Chapter 149
Elara's POV
The forest path stretched ahead of us, darker now as the sun dipped behind the trees. I walked in front, eyes scanning the shadows out of habit. Behind me, Lynette's footsteps were quiet but steady.
We'd been walking in silence for twenty minutes. Not uncomfortable, exactly. Just... heavy. Like we were both carrying words we didn't know how to say.
"Elara?"
I glanced back. Lynette had stopped, one hand gripping the strap of her small pack.
"We should probably... talk about what happened. While we were apart." She looked down. "Share memories, I mean. So we both know what the other went through."
Smart. Practical. Very unlike the old Elara.
I nodded. "You're right. You want to go first?"
She fell into step beside me as we started walking again. "I'll try. It's... kind of a blur, honestly."
I stayed quiet, letting her gather her thoughts.
"I woke up in your body in the middle of nowhere. Canada, I think. Everything was cold and white." Her voice was steady, but I heard the tremor underneath. "There were wolves hunting me. Big ones. Organized."
Wild Hunt. My chest tightened.
"I didn't know how to fight like you. Didn't know how to survive in the wilderness. I just... ran." She laughed, but it sounded hollow. "That's basically my whole story. Running. Hiding. Running some more."
"You killed Fenrir," I said quietly.
She flinched. "That was luck. And desperation. He was already hurt when I found him."
"But you did it."
Her hands clenched. "The wolf helped. Your wolf. It woke up during a fight and... I don't know. It was like having someone else there with me."
My wolf. In her.
The wrongness of it hit me again. My wolf should be mine. Her body should be hers.
We needed to fix this.
"Okay." Lynette took a breath. "Your turn. What happened to you?"
Right.
I started walking again, organizing my thoughts. "School was... complicated. Sophia and Blythe were still problems, but I handled them differently than you did."
"How differently?"
"I stopped apologizing. Stopped trying to please them." I kept my voice neutral. "Fought Sophia in combat class. Won."
Lynette's mouth fell open. "You—what?"
"Warren made us spar. She challenged me in front of everyone. I used some techniques I remembered and put her on the ground."
"Oh my god." She pressed her hands to her face. "Everyone must have freaked out."
"Pretty much." I thought about Kael's reaction. Pushed it away. "After that, things escalated. Derrick's family got attacked. I helped them. And one thing led to another. The Council noticed me."
"The Council?" Her voice went up. "Elara, what—"
"They recruited me for their special agent program." I said it fast, like ripping off a bandage. "I went through training. Passed the evaluation."
Silence.
I glanced over. Lynette had stopped walking again, staring at me.
"You joined the Council," she said slowly. "As a special agent."
"Yeah."
"I don't want to be a special agent!"
"I know." I held up my hands. "That's why we're doing this. Once we switch back, you can quit. You haven't been assigned any classified missions yet, so they'll let you go."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but finally just shook her head. "What else?"
What else. Right.
"Chloe and Ethan are dating."
"WHAT?"
I couldn't help it. I smiled. "Yeah. It happened while I was at training. When I got back, they were... together."
"Chloe and our brother." Lynette's expression was pure shock. "How did—when did—"
"I don't know the details. But they seem happy."
She processed this. "Okay. That's... actually kind of sweet? Chloe's nice. And Ethan deserves someone who makes him smile."
"Agreed."
We walked in silence for a bit. The path was getting steeper.
"The wolf woke up in combat," I added. "During a fight. You can shift now. Partially, at least."
Lynette stopped again. "I can... what?"
"Your wolf wasn't broken. Just dormant. The Council witch thinks it was suppressed somehow, but it's active now."
She looked down at her hands—my hands—like she was seeing them for the first time. "So I'm not... I'm not defective?"
"You were never defective." The words came out harder than I meant them to. "The people who made you feel that way were wrong."
Her throat worked. "Thank you. For... for everything you did. In my body. My life."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Yes, I do." She met my eyes. "You made people respect me. You stood up to Sophia. You protected Vivian and Derrick even though they were awful to us. You did things I never could have done."
Guilt twisted in my stomach.
There was one more thing I'd done. One thing I definitely shouldn't tell her about.
"Is there anything else?" Lynette asked. "Anything I should know before we try to switch back?"
Kael's face flashed in my mind. The hotel room. His hands on my skin. The way he'd looked at me after, like I was something precious.
I'd used her body. Slept with someone while wearing her face.
My mouth went dry.
"Elara?"
I forced myself to focus. "No. That's everything important."
The lie tasted bitter.
Lynette studied me for a long moment. I made myself hold her gaze, even though I wanted to look away.
Finally, she nodded. "Okay."
She knew I was hiding something. I could see it in her eyes.
But she wasn't going to push.
"We should keep moving," I said. "We're close."
"How close?"
I pointed ahead. Through the trees, I could just make out a faint glow. "See that light? That's her place."
Lynette's hand found mine and squeezed. "I'm scared."
"Me too."
"What if it doesn't work? What if we're stuck like this forever?"
"Then we figure it out." I squeezed back. "Together. But we have to try first."
She took a shaky breath. "What if I can't... what if I'm not strong enough to be Elara again? After everything you did, everyone will expect—"
"Stop." I turned to face her fully. "You killed Fenrir. You survived Wild Hunt. You are strong enough."
"I was terrified the whole time."
"So was I." The admission came easier than I expected. "Every single day in your body, I was scared. Scared I'd mess up. Scared I'd get your family killed. Scared I'd lose myself completely."
"Really?"
"Really." I managed a small smile. "Being brave just means being scared and doing it anyway."
She laughed, watery but real. "You sound like a motivational poster."
"Shut up."
We started walking again, hands still linked. The stone cottage was getting closer. I could see smoke rising from the chimney now.
My stomach churned.
This was it. In a few minutes, we'd know if switching back was even possible.
And if it was... I'd have to face Kael in my own body. Tell him the truth about that night.
If I could even find the words.
"Elara?" Lynette's voice was quiet. "Whatever happens... I'm glad you came for me. I'm glad I'm not alone."
My throat went tight. "You're my sister. Of course I came."
"I know, but..." She swallowed. "The old Elara wouldn't have. She would've been too scared. But you're different. You're... you're what I always wished I could be."
No. No, she had it backwards.
"Lynette, listen to me." I stopped walking and gripped both her shoulders. "You are exactly who you need to be. Not me. Not some version of yourself you think you should be. Just you."
"But—"
"You showed me what family means. What love looks like when it's real and unconditional." My voice cracked. "I spent twenty years as Lynette thinking love was weakness. That caring about people made you vulnerable. But you... even after everything they did to you, you still loved them. Still protected them. That's not weakness. That's the strongest thing I've ever seen."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I don't feel strong."
"You are." I pulled her into a hug. "And when we switch back—if we switch back—you're going to be okay. Because you're not alone anymore. You have me. You have Ethan and Mom and Dad. We're not going anywhere."
She clung to me, shaking.
I held her tighter, this girl who'd given me a family without even knowing it.
"Come on," I said finally, pulling back. "Let's go see if this witch can work miracles."
Lynette wiped her eyes and nodded.
We walked the last hundred yards in silence. The stone cottage looked exactly like I remembered—squat and gray, with a heavy wooden door and windows that seemed to watch us approach.
I raised my hand to knock.
Paused.
This was it. No going back after this.
I knocked three times.