Chapter 112

Elara's POV

"I promised myself I'd never come back here," I muttered as Matthew helped me up the stairs leading to the packhouse. "After you banished me, I had no home. Now everyone who used to bully me somehow calls me Luna. Not just that, but they think I'm some witch."

"We have much to talk about, darling," Matthew said, smiling. "For now, you need rest."

We reached the top of the stairs, and standing at the entrance were faces I never thought I'd see again.

"Elara! Oh, darling!" My mother and aunt rushed toward me, their arms outstretched.

They hugged me tightly before I could react, their sudden warmth startling me. My body tensed, the touch setting off alarm bells in my head.

"Easy there," Matthew chuckled, stepping in. "She's pregnant. Don't crush her."

They laughed, easing away but not letting go completely.

"Sorry, dear," my mother said, brushing my hair back like she used to when I was a child. "I'm just so excited to see you again."

"Me too," my aunt chimed in, her smile sickeningly sweet.

I stared at them, confusion swirling in my mind. Why were they acting like everything was fine? Like they hadn't worked with Darian and kidnapped me. Like they hadn't bewitched the spirit of a 500 yr old wolf-witch inside me?

"Please don't touch me." My voice came out sharp as I took a step back. "The last time I saw you two, you almost killed me."

My mother gasped dramatically. "Elara, honey, you're just confused."

"You've been with him too long," my aunt added, shaking her head. "Lucas has twisted your mind. We always feared this would happen."

I opened my mouth to protest, but my mother immediately continued, her voice dripping with condescension.

"You've been so isolated. It breaks my heart. You don't even recognize your own family anymore."

"You've been fed lies, darling," my aunt added, her eyes gleaming. "Think about it. Has Lucas ever let you speak to us? Has he ever let you make decisions for yourself?"

"No, that's not-"

"He's controlled you, sweetheart," my mother cut me off, her hand reaching for mine. I yanked it away.

"I see it now," Matthew mused, his voice calm, calculated. "Lucas has alienated you. He took a frightened girl, stripped her of her real family, her own species, and molded her into what he wanted."

"That's not true," I snapped, my breath quickening.

"Isn't it?" My aunt arched a brow. "When was the last time you had a choice? Tell me, Elara. When was the last time Lucas let you think for yourself?"

"I did, when..''

I hesitated, my thoughts colliding with each other. Everything was happening all too quickly, i could barely gather my thoughts without one person talking after another.

"You can't even answer," my mother sighed. "Because you know we're right."

"Elara, if you won't trust me, atleast trust your own family. They want what's best for you.'' Matthew added.

"We love you. We always have. But Lucas? He only ever wanted to own you." My mother quips, desperately holding my hands.

"That's not-"

"Do you think he loves you?" Matthew interjected smoothly. "Or do you think he loves controlling you?"

My stomach twisted.

"Think," my aunt pushed. "Really think. Every time you tried to make a decision, what did he do? Dismiss you? Overrule you? Make you feel small?"

"No. Lucas isn't like that. Underneath that monster is a man who fights everyday to be good. If anything, he's a victim of his own circumstance.''

My mother was silent for a minute, then she said, "You deserve better than a victim, Elara. That's why I left, because you didn't deserve anyone weak in your life. Lucas may be strong, but a man who can't trust his own mate isn't worth it. Tell me, when he was kicking you out, what did his father do?''

I had a defence at the tip of my tongue, but it disappeared. I thought back to Lucas' dad, how he'd been the fuel powering the flames. I looked back at my mom, teary-eyed.

"You deserve a family who loves you for who you are, not for who they want you to be. We won't force you to be Amaris anymore. We've made peace with it all. We won't look down on you, you're remarkable darling. You deserve a pack and a family that accepts you as you are."

Each word felt like a spell, like a nail being hammered into my coffin. Why was I so gullible? Why is there a smudge of faith inside me? I shouldn't believe them, there has to be a reason why Lucas did what he did.

"And you deserve a mate who respects you," Matthew added, distracting me momentarily. He touches my arm, kisses my hair again. He rubs my arm, all my thoughts go jumble. Was it the mate bond, that same bind that broke when Matthew rejected me, did it still affect me? If so, does that mean Lucas and I…

"Not someone who isolates you and calls it love."

The world blurred. My thoughts felt like quicksand, swallowing me whole.

"He kept you in a cage, darling," my aunt whispered. "And you were too blind to see the bars."

"No," I breathed, shaking my head. "That's not true. Lucas isn't-"

"He isn't what?" Matthew tilted his head. "Manipulative? Controlling? Dangerous?"

I lingered on the last word. Dangerous. My mind drifted back to my first days in his pack. How he was convinced my baby isn't his. How he lost control and his Lycan took over. I remembered the way he tore off a woman's head, how he chased me through the packhouse like a beast. How I got hurt, and eventually the way he carried me in his arms while I bled. He's dangerous, but is that all?

"He's not perfect, but-"

"But nothing," my mother cut in. "You're justifying him because he's trained you to. He's conditioned you, my love. That's what abusers do."

I wanted to scream, to fight back. Each time I opened my mouth, someone else had something to add.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore," my aunt cooed. "You're home now. Where you belong."

"You don't need to go back to him," Matthew murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You can stay here. Be safe. Be loved."

Safe. Loved. Have I ever felt safe and loved in this pack?

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding.

I didn't know what to believe anymore.

"He wants you to believe we're the villains," my mom added, as if reading my mind. "That we abandoned you. That we're the cruel ones. But tell me, Elara-when you were little, who tucked you in at night? Who held you when you were scared?"

"I don't know. I've been an orphan for as long as I remember. You abandoned me mom, making me believe you were dead. You have no right to sully my relationship with the only man who's ever loved me.''

My mother looks taken aback, she paused.

"But Elara, I love you.'' Matthew comes in front of me. "I always have. I was just blinded at first.''

"Elara, honey, Matthew is your true mate.''

"Shut up! Just shut up all of you!" I finally scream.

A wave of heat explodes in my chest. It starts as a pinprick, then bursts outward. I feel it rushing through my veins, burning under my skin. I don't realize when I put my hands forward and direct it at the three of them. A wave of burning magic explodes out, sending them flying in the air. Matthew slams into the wall to my left, my mother crashes into a table, my aunt hits the ground near the stairs.

I collapse to my knees, crying.

What just happened?

Finally, a memory unlocks. I see myself hitting Marry with that same wave. I remember how she called me Amaris, I remember who Amaris is. My mind travels even backwards, there, I see the doctor who'd handed me some herbs that morning before Lucas left. I see her crushing something into them.

Suddenly, it's clear to me that we've had a traitor in Lucas' pack ever since the witches invaded. Ever since Aurelio was compelled, there was yet one more victim. The doctor.

He'd drugged me through my checkups, made my wolf weaker and my alter ego-Amaris stronger. The herbs had given Amaris easy access to my memories, power to easily toy with my mind however she wanted. Take memories out.

I press my hand to my belly, feeling for movement. But this power I'd just used, this wasn't Amaris? Did my baby do this? Free me. The stories about witch babies having power even in the womb... were they true? While I wasn't a witch, I came from a bloodline of witches. And my baby is a Lycan King's. A combination of witch, wolf and Lycan.

Movement catches my eye. On the floor near my mother lies a small pouch, identical to the ones the doctor used for my "pregnancy supplements." As I pick it up, dried herbs spill out, and with them, a note in the doctor's handwriting: "Phase one complete. The true Luna rises."