Her Vow of Winter

Elara's POV

"I can't take these."

As if the thought had just occurred to him, Vaughn’s expression shifted. "Oh, right. I forgot. You're sensitive to it, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, Elara," Rosalie glanced at me. "I've been craving this scent ever since I got pregnant." She gave a slight shrug. "But if you don't like it, we can always throw it away. I guess."

Vaughn hesitated, looking at me, clearly unsure of what to do. "Well, why don't we let Rosalie keep them, since she likes the scent? I'll get you something else."

I glanced between them. Vaughn's casual dismissal felt like a slap, and Rosalie's feigned concern only made me feel more exposed.

I said nothing. My silence was its own answer. Would he stand by me? Would he remember this was poison to me and our pup?

But as the seconds ticked by, Vaughn's gaze flickered between me and Rosalie, his face a mask of indecision.

My patience shattered. Without another word, I turned and strode toward my room, carving a warding rune into the door with a flick of my finger.

Vaughn's voice cut through the air behind me, laced with annoyance, not concern. "Elara, don't be dramatic. We have bigger problems."

I didn't bother to respond. Instead, I activated the rune, tossing one last sentence over my shoulder before sealing the door.

"Have fun, you two."

Then I slammed the door, locking him and his "good intentions" out. My hands clenched at my sides, my heart pounding—not just from anger, but from a deeper, uglier betrayal.

Vaughn didn't force his way in. He didn't even try.

That should have told me everything.

I was his mate—his pregnant mate—but ever since he’d decided to protect Rosalie's pup, my pup and I had become an inconvenience.

This pup was once my hope, my dream, after so many years of waiting.

Now? It felt like a terrible mistake.

If I'd known our child would be born into a pack where its own Alpha cared more for another's pup, I never would have conceived.

Vaughn returned to my door later that night, his brow furrowed.

Through the wood, he launched into his grand, noble explanation. "Elara, don't be mad at me, okay?"

According to him, Rosalie had approached him in tears, her eyes red and swollen. She’d told him the Council of Elders was going to execute her child according to pack law.

He had no choice but to comfort her. They had grown up together. She was his adopted sister, their parents close friends.

She confessed that if the Elders discovered she was carrying the pup of a rival pack member, they would force her to terminate the pregnancy. She wanted to keep her pup.

Vaughn couldn't let that happen, so he agreed to claim he was the father, at least for now. Apparently, when Rosalie's parents heard the news, they weren't angry at all.

After all, the supposed father was Alpha Vaughn Blackwood. Who wouldn't want a pup from his line?

"Elara, I really need you to trust me on this."

He paused for a long moment. "This is our duty as leaders of the pack. If I don't help her, Rosalie's pup will be executed the moment her parents find out."

"So?" I cut him off. "So you've decided our child will be born a shadow? Without a name, without honor, living in the darkness of that 'cursed' child?"