Chapter 156 Borrowed Thorns

Chapter 156 Shadows Recognize Shadows
Lyra POV

"Gabriel, don't kill him!" I shouted.

"I won't," Gabriel replied without looking at me. "You confronting him like this actually makes me feel better about the situation."

I stepped forward, my heart hammering in my chest. This was my moment—the confrontation I'd been waiting for. I looked down at Dominic. The sight of him brought back fragments of memories I'd rather forget, but I needed this closure.

"How could you do this to me?" I asked, my voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside me.

Dominic's expression remained cold. "Do what?"

"Do what?" I repeated incredulously. "You deceived me into marrying you. You used me as Isabella's replacement!" My voice rose with each accusation. "Do I need to continue?"

"Oh, that..." he said dismissively. "I love Isabella, and I'm sorry for hurting you..."

"Sorry?" I felt heat rising to my cheeks. "A sorry could fix all that? And you said 'we were sisters, if one is captured, the other is at risk.' Protect me? Is this what you called protection?"

"I didn't know you were sisters then..."

"That's your excuse?" I shot back, fury building inside me. "If we weren't sisters, your actions would be acceptable? I'm telling you now—stay away from my sister. And don't pretend you're protecting me. I don't want your protection!"

Before I could stop myself, I slapped him hard across the face, the sound cracking through the tense room. I stepped back, my hand stinging, and turned to Gabriel.

"I need some time alone," I said quietly, then walked out, slamming the door behind me.

I strode through the Silver Moon territory, forcing myself to appear composed as I passed pack members going about their daily routines. Their curious glances followed me, but no one approached.

When I reached the secluded lake, my carefully constructed facade crumbled. Hot tears streamed down my face as I collapsed onto a fallen log by the water's edge.

The reflection staring back at me from the lake's surface seemed like a stranger's—a woman who had endured more than she should have. Tricked into marriage by Dominic, only to discover I was nothing more than a breeding vessel for his true mate...

I wiped my tears, trying to steady my breathing. Dwelling on the past would only bring more pain. But these weren't memories I'd sought out—they were truths Gabriel had revealed at my insistence. How I wished I could forget them again...

Suddenly, I remembered something Eliza had said during my homecoming visit: "I wish I could forget everything that happened."

The words struck me with new significance. Did Eliza have similar experiences? I realized with a pang of guilt that I hadn't visited her in weeks, not since her attack on me. She'd been confined to the pack's medical center, reportedly depressed and withdrawn.

I stood up, wiping away the last of my tears. Perhaps instead of wallowing in my own misery, I could offer comfort to someone whose pain might mirror my own.

---

The medical center's atmosphere was oppressive. The antiseptic smell couldn't mask the underlying scent of despair that permeated the hallway leading to Eliza's room.

When I entered, I found her staring vacantly out the window, her eyes dull and bloodshot. Her skin had a sickly pallor, and her frame seemed smaller somehow, as if she'd shrunk into herself.

Olivia rose from the chair beside Eliza's bed, dark circles prominent beneath her eyes. She embraced me warmly.

"Thank you for coming, Luna," she whispered. "She's much better now. Before, she was screaming and fighting everyone... at least she's quiet now."

I glanced at Eliza's motionless form, my heart aching for the young girl. If this is better, how terrible was it before?

"How are you holding up?" I asked Olivia, noting her exhausted appearance.

"I'm managing. It's hard watching your child suffer."

"Where's Jensen? I thought he'd be here."

"He blames himself. Says if he'd secured the borders better, this wouldn't have happened. He's been patrolling non-stop, barely sleeping."

My chest constricted with sympathy for this family torn apart by trauma. "Why don't you go rest for a while? I'll stay with Eliza."

Olivia hesitated, then nodded gratefully. "Just for an hour," she agreed, touching her daughter's hair gently before leaving.

As the door closed, something shifted in Eliza's demeanor. She turned toward me, a spark of awareness returning to her eyes. Her voice, when it came, was barely audible.

"Luna," she whispered. "I want to forget too... can you help me?"

I moved to sit beside her bed, taking her cold hand in mine. "What do you want to forget, Eliza?"

"I want to forget what that monster did to me," she said, her voice breaking. "He used the mate bond... he made me believe we were destined for each other..."

So that was it. Eliza had been manipulated through a false mate bond, just as I had been. Was this why Gabriel had been reluctant to tell me everything? Had he feared I would reject our own bond after learning how it could be abused?

"I understand," I told her, meaning it completely. "I truly do."

Eliza lunged forward suddenly, wrapping her arms around me. Her nails dug into my back, nearly breaking the skin. Her body began to shake violently as sobs tore from her throat, raw and primal.

The door burst open, and Raiden rushed in, his eyes wide with alarm. I immediately recognized Gabriel's hand in this—he'd assigned a guard to watch over me. Again. Hadn't I make myself clear earlier?

Eliza's reaction to Raiden's presence was immediate and devastating. She recoiled, curling into a protective ball, her screams piercing the air.

"Get out, Raiden!" I commanded.

"But Alpha Gabriel says—"

"I'm also an Alpha!" I cut him off sharply. "And your Alpha isn't here at the moment! Go tell your Alpha I'll be fine."

Raiden backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I turned back to Eliza, who was still trembling uncontrollably. "You need sleep, my dear," I said softly, stroking her hair.

"I can't," she sobbed. "Every time I close my eyes, I can see him touching me..."

I felt a deep empathy for her suffering. Before my memory loss, I must have understood this kind of pain intimately. Now, though I couldn't share my own experiences to comfort her, I knew I needed to help her find rest.

An idea formed in my mind. My white wolf bloodline granted me special abilities—perhaps I could use them to ease Eliza's distress. I concentrated, visualizing moonlit forests and calm, still waters. Carefully, I reached out with my senses, feeling the energy within Eliza's body.

What I found alarmed me. Her natural white energy was minimal, overshadowed by a thick gray cloud that I instinctively recognized as negative energy—the physical manifestation of her trauma and fear. Gently, I began drawing some of them into myself, mindful not to take too much at once.

As I absorbed the first portion, Eliza's sobbing quieted. Taking a little more, I watched her eyelids grow heavy. Soon, she slipped into a peaceful sleep for what was likely the first time since her attack.