ELARA
All the way back to Vale, my head was a complete ss. Too many things crashing down at once, the pain, the claws, the fever, Hardin, the fact that I’d have to eventually face my father again and the whole thing waiting for here... and now Aaron too... I didn’t even know where to start processing it.
This is what always happens. No matter how hard I try to run from this place, from all these people, from these mories, Vale always drags back. Like I was never ant to leave.
I followed Hardin into the palace, but I couldn’t shake the heavy weight sitting on my chest, like a stone pressing down on my heart. First the agonizing shift that nearly tore apart which I barely understood, and now... I had a wolf. Like a wolf? After spending my entire life believing I was wolfless, broken, defective, a disappointnt, thanks to my mother who sohow gave birth to a daughter with no wolf and no clear identity. Even the priests couldn’t say for sure if I was fully human or just broken.
Now, Asher had finally awakened. One mont I was burning up, my whole body urging toward Hardin like he was oxygen, the next Asher went completely silent again, leaving alone with deadly claws on my own fingers and questions I had no answers for and didn’t fully understand. Yet, I didn’t even know if I could trust her. Or if I wanted her.
"You okay?" Hardin’s voice suddenly cut through my thoughts.
I should’ve been the one asking him that. Unlike , his face actually looked like he was trying to process a thousand things at once. Maybe about what happened with Aaron or whatever made him go wild an hour ago. I don’t know.
"Yeah," I muttered, refusing to et his eyes.
The mont we stepped into the main hall, I instantly noticed sothing shifted in Hardin’s face again, this ti, more obvious. He started walking faster, almost like he was being pulled forward by an invisible force. "Ha—"
"Hardin!"
A familiar voice completed behind us, stopping mid-word.
Hardin froze. And ? My stomach dropped like a stone.
I whipped my head around, dread flooding my veins like ice water.
There, standing just a few feet away, was the one person I had been dreading facing again more than my father.
My heart slamd against my ribs as I stared at Jeremy. Suddenly, father’s words started replaying in my head again. That he’d been lying to or at least hidden sothing huge from . Seeing him here, now, after everything that had happened tonight... it was too much. Panic clawed up my throat refusing to let swallow. I didn’t expect to see him this soon, I an, not before I leave.
What the hell was I supposed to say to him?
With what had just happened between Hardin and , the kissing, the touching, the way I had practically forced him to sleep with , facing Jeremy felt like a punch to the gut. Guilt burned hot behind the back of my throat. I looked away quickly, unable to et his eyes as he walked toward us.
Hardin moved first, stepping forward to intercept him before he could get too close. "Where’s Aaron?"
"He’s with the pack healer," Jeremy replied, his voice steady but tight. His eyes flicked briefly to mine, a flash of sothing I couldn’t quite read at that mont, before returning back to Hardin. "I’ll take you to him but—"
"Then take to him now," Hardin cut in, his tone leaving no room for argunt. The urgency in his voice was sharp, almost feral.
I stayed silent, my heart still hamring in my chest. The air between the three of us felt thick and suffocating. Jeremy’s presence, Hardin’s tension, the thought of what happens next after now... everything was colliding at once. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold it together.
Jeremy gave a short nod, his eyes flicking to one last ti. "I will, but there’s sothing I need to tell you first. It’s about her." His jaw tightened visibly. "I’m sure you already slled her. I probably don’t need to tell you she’s here."
Hardin went completely still beside . The shift in him was instant, like soone had cut the power to the Hardin I knew. His entire body locked up, muscles rigid.
I had no idea who they were talking about, but whoever she was, she had just shattered whatever control Hardin had left.
"She saved your brother tonight, but—"
"Wait," Hardin cut in, his voice dangerously low, almost broken. "Sophia is here?"
Jeremy nodded. "She is."
Hardin let out a bitter, jagged laugh that sounded more like a broken snarl. "Fuck."
The sound sent a chill down my spine. I’d never heard him sound like that even when I pissed him off. It was raw, conflicted, and completely thrown.
Jeremy finally turned to face fully. "Could you excuse us, Elara?"
Elara?
Not El. Not the nickna he used to call with that soft smile. Just... Elara. Like I was suddenly a stranger. Like I was an outsider again.
The word hit harder than it should have. My throat tightened. I swallowed the sting and lifted my chin.
"I can’t do that," I said quietly but firmly. "I’m staying with him."
Jeremy’s expression flickered, sothing like hurt flashing across his face before he quickly masked it. It hurt more than I expected, seeing that look from him. But I was done being pushed aside. I’d spent my whole life feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere. I wasn’t about to let it happen again tonight.
Before Jeremy could respond, Hardin was already turning away, storming down the hall like a man possessed.
"If you’re planning to go to her," Jeremy called after him, voice sharp, "I’m afraid you can’t, Hardin."
Hardin stopped dead in his tracks.
Then he spun around so fast I flinched. His eyes were burning bright, dangerous fury gold, as his wolf pushed dangerously close to the surface. The air around him thickened with raw, barely contained power. His fists clenched so hard I heard his knuckles crack, and when he spoke, his voice ca out in a deep, nacing growl that echoed through the hall.
"And who the fuck do you think you are to tell that?"
The fury in his tone made the hairs on my arms stand up. This wasn’t just anger. This was sothing deeper. It was pain, shock, and possessive rage all twisted together. For a mont, I genuinely worried he was about to rip Jeremy apart right there in the hallway.
Surprisingly, Jeremy didn’t back down. For the first ti, he didn’t look like the Jeremy I knew. The gentle, soft guy who used to make feel safe. Instead, he stood tall, shoulders squared, his expression cold and resolute.
"Your father told to make sure of that," he said, voice steady and cold. His eyes didn’t waver for even a second as they locked onto Hardin’s.
The hallway felt like it was closing in.
Hardin’s entire body trembled with sothing entirely more than rage. His eyes burned a violent gold, fangs slightly extended, the muscles in his arms and neck corded so tightly they looked ready to snap. A deep, guttural sound rumbled from his chest, not the usual quite a growl, but sothing far more primal and terrifying. Power rolled off him in thick waves, heavy enough that the air itself seed to press down on my shoulders.
I stood frozen between them, utterly confused.
What the hell was going on? Who was this Sophia person that could make Hardin lose control like this? Why did Jeremy suddenly look like he had authority over him? And why did it feel like I was standing in the middle of a history I knew nothing about?
Everything was spiraling too fast. Just then, I...
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