Chapter 66 Elara's POV
I sat on my bed, staring at my hands.
These hands that had nearly killed people. These ordinary-looking hands that had wielded power I didn't understand, didn't ask for, couldn't control.
The image kept replaying in my mind. Selena on her knees, gasping for air. The servants collapsed, clutching their throats. The terror in their eyes as they realized they were dying and couldn't do anything to stop it.
And me standing in the center of it all, feeling that power surge through my body like lightning. Feeling it pressing down on everyone around me wanting them to submit wanting them to hurt.
No, that wasn't right. I didn't want to hurt them.
Had I?
I pressed my hands against my face, trying to remember exactly what I had felt in that moment. Anger, yes. Fury at Selena's cruel words. Rage at how she had terrorized that young maid.
But had I wanted to kill them? Had some dark part of me enjoyed watching them suffer?
I didn't know and that terrified me more than anything. A soft knock on the door made me look up.
"Come in." I called.
Kara entered, carrying a tray of food. Her movements were tentative, careful. Like she was approaching a wild animal that might attack at any moment.
"I brought lunch.” She said quietly, setting the tray on the table by the window.
"Damian said you need to keep eating for the baby."
"Thank you."
She turned to leave immediately. "Kara, wait."
She stopped but didn't turn around.
"Are you afraid of me?" I asked.
Silence.
"Kara, please. I need to know."
Finally, she turned to face me. Her eyes were troubled. "I don't know what I am. I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone. I know you were just defending yourself. But Elara... what you did the power you used it was terrifying."
"I know… I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize to me I wasn't there. But the servants who were..." She trailed off.
"They are scared, really scared some of them won't even walk past this hallway anymore."
The words hit like a physical blow. "I didn't mean to frighten them."
"I know but intentions don't change what happened."
Kara moved closer, her expression softening slightly. "The elders are furious; