Chapter 30 Containment
Sera’s Pov
I woke up with my head pounding and my mouth dry like I had swallowed sand. The couch beneath me felt unfamiliar and stiff. My body was heavy, slow to respond, and for a moment I stayed still in silence.
No ticking clock. No television. No outside noise.
I opened my eyes slowly.
The room was small and dim, lit by a single lamp near the wall. It was not my house. That realization hit before panic did. I sat up too fast and dizziness rushed through me, forcing me to grip the edge of the couch until the room steadied.
“You should not move so quickly.”
Rowan’s voice came from the corner.
I turned sharply. He was standing near the door, arms folded, watching me like he had been waiting for me to wake. The sight of him snapped everything back into place.
The knock. His warning. The man. The needle. And then I recollected everything.
“You drugged me,” I said.
Rowan did not deny it. “You were injected with a sedative.”
“Do not say it like that makes it better.”
“You would not have come quietly.”
“I told you no,” I snapped. “That does not give you the right to knock me unconscious.”
He walked closer, stopping a few steps away. “You do not understand the position you are in.”
“I understand you lied to me.”
His jaw tightened. “I tried to help you leave.”
“You tried to scare me into running.”
“Yes.”
The admission landed heavy. “So when I did not run,” I said slowly, “you escalated.”
“You forced my hand.”
I laughed, short and sharp. “That is what people say when they do something unforgivable.”
His eyes flicked away for half a second before returning to mine. “You were becoming a liability.”
My chest tightened. “To who?”
“To the pack.”
“That is not your decision.”
“It is when elders are involved.” Rowan spat back.
I pushed myself to my feet despite the weakness in my legs. “You told me the council was not involved.”
“I lied.”
There it was again. That his evil and sinister stare.
“Why am I here,” I asked. “And do not tell me it is for my safety.”
“This location is controlled,” he said. “Hidden. You cannot be reached.”
“Or seen,” I said. “Or helped.”
Rowan watched me carefully. “You attract attention.”
“You mean suspicion.”
“I mean problems.”
I shook my head. “I went to school. I defended myself. I exposed a lie. That is not a crime.”
“It is when it destabilizes the pack,” he replied. “When it draws eyes that should not be looking.”
My hands clenched. “You are talking like I am dangerous.”
“You are.”
The word was quiet. But final.
“Because I embarrassed your daughter, Brielle,” I scoffed.
“Because you survived what you should not have,” Rowan corrected.
Silence fell between us. My pulse slowed, cold and steady now. “What do you think I survived?”
He studied me like he was deciding how much truth to reveal. “You heal too fast. Your scent is wrong. Your presence triggers instincts that should not exist anymore.”
I swallowed. “You do not know what you are talking about.”
“I know exactly what I am talking about,” he said. “Selene.”
The name hit like a physical blow.
“You do not get to say that, you do not get to call her name!” I whispered.
“But it is you,” he said. “Or what is left of her.”
My vision blurred but I did not look away. “You are guessing.”
“I have been watching you since the moment you crossed into this territory,” he replied. “I felt it immediately.”
“You watched me suffer.”
“Yes.”
“You let Brielle ruin me.”
“She was useful.”
“You let Caden get dragged into it.”
“He was inevitable.”
Rage surged through me. “You used him.”
“He would have found you anyway.”
I stepped back. “Stop answering me. You are sick.”
“I am realistic. That is why I have an answer to everything.”
I moved toward the door. It did not open.
Locked.
Rowan did not react. “Do not.”
“You are just a weird, bald and evil Elder. You kidnapped me!”
“I contained you.”
“You assaulted me.”
“No, Sera or Selene. I restrained you.”
I turned back to him, shaking with anger. “Let me go. I am not doing this back and forth with an Elder,”
“No.”
The word settled heavily in the room.
“You cannot keep me here.”
“I can,” he said. “And I will until the council decides what to do with you.”
“You said they were not involved.”
“They are now.”
Fear finally crept in, cold and sharp. “Caden will come looking for me.”
Rowan’s mouth tightened. “He will be delayed.”
My heart skipped. “What did you do to him.”
“Nothing permanent.”
“That is not reassuring.”
He stepped closer. “You should rest. The suppressant in your system is still active.”
I stared at him. “You drugged me again.”
“Yes.”
My body chose that moment to betray me. Pain flared suddenly through my arm and chest, sharp enough to steal my breath. I gasped and stumbled back, catching myself on the couch.
Rowan watched without moving. “Strong emotions trigger it.”
“You put something in me.”
“To keep you manageable.”
“You think I will forgive this.”
“I do not need forgiveness.”
I sank onto the couch, breathing hard. “You think you have control.”
“I do.”
I looked up at him, fury burning through the haze. “When I get out of here.”
“If.”
“When,” I corrected. “You will regret this.”
Rowan’s confidence flickered for the first time. Just slightly.
“You should sleep,” he said. “Tomorrow you will be moved.”
“Moved where.”
He did not answer.
He turned and walked to the door. The lock clicked loudly as he stepped outside.
I sat there in the quiet, pain pulsing beneath my skin, anger keeping me awake.
He thought he had broken me.
He thought drugs and isolation would make me compliant.
He was wrong.
Because somewhere out there, Caden and Damien would notice I was gone.
And when they did, Rowan would learn exactly what kind of mistake he made.