Chapter 71
Elara's POV
I stared out the window at the dark road ahead.
My brain wouldn't shut up.
It kept playing disaster scenarios on repeat. Mom asking Kael about his intentions. Dad sitting there in awkward silence. Ethan glaring at him across our tiny kitchen table.
And Kael. Sitting there in our rundown house. Seeing how we lived.
God.
I forced myself to breathe slowly. In. Out.
Kael glanced at me in the rearview mirror. Just a quick look. Then his eyes went back to the road.
He didn't say anything else about the lunch.
Neither did I.
The SUV's engine hummed in the silence. Outside, streetlights flashed past in regular intervals. The town was completely dead at this hour.
I decided to stop thinking about it. At least for now.
First priority was getting Vivian home safe.
Everything else could wait.
---
The SUV slowed to a stop in front of a large house. Two stories. Neat lawn. Every single light was on.
Vivian's parents hadn't slept.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to look at her. She was pale. Her hands were twisted together in her lap.
"Thank you," she said quietly. Her eyes met mine. "For saving me."
Something tight squeezed in my chest.
I nodded. "You're okay now."
She turned toward the driver's seat. "And thank you... for driving me home."
Kael just nodded. Polite. Distant.
Vivian opened the door and stepped out. The moment her feet hit the driveway, the front door burst open.
Martha Goldman came running out. She didn't even bother with shoes.
She grabbed Vivian and pulled her into a crushing hug. Her sobs were loud enough to hear through the closed car windows.
I watched them. Mother and daughter. Clinging to each other.
My chest felt weird. Tight and warm at the same time.
At least this time, I'd protected someone who mattered.
At least this time, no one died.
The front door closed behind them. The lights stayed on.
Kael put the car in drive.
---
Just the two of us now.
The silence felt different. Heavier.
I didn't want to be alone with him. Not because I was scared. But because there were too many things I couldn't say.
Too many questions I couldn't answer.
I pulled out my phone and pretended to scroll through social media.
A message notification popped up.
Vivian: Elara, that Cole guy... what does he do? Does he have a girlfriend?
I almost laughed out loud.
Seriously? She just got kidnapped and nearly killed, and now she was asking about Cole?
I typed back quickly.
Me: Weren't you dating Liam?
The reply came within seconds.
Vivian: He said being with me was too exhausting. That I'm always getting into dangerous situations. He broke up with me.
I sighed.
Me: Cole is an old friend I haven't seen in a long time. But I don't know anything about his current life.
It wasn't a lie.
In my past life, Cole had been my most loyal Beta. He'd followed every order without question. He'd killed for me. Bled for me.
But after I died? After I was reborn into this body?
I had no idea what he'd been through. What he'd become.
I tucked my phone back into my pocket and stared out the window again.
---
"You look better."
Kael's voice cut through the silence.
I jerked my head toward him. "What?"
"Your color," he said. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. Met mine for a second. "You look... healthier. Less pale."
Shit.
I glanced at my reflection in the window glass.
He was right.
Ever since Dr. Helena fixed my asthma, I'd been breathing easier. My face wasn't that sickly white anymore. My lips had color.
The change was obvious.
Too obvious.
My heart started beating faster.
Did he suspect something?
I needed to keep playing the role of "sick Elara" in front of everyone else. At least until I figured out what the hell was going on with the Wild Hunt.
"Maybe I've just been... resting better?" I tried to sound casual.
Kael didn't answer right away.
But I could feel his eyes on me. That sharp, analyzing gaze.
He knew something was different.
He just didn't know what.
---
The SUV pulled up in front of my house.
I grabbed my bag and reached for the door handle.
"Thanks for the ride," I said quickly.
"Elara."
I froze.
Slowly, I turned to look at him.
His ice-blue eyes locked onto mine. Serious. Intense.
"Next time something like this happens," he said quietly, "you call me first."
My breath caught.
"I don't care if it's a text. A phone call. Or you banging on my door in the middle of the night." His jaw tightened. "You tell me. Understand?"
My heart did this stupid little skip.
I nodded. "Okay."
He held my gaze for another second. Then he looked away.
"See you at lunch."
He said it so casually. Like it was already decided.
Like there was no way I could back out now.
I climbed out of the SUV and shut the door.
The engine purred as he drove toward the house next door. His house now.
I stood there on the sidewalk and watched him disappear into the garage.
My chest felt tight.
Tomorrow. Lunch. Kael sitting at our kitchen table.
This was going to be a complete disaster.
---
I didn't go through the front door.
It was four in the morning. Mom and Dad were definitely asleep.
I walked around to the backyard. The old oak tree stood next to the house, its branches reaching up toward my bedroom window.
I grabbed the lowest branch and pulled myself up.
My muscles barely protested. No shaking. No weakness.
Dr. Helena's treatment had done more than just fix my asthma.
I moved quickly. Branch to branch. Silent and smooth.
Pure Lynette instinct.
I pushed open my bedroom window and slipped inside.
Finally.
I closed the window and locked it. Then I just stood there for a second, letting the tension drain out of my shoulders.
Safe.
For now.
I collapsed onto my bed without bothering to change clothes.
My whole body ached. But my brain wouldn't stop.
Tomorrow. Lunch.
After everything that happened tonight—the kidnapping, the fight, Cole showing up, Kael finding out—sitting at our tiny kitchen table felt like walking into another kind of trap.
One I couldn't fight my way out of.
I groaned and pressed my palms against my eyes.
What was I supposed to do? Act normal? Pretend I was just some weak Omega girl who got lucky?
Kael already suspected something. I could see it in his eyes.
And now he'd be sitting across from me. Watching. Analyzing.
While Mom fussed over him and Dad tried to make small talk and Ethan glared holes through his skull.
God.
I reached over and set my alarm for seven AM.
Two hours of sleep. Better than nothing.
I forced my eyes closed and made myself breathe slowly.
In.
Out.
My mind finally started to quiet down.
I drifted into that shallow, half-awake state where dreams and reality blurred together.
Somewhere in the back of my head, I could still feel Kael's eyes on me.
See you at lunch.
Damn it.