Chapter 49 Elara's POV
"I don't know how to do any of that."
"Then you need to learn. Quickly."
I pulled my hand away from hers. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting you stop being a victim and start being a survivor. Stop waiting for Kaden to fix everything and start taking control of your own life."
Miriam's voice was firm but not unkind. "You're carrying a child blessed by the heavens. That makes you more powerful than you realize. But power means nothing if you don't know how to use it."
"I'm not powerful. I'm just pregnant and scared."
"You are a mate to an Alpha, you are carrying his heir. You survived a brutal attack that should have killed you. Your child literally saved your life from poison."
Miriam counted each point on her fingers. "If that's not power, I don't know what is."
I'd never thought about it that way.
"Everyone is coming for you," Miriam said quietly.
"Selena. Erebus maybe even some pack members who see you as a threat to their status quo. The question is what are you going to do about it?"
"What can I do? I have no status no family, no allies except-"
"Except me except Damian except Kara. Except Ethan, who's fiercely loyal to Kaden and by extension to you."
Miriam sat back down. "You have more allies than you think. You just need to stop seeing yourself as helpless."
"But I am helpless against someone like Selena. She has money, power, connections-"
"And you have something she will never have. You have Kaden's heart. You have his child. You have the bond the heavens created."
Miriam's eyes were intense. "Use those advantages and stop running from them."
I was quiet, processing her words.
"Selena will come after you again," Miriam said. "That's inevitable. The question is will you be ready when she does? Will you be able to protect yourself and your baby? Or will you curl up and hope Kaden saves you in time?"
The image she painted was stark, brutal and uncomfortably accurate.
I had been hiding, waiting hoping someone else would fix everything. But Miriam was right. I couldn't afford to be weak anymore.
Not with so many people wanting me gone, not with a child depending on me for survival.
"What do I need to do?" I asked quietly.
Miriam smiled. "First, you need to stop isolating yourself. Start building relationships with other pack members. Make them see you as a person, not a mysterious omega the Alpha is obsessed with."
"They hate me, they think I'm cursed."
"Some do. But not all. And people's opinions can change."
Miriam stood. "Second, you need to learn to defend yourself. Physically I will arrange for training.”
"Training? I'm pregnant-"
"Which means you need to know how to protect your body and your child if attacked. Pregnancy doesn't make you immune to danger. It makes you more vulnerable. You need skills to compensate."
She was right again.
"And third," Miriam said, her voice softening slightly.
"You need to decide what you want. Do you want to forgive Kaden? Do you want to raise this child alone? Do you want to claim your place as his mate, or walk away when the baby is born?"
"I don't know what I want."
"Then figure it out because indecision is its own kind of weakness."
She moved toward the door.
"Elder Miriam?" I called.
She turned.
"Why are you helping me?"
Her expression softened. "Because I see something in you that reminds me of Kaden's mother. She was an omega too considered unsuitable for an Alpha.
“But she was fierce when she needed to be. Strong when it mattered. And she made Kaden's father a better man."
She opened the door.
"Selena is coming back tomorrow. Everyone will be watching to see what you do. How you react. Whether you run or whether you stand your ground."
She looked at me one last time. "Don't be a weakling, Elara, your baby deserves better. Kaden deserves better. And most importantly, you deserve better."
Then she left.
I sat alone in my room, her words echoing in my mind.
How will you protect your baby? Kaden? Yourself?
I didn't have answers yet.