Chapter 133

Elena’s POV The clatter of cutlery stopped. It was as if the entire room had frozen mid-breath, and I was trapped inside it, staring at my plate while my mother’s last words echoed in my head. For a moment, I genuinely wondered if I’d misunderstood her. Marriage. She wanted Eric to marry me. My fingers curled slowly against my lap as I lifted my gaze toward him, searching for some sign; surprise, disbelief, anything that mirrored the storm inside my chest. But what I saw made my stomach sink. His face had hardened completely, the warmth gone, replaced by something dark and dangerous. “That’s not a decision you get to make,” Eric said flatly. Across from him, my mother, Maurene Grey, straightened in her seat. Whatever fear she usually carried around powerful men like him vanished in an instant. “And why not?” she shot back. “I’m her mother. You’ve been with her for nearly a year, Alpha Eric, and what exactly has come of it? Promises? Glances? I won’t allow my daughter to be strung along