The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 227: Elaika’s mate.

Chapter 227: Elaika’s mate.

Reneira grinned, a flicker of mischief twinkling in her eyes. "You’ll see."

Rail didn’t argue further, but a sudden thought pulled his attention elsewhere. Someone was missing. His gaze swept the tent, and then it struck him. Agara. The Fae prince wasn’t present. Which could only mean one thing: the Fae were coming.

His doubt melted into certainty.

If the Fae King himself, or Lucieth, appeared and cast a sacred formation, they might actually shatter the enemy lines. They could burn through those immortal beasts like wildfire. But the thought haunted him, what would the Fae demand in return? They never gave without a cost.

An hour passed in tight-lipped calculation. Every scenario turned in their minds like blades being sharpened. Then Kaisun called for Siamon.

"Gather all the Alphas," he ordered, "in the humans’ strategy tent. Have the human commanders and ministers join too. No delays."

The order echoed, and soon preparations began.

Ren and Gloria, sensing a rare pause in the storm, slipped away to steal a moment for themselves.

They settled into the quiet, and the months apart began to pour out like rainfall.

Gloria spoke first. She had marched to the front lines more than a dozen times, shoulder to shoulder with hardened warriors. Her presence had earned her the soldiers’ respect, not by birthright, but by action. She had eaten at the same tables, baked them fresh loaves of bread not to miss home, shared the same cold fires, and stood among the Elite commanders of Qowen. She had even drawn closer to her uncle, understanding him through the chaos of war.

But...

She had spent her days among the living, only to watch many of them die the next. For someone as tender-hearted as Gloria, it was agony layered upon agony. In the early days, she could barely hold down her food, her stomach churning at the scent of blood and the sight of mutilated bodies. The vampires didn’t just kill, they desecrated. The savagery with which they tore through her comrades left a wound in her soul, one that could never be stitched shut. And she was watching from the sky while sitting on Sunkiath’s back until they could burn those filthy monsters. Her heart was full of rage and hatred.

Something inside her had broken. A part of her that once believed in light, in healing, in mercy, was gone. Burned away. What remained was vengeance. A single, unshakable desire: to leave this world knowing that no vampire still walked in it.

These monsters had annihilated any room for forgiveness when they killed each human or turned them.

And sleep? That had become a stranger. Every night she was haunted by dreams soaked in blood, the screams of the dying, the cries of those unfortunate ones that their limbs torn from the hips, echoing through her mind like a chorus of the damned.

Reneira reached out, gently winding a lock of Gloria’s hair around her fingers. The red strands shimmered under the candlelight’s dull glow, but at the roots, a ghostly white had begun to bloom.

"That sorrow you carry runs deep," Ren said softly. "It’s even changing your hair. The dragon senses it. That’s why the red is fading."

She tucked the strand behind Gloria’s ear with sisterly tenderness.

"If we don’t strike the vampire lords all at once," Gloria whispered, her voice trembling with grief, "they’ll scatter like rats, and we may never find them again."

She swallowed hard. Her throat tightened around her next words.

"Reneira... I saw children. Turned into vampires. They couldn’t even recognize their own parents. They didn’t cry. They didn’t speak. They just... hunted. For blood."

Her voice cracked. The pain was raw, hoarse as if she were choking on the memory itself.

Silence folded over them for a moment, heavy and thoughtful. Then Ren, sensing the weight in the air, gently shifted the subject.

"Have you seen Elaika?"

Gloria gave a nod, then suddenly grinned, half amusement, half frustration–trying to stifle the sob that threatened behind her throat. "Oh, that crazy whore! She’s driving me insane!"

Ren arched a brow. "Is she bullying you?"

Gloria quickly shook her head, eyes wide. "No, no... she’s changed. Gods help us, everything about her is... dramatic. No moderation, no pause, just this wild whirlwind of chaos!"

Ren chuckled, amused despite hating that female. "So what’s the problem, then?"

Gloria threw her hands up. "Alpha Xander is her mate. But she’s still reeling from killing his Omegas. She doesn’t even go to the shifter camp anymore! Can you imagine? I found her in a cave, Ren. A cave! Hiding in the forest like some exiled myth. She used to help in attacks and then vanish."

"I pitied her," Gloria went on, her voice softer now. "So I brought her to the human camps. But something kept bugging me. Why didn’t Xander recognize her as his mate? Why couldn’t he feel it?"

She paused, drawing in a sharp, frustrated breath as if bracing herself.

Ren leaned forward. "What did you find? Did she reject him?"

Gloria shook her head fiercely. "No. I’m sure she likes him. Who wouldn’t? Alpha Xander is everything, a good man, strong, loyal, brave... and gods, he’s beautiful."

A wistful sigh slipped from her lips as she shook her head again, clearly lost in the tangled mess of emotions surrounding the pair.

"She’s been taking some kind of magical potion," Gloria revealed, voice low with disbelief. "It suppresses her scent and aura. Alpha Xander will never know she’s his mate if she keeps using it."

Ren blinked, stunned by the twist of fate. "Coran’s mate is also from the River Pack. The elder’s eldest granddaughter."

Gloria’s jaw dropped. "No way! That stupid Elaika already ruined her entire clan!"

Ren began drumming her fingers on the edge of the table, restless. "Maybe... maybe she’s scared of being rejected?"

"I don’t know," Gloria replied thoughtfully. "But Beta Coran might be in deep trouble right now."

"Yes," Ren agreed. "The elder hasn’t allowed them to meet. He might even force the girl to reject Coran."

Gloria’s throat tightened as she spoke, anger and sorrow rising together. "They’re treating this sacred bond like it’s nothing. I remember when Rail’s mate died of fever, four years ago. He was shattered."

The words left her mouth before she could think twice.

Ren went still, her expression shifting.

Gloria froze, suddenly aware of what she’d just revealed.

"Rail’s mate... had died?" Ren’s voice caught, disbelief flickering across her face as she struggled to process the news.

Gloria closed her eyes tightly, a curse slipping under her breath. "That was supposed to be a secret."

"Not anymore." Ren’s tone was steady but firm. "I won’t press you for details if that was a secret, but, where is Elaika now? I need to speak with her. She has no right to sabotage her brother’s chance to claim his mate. If Alpha Xander holds a grudge against Elaika, there’s no way he’ll allow his niece to marry Beta Coran."

Gloria nodded sharply, springing to her feet. "Come with me. I’ll take you to her. Please, try to convince her to tell Xander before the battle. If Elaika dies keeping this from him, it’ll break him. And that... that would be the worst outcome of all."

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