Flora's Insecurities

Flora's Insecurities
Flora's POV

I shook my head.

"How?"

"By facing it."

I stared at her.

"I don't want to face it."

"I know."

"I just want peace."

"And you deserve peace," Lucy said. "But running away won't necessarily give it to you."

I was silent. Lucy took my hands again.

"Flora, you made the right choice by coming back."

I frowned.

"How can you say that?"

"Because you came back to face the things that have been haunting you."

"I came back because I thought I was strong enough."

"You are."

I looked at her skeptically.

"Then why do I feel so weak?"

"Because you're hurting."

Her words silenced me.

Lucy continued.

"Being hurt doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're human."

A tear rolled down my cheek.

"But what if coming back destroys me?"

"Then I'll be here to help you put yourself back together."

I smiled weakly.

"You make it sound so easy."

"It isn't easy."

She glanced toward the room where Maverick and Alpha Malcolm were still arguing.

"But maybe there's a reason you came back."

I looked in the same direction.

Something cold settled in my stomach.

"What reason?"

Lucy shook her head.

"I don't know yet."

"Then why did you say it?"

"Because sometimes we return to places we thought we'd escaped because there are still unanswered questions waiting for us."

I swallowed.

She was right.

I looked back at Lucy.

"I don't know if I'm ready for this."

She squeezed my hand.

"You don't have to be ready for everything today."

I nodded slowly.

"One thing at a time."

"Exactly."

The moment I saw Alpha Malcolm walking toward me, my heart tightened.
Lucy glanced at him, then at me.

“Alpha Malcolm.”

She bowed immediately.

“I’ll leave you two alone.”

Before I could say anything, she walked away, leaving me alone with him.

Alpha Malcolm stopped a few feet away from me. His expression was unusually serious, and there was something in his eyes that made my chest ache.

He stared at me for several seconds before finally speaking.

“Flora, do you really think I would stoop so low?”

I frowned.

“Stooped so low to do what?”

His jaw tightened.

“To kill your unborn child.”

My heart stopped.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

The words I had been trying so hard to avoid had finally been spoken aloud.

I looked at him carefully.

There was anger in his eyes, but it wasn't the anger of a man caught in a lie. It was the pain of someone who had been accused of something he could never imagine doing.

“Who told you I thought that?” I whispered.

“I didn't need anyone to tell me.” His voice was low. “I saw the doubt in your eyes.”

I looked away.

I couldn't deny it.

So much had happened. Too many lies had been told. Too many people had betrayed me. I had learned the hard way that even the people I trusted could hide terrible things from me.

But Alpha Malcolm was different.

Somewhere deep inside me, I knew that.

I slowly stood.

“Look at me,” he said.

I raised my eyes to him.

“I would never hurt you, Flora.”

His voice cracked slightly.

“And I would never hurt your child.”

Those words shattered the last wall I had built around my heart.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him.For a second, he didn't move.Then his arms came around me, holding me tightly.

“I don't doubt you,” I whispered against his chest. “I know you care about me. I know you would never hurt me.”

He rested his cheek against the top of my head.

“You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

I closed my eyes.

His embrace felt safe.

For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe.

“I've lost too much already,” I murmured. “I can't keep believing everyone is going to hurt me.”

“I know.”

“And sometimes I'm scared that I'm going to lose the people who are still standing beside me.”

“You won't lose me.”

I pulled away slightly and looked at him.

His eyes were fixed on mine.

“I promise you that.”

A strange warmth spread through me.

He lifted his hand and gently brushed a strand of hair away from my face before pressing a soft kiss against my forehead.

I closed my eyes.

The gesture was simple, but it meant more to me than he could ever understand.

When he pulled away, his expression had changed.

There was something troubled in his eyes again.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I have a meeting with the elders.”

My stomach immediately tightened.

“The elders?”

He nodded.

“When?”

“Now.”

I swallowed.

“Is the meeting about me?”

He hesitated.

That hesitation told me everything.

“Yes.”

My heart sank.

“What do they want?”

“I don't know everything they intend to discuss.”

“But you know it concerns me.”

“Yes.”

I stared at him, suddenly afraid.

The elders had never been people who acted without reason. If they had called a meeting concerning me, it couldn't be something minor.

“Are they going to make me leave?”

Alpha Malcolm stepped closer.

“I won't let that happen.”

“But what if they decide…”

“I said I won't let it happen.”

His voice was firm.

He took my hands in his.

“I will do everything within my power to make you stay in this pack.”

I searched his face.

“You're willing to fight the elders for me?”

“I've already decided that.”

My heart raced.

“But what if they refuse to listen to you?”

His expression hardened.

“Then I'll make them listen.”

I stared at him.

There was something frighteningly determined in his voice.

“You shouldn't put yourself against the entire council because of me.”

“I'll decide what risks I'm willing to take.”

“Malcolm…”

“Flora.”

He squeezed my hands gently.

“You've been through enough. I'm not going to stand by and watch you be pushed away again.”

I didn't know what to say.

I had expected him to reassure me, perhaps tell me that everything would be fine.

Instead, he had promised to fight.

For me.

And somehow, that scared me even more.

“What if they have a reason?” I whispered. “What if they know something we don't?”

His eyes narrowed.

“Then I'll find out what it is.”

There was a pause.

“And whatever they say, don't panic.”

I nodded slowly.

He released my hands.

“I have to go.”

“Will you come back?”

He looked at me for a long moment.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“As soon as the meeting ends.”

I forced a small smile.

“Be careful.”

His expression softened.

“I will.”

He kissed my forehead again before turning away.

I watched him walk toward the door.

Just before he stepped outside, he stopped.

Without turning around, he said, “Flora?”

“Yes?”

“Trust me.”

My throat tightened.

“I do.”

He finally left.

The door closed behind him.

I stood there staring at it.

I wanted to believe everything would be fine.

I desperately wanted to.

But something about the way Alpha Malcolm had spoken made me uneasy.

If t
he meeting were harmless, why had he looked so serious? Why had he been so determined to keep me in the pack? And what exactly were the elders planning to do?

I was still lost in my thoughts when the door suddenly opened. I turned sharply. Lucy walked inside. She closed the door behind her and immediately looked at me.

“So?”

I blinked.

“So what?”