Chapter 61

Chapter 61
Elara’s POV

The battlefield was breaking apart under our feet. Light and shadow tore through the air, hissing and colliding like two storms crashing against each other. My chest burned, my fingers clutching Damian’s fur so tightly I thought I might tear it out, but I couldn’t let go.

Kael’s eyes held me. His power tugged at me, pulling at that cursed bond that refused to die. I could hear him in my head, a whisper just under the roar of war. Come back. You are mine. You were always mine.

“No,” I whispered, though my voice shook.

Damian growled beneath me, a sound that shook through my bones. His body shifted back, fur melting to skin, until I was clinging to his bare shoulders. He set me down gently, though his eyes never left Kael.

“You hold on,” he said, his voice rough but steady. “Don’t let him in.”

I nodded, though fear threatened to choke me.

Kael stepped forward, shadows curling up his arms, wrapping him like armor. His wolves surged behind him, dark shapes moving with his command. My pack—the only family I had left—stumbled under the weight of it, their howls breaking into cries as the shadows dragged at their paws.

“Damian,” I gasped. “They can’t fight him.”

He knew. I saw it in his jaw, clenched so tight his teeth might crack. “Then we don’t fight him alone.”

His gaze flicked to me. That single look carried more weight than all his words. He was asking me to do it. To step into this with him, to stop running from what I carried inside.

I swallowed hard, lifted my shaking hands, and pressed them to his back. His skin was hot beneath my palms, his muscles tense like coiled steel. I closed my eyes. I thought of the pack. Of the children hidden below ground, of the elders huddled in fear, of the wolves bleeding into the dirt around us. I thought of everything Kael had taken from me.

And then I pushed.

The power rushed out of me like fire and wind, searing down my arms into Damian. He jerked, his body arching, and for a moment I thought I’d broken him. But then he roared, his wolf surging forward with golden light spilling across his skin.

The pack felt it too. The wolves nearest us lifted their heads, their howls stronger, clearer, pushing back against the weight of Kael’s shadows. The light spread from one to another, a chain reaction of strength snapping into place.

Kael’s smile faltered.

“You think she can save you?” His voice was everywhere, echoing through the field, pressing into my skull. “She belongs to me. That bond will never break.”

The words cut, sharp and cruel, but Damian’s hand found mine. He dragged it against his chest, right over his heart. “She is here,” he snarled. “With me.”

Kael’s eyes darkened. The shadows surged higher, swallowing the bodies of fallen wolves, pulling their remains into his storm. My stomach turned. He was feeding on them. Using their death to make himself stronger.

I couldn’t breathe. My power flickered, threatening to snap, but Damian’s grip anchored me. “Don’t look at him,” he said. “Look at me.”

So I did. His eyes burned, not with Kael’s darkness, but with something raw and unyielding. His strength wrapped around mine, steadying it. For the first time, I didn’t feel like I was drowning in it. For the first time, it felt like I wasn’t alone.

A roar split the air as Kael lunged, shadows twisting into claws. Damian shifted mid-leap, his wolf slamming into Kael’s half-shifted form. The ground shook beneath them.

I stumbled back, heart hammering, but I couldn’t run. The bond with Kael pulled tight like a chain, dragging pain through my chest with every strike Damian landed. Each time Kael bled, I felt it burn under my ribs. My knees buckled.

“Elara!” Marcus’s voice cut through the noise. He grabbed my arm, trying to pull me toward cover.

“No!” I ripped free, shaking my head. “If I leave him, he’ll lose.”

Marcus stared at me like I’d gone mad, but then another rogue slammed into him, and he was gone, swallowed by the fight.

I forced myself forward, closer to Damian. My power flared with every step, spilling into the wolves around me. They rose stronger, their eyes blazing with gold instead of fear. Together, they pushed back against the tide.

Kael’s fury exploded. He threw Damian off, shadows slamming into me like a wall. I hit the ground hard, the breath ripped from my lungs. The world spun, black and gold streaks across my vision.

“Elara!” Damian’s voice, sharp with panic, cut through the haze.

I blinked, struggling to focus, and saw Kael standing over me. His hand reached down, his shadows coiling like snakes ready to strike.

“You cannot escape me,” he whispered. “No matter how hard you fight, you will always be mine.”

My heart thundered, fear pressing down, but then I heard Damian’s roar. He crashed into Kael, teeth sinking into his shoulder, dragging him back. Blood sprayed, shadows shattering.

I pushed myself up on trembling arms, rage boiling up to replace fear. “I am not yours,” I screamed, my voice raw.

The power tore out of me, wild and blinding. It ripped across the battlefield, shoving Kael back, unraveling his shadows. For a breath, the air cleared, and my wolves surged forward with renewed strength.

Kael staggered, eyes blazing, blood dripping down his chest. He looked at me not with triumph, but with fury.

“This isn’t over,” he hissed. Then the shadows swallowed him, dragging him back into the dark.

The silence after was almost worse than the battle. Wolves panted, bodies strewn across the ground, blood soaking the dirt. The pack was alive but broken.

I dropped to my knees, my body shaking, tears streaking down my face. Damian came to me, shifting back, his hands rough but gentle as he cupped my face.

“You stood with me,” he whispered, his forehead pressing to mine. “You chose me.”

And though the bond to Kael still burned in my chest, for the first time, I believed I could break it.