Chapter 53

Chapter 53
Elara’s POV

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was the weight of the air. Heavy, close, like a storm had settled inside the walls of the room. My throat was dry, my body ached, and when I tried to sit up, pain shot through my chest like I’d been trampled.

A shadow moved beside me. I blinked, and Damian’s face came into focus. He was sitting in the chair, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on me like he’d been waiting for hours.

“You’re awake,” he said, his voice low. Relief softened the edges, but it didn’t hide the strain there.

My lips were cracked, my voice rough. “What… happened?”

“You collapsed,” he said simply. “After the fight. You pushed yourself too hard.”

I remembered flashes—the training circle, the way my hands burned when I touched Doran, the gasps of the wolves around me. Then nothing. Just darkness. My stomach turned cold.

“They saw,” I whispered.

Damian’s jaw tightened. He didn’t answer, and that silence told me everything. The pack had seen, and now they were afraid.

I forced myself to sit up despite the ache in my ribs. “What are they saying?”

He hesitated, and that made my chest squeeze tighter. Damian never hesitated unless it was something bad.

“They don’t trust what they don’t understand,” he said finally. “Some of them want you gone. Some want worse.”

The words hit harder than any blow. I’d known it would be hard to prove myself, but I hadn’t thought it would come to this—wolves seeing me as a danger, maybe even an enemy.

I swallowed hard. “And you?”

His eyes flicked to mine, steady and dark. “I told them you’re not a threat. That you’ve earned your place here.”

Something in his voice made me press. “That’s not all, is it?”

Damian leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand across his face. For a moment, he didn’t look like the Alpha. He looked like a man carrying too many weights at once. “I had to give them something, Elara. They wouldn’t let it go.”

“Tell me,” I said. My voice cracked, but I didn’t look away.

He let out a slow breath. “I agreed you’ll take a role. Duties. Training. Patrols. Whatever task the pack sets, you’ll face it like any other wolf. No protection, no exceptions.”

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. The words sank in, and my body felt heavy, like the bed was pulling me down. Duties. Training. No protection.

“They want to test me,” I said, the truth settling like ice in my stomach. “They want me to fail.”

His hand reached for mine, warm and strong. “They want proof. And if you give it, they can’t deny you anymore.”

I shook my head, tears stinging behind my eyes. “Or they’ll push me until I break.”

His grip tightened. “Then don’t break.”

I let out a shaky laugh that wasn’t really a laugh at all. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“No, it isn’t,” he said sharply, his voice rougher now. “You think this is what I wanted? To watch them throw you into the fire? I made the only choice I could. If I shield you, they’ll tear you down when I’m not looking. This way, you have a chance to stand on your own. To make them see what I already know.”

His words cut through the panic, steadying me even as fear twisted in my gut. I searched his face, the lines of exhaustion, the shadows under his eyes. He’d fought for me, I could see it. But now it was my fight too.

I wiped at my face with my free hand, forcing the tears back. “What do I have to do?”

Damian leaned closer, his forehead almost touching mine. “Whatever they throw at you. Patrols. Sparring. Guarding the borders. They’ll test you until they’re satisfied, or until you prove them fools for doubting you.”

The fear was still there, heavy and sharp, but under it something else stirred. Anger. Not at Damian, not even at the pack, but at the fact that I was still seen as an outsider no matter how much I gave. If they wanted me to bleed, then fine. I’d bleed. But I’d make sure it meant something.

I straightened my shoulders, ignoring the pain that shot through me. “Then I’ll do it.”

Damian’s eyes searched mine, like he wanted to argue, to tell me no. But he didn’t. He just nodded, his thumb brushing across the back of my hand. “You don’t have to do it alone.”

“I know,” I whispered. And I did. Even with the pack against me, I wasn’t alone anymore.

The door creaked, and Marcus stepped inside. His eyes flicked from me to Damian, and his expression was unreadable. “The council is waiting. They want to hear her answer.”

Damian started to rise, but I stopped him with a squeeze of his hand. My legs felt weak as I swung them over the side of the bed, but I forced myself up anyway.

“They’ll hear it from me,” I said.

Every muscle in my body screamed as I stood, but I didn’t let it show. Marcus raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t move to stop me.

Damian stayed close, his hand hovering at my back without touching, like he was ready to catch me if I stumbled. I didn’t stumble.

I walked out of that room and toward the council chamber, every step heavy, every breath tight, but my head held high.

If they wanted proof, I would give it to them.

And if they wanted me to break, they would have to try harder.