Chapter 113 Just Stay Here
Elara's POV
"Maybe." I rubbed my temples, trying to ease the headache that had been building all day. "But we can't just kill her or try to exorcise the parasite without understanding more about what we're dealing with. If we act too hastily, we might trigger some kind of failsafe that makes everything worse. The parasite might escape its current vessel and find a new host, or it might accelerate whatever plan it's executing out of desperation."
The SUV pulled up in front of the Silverstone Pack estate. I opened the car door, but as I stepped out onto the driveway, a wave of dizziness hit me hard enough that I had to grab the door frame to keep from falling. The world tilted sickeningly, black spots dancing across my vision, and I heard Kaelen's alarmed voice saying my name from what seemed like a great distance.
Then his hands were on my arms, steadying me, and the world slowly righted itself. "I'm fine," I managed to say, though my voice sounded weak. "Just tired."
"You're not fine," Kaelen said sharply, his ice-blue eyes scanning my face with an intensity. "You've pushed yourself too hard today. When was the last time you ate? Or slept more than a few hours?"
I couldn't actually remember, which probably proved his point. "I'll rest once I'm inside," I said, trying to pull away from his grip. "I just need to get to my room."
But when I tried to walk toward the house, my legs felt like they were made of water and my vision was still spotty around the edges. Kaelen made a frustrated sound and then he was just there, one arm supporting my back and the other under my knees, lifting me like I weighed nothing at all.
"I can walk," I protested weakly, though I was secretly grateful because I wasn't entirely sure that was true.
"Sure you can," Kaelen said dryly, carrying me toward the house. "Right after you collapse and crack your head open on the driveway. Your father would love that conversation."
He managed to get the front door open while still holding me, which was impressive, and carried me through the entrance hall and up the stairs without seeming to break a sweat.
He set me down carefully on my bed and stepped back, running a hand through his dark hair in a gesture I had learned meant he was frustrated and trying not to show it.
"You need to rest," he said firmly. "Not for an hour or two. Actually rest. Sleep through the night, eat proper meals, stop pushing yourself until you collapse."
"I will," I promised, and I meant it. The exhaustion was so complete now that even sitting upright felt like too much effort. "Thank you for today. For driving, for waiting, for everything."
Kaelen's expression softened slightly. "I'll come by tomorrow afternoon. We can review what we learned and plan the next steps. But only after you've slept and eaten. Deal?"
"Deal," I agreed, already feeling my eyes trying to close.
He turned to leave, and I should have let him go, should have just collapsed into bed and embraced the unconsciousness that was calling to me. But something made me speak, some impulse I didn't fully understand.
"Kaelen, wait."
He turned back, one eyebrow raised in question.
I bit my lip, suddenly uncertain about what I was about to ask. But the memory of those trapped souls, the darkness closing in around them, the sense of something terrible approaching that I couldn't quite identify, all of it made me feel vulnerable in a way I hadn't experienced in years. "Could you stay? Tonight, I mean. Not leaving the house, just... here."
Kaelen went very still, his ice-blue eyes widening with surprise. "Elara..."
"I know it's a strange request," I said quickly, feeling my cheeks heat with embarrassment. "It's just that after seeing all those imprisoned souls today, I keep feeling like something bad is coming, something I can't see or prepare for. And being alone makes it worse. But if you're here, I think I could actually sleep without the nightmares."
I looked up at him, trying to convey with my expression what I couldn't quite put into words. "You make me feel safe. That probably sounds stupid, but it's true. When you're around, I can breathe easier. The anxiety isn't as overwhelming. So if you could stay, just for tonight, I would really appreciate it."
For a long moment, Kaelen just stood there, something complicated and intense moving behind his eyes. Then he took a slow breath and nodded. "Okay. I'll stay."
Relief washed through me so strongly that I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. "Thank you."
"Go wash up," Kaelen said gently. "I'll be here when you get back."
I grabbed my sleep clothes from the dresser and headed into the bathroom, moving on autopilot through the familiar routine of washing my face and brushing my teeth. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I barely recognized the exhausted, pale girl staring back at me.
But underneath the fatigue, there was something else. A warmth, a sense of anticipation that had nothing to do with the investigation and everything to do with the alpha waiting in my bedroom.
When I emerged from the bathroom in my sleep clothes, Kaelen was still sitting in the armchair by the window, his posture somehow managing to be both relaxed and alert at the same time. He looked up when I appeared, and I caught the way his gaze traveled over me before he quickly looked away, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
"The bathroom's free," I said, gesturing toward the door I had just come through. "There are fresh towels on the rack."
