she wasn't alone.
“...tell me you believe Alpha Damien would choose a woman he's known for a handful of months over his childhood love and fated mate…”
I stood in that corner downwind, my heart slowing at the certainty of Elias's words, Raven's lack of response and the weary tension her shoulders held.
A deep guttural growl rattled to life deep within my chest as I watched Elias drift closer to her. Watched him place his hand on Raven's belly as he sold her the dreams of a future they would have had if he'd never cheated. A future they could still have.
The thought of the manifestation of that future, of Raven sharing soft, intimate smiles with Elias, of Raven in his arms, in anyone else's arms but mine, damn near obliterated my sanity.
It didn't matter that she'd been engaged to Elias first. Didn't matter that she thought what we had was only physical. She was mine now, and I had no intention whatsoever of letting her go.
But as I watched Raven tilt her head back to meet Elias's gaze, I realised it wasn't my choice to make. It was Raven's.
Raw, unfettered panic surged in my veins as I was hit by the deja vu of the moment so similar to another where Rielle had made a similar choice. The moment she'd rejected me and left me to die.
“I won't betray Damien.”
Raven’s words were firm and immovable, and for a breathless moment where my entire world slowed to a pause, I stared at Raven, completely transfixed, unable to believe she'd chosen me.
“What?” Elias’s gaze flared with disbelief. “You can't be serious.”
Raven's voice was steel.
“I am.”
Elias took Raven's hands in his, an almost desperate edge to his words.
“If this is about my former relationship with Ivy, I reassure you that I am fully committed to us now. I'm ready to earn your trust, Raven, however long it takes—”
Raven stepped away from him, letting her hands fall from his.
“It's not about you.”
I saw the moment Elias heard her, really heard her. Saw the moment the hope of a reunion in his gaze died.
“He doesn't love you. All he cares about is his mate,” Elias's expression was dark as it was broken. “That bitch wrecked this pack, killed my mother, his sister, yet he welcomed her back with open arms. If you stay with him, your safety isn't guaranteed. Neither is your child’s. With me, it is.”
“I know,” Raven met his gaze unflinchingly, emerald green eyes glittering with unshed tears.
“But I won't betray him.”
"So this is your choice," Elias's gaze shuttered as he took a step towards Raven, backing her up against the railing. “Ivy was right, you are as dumb as your parents.”
Raven's gaze crackled with a fury I felt even from three floors below.
“How dare you—”
"I think you might have been the first woman I ever loved," Eliasclosed the distance between them, cupping her cheek almost tenderly. “Too bad, I can't have you spilling my secrets.”
Elias shoved Raven off the balcony. Raven let out a surprised gasp, hands flailing for a hold she wouldn't find, then she was falling.
I didn't think. I moved. My motion a blur as my body rapidly closed the distance between where I stood to where Raven would land as she plunged from above.
