Chapter 27 Wake Up, My Human
Elara's POV
Nicholas stepped closer, positioning himself between me and my car door with deliberate casualness that didn't fool me for a second. His expression was carefully arranged into something that probably looked sincere to most people, but I could see the calculation behind his eyes, the way he was measuring my reaction to every word.
"Elara, I need to explain something," he said. "About Vanessa. About why I agreed to be her boyfriend in the first place."
I leaned back against the car door frame, crossing my arms and letting my silver-gray eyes settle on him with the kind of bored indifference I might give to a mildly annoying insect. I didn't say anything, just waited.
"Vanessa told me something about your real family," Nicholas continued. "She said your family was from some remote, impoverished region, that you came from a small pack of nobodies, that your status was omega at best."
He paused, clearly expecting some kind of reaction, but I just kept looking at him with that same flat, unimpressed stare. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he hurried on, his words coming faster now. "So I agreed to be with Vanessa just to let you stay in Shadowveil Pack. I did all of this to make sure you could continue living there. I sacrificed my own happiness to keep you safe."
The parking lot was quiet except for the distant sound of voices from inside the Emerald Pack house and the soft rustle of wind through the trees.
"Elara," Nicholas continued. "The truth is, the person I've liked all along has been you. Everything I did, I did to protect you. I know the timing is complicated, but now that you're back at Silverstone Pack and things have changed, I wanted you to know how I really feel."
Nicholas was looking at me with what he clearly thought was smoldering intensity, waiting for me to melt or swoon or whatever reaction he'd scripted in his head for this moment.
Instead, I let out a short, sharp laugh that made him flinch.
"Who told you I need your protection?" I said, my voice cutting through his romantic fantasy like a knife through wet paper. "And more importantly, who told you I like you?"
Nicholas's confident expression cracked slightly, confusion flickering across his features. "But you... at school, you were always following me around, bringing me water, breakfast. You were so attentive, so—"
"So what?" I interrupted. "So obviously in love with you that I couldn't help myself? Is that what you thought?"
"I never said I liked you," I continued, my voice dropping into something cold and precise that made the color drain from his cheeks. "When exactly did you develop this delusion that I needed your protection? That I was some helpless omega waiting for you to save me?"
Nicholas opened his mouth, then closed it, then tried again. "You're just saying that because you're upset, or because your family situation made you suppress your real feelings. I know you must have—"
"The only thing I know," I said, cutting him off again, "is that you spent a lot of time coming up with this 'I sacrificed everything for you' story. Unfortunately, it's a terrible lie, and you're not nearly as good an actor as you think you are."
I could see the exact moment his carefully constructed narrative began to crumble, the way his eyes widened slightly and his jaw tightened as he struggled to maintain his composure.
"Did you really think I would believe that you dated Vanessa out of the goodness of your heart?" I asked, and I couldn't keep the contempt out of my voice. "That you endured her company and her family's connections purely to protect some girl you barely knew? How stupid do you think I am?"
Nicholas's face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "You don't understand what I went through, the sacrifices I made—"
"I understand perfectly," I said. "I understand that you saw an opportunity to get close to Shadowveil Pack through Vanessa, and you took it. I understand that you're only interested now because you think being associated with an Alpha girl might benefit you. And I understand that this entire performance has been a waste of both our time."
I gestured to my driver, who immediately started the engine. Through the window, I could see Nicholas step forward, his mouth opening to say something else, but the car was already moving, pulling away from the parking lot and leaving him standing there with his hand half-raised and his expression somewhere between shock and humiliation.
As we drove through the gates of Emerald Pack territory and onto the main road, the heat in my chest suddenly intensified to the point where I had to press my hand against my sternum and take a slow, careful breath. It felt like something was burning just beneath my skin, something that wanted out, and for a moment my vision swam with silver light before I managed to blink it away.
The drive back to Silverstone Pack territory took just over an hour, and by the time we pulled through the gates and into the long driveway leading to the main house, the burning sensation had spread to every part of my body. My hands were trembling slightly when I gathered my bag, and I had to concentrate to keep my breathing steady and normal.
Sebastian and Damian were waiting in the entrance hall when I walked through the door, and I saw Sebastian's eyes narrow slightly as he took in whatever he was seeing in my face.
"How did it go?" Sebastian asked, his voice careful and controlled in that way that meant he was worried but trying not to show it. "Was the ritual successful?"
"It went perfectly," I said, and I was proud of how steady my voice sounded despite the fire crawling through my veins. "Sunny's soul is whole again. She'll develop normally from now on."
Damian stepped closer, and I saw the concern in his dark eyes as he studied my face. "You look pale. Are you feeling alright?"
The question was so unexpected, so genuinely worried, that for a moment I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't used to people noticing when something was wrong with me, wasn't used to the kind of immediate, protective concern I could see in both their faces.
"I'm just tired," I said finally, which was true enough even if it wasn't the whole truth. "It was a long ritual, and the drive back was tiring. I think I'll just go rest."
Sebastian looked like he wanted to say something else, his mouth opening and then closing again as he clearly thought better of whatever he'd been about to ask. Instead, he just reached out and placed his hand on my shoulder, the touch brief but warm.
"Get some rest," he said quietly. "If you need anything, anything at all, just call for us."
Damian nodded in agreement. "I'll have the kitchen send up some hot milk. It'll help you sleep."
I managed a small nod of thanks before heading up the stairs, my bag feeling heavier with each step. The burning in my chest was getting worse, spreading down my spine and into my limbs until every nerve felt like it was on fire, but I kept my pace steady and normal until I reached my room and could finally close the door behind me.
The moment I was alone, I dropped the bag and pressed both hands against my chest, gasping at the intensity of the heat. My reflection in the mirror showed flushed cheeks and eyes that seemed to gleam with an inner light, and for a moment I thought I saw silver flames flickering in my irises before I blinked and they were gone.
I forced myself through my evening routine, washing my face and changing into my nightgown with hands that shook slightly. By the time I finally crawled into bed, the burning had settled into a steady, pulsing warmth that seemed to match the rhythm of my heartbeat. The moonlight was streaming through my window, painting everything in shades of silver and shadow, and I found myself staring up at the ceiling as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
I was just beginning to drift into sleep, my consciousness starting to blur at the edges, when a voice exploded through my mind with the force of a thunderclap.
"Wake up, my human."
I jerked upright in bed, my heart slamming against my ribs and every muscle in my body going rigid with shock. The voice had been low and feminine, carrying a weight of ancient power and barely restrained wildness that made my breath catch in my throat.
For a moment there was only silence, and I wondered if I had imagined it, if the exhaustion and the strange burning sensation had made me hallucinate. Then the voice came again, softer this time but no less commanding.
"The suppression is finally gone. Come to the forest. Let us become whole."
My hands were gripping the sheets so tightly that my knuckles had gone white, and I could feel my pulse racing as understanding crashed over me like a wave. This was my wolf. The wolf I had never heard, never felt, the one that had been locked away by the Blood Absorption Array for eighteen years.