Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Chapter 121

Elara’s POV

The morning light felt too bright.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling long after Lyra’s first cry had pulled me from restless sleep. My body ached in places that had nothing to do with injury. A deep, marrow-level fatigue that never fully lifted anymore. The kind that came from carrying grief in your bones.

Kaelen had left early. Some military briefing. But before he’d gone, he’d sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his lips to my temple.

"Tomorrow," he’d said quietly.

I’d blinked at him, still half-asleep. "What about tomorrow?"

"It’s been one year since you agreed to be my mate." His dark gold eyes had softened in a way that still made my chest ache. "Come to the palace. My office. Around six. Let me do something for you."

"Kaelen—" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Just dinner. That’s all. You and me." He’d tucked a strand of silver hair behind my ear. "Let me remind you who you are, Elara Frostfang."

Then he was gone.

Now I sat on the edge of the bed with Lyra in my arms, replaying his words. Let me remind you who you are.

The problem was, I wasn’t sure I knew anymore. The very thought of facing Sylvia Vance at my former desk gnawed at me, sending my anxiety into a deep spiral.

I changed three times.

The first dress was too formal. Court-appropriate silk that hung off my frame like it had been made for someone larger. Someone who used to fill it out with the dense, supernatural muscle that came with a wolf spirit. I pulled it off and dropped it on the floor.

The second was too casual. A simple cotton thing that made me look like exactly what Sylvia Vance had assumed I was—a mortal nanny running errands.

The third was a compromise. Deep blue. Fitted enough to suggest I still had a shape. Long sleeves to hide the thinness of my wrists.

I stood in front of the mirror and tried to see what Kaelen saw.

Ice-blue eyes. Hollow cheeks. Silver hair that used to shimmer with an inner light—Moonlight’s light—now just... hair. Pretty, maybe. But ordinary.

"You look beautiful."

Brenna stood in the doorway, Lyra already settled against her hip. My daughter had her fist tangled in Brenna’s dark hair and was trying to eat it.

"You’re lying."

"I’m not. The blue suits you." Brenna shifted Lyra to her other hip and gave me a look. Steady. Firm. The look she’d been giving me since we were young and I’d spiral into self-doubt. "Go. Have dinner with your mate. Be a woman for a few hours instead of just a mother."

I crossed the room and kissed Lyra’s forehead. She smelled like milk and soap and something faintly sweet. She gurgled. Reached for me with sticky fingers.

"Mama will be back soon," I whispered against her silver hair. "Be good for Auntie Brenna."

"She’s always good for me," Brenna said. "It’s you she terrorizes."

I almost smiled.

Almost.

---

The palace hadn’t changed.

That was the cruelest part. The soaring granite walls. The enchanted lanterns that burned with pale blue flame. The carved wolf insignia above every archway, eyes inlaid with amber crystal. All of it exactly as I remembered.

But I had changed.

The guards at the gate waved me through without incident—Kaelen must have added my name to the clearance list. But their gazes lingered. Not with recognition. With curiosity. The way you’d look at any unfamiliar mortal wandering the imperial grounds.

I kept my head down and walked.

The main corridor leading to the administrative wing was busy. Pages hurrying between offices. Junior clerks hauling scrolls. The sharp, purposeful energy of an empire running on schedule.

I’d made it halfway down the hall before the first voice caught me.

"Ela?"

Michel from the treasury department stood near a water basin, parchment tucked under one arm. His round face split into a grin.

"Ela! It is you!"

He crossed the distance in three strides and clasped my hand. His grip was warm. Firm. The grip of a wolfblood who had no idea how fragile mortal bones felt now.

"Look at you," he said, studying my face with open concern. "You’ve gotten so thin. Are you eating enough? We heard about your leave of absence but nobody told us—"

"I’m fine, Michel."

"When are you coming back? Your replacement is competent but she doesn’t have your eye for—"

"I’m not sure yet."

"David! David, come here! Look who it is!"

David from the legal division appeared from an adjacent doorway. Tall. Spectacled. He smiled when he saw me, but the smile faltered quickly as he took in my appearance.

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