Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Chapter 187

Drake’s pov

It took me a minute to recover from the shock of having Elena here.

"Out!" I commanded softly, my voice dropping into a low, lethal register that vibrated straight through the floorboards.

I didn’t even look at the two armed estate guards standing flustered in the doorway, but the sheer weight of my pureblood aura flared outward, driving them backward into the corridor. The heavy double doors slammed shut behind them with a loud, echoing thunk, sealing the study in a tense, suffocating quiet.

Julian slid off my lap with agonizing slowness, his loose linen shirt slightly rumpled, a sharp, patronizing sneer curling his pale lips as he adjusted his cuffs.

Elena stood in the middle of the room, her wet coat dripping rainwater onto the expensive rug. Her face was pale, her dark hair clinging frantically to her cheeks, but her eyes burned with an unhinged, protective fury as she stared between me and the vampire lingering at my side.

"You disgust me," Elena spat, her hands clenching into tight, wet fists at her sides. She took a sharp step toward my mahogany desk, pointing a trembling finger at my face. "I dragged myself up this mountain because my son’s phone went dead. I came here thinking he was in distress, and what do I find? You... cheating on him in your own private study! How could you do this to him, Drake?!"

I didn’t jump up to defend myself. I slowly leaned back in my leather chair, resting my forearms against the desk, my crimson eyes narrowing into razor-thin slits as I looked at Lysander’s mother with a cold, unyielding detachment.

"Did you not know what your son did, Elena?" I asked softly.

The question fell into the quiet room like a falling blade.

Elena’s jaw tightened, her throat working as she swallowed hard, a flicker of panic darting across her eyes before she forced her spine straight. "He came to my apartment! He was hysterical, sobbing, and terrified—"

"He ran to Darius," I interrupted, my voice dropping into an icy, razor-edged whisper. "He stood in his compound, let him put an iron collar around his neck, and carried his filthy scent straight back into my home. He betrayed every oath, every ward, and every promise made under this roof."

"He made a mistake!" Elena yelled, her voice cracking as tears burned hot behind her lashes. "He was scared! He didn’t know what was happening to his magic or his body! But you—you’re supposed to be his mate! Instead of listening to him, you bring him into your bed?!" She whipped her head toward Julian, her eyes flashing with absolute disgust. "Even so... do you really have to sleep with Julian?!"

Julian raised his pale, manicured hands in a mock gesture of innocence, stepping casually behind my chair with a light, melodious laugh. "Hey, don’t bring me into this, darling. I just love Drake too much to watch him get played for a fool by your ungrateful wolf."

"Shut your filthy mouth!" Elena screamed at Julian, her wolf flaring violently beneath her skin, her hands shaking. She snapped her eyes back to me, wiping a tear from her cheek with the wet sleeve of her coat. "Whatever. I don’t care about your sick, spiteful games anymore. I’m going to find my son, and I am taking him out of this place right now!"

She turned on her heel, ready to march toward the grand staircase.

"You are not going anywhere," I declared, my voice ringing through the room with a sudden, absolute force that froze her in her tracks.

The air in the study plummeted to absolute zero in a split second. I stood up from my desk, my towering frame casting a long, terrifying shadow across the floorboards as I stared down at her.

"You are not going to take him away, Elena," I purred low in my chest, my crimson eyes burning with a dark, possessive fire. "If he is pregnant with my child, then you’re not taking him anywhere."

Elena turned back around, a breathless, bitter laugh tearing from her throat as she stared at me. "Oh... so because of a little mistake, you are locking him up like an animal in a cage?! I thought you loved him, Drake! Is this what your love costs?!"

"My love built him a sanctuary," I replied smoothly, taking a slow, deliberate step around the desk.

"This isn’t a sanctuary, it’s a prison!" Elena sobbed, her voice breaking into a ragged, desperate plea. "Instead of my son staying in this position—stripped of his freedom, handed off to your guards, and forced to watch you throw yourself at other men—I will take him away and treat him better! I will protect him myself!"

I stopped two feet from her, looking down at her wet, trembling frame with an unreadable, carved marble face.

"You have two choices, Elena," I said, my tone dropping into a level, emotionless register that left zero room for argument. "Either you get locked up in the west wing with your son... or you leave this mountain without him."

Elena gasped, taking a sharp step back as if I had struck her across the face. Fresh tears spilled over her lower lashes, dragging clean tracks through the dried rain on her cheeks. She looked at me, searching my sharp jaw and cold crimson eyes for any trace of the man who used to welcome her into his home with warm smiles and high-tier hospitality.

"Drake..." Elena wept, her shoulders shaking violently as she buried her face in her trembling hands. "It didn’t use to be like this. I thought you were a sweet man..."

I stood tall, my dark coat heavy around my shoulders, my expression unyielding as I looked down at her weeping form.

"Yes," I whispered into the quiet room, a cold, mocking smile carving its way onto my pale lips. "I am a sweet man. But it looks like your son doesn’t like sweet men. He likes monsters... and that is exactly what I want to be."