Chapter 6 When Submission Replaces Pride

Drake remained there, motionless. He gazed at Elena’s innocent little face. His wolf snarled softly, prompting him to stop her and speak up, whatever it might be. But he uttered nothing.

“Goodbye.” Elena’s voice trembled, but she forced herself to meet his golden eyes. She turned.

Goodbye to her youth.

Farewell, Drake.

Her fragrance remained in the atmosphere. It gripped Drake’s awareness like a test he couldn’t ignore.

Drake faltered, steadying himself with a firm hand to his side.

Ezra remained several steps away. He watched his Beta crumble silently. “Never did I believe you two would carry it this far.” He spoke under his breath.

Drake said nothing. He kept his eyes locked on Elena’s retreating figure, watching until it slipped beyond view.

Elena sat frozen inside the taxi. Emotion drained from her face, her stare pinned to the divorce papers fluttering between unsteady fingers. The movement of the bus and the hum of conversation slipped past her unnoticed.

Deep inside, she was lost and confused.

How did it come to this?

She could still hear Drake’s voice from years ago. Drake's birthday wishes whispered in the dark of their apartment.

First wish: let’s get our marriage certificate.

Second: pups by the time I’m 26.

Third: grow old together.

The first wish… had been fulfilled. Right there, on his 22nd birthday, he had dragged her, while laughing, into the registry office. He was so eager and certain about it.

Then, he tore the certificate apart before her startled eyes. In our world, there’s grieving for a lost mate, not divorce, he’d said.

Now, that memory burned.

Blinking fast, she swallowed the ache rising in her throat. She would not let herself cry.

As the bus hissed to a stop, she stepped off instinctively, her legs betraying their weakness. She staggered to the bench, slumping onto the cold wood as her gaze settled on the splintered glass of her phone. Her finger moved in restless circles, craving an escape from the cursed streets she called home.

She needs to be far from Drake, far from the Monroe clan, and far from her recent location.

A car horn’s sharp cry brought her from her thoughts. Elena’s head lifted abruptly. From the dark interior of the sleek car, a chilling gaze pierced her, freezing her in place.

Dolphus.

The force radiating from him was impossible to ignore.

Dolphus was no ordinary male. He gradually lowered the window, his eyes fixed intently on hers.

Elena rose shakily to her feet.

“What do you want?” she inquired gently.

"Hop into the car." Even in softness, his voice held the weight of command.

Moving quickly, Dolphus’s assistant came down from the car and flung the back door open.

Yet Elena did not enter.

She grasped her worn jacket more firmly, wrapping it around herself. “Dolphus… let’s act as if we’re strangers from this point forward,” she said calmly, though her throat felt scratchy.

“You’re a public figure. If the Monroe family hears that you’re helping me, they’ll come after you.”

Her voice shook on the final words, though she tried to steady it.

What became of her no longer mattered. However, she couldn't involve the Farrington family in this.

Dolphus’s eyes squinted, his stare keen as a knife. "Enter the vehicle."

The dominance in his voice pressed down on Elena. Her body lowered in submission before she could stop herself.

Behind her, a bus roared closer. The horn blasted again, loud with urgency.

She cast one last look at the bus before meeting his gaze. The answer had already been decided.

With reluctant steps, Elena slid into the leather seat, the door sealing shut behind her.

The car moved immediately.

Dolphus flipped open a smooth black folder, as he spoke into his earpiece.

Elena’s arms crossed over her chest. Part of her longed to ask the driver to stop, to let her flee, but disturbing Dolphus's order was out of the question.

Quietly, she slipped her phone from her pocket and muted it, as if the silence could steady her.

Notifications were flooding in. Her divorce wasn’t just news. It was a wildfire.

Her fingers moved fast, deleting one message after another. Old packmates. Former friends. Now, they wanted gossip.

She let them all be deleted from her phone. None of them mattered now.

Dolphus ended his call and, after a pause, cast a sidelong glance at her.

"What made you leave the hospital?"

“I went with Drake to collect our divorce certificate,” she replied flatly, not bothering to meet his gaze. Her fingers continued erasing names from her contact list.

Silence.

Dolphus’s brow twitched. For a second, those words from Elena seem to him like Elena lied to him.

Divorced.

Already.

Even his wolf seemed to hesitate.

This wasn’t the outcome he had anticipated. He remembered the first time he had seen Elena trail after Drake like a lovesick pup. She had been sixteen then. But her eyes… those clear, black eyes… They’d burned with stubbornness.

He warned her.

Drake is better as a friend, not a mate.

But she hadn’t listened. She never did.

Dolphus remembered the way she had glared at him that day.

Now, here she was.

The car drove on in silence.

Elena said nothing more, her gaze fixed on the window.

And Dolphus… said nothing too.

After Elena transferred the medical expenses to Marcus, she didn't hesitate. Her thumb hovered briefly before pressing delete. Erasing Marcus’s contact from her phone. This is a clean break. No more connections she didn’t need.

Her eyes moved through her Facebook friends list, scrolling past names she barely recognized anymore. Mrs. Lyra. Jamil. Prof. Gaius. Then her finger stopped.

Dolphus.

His avatar stared back at her: a calm seascape painting. Curiosity flickered within her. She tapped.

His profile was emptier than she expected. Not even a single status update. No pictures. No shared memories. Not even a stray comment. Just silence.

She hesitated before typing.

“Yesterday, your tie… I dirtied it. How much is it?