Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

ELLA

W alking into the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror, counting a few seconds before I turned right back around.

He saw me leave the room. He had to have followed.

I trusted that he'd follow.

And I wasn't wrong.

Out in the hallway, Demetri stood there standing in front of me.

There he was. My alpha. My lead alpha that I was torn away from. The one that made me promises and said I was perfect for his pack. That I was a perfect omega. That I could be his.

If I wanted to be.

And I had. Oh, I had.

And I thought, I still wanted to be.

But he stood there, steps away, just staring at me.

I almost didn't believe it at first. He was here! He was here in the courting room for the event and he looked at me. I was right not to give up. I knew it.

I knew it.

My hands trembled at my sides, the silence between us heavy with unspoken words and unresolved emotions.

Demetri's gaze bore into mine, searching for something I wasn't sure I was ready to reveal. A surge of memories flooded back, of whispered promises and stolen moments that now felt like fragile dreams hanging by a thread.

I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice amidst the chaos of emotions swirling inside me.

"Demetri," I finally managed to say, the sound barely more than a whisper in the empty hallway.

He took a step closer, the distance between us shrinking as he reached out a hand tentatively.

"Ella," his voice was soft, laced with a mixture of longing and regret. "I…

I bit my lip, feeling the weight of his words settles around us like a shroud.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

His fingers brushed against mine, a feather-light touch that sent shivers across my exposed skin. So much of it was exposed in this dress that fit Lidya but was a bit tighter on me in the middle.

"Demetri," I breathed. I still couldn't believe it. He was here.

He was here. Finally. He hadn't forgotten me.

"You're here," I said.

"I'm here," he said, but his words were harder, detached.

I just didn't notice it at the time, so overwhelmed as I rushed up to him, breathing in his thick chocolate scent that already made my mouth water.

I threw myself against him and he caught me with a short, "Oof."

"You're here. You're going to take me away right? Is that why you are here?" I finally let all my hopes and fears out in the open, unable to hold them back. Not now when I was in front of him. I was safe. "I told Lidya and her alphas that you'd come. I did."

I can't believe that I doubted it.

I wouldn't again. Not ever.

Demetri's arms wrapped around me, holding me close as if he was afraid I would slip away. His touch sent a jolt of familiarity and comfort through me, a sensation I had sorely missed since our forced separation.

But beneath the surface, there was a tension in his embrace that spoke of unspoken truths and hidden motives that I was only just starting to feel and want to ignore right away.

He's here for me.

"Ella," he murmured against my hair, his voice tinged with a mixture of sadness and resolve. "I didn't come here to take you away."

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Confusion clouded my mind as I pulled away slightly to look up at him, searching his eyes for answers. What was going on?

Did I trip and whack my head on something at some point, because I swore that he just said… He wasn't here for me?

"What do you mean?" I whispered, the words heavy with unspoken fears. They were already plastered on my face, unable to keep anything from him at this point.

Demetri's expression softened, regret flickering across his features.

He gently cupped my cheek in his hand. "I came here to see you, Ella. To make sure you were safe."

My heart plummeted at his words, the ground beneath me shifting as reality crashed down around me. I struggled to make sense of what he was saying, to reconcile the expectations I had built up with the harsh truth staring me in the face.

"But... why?" I managed to choke out, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

Demetri's gaze softened, regret swirling in the depths of his eyes. "There are things you don't understand, Ella. Things you shouldn't have to bear the burden of."

I felt a surge of frustration bubbled.

No, that wasn't right.

I yanked at my stupid dress until my neckline was low enough that I could see everything. I didn't know how this worked in real life, so I wanted to make sure I gave him enough space to work with.

"Ella. Stop." He tried to cover my hands with his. "What are you doing?"

"You're going to bite me now. Right now."

"No," Demetri said, with more shock clear in his voice now. But why was he so shocked? He was here. He was holding me to him before pulling me back to look at my face. "No, Ella."

"Yes. Is that what it is? It is, isn't it? Are you nervous because they took me away once and you can't risk it again? You can. Just like Lidya and her pack. You just have to bite me and I'll tell them it was my idea. I seduced you. Or I coerced you or something."

"Ella."

"You can't let Davinsons take me," I insisted.

Both of us stopped moving as I said the words. Only, I started to realize now. There was no emotion on Demetri's face when he looked at me. His arms hung limp on either side of him.

"They will," I said as if the words would somehow have a better response to my liking. "There are promises in place and they already came to see me. I told you all this. I told our Pack this."

His eyes shuttered.

"Please," I begged. "There is my heart and they are here and we all know this whole thing is just a ruse unless… You can't let this happen."

He looked over my shoulder, towards the hall we just came from where the rest of the courting event was still going on.

I looked too.

No one was there.

"This is our chance," I repeated my plea. "You're here! Take me home. Take me back to Cal and Liam and Marko and our pack."

This was crazy. Insane really. It would get us into a heap of trouble, but it wouldn't be the first time that this kind of thing happened. Scent matches and corner rendezvous that turned into something a little too much–it's why omegas had handlers here. We could make it believable.

