Chapter 188: Tell her the truth

The constant clicking of my pen was the only sound echoing through my office. I stared at the thick, charcoal-grey clouds drifting low in the sky, feeling the familiar pull in my chest, the primal urge that always surfaced when my thoughts were tangled. I squeezed the pen in my hand so hard that the plastic snapped.

I dropped the broken pen onto the polished mahogany desk and leaned my head back in the chair. A low, frustrated groan escaped my throat as I rubbed my face, trying in vain to push away the thoughts of Elena, her presence clawing through my mind like a persistent scent only I could sense.

No woman had ever managed to sink her claws so deep into my consciousness without even trying. It was effortless. One encounter, one glance, and she left her mark, a trace of warmth and life I could not ignore.

Elena Martinez. Gentle, curious, and unshakably passionate, yet beneath that light burned a subtle, fragile sorrow I sensed immediately. In moments where she let herself be vulnerable, I caught glimpses of it, an edge of pain, a shadow in her amber eyes that begged questions I could not yet answer.

Anything gnawing at her, I had to fix it. If it was the contracts, I would end them. I would tear apart anyone and anything keeping her chained, because protecting her was no longer a choice it was an instinct.

The cruel truth that stung most was the thought that I could pay off her debts, erase the contracts, and she might still leave. I could declare endlessly that Elena belonged to me but in my chest, in the deeper, more feral part of my mind, I knew she was hers alone. Her dreams were her own. Dancing was her blood, her pulse, her first devotion not me, not a man.

Not a werewolf.

She was only with me now because of circumstance, yet knowing her as I did, I could not believe for a moment that she was using me. There was no malice in her. She simply did not understand the world she had walked into or the wolves who surrounded it.

Still, what kind of debt could force her to sign a contract with a man like Victor? Dangerous, vicious, predatory. While I sat, the storm outside mirrored my thoughts, lightning cracking like the sharp edge of a wolf’s fang. My mind spiraled through hours of possibilities, hunting for answers as a wolf hunts in darkness.

The choreography , someone named Luca, I think preyed on ballerinas at their lowest, twisting desperation into chains, offering them like a grotesque gift to Viktor. How many others were trapped the way Elena was? How many were preyed upon in the very theater she loved?

By noon, the rain came, heavy and fat, drumming against the floor-to-ceiling glass of my pack office. The pack's woods below disappeared behind the sheets of water, shadows lengthening in my lair.

I sank further into Elena’s thoughts, my instincts pulling at me. Every heartbeat, every shiver of unease, I felt it all.

That was all that burned in my head.

A sharp knock at my half-open door broke my trance. I snapped my head up, releasing the slow, controlled breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, as Mira pushed the heavy door open.

"What brings you Mira?", I asked immediately.

"Nothing much, I just came to ask, how the pretty girl is doing these days?” she spoke, her tone probing, yet light. “Has she returned to the theater yet?”

“She’s doing well,” I admitted, chest swelling at the thought of her golden smile. “She’s at the studio this week. Not performing yet, but the doctor cleared her for practice.” My teeth clenched slightly, the wolf within me tensing at the thought of her so far from my reach.

The season’s end would bring her back to me, of course, but my patience frayed at the thought of nights and weekends we could no longer steal for ourselves.

“So good to hear!,” Mira said, clapping her hands lightly, red lips curling in a smile. “Will she be on stage for the final performance?”

“Knowing her, she’ll be there. Determined as she is, not even a broken ankle would stop her.” My tail of irritation flicked at the thought. Having her to myself for now was a fleeting comfort, soon to vanish into the demands of her world.

“Keep me in the loop, Andrey. I’ll buy tickets. We’ll support her together.” A clap of thunder outside punctuated her words. Lightning flashed, illuminating my office in stark white.

“Like a werewolf family?” I scoffed, the words escaping before I could reel them in.

Mira’s gaze locked onto me, piercing and sharp. My ears twitched involuntarily at her scrutiny.

"I like her, regardless of the fact that she is a human. she is your mate and I have no problem with her being my luna",

My wolf stilled surprised, then listened to her words.

There was no deceit in her scent, no bitterness hiding beneath her words. Just honesty. Rare. Dangerous.

“You’ve changed your tune,” I said quietly, studying her. “Last month, you warned me not to bring her into this world.” I spoke.

“Yes l did but if you mark her finally as your mate,” she said softly, “I will stand with you.”

"Ok", I shrugged my shoulders.

“Andrey…” Her voice was gentler now, almost protective. “Don’t wait too long to tell her what you are''. She spoke and l nodded she walked out.

When the door clicked shut, the room felt too quiet. Too small. Too filled with truths I had avoided.

My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless.

Tonight. I needed to see her tonight , even if it meant tearing through a storm to get to her.

Because every day she lived without knowing the truth… was a day I risked losing her forever.