Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Chapter 126

Elara’s POV

The mirror hated me.

I turned sideways, then back. Tugged the neckline up. Then down. After hours of preparation and trying on four different dresses, the sea-blue cocktail dress Brenna had picked clung to my waist and fell just below my knees—elegant, she’d said. You’ll look like you belong, she’d said.

I didn’t look like I belonged.

I looked like someone playing dress-up in borrowed skin.

"Stop fidgeting." Kaelen’s voice came from behind me, warm and low. His reflection appeared in the mirror—tall, dark-haired, devastating in his formal coat. The kind of man rooms rearranged themselves around. He rested his hands on my shoulders. "You look beautiful."

"You have to say that."

"I don’t have to do anything. I’m the Emperor."

I almost smiled. Almost. But my eyes kept drifting back to the glass. The dress was fine. My hair was fine—I’d spent a good while watching a magic mirror tutorial on how to twist it into something that looked intentional rather than desperate. The result was passable. Everything was passable.

That was the problem.

Passable didn’t survive in a room full of wolves.

"Ela." Kaelen turned me gently to face him. His dark gold eyes searched mine. "You are my mate. That is the only thing anyone in that room needs to know."

"They can’t smell it on me," I whispered. "They can’t sense it. To them, I’m just—" I swallowed. "Nobody."

His jaw tightened. A muscle jumped beneath the sharp line of his cheekbone. "Then they’ll hear it from my mouth. And that will be enough."

I wanted to believe him. I pressed my palm against his chest and felt the steady hammer of his heart beneath the fabric—strong, certain, supernatural. Everything I wasn’t.

"Let’s go," I said. Before I lost my nerve.

---

The hall was already alive when we arrived.

Golden lanterns hung from iron brackets along the vaulted ceiling, casting everything in honeyed light. Long tables groaned under silver platters of food—roasted game, crystallized fruit, towers of small cakes dusted with sugar. A string quartet played something lilting in the far corner. Laughter rose and fell in waves.

And everywhere—everywhere—the subtle hum of supernatural energy. It pressed against my skin like static. Invisible. Inescapable. Every person in this room carried a presence that announced itself without words, a signature woven into their very biology.

I carried nothing. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

I gripped Kaelen’s arm tighter.

"Ela!"

The voice cut through the noise like sunshine through storm clouds. Riley came sweeping toward us in a silver silk gown that caught the lantern light with every step. Her dark hair was pinned up, loose curls framing her flushed cheeks. She was radiant. Incandescent. The kind of happiness that spilled outward and made everything around it glow.

She threw her arms around me before I could brace myself. The embrace was fierce and warm and smelled like jasmine perfume.

"You came." She pulled back, holding me at arm’s length, her eyes bright. "You actually came."

"I promised."

"I know, but I was still nervous." She beamed, then glanced at Kaelen. "Your Majesty. Thank you for bringing her."

Kaelen inclined his head. The faintest warmth softened his expression. "Wouldn’t have missed it."

Sir Cassian appeared at Riley’s shoulder. He looked different out of his patrol armor—broader somehow in his formal attire, though perhaps that was the way he stood, one hand resting naturally at Riley’s waist. Possessive. Protective. His face was calm and steady as always.

"Ela." He drew me into a careful hug. Controlled. I could feel the supernatural strength coiled in his arms, deliberately restrained so he wouldn’t crush me. He pulled back and smiled.

Riley leaned in, her eyes shining. "When are you bringing baby Lyra around?"

"Soon," I said. "She’s with the nursemaid tonight. She—"

"She’s got the most incredible lungs," Riley added proudly, as though Lyra were her own. "I heard her from several corridors away last week."

Laughter. Easy. Natural. I let it wash over me and tried to absorb some of it into my bones.

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