Chapter 106
Elowen's POV
"Elowen."
Juno's voice slammed into my mind like a battering ram.
"We need to get the fuck out of here. Now. You're exhausted. You're running on fumes. If you don't rest, you're going to collapse."
I shook my head, even though no one else could see the gesture. My jaw clenched.
"I know," I told her through our mental link. "I know, but Cassian and Casper need me to get these answers! Cindy needs me to help Ethan!"
"And what good are you going to be to any of them if you pass out in the middle of a hallway?" Juno snapped back. Her tone was sharp. Protective. "You need to go to them. Let them hold you. Let them—"
"Let them what?" I interrupted, my mental voice breaking. "Let them comfort me while their father's dead body is still warm? While Ethan's bleeding out upstairs? While everyone thinks Leo—thinks Casper—is a fucking murderer?"
Silence.
Then, softer: "This isn't your fault."
But it was. God, it was.
"This is all my fault," I whispered in my head. My throat tightened. My eyes stung. "If I'd just... if I'd listened to my mother from the beginning. If I'd stayed with Drake. If I'd never—"
"Stop it." Juno's growl reverberated through my skull. "You didn't cause this. Drake caused this. Your mother caused this. That fucking psycho in the red smoke caused this. Not you."
I wanted to believe her. I did. But the words felt hollow.
If I hadn't rejected Drake. If I hadn't gotten involved with the twins. If I hadn't drawn all this attention to myself...
Would Alpha Austin still be alive?
Would Ethan be safe?
Would Casper's wolf have stayed dormant instead of exploding into a killing machine?
"You're spiraling," Juno said, her tone gentler now. "I can feel it. You're drowning in guilt that doesn't belong to you."
"Then whose does it belong to?" I shot back. "Because from where I'm standing, everyone I love is suffering because of me!"
Juno was quiet for a beat. Then: "You know what Leo would do if you left them right now? If you walked away to 'protect' them?"
I didn't answer.
"Let me tell you," she continued, her voice low and dangerous. "He would pull the world apart to find you. He would burn down cities. He would kill anyone who stood between him and his mate. You think tonight was bad? You think the ballroom was a massacre? Elowen, if you leave them, the body count will be ten times worse."
Her words hit me like ice water.
She was right.
I'd seen it in Leo's eyes when he'd pinned me on the dance floor. When he'd growled "Mine" and circled me like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to sanity.
If I ran now...
If I tried to "protect" them by walking away...
I wouldn't be saving anyone. I'd be lighting the fuse on a bomb.
"Okay," I whispered. "Okay."
"So what are you going to do?"
I opened my eyes. Focused on the scene in front of me.
Ronan was watching me with concern etched into his handsome face. "How can we help you?" he asked gently.
My gaze slid to my mother. She was still on her knees, clutching her bleeding mouth. Drake stood frozen behind her, his eyes wide and haunted.
They knew something. Something about the man in the storage room. Something about Alpha Austin's death. Something that could clear Leo's name and prove Casper wasn't a murderer.
And I was the only one who could get it out of them.
Before I could respond to Ronan, another voice flooded my mind. Stronger. Colder. Laced with panic.
"Babe."
Cassian.
"Where are you? Are you safe?"
Relief crashed through me so hard I almost swayed. The mental link between us pulsed with his worry, his fear, his desperate need to know I was okay.
"I'm fine," I sent back quickly. "I found them. I found the witnesses."
"Witnesses?" His mental voice sharpened. "Who?"
"Drake. And my mother. They were hiding in a storage room with... with someone else. Someone dangerous. I think—I think he might be connected to the attack."
Silence. Then: "I'm coming to you."
"No!" I snapped it out loud without meaning to. Ronan frowned. Alaric and Kade exchanged glances.
"What do you mean, no?" Cassian's tone turned icy. Controlled. The way it always did when he was trying not to explode. "You just told me you're standing next to a dangerous person and you want me to stay away?"
"I need you to stay with Casper," I said firmly. "And with Cindy. And Ethan. I need you to watch them. Protect them."
"Elowen—"
"Let me protect you," I interrupted. My voice cracked, even in my head. "Just this once. Please. I need you to watch and protect Casper... and Cindy… And let me protect you! Just this once."
Another pause. Longer this time.
Then, reluctantly: "Fine. But if you're not back in fifteen minutes, I'm coming after you. And I don't care who I have to go through to get to you."
A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips despite everything.
"Noted."
"And Elowen?"
"Yeah?"
"When this is over, you're going to pay for not listening to me."
The promise in his tone sent a shiver down my spine. Not fear. Something else entirely.
"I'll look forward to it," I murmured.
I could practically feel his smirk through the bond.
"How's Ethan?" I asked, my heart clenching.
Cassian's mental presence darkened. "Holding on for his wolf... but..."
He didn't finish. He didn't have to.
"Don't let him give up," I ordered. "Make sure he holds on. Tell him—tell him I'm coming. Soon."
"Hurry."
The link faded.
I blinked, bringing myself back to the present. Ronan was still watching me. So were Alaric and Kade.
"Sorry," I said quickly. "I was—"
"Talking to one of your mates," Ronan finished for me. His eyes crinkled with understanding. "We could tell."
I flushed. Of course they could. The glazed look, the distant stare—it was obvious when someone was using a mind link.
Ronan gestured to my mother and Drake. "We'll keep watch. You can question them privately if you want. Get the information you need."
"Alone?" Alaric's pale eyes narrowed. "Is that wise?"
Kade grunted. "What do you think Casper and Cassian would say if they knew we let her interrogate two hostile witnesses by herself?"
I opened my mouth to argue, but Ronan cut me off.
"They'd rip our throats out," he said bluntly. Then he looked at me. "Which is why we'll stay outside the door. Close enough to intervene if needed. Far enough to give you privacy."
"They'll trust my judgment," I said.
It was a lie. And from the way Kade raised an eyebrow, he knew it.
"Casper destroyed an entire ballroom because Drake made a crude comment about you," Kade said flatly. "You really think he's going to be calm about you facing him alone?"
Shit. He had a point.
"She'll be safe," Ronan said firmly. He looked at my mother. "She will be restrained. Just in case."
My mother's eyes widened. "You can't—"
"I can," Ronan interrupted. "And I will."
I nodded. "Thank you."
Ronan smiled slightly. Then his expression turned serious. "If you need us, scream. We'll be through that door in seconds."
"Understood."
As Ronan moved to grab my mother's arm and haul her to her feet, a sound echoed from deeper in the hallway.
Crying.
Muffled. Broken. But unmistakable.
Cindy.
My heart clenched. She was trying so hard to hold it together. To be strong for Ethan. But the sound of her sobs—quiet and desperate—tore through me like claws.
I thought of Ethan lying in the medical wing. Barely breathing. Barely holding on.
And I remembered why I was here.
Not just for answers.
Not just for truth.
But for them.
For my friends. My family. My mates.
For Ethan.