Alpha Kael's dangerous Obsession Chapter 38: what he finally saw

Chapter 38: What He Finally Saw

I didn’t say anything at first.

My hand was still wrapped around her arm from where I had pushed her away, but the mont I really looked at her, sothing in my chest tightened in a way I didn’t expect.

There was blood at the corner of her lips.

Not much, but enough to tell this wasn’t sothing small. Her breathing wasn’t steady either. She was trying to hide it, but it was obvious she was barely standing.

"What were you doing?" I asked quietly.

She tried to pull her arm away, but I didn’t let go.

"She is dying because of ," she said, and this ti her voice wasn’t calm anymore. "I couldn’t let her die. I won’t just stand there and watch soone die because of ."

I looked at the Elera again. The chains were too tight to be sothing done out of anger. Soone had taken ti to do this properly. Whoever did it wanted her to stay here until she stopped breathing.

"Who did this?" I asked.

She didn’t answer. She only tried to move past again.

"I need to heal her," she said quickly. "She won’t survive if I stop now."

I stepped in front of her without thinking. "You’re not healing anyone in this condition."

"Move."

"No."

She looked at like she was ready to fight if she had to.

"She is dying because of ," she repeated, and this ti her voice broke slightly. "They hurt her because she stayed close to . Because she didn’t pretend I didn’t exist like the others. And now you want to just leave her here and walk away?"

I didn’t answer imdiately, but the words stayed in my head longer than they should have.

I had always known the people inside the fortress weren’t loyal because they respected . They were loyal because they were afraid. I had accepted that a long ti ago because it made everything easier.

But this wasn’t discipline. This wasn’t punishnt.

This was cruelty.

And it was done quietly enough that no one thought I would ever find out.

How long had it been happening without noticing?

"How long has she been here?" I asked.

"I don’t know," she replied. "But not today. You can see it yourself."

I could.

The blood on the chains was already dry. So of the bruises were darker than the others. Soone had been here more than once. Soone had made sure she didn’t die too quickly.

The heat inside my ribs returned suddenly.

I closed my eyes for a second because I already knew what it ant.

The bond.

It only reacted like this when she was pushing herself too far.

I looked at her again, really looked this ti. Her lips were pale. Her breathing was getting worse the longer she stayed standing.

"You’ve used it too much," I said quietly.

She didn’t answer.

"You think I don’t know what you were doing?" I continued. "You think I haven’t noticed what happens every ti you try to heal soone?"

She looked at properly then. "Then you should understand why I can’t stop."

The heat inside my chest got worse.

She was weaker than she was trying to show. Much weaker.

"If you continue, you will collapse before she survives," I said.

"I don’t care."

"You should."

"I said I don’t care," she repeated, and this ti there was no hesitation in her voice. "I’m not watching her die. I won’t do that again."

The words made pause.

"Again?" I asked.

She didn’t answer. She only knelt beside the girl again like nothing else mattered.

I exhaled slowly, trying to control the anger rising in . Not anger at her. Anger at whoever thought they could do sothing like this and hide it inside my territory.

I crouched beside her.

"If you touch her again, you will lose more than strength," I said quietly. "You will lose your life."

"She will die if I don’t," she replied.

At that mont, the girl moved slightly.

It was small, but both of us noticed it imdiately.

Her eyes opened halfway and settled on Liora’s face.

"My... Luna," she whispered.

Liora leaned closer imdiately. "I’m here. Don’t try to speak too much. Just stay awake."

The girl’s eyes shifted again, and when she saw , fear flashed across her face before she could hide it.

"Please don’t punish her," she whispered. "She only tried to help ."

"No one is punishing her," I said calmly. "Tell who did this to you."

She hesitated.

"It was... her," she whispered.

"Who?" I asked.

"lady Seraphina."

The na stayed in the air longer than it should have.

I didn’t look surprised, even though the anger inside only got worse. I had suspected it already. I only needed confirmation.

The girl tried to say sothing else, but the strength left her completely before the words ca out. Her eyes closed again, and this ti she didn’t open them.

"Elera," Liora said softly, touching her shoulder. "Stay awake. Don’t close your eyes now."

There was no response.

Liora looked at again, her hands shaking slightly. "You heard her. She won’t survive if we wait any longer."

She placed her hand against the girl’s chest again without waiting for permission.

The heat ca imdiately.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away.

"No."

"Let go of ," she said, trying to pull free.

"I said no."

"She will die!"

"And so will you," I replied.

"I don’t care," she said again. "I don’t care what happens to if she survives."

"What about the child inside you?" I asked quietly.

She froze.

"What about the people who still depend on you?" I continued. "You think this is only about you now?"

She didn’t answer.

"Do you think I didn’t know about the burns?" I said. "You only have two left. Two. If you use them now, you won’t survive the night."

She stared at . "You knew?"

"I knew enough," I replied. "I knew every ti you healed soone, you were paying for it with your own strength. You thought I didn’t notice because I didn’t say anything. That doesn’t an I didn’t understand what was happening."

She shook her head slowly. "Then why didn’t you stop before?

Her eyes moved back to the girl again.

"She will die," she whispered.

"Not if I handle it," I replied.

"How?" she asked imdiately. "You can’t heal her. No one inside the fortress will help her. You heard what she said. If we take her back there, they will finish what they started."

The bond reacted again, stronger than before, and I tightened my jaw slightly. I could feel how weak she had beco, like the strength inside her was already disappearing.

I stepped closer to her and held her shoulders firmly so she would stop thinking about anything else for one second.

"Listen to carefully," I said quietly. "You are not dying tonight. Not because of this. Not because of anyone inside that fortress. And definitely not because you think saving everyone is your responsibility."

Her breathing was still uneven, but she didn’t pull away this ti.

"She can’t die either," she said softly. "I can’t let her die because of ."

I looked at the girl again, then back at her.

"She won’t die," I said finally. "But you are not healing her again. That’s not happening."

She didn’t answer imdiately. For the first ti since I arrived, she looked unsure instead of determined.

"What if it’s the only way?" she asked quietly.

"It isn’t," I replied. "Not anymore."

The words weren’t loud, but sothing in the way I said them made her finally stop resisting.

Because this wasn’t only about her anymore.

It was about the child inside her too.