Kaelen nodded and stood, moving past me with careful distance, as if he was afraid that getting too close might break some invisible barrier between us. The bathroom door closed behind him with a soft click, and I heard the water start running a moment later.
I sat on the edge of my bed and picked up my notebook, trying to distract myself by reviewing the day's findings, but my mind kept wandering to the man currently showering just a few feet away. I forced myself to focus on the soul cage diagrams, the pattern of extraction channels, anything to keep from thinking about Kaelen and water and the way his shirt had clung to his shoulders earlier in the day.
The water shut off after about ten minutes, and I heard movement in the bathroom as he dried off. When the door finally opened, I looked up automatically and immediately regretted it because Kaelen emerged wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, water still beading on his skin.
My eyes traced over him before I could stop myself, taking in the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen, the powerful lines of his shoulders and arms, the old scars that marked his skin like a map of past battles. There was something raw and primal about seeing him like this, stripped of the careful control he usually maintained, and it made my mouth go dry.
I jerked my gaze away, feeling heat flood my cheeks. "Your clothes," I managed to say, my voice coming out slightly strangled. "Should I have someone bring you something to sleep in?"
"No need," Kaelen said, his voice carrying a hint of amusement that suggested he had noticed my reaction. He crossed to the bed, and I kept my eyes firmly fixed on my notebook even as I was hyperaware of his every movement. "I usually sleep like this. If you're uncomfortable with that..."
"I'm not uncomfortable," I interrupted, finally looking up at him. Our eyes met, and something electric passed between us in the dim light of the room. "Come to bed."
I set the notebook aside and slipped under the covers, my heart hammering as Kaelen moved to the other side of the bed. He slid in beside me, maintaining a careful distance, but even with the space between us I could feel the heat radiating from his body, could sense the tension coiled in his muscles.
I reached over and switched off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness broken only by the faint moonlight filtering through the curtains. In the sudden quiet, I could hear both our breathing, slightly too fast, slightly too shallow, betraying the awareness crackling between us.
"Kaelen?" I said softly into the darkness.
"Yeah?"
"If things get really dangerous, if it comes down to a critical moment, you'll protect yourself first, right?" I turned onto my side, trying to make out his features in the dim light. "You won't do something reckless just to protect someone else."
I felt him shift beside me, turning to face me, and even in the darkness I could see the faint gleam of his ice-blue eyes. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Because you matter," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "You matter to the investigation, to your pack, to the Council. But you also matter to me, and I don't want you taking unnecessary risks. Not for anyone. Not even for me."
"Elara..." His voice was rough with emotion I couldn't quite identify.
"I'm serious," I insisted. "Promise me you won't put yourself in danger unnecessarily. Promise me you'll think about your own safety too."
There was a long silence, and then I felt his hand find mine in the darkness, his fingers lacing through mine with a gentleness that seemed at odds with his strength. "I can't promise that," he said quietly. "If it comes down to protecting you or protecting myself, I'm choosing you every single time. That's not something I can change or negotiate."
My breath caught at the absolute certainty in his voice. "That's not fair. You can't just decide that my life is worth more than yours."
"I'm not deciding anything," Kaelen said, his thumb beginning to trace slow circles on the back of my hand, sending shivers up my arm. "It just is. You're important, Elara. Not just because of what you can do or who your family is. You're important because you're you. And I'm not going to apologize for wanting to keep you safe, even if it means putting myself at risk."
I didn't know how to respond to that, didn't know what to say to someone who looked at me like I was worth protecting at any cost. So instead of speaking, I shifted closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel the warmth of his skin, until I was close enough to rest my head against his chest.
His heart was beating fast under my ear, and his arm came around me immediately, pulling me closer with a careful strength that made me feel both protected and cherished. The anxiety that had been gnawing at me all day, the fear and uncertainty and exhaustion, all of it began to recede in the face of his solid presence.
"Shh," Kaelen murmured, his voice rumbling through his chest where my ear was pressed. "Stop worrying. Just sleep. I've got you. I'll keep watch."
I closed my eyes and let myself relax completely into his embrace. His heartbeat was steady and strong beneath my cheek.
"Goodnight, Kaelen," I whispered, already feeling consciousness beginning to slip away.
"Goodnight, Elara." His lips brushed against my forehead in the softest of kisses.