Chapter 73 Watching
Elena's POV
I couldn’t sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, fire followed me.
Not the kind that burns and destroys,but the kind that waits. It coiled beneath my skin, warm and restless, like it had been patient for centuries and had finally found its way home.
Fire wolf.
Wolf of legend.
Last descendant of Alaric’s bloodline.
I pressed my palm against my chest, right over my heart, as if I could physically push the truth back down. I didn’t want it. I hadn’t asked for it. I had spent my whole life being nothing, wolfless, powerless, invisible.
Now the universe expected me to carry a legacy powerful enough to end worlds?
“No,” I whispered to the empty room.
“You’ve made a mistake.”
But I knew that didn't change anything.
I looked at the necklace that was on my table. I had asked Liam to let me hold on to it until tomorrow
Liam hadn’t said much after we left the hidden library.
He didn’t push or tried to ask me too many questions.
He just walked beside me, his presence keeping me sane as we walked. I know I looked like I was about to break down and fall apart.
I sat up in bed, pulling my knees to my chest. My room felt smaller than usual, like the walls were closing in, whispering secrets I wasn’t ready to hear.
Ciara.
Her name echoed in my mind.
Queen of Darkness.
A part of me knew that something was coming but I was not prepared for this.
I swallowed hard. “Why me?” I asked my self. “Why now?”
I finally had a good life and now I was supposed to be someone else.
I wasn't even special, I was forbidden to those who would find out.
Someone knocked at my door.
I flinched.
“Who's there?”
“It's Sarah,” she said as she opened the door.
“Are you okay Elena?” She asked as she looked at my face.
I gave her a weak smile. “Yes, what's wrong?”
“Oh nothing just that you sister is here to see you. She's downstairs.”
“Okay,” I said as I got out of my bed and followed Sarah downstairs.
“Elena?” Ashley said from the entrance of the pack house.
“ Why are you standing there? Come inside.”
“No I'm fine here, can we talk outside?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly and walked over to her.
Something was off immediately.
She usually looked happier than this. I wondered if she was still bothered about being here in the pack grounds.
“Ashley are you okay?” I asked.
“Me yes,” she said but her eyes kept moving around like she was waiting for someone to come at her.
I frowned. “Okay. That’s not normal.”
She forced a laugh. “What’s not?”
“You,” I said gently. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Her smile faded a bit.
Ashley moved closer and sat on the edge of my bed, twisting her fingers together. I noticed then,the faint tremor in her hands.
“Someone’s been watching me,” she said quietly.
Ayra stirred inside of me.
She was awake now and I know that she had also adopted Ashley as her sister too.
I leaned forward. “What do you mean, watching you?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “At first I thought I was imagining it. You know, shadows, feelings. But then I started noticing the same presence everywhere. Outside my window. Near the training grounds. Even today, when I came here.”
My stomach tightened. “Ashley—”
“I didn’t want to scare you,” she said. “But it doesn’t feel normal, Elena. It’s not like someone like a stalker, I'd know how that felt.” She said and I agreed with her, when we were younger Ashley had her own personal stalker, but we found out it was just a very weird kid in her class that hd major crush on her.
“It feels like… like they’re waiting.” she said.
Waiting.
The word sent a chill down my spine.
“Did you tell anyone?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I didn’t know how to explain it without sounding crazy.”
“You’re not crazy,” I said firmly. “And you did the right thing telling me.”
Her eyes searched my face. “You’re not okay either.”
I huffed out a weak laugh. “Am I ever?”
But she didn’t smile back. “No. This is different. You look sad.”
I hesitated.
Part of me wanted to protect her from the truth, keep her world untouched by legends and fire and gods who played favorites.
But another part of me,the part that had always been alone, needed to talk to someone especially Ashley about this, not what I was becoming.
“I found out why I don’t have a wolf,” I said slowly.
Ashley straightened. “You did?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t wolfless. I was sealed.”
Her eyes widened. “Sealed? from what?”
I swallowed. “From something ancient.”
“I’m the last descendant of the original lycan bloodline,” I continued. “The fire-bearing line. The one they hunted. The one they feared.”
Ashley stared at me, eyes wide. “Elena…”
“I’m the Fire Wolf,” I whispered. “The one from the stories they tell in half-voices.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then Ashley reached out and grabbed my hands.
“Its going to be okay, you are still Elena,” she said fiercely. “Legend or not.”
My throat burned. “What if I'm not?”
“Then we will figure this out,” she said.
“They will be watching,” I said.
Her eyes darkened. “You think the person watching me is connected to this.”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “And I think they’re trying to get close to me without being seen.”
Ashley squeezed my hands tighter. “Then I’m not going anywhere.”
I smiled softly. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”
“Too late,” she said. “I already am.”
“Thank you,” I sobbed into her shoulder.