Chapter 93
93
~Elara’s POV
“It was Ronan,” he said, his voice low and rough. “And Lira. They did this p>
My mother froze. “What are you saying?” she asked, her voice breaking. “Alpha Darlon, what do you mean they did this p>
My father shook his head slowly, confused and frightened. “You are hurting,” he said carefully. “You have lost Elara. Please do not speak out of anger p>
I felt my heart twist. In the present, where my soul was trapped, I stared at him in shock. How did he know? How could he possibly know all of this?
Darlon let out a bitter laugh and pressed his palms into the ground, still on his knees. “I am not guessing,” he said. “I am not imagining things. I know p>
My mother leaned closer, her breath shaking. “Know what?” she whispered. “Tell us clearly. Please p>
Darlon closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, tears streamed down his face. “I saw everything,” he said. “Through the bond. Through the mate bond that tied me to Elara. Even when she was dying, even when they were killing her, I felt it. I saw it p>
My breath caught in my chest. I had felt him too. I had felt his fear, his pain, his confusion. I had not known he could see me.
My father stood up suddenly. “That is impossible,” he said, though his voice was shaking now. “If you knew, why did you not come sooner? Why did you let this happen p>
Darlon looked at him, pain cutting deep into his face. “By the time I realized something was wrong, it was already too late p>
My mother covered her mouth with both hands, sobbing loudly now. “Moon Goddess,” she cried. “What kind of evil is this p>
Darlon’s voice hardened. “They tried to rape my wife,” he said, every word clear and sharp. “They cornered her. They hurt her. She fought them. She fought hard. And in the process, she died p>
My mother screamed.
“No,” she cried, falling forward. “No, no, no. Not my daughter. Please, not my Elara p>
My father staggered back, as if someone had struck him. “You are lying,” he whispered, though tears were falling freely now. “You must be wrong. Ronan was her friend. Lira stood beside her p>
“They were never her friends,” Darlon said. “They wanted her power. They wanted her place. When she refused, they decided to destroy her p>
I stood there screaming inside that shield, my hands shaking as I remembered it all. The fear. The pain. The betrayal. He knew. He knew everything. And it made the ache worse somehow, because now he carried all of it too.
“And as if killing her was not enough,” Darlon continued, his voice rising, “they framed her as a traitor. They stole her name. They spat on her loyalty. They turned the whole pack against her, even in death p>
My father dropped to his knees. “I failed my daughter,” he said brokenly.
“You were not the only ones,” Darlon said quietly. Then suddenly he pushed himself up from the ground.
He stood there, tall and terrifying, blood still staining his skin, rain dripping from his hair. His grief turned sharp, like a blade.
“I will punish them myself,” he said. “No law will protect them. No border will hide them p>
My mother looked up at him, terrified.
He looked down at her, his voice softer for just a moment. “I am already destroyed,” he said. “They made sure of that when they killed my mate p>
Then he turned and walked away, leaving my parents behind, frozen and broken. I watched my mother reach out after him, crying my name again and again, while my father held her, shaking with grief.
I wanted to stay with them. I wanted to comfort them. But I couldn’t.
Darlon walked straight to the training field, and it was pouring again. The ground was muddy, torn apart by the storm and by blood. Soldiers and guards stood at attention when they saw him, fear flashing across their faces.
“Commander,” Darlon called out.
The commander stepped forward quickly and dropped to one knee. “Alpha p>
Darlon’s eyes were cold. “I want Ronan and Lira,” he said. “You have twenty-four hours p>
The commander swallowed. “Alive, Alpha p>
“Yes,” Darlon said slowly. “Bring them alive. They are mine to kill p>
The commander bowed deeply. “It will be done p>
I watched as he turned and left immediately, shouting orders, sending warriors in all directions.
Darlon stood alone for a moment, his fists clenched, his chest rising and falling fast. Then he turned and walked back toward his chamber.
The room still smelled like us.
“Get me wine,” he snapped at a maid who stood frozen by the door.
She flinched and bowed. “Yes, Alpha p>
When she returned, he took the bottle from her hand and waved her away without looking at her. He did not wait for a cup or a chair. He lifted the bottle to his mouth and drank straight from it, long and hard, like he was afraid to stop. Wine spilled down his chin and soaked into his clothes, but he did not care. His eyes were empty, fixed on nothing.
“This is all my fault,” he shouted suddenly. His voice cracked as he threw the bottle across the room. It hit the wall and shattered, glass raining down onto the floor. “I should have protected her. I should have been there p>
I flinched, even though nothing could touch me. I reached out, my hands passing through his arms. “No,” I whispered through tears. “You loved me. You tried. This is not your fault p>
He grabbed another bottle from the table, his fingers shaking, and drank again. He paced the room like a wounded beast, back and forth, back and forth, his breath uneven. “They touched her,” he growled, his voice low and full of rage. “They hurt her. And I was not there p>
The words crushed me. My chest burned as I cried harder, watching him as he moved. I wanted to hold his face, to force him to look at me, to tell him the truth. I wanted to scream that I had fought, that I had not been weak, that I had thought of him until the very end.
He slammed his fist into the table with a roar. Wood splintered under the force, pieces breaking off and falling to the floor. “Cowards!” he shouted. “All of them p>
Another bottle flew from his hand and shattered. He kicked a chair so hard it broke apart. Books were swept off the shelves, hitting the ground with dull thuds. The room turned into ruins as he destroyed everything around him, screaming my name again and again.
“Elara!” he shouted, his voice tearing through the chamber like a wound that would not close.
I fell to my knees inside my invisible prison, sobbing so hard it felt like my soul would tear apart. My hands pressed to the floor as I cried his name back, even though I knew he could not hear me.
“I love you,” I whispered. “I have always loved you. Please survive this. Please do not lose yourself p>
But he could not hear me.
And all I could do was watch the man I loved drown in grief and rage.