Chapter 52 – Chains on the Gifted
Ambrose’s brow furrowed. He shook his head slowly. “That has never happened. Not once. No Alpha would dare. To reject the Moon Goddess’s choice is to reject her will. It would bring ruin to the pack, chaos to his bloodline. It is unthinkable.”
Elara lowered her gaze quickly, hiding the storm inside her chest. If that was true… then how did Ma’am Albright’s name stand beside Lucius Thorne’s name in the book? She wasn’t his wife. She was the chief maid in the Thorne's mansion.
Her thoughts raced. Could Lucius have broken the rules? Could he have rejected his chosen mate and taken another? But how? And if he did, what did it mean for Edward now? Did Edward even know?
Her confusion deepened, tightening like a knot she couldn’t undo.
Ambrose watched her closely, his sharp eyes narrowing as if he sensed her turmoil. “You have questions you’re not asking, child,” he said softly.
Elara forced a small smile. “Maybe… but I think I need time to think about all this first, sir.”
Ambrose nodded, not pressing her further. “Fair enough.
Elara clasped her hands tightly in her lap, her thoughts a whirlwind. She felt no closer to answers. Only more questions.
And the shadows of her dream still clung to her, whispering that something dark was coming.
The air in the room had grown heavy after Ambrose’s last words. Elara sat with her hands clenched tight in her lap, her mind buzzing with questions, shadows of her dream swirling restlessly behind her eyes.
She wanted answers, and though Ambrose had given her some, he had also left her with even more confusion.
She drew in a breath, her throat felt dry, her voice rough. “How about the woman that was giving birth. I could hear her screams, see her pain. She was drenched in sweat, trembling, like her whole body was breaking, like she was dying. And beside her was the little girl. How about it?
Ambrose’s face darkened with thought, but he shook his head slowly. “I do not know what that means, Elara.” His voice was heavy, weighted with honesty. “Some visions are clear. Some are warnings. Others… are mysteries the Moon Goddess keeps until the right time. That one… I cannot explain.”
Elara’s shoulders sank. She had hoped for something–anything–that would help her understand. Instead, the image of the trembling woman and the glowing hands only pressed harder on her chest.
But there was still more to the dream. She needed to ask more.
“The next part,” she said, her voice low. “The young man in chains,” her voice cracked at the memory, the despair in the dungeon still clinging to her. “Who was he? Why would I see him, sir?”
Ambrose leaned forward now, his elbows resting on the table, his eyes grave. For a long moment he did not speak. Then he sighed deeply.
“Elara,” he said, “there is something you must know about your own kind. About the Gifted Betas.” Probably your parents didn’t tell you all these because you were still young.
Her chest tightened.
Ambrose’s voice was low, almost mournful. “Our pack, like all packs, was given a structure by the Moon Goddess herself. At the top of it, always, is the Alpha. And in our pack, the Alpha has always come from one family–the Thorne family.
From the beginning of time, the Goddess chose them to rule. If Edward, our Alpha now, were to die without an heir, his cousin Jasper would take his place. That is how it has always been.”
Elara nodded faintly, her mind pulling together the pieces he laid before her.
Ambrose continued. “The Alpha is favored beyond all. The Moon Goddess gives them the Moonstone, the source of great and terrible power. It binds them to her will, makes them strong enough to lead and protect us. After the Alpha comes the Beta. The Betas are gifted with strength beyond imagination. They are the backbone of the pack, second only to the Alpha in loyalty and power.”
He paused, his eyes sharp as they locked on hers. “And then… there are the Gifted Betas. Your kind.”
Elara’s breath caught.
“You all are gifted,” Ambrose said. “You are born with powers unlike the rest of us. Some heal. Some see visions. Some command elements. Some bend shadows. The Goddess made you with abilities that even the strongest Alpha cannot control. In many ways, you are more powerful than the Alpha himself without the moonstone in him.”
Elara’s heart pounded. More powerful? She had never thought of herself that way. All she had ever felt was different. Alone.
Ambrose’s voice grew heavy. “And that is why, Elara, the Moon Goddess has never once chosen a Luna from the Gifted Betas. Do you understand? If an Alpha and a Gifted Beta were joined together, their power would be unstoppable. And if they lost control, if they turned to darkness… no one could stand against them. Not even the Moon Goddess’s own order could survive it. So the Gifted Betas, though powerful, were placed at the lowest rank. To keep balance.”
Elara’s hands trembled. Her chest felt hollow, cold. “So we’re kept down… because we’re too dangerous?”
“Not dangerous,” Ambrose corrected gently. “Too powerful. Power is both a gift and a curse. The Moon Goddess gave it to you, but she also made sure it would never grow beyond control. That is the truth.”
Elara pressed her lips together, her throat aching. She remembered the girl in her dream with glowing hands, fighting to save the woman in childbirth. A Gifted Beta, perhaps. Someone like her.
Ambrose’s tone hardened now, sorrow deep in his words. “Elara… the world has not been kind to your kind. Wolves and even humans who know of our existence have taken advantage of the Gifted Betas. You have suffered more than any other rank.”
He leaned back, his face etched with memory. “Gifted Betas are hunted. Captured. Sold like property. Their powers are used for things no soul should endure. Humans have taken them for experiments–science, they call it. Trying to create their own monsters. Wolves have stolen them for greed–breeding them, crossbreeding them, trying to make super soldiers, super wolves. Children born only to be used. It is a cruelty that has no end.”
Elara’s stomach turned. Her eyes burned with tears she hadn’t expected. “That’s horrible, sir.”
“It is,” Ambrose said grimly. “The young man you saw, chained in that dungeon… I cannot say for certain, but I believe he is one of you. A Gifted Beta taken, broken, enslaved. Perhaps the Moon Goddess is showing you his pain. Or perhaps she is warning you. I do not know.”
Elara shivered, hugging her arms around herself. The image of the chained boy burned brighter now in her mind, sharper than ever. His bowed head. His ragged breathing. The despair that clung to him like a second skin.
Her voice cracked as she whispered, “Why would she show me this? Why me?”
Ambrose’s eyes softened. “Because you are Gifted, Elara. You carry the same blood, the same power. The Moon Goddess speaks in different ways. She shows you truths we cannot see.”