Chapter 48

Sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtains, warming my face. I blinked groggily, stretching my arms above my head as consciousness slowly returned. I’d told Elroy I needed a nap, and clearly I was right about that given how much better I felt already.

I let myself come to slowly, then turned to look at the bedside clock to see how long I’d slept. That's when I noticed him.

Elroy sat in the plush armchair by the window, his brow furrowed in concentration as he pored over a stack of papers. The sight of him there, so casual yet out of place, startled me fully awake.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted, pulling the silky sheets up to my chin.

Elroy's head snapped up, a smile spreading across his face. "Maybe because it’s my room, sleeping beauty,” he responded. I flushed.

“I know that,” I groused, trying to hide my embarrassment, “I meant why are you doing your work in here when you have a perfectly good office?”

He set the papers aside, leaning forward. "Because, aside from a brief meeting later, I intend to spend the entire day ensuring you don't lift a finger. Doctor’s orders, Olivia.”

My breath caught in my throat. The intensity in his gaze made my skin tingle. I wrestled with conflicting emotions - gratitude warring with stubborn independence.

"I don't need a babysitter," I muttered, even as a part of me yearned to accept his offer.

Elroy's expression softened. "It's not about need, it's about want. I want to do this for you. You said you were going to let me."

I sighed, sinking back into the pillows. I did agree to that, and the panic attack had left a residue of shame and fear—Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible to let someone else shoulder some of the burden, just for a day.

"Alright," I conceded, my voice barely above a whisper. "But just for today."

Elroy's answering smile was radiant. As he stood to call Jordan to get me breakfast (I didn’t even realize I hadn’t eaten yet) I made a silent vow to myself. This panic, this constant state of anxiety - it had to change.

For the baby's sake, for my own sanity. Even if it meant trusting Elroy a little more than I was entirely comfortable with.

I watched him move about the room, his movements graceful and purposeful. A small voice in my head whispered a warning - remember who he is, what he's capable of. But for now I pushed it aside; just for today, I'd allow myself this moment of peace.

Moments later the aroma of freshly brewed not-coffee and warm pastries filled the room as Elroy placed a tray on my lap. My stomach growled appreciatively, and I realized just how famished I was.

"This looks amazing," I murmured, biting into a flaky croissant. I could feel Elroy studying my face as I chewed.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said, “I sent Jordan out. I know you’re good friends, but I wanted a little more time with you.” I felt something in my chest melt.

He had to stop saying things like that. It was like he wanted me to get the wrong idea.

"Tell me more about your family," I said, both desperate to change the subject and seeing the opportunity to learn more. "About growing up in the tower."

Elroy's eyes flickered with an emotion I couldn't quite place. He settled into the chair beside my bed, his posture relaxed but not quite natural.

"It wasn't... conventional," he began, his voice low. "Obviously. I didn’t care much when I was little, because what little kid questions the state of the world? Things just are how they are.

“Mom’s bedtime stories were all about her childhood, the world outside the tower and all of the people there…she made it sound like paradise. I got old enough to wonder why I couldn’t go out there too, and that was when she had to start explaining it to me.”

I cringed, unable to imagine having to explain to a child that they were nothing but a prisoner. How do you even say something like that?

“She told me it was like the fairy tale books she read to me, where the dragon kidnaps the princess and someone has to come save her. She said we were just waiting for our hero to come and whisk us away.”

“You had storybooks?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Elroy shrugged. “You saw it up there—it’s not a barren cell, mom could ask for things for me and we’d get them. It was kept furnished and warm, and every now and again people would come in to the front room to see mom for her apothecary work.”

“Like I did,” I said quietly.

“Exactly. My father always took the payments, so he had some incentive to let her work. I’m pretty sure it only started when he’d drained a good bit of the pack’s treasury, though.”

“Iris said you never saw him, though?”

“I didn’t, and I didn’t want to. As far as I was concerned he was just the dragon in the story book, and by the time I was old enough to know more of the story my hatred for him only grew. I had prayed to the Goddess to present late.”

I furrowed my brows. “What? Why?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Because I knew I’d be an Alpha, and my father would want me,” he said.

“…So when did you present?” I asked carefully. Elroy shook his head with a rueful smile.

“I presented very young. Unusually so. But instead of celebrating it, we..." He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully. "Mom made a concoction to hide my presentation.”

My eyes widened. "What? Why would she do that?"

"It wasn't like what you experienced," he clarified quickly. "I could still communicate with my wolf, he wasn’t dormant like yours was, I just couldn’t borrow strength from him. I couldn’t shift, and it kept me from releasing my scent or aura, but it didn’t hurt me in any way."

As I listened, I felt a mix of sympathy and unease. He was right, it was very different from what I went through, and I understood why they’d had to do it, but… But if it had been me, would I be able to drug my child?

Before I could ask more, a sharp knock at the door interrupted us. Elroy stood, his expression shifting back to its usual mask of calm authority.

"That'll be Sam," he said, moving towards the door. "I have to go to that meeting now." Elroy paused at the door, his eyes meeting mine.

"I'll be back to finish the story. Try not to do anything too strenuous," he half-teased.

I just rolled my eyes at him and he left with a smile, Beta Sam nodding at me respectfully as he closed the door behind them. For all the tension we had, all the fights and secrets, sometimes he made everything feel easy.