It was our only option right now. He had to see that.

He saw it, didn't he?

"Please." I was not above begging Demetri right now. I wouldn't stop. I didn't care that he followed the rules. I didn't care what would happen. I was not going to let them take me back there. Not now. "Please just bite me right now. We're alone. Please claim me as your omega."

His eyes turned hard as he held me back from him. Only a flash of pain may have crossed his face, or maybe I was imagining that.

Maybe I just wanted to see it.

But now, nothing was there.

"No, omega ."

Omega.

I swallowed, feeling a new sort of heat overcoming me. It burned like someone had lit my insides on fire. It was perhaps one of the worst pains I ever felt that left me gasping for a breath of air.

Rejection.

"B-but… I thought…" I couldn't form my words but it was clear what I was trying to say.

I thought I was your omega. I thought I was Pack Prestford. I thought you promised.

"Then why are you even here? Really?"

Demetri's eyes flickered with a mix of emotions as he took a step back, his jaw clenched. The tension crackled between us, heavy with unspoken truths and shattered expectations. His voice was cold when he spoke, each word cutting through me like a knife.

"I'm here because I had to make sure you were safe, Ella. But claiming you as my omega... that's not something I can do."

The weight of his words settled over me like a suffocating blanket, the reality of the situation crashing down around me in a dizzying whirlwind of confusion and hurt. I struggled to process his rejection, the disbelief clawing at my insides as I searched his face for any sign of hesitation.

"Why?" I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper. "You promised... you said..."

Demetri's expression hardened even further, his features carved into an unreadable mask of stoicism. He shook his head slowly, regret etched in every line of his face.

"I can't explain it now, Ella," he said, his tone final and resolute. "There are things you don't understand, things that are beyond your control. But trust me when I say this is for your own good. Both of our goods."

The tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. "Both of our…" It dawned on me then. "You're looking for an omega."

He didn't answer.

"Here."

That wasn't me.

"But…" I didn't know what else to say. "What about Cal? Marko? Liam?" I said their names again in hopes that it would jolt something in his brain to make him change his mind.

Nothing crossed his face.

Tears were already starting to streak down mine. This too-tiny dress was tighter than it was a moment ago. I couldn't quite breathe.

His jaw clenched even tighter, his eyes flickering with a mixture of emotions I couldn't quite decipher. "Ella, you don't understand. This goes beyond just claiming and marking. There are forces at play that you can't begin to comprehend."

"I don't care about any of that," I insisted, stepping closer to him despite his obvious reluctance. "I just know that I can't go back there. Not without you by my side."

For a moment, there was a flicker of indecision in his gaze, a brief spark of something vulnerable before it was once again masked by his usual stoicism. "You have no idea what you're asking for, Ella. The consequences of this... they could be devastating for both of us."

"I'm willing to take that risk," I declared, my voice unwavering as I met his gaze head-on. "Whatever it is, whatever it takes, I choose you."

Demetri's resolve wavered. A war raged behind his eyes as he struggled with internal conflict.

And then, in a flash of a moment, he seemed utterly unconcerned with me. Or anyone.

Who was this alpha?

I barely recognized him now that I stood in front of him.

"Ella!" A voice growled. Benjamin walked up alongside me, glaring at the scene I had become. His gaze then snapped back up to Demetri. "Prestford."

"Benjamin."

"I see you found my omega. Again."

"It does seem to be becoming a habit. Not intentional, I hope you know."

Benjamin narrowed his eyes as if he wasn't sure. "Surely not."

Jessica, finally seeing that something was wrong rushed up alongside us. She was a sucky handler.

"Is everything alright here?" Her attention was locked on me. "Elena?"

Demetri stared at me at the sound of my actual name. Then, he cleared his throat. "I was just leaving. Have a good evening."

"You as well, Prestford," said Benjamin in a cordial tone, looking shocked by the exchange, himself.

Tiny dark pieces of hair escaped Jessica's ponytail right around her ears. "I believe that this night might've been a little overwhelming for omega Elena. I will take this time to escort her back to her housing."

Benjamin let out a harsh breath but nodded. "Thank you for the assistance. It was delightful getting to know, Omega Elena even better than I did previously, tonight."

"I am glad to hear it," said Jessica, though her voice was tight. " Elena ."

I couldn't find it in myself to speak. Benjamin wouldn't like that. He wouldn't appreciate that I wouldn't say goodbye, but I couldn't do much of anything but be led away, listening to the echoing of my shoes against the marble floor.

"It doesn't look like you are mixing yourself with the correct alphas, Omega Elena," she said in a hard tone as we headed out of the event and back towards the residence hall, much like the last time we were together.

"It doesn't look like you gave any time to thinking since the last time we talked," I countered, though this round I had no fight left in me.

I was broken.

My heart ached.

I was shattered. And most of all?

Tired of even trying anymore. What was there to fight for after all when the one thing–the one set of people–the one hope I had– just turned their back on me?