Chapter 14 awake
Elinra pov
I slowly blinked, my eyelids heavy and damp with tears that clung stubbornly to my lashes. My chest rose and fell with shaky breaths, each inhale scraping against the ache lodged deep inside me. My legs trembled beneath the thin blanket covering them, and for a moment, I wondered if it was my body or my soul that felt more broken. At this point, it almost felt like surrender would be easier. Ending all these pains, ending this endless sorrow, ending this cruel cycle that seemed to follow me everywhere. The thought stung, and the sting made me angry. I wasn’t supposed to think like that, yet here I was.
I sniffed sharply and lifted my hand to wipe my eyes with the back of my palm. My vision blurred, then slowly focused as I blinked again and again until the room around me became clear. I scrambled weakly to sit up, each movement dragging fresh pain from my legs. The moment my feet shifted under the sheets, I almost screamed. A sharp bolt of fire raced up my calves, burning all the way to my spine. I bit down hard on my lip to stop the sound that threatened to escape.
It was then I realized the room wasn’t familiar at all. This wasn’t the small space they gave me. This wasn’t any room I had ever come across. It felt like I had woken up inside the heart of a powerful pack, the kind you only read about in ancient folktales. Wide, dark, commanding. The stone walls were thick and cold, carrying the scent of dominance and old battles. A massive bed of polished black wood stood at the center of the back wall, draped with fur blankets that screamed wealth and ruthless authority. The torches burning in the holders lit the silver weapons mounted on the walls, making them glow faintly, as though ready to leap down at a moment’s notice. The air carried pine, smoke, and something else. A wild scent. A king’s scent.
It took me only a few seconds to realize someone like Kaelrix would be the only person who could live in a room like this.
I tried to push myself higher on the bed, but the pain shot through my feet again, making me clutch the sheets desperately. My mind drifted back against my will, back to the fire, back to the moment I stepped into those burning sliver flames. The memory came sharp and cruel. The heat that swallowed my legs, the gasps from the crowd, the cold hatred in Kaelrix’s eyes. I didn’t understand why he hated me so much. I had never wronged him. I had never even met him properly until all this madness began. Why did my pain satisfy him? Why did he look at me as though I deserved every bit of torture he inflicted?
Was that the purpose behind my father selling me? Was I given away for suffering? For torment? Only the moon goddess knows the truth, and right now, she felt very far away from me.
I lifted my hands slowly and stared at my palms. They were swollen and red, split open from where I had dug my own nails into my skin while trying to bear the agony. I curled my fingers tightly into my palm, the sting shooting through me like needles. As a werewolf, I was supposed to heal quickly, wasn’t I? That was our nature. But sliver fire was different. It wasn’t ordinary fire. It left wounds that refused to heal without a sliver antidote, which was exactly why it was used as torture for wolves like me.
Was I going to be stuck with this pain for days? Weeks? My throat tightened.
I touched my feet gently and hissed in shock. They were twice their normal size, swollen and burning red. Rage stirred low in my chest. Kaelrix was going to pay. I didn’t know how, or when, but he was going to pay. I wanted to suffocate him. I wanted to claw his face. He deserved to feel what I felt, ten times over.
My eyes drifted away from my injuries toward the corner of the room. That was when I noticed someone sitting on a sofa. Candice. His head rested lightly against the wall, his eyes closed, his posture relaxed. Despite everything, a small smile tugged at my lips when I remembered how he had tried to save me even after being struck by his own brother. Something inside me softened at the memory. His sleeping face was gentle, his white hair falling perfectly across his forehead. His lips were red, and his jawline sharp in a way that made him almost angelic. But the sad truth was that even this level of beauty still didn’t reach Kaelrix’s. And that annoyed me greatly. How could the wicked one be the most breathtaking one? It was unfair.
Lost in my own thoughts, I felt a shift in the room and lifted my gaze. A pair of grey eyes stared directly at me.
Candice was awake.
He sat up slowly, stretching a little before standing to walk toward me. That was when it hit me. The scent. The warmth. The soft glow of the room.
This was Candice’s room, not Kaelrix’s.
“How are you feeling?” Candice asked gently, moving closer with worry etched all over his face.
“I am feeling miserable, sore, and broken,” I said honestly. “My whole body is trembling, and I am not healing. It is making everything worse.” I wasn’t the type to hide things. I couldn’t pretend I was fine when I wasn’t.
Candice reached for my hands, holding them softly. “I am sorry for what Kaelrix did to you. He is always like that. Assuming you just apologized, all these would not have happened.”
The words stabbed at me.
“I did not do anything. And I cannot apologize to someone like Kaelrix. Even if I have to walk through that fire again, I will do it. I will never apologize to that devil.” My voice snapped without mercy.
He smiled slightly. “Easy baby. You have quite a temper. Do not worry. You are not walking into that fire again. I will prevent it, no matter what.” He squeezed my hand gently.
I hissed at the pain and pulled back. He frowned. “What is wrong?”
I opened my palm and showed him the bleeding crescent wounds.
“I am sorry. Why did you do this to yourself?” he whispered as he caressed my hands softly.
“It is not your fault. I did not let him bully me. That is the important part.” I smiled faintly.
“I am proud of you,” he murmured, and warmth bloomed inside me.
Before I could respond, the door creaked open. Vernus walked in, his blue eyes scanning me before he approached.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice unexpectedly gentle.
“I am fine, just sore everywhere.”
“I am sorry I could not save you. Kaelrix is more dangerous than most can imagine, but I promise it will not happen again.”
I smiled softly. “Thank you.”
Candice shifted beside me, but Vernus suddenly spoke again. “Candice, she has stayed in your room long enough. It is time she stays in mine.”
“No. She is perfectly fine here,” Candice countered firmly.
“Do not be an idiot. She is not yours,” Vernus snapped.
Candice slowly stood, and the entire air changed. A chill washed over me.
“Who are you calling an idiot?” Candice asked, his voice cold enough to freeze blood.
The tension rose like a beast waking from sleep.
Then the door flew open.
Kaelrix walked in.