Chapter 13. The Choice

Elena’s POV

I walked into the breakfast room, still exhausted from crying the night before. Eric sat at the table, his posture calm and controlled, sipping coffee as if nothing had happened. My stomach twisted.

Every instinct screamed at me to turn around, to flee back to my room and bolt the door. But where would I go? This was his territory. His home. His rules.

Maybe I stood there too long, frozen in the doorway like a deer caught in headlights. He looked up, and those sharp grey eyes found mine immediately.

“Elena.” His voice was low, steady—the controlled Alpha I knew. “About last night—”

“I just remembered something I forgot—” The words tumbled out, desperate, but he cut through them with quiet authority.

“I lost control.”

The confession stopped me cold.

I stared at him, confusion knitting my brow. “Lost control?”

He looked away—just briefly, just enough for me to notice—and set his coffee down with careful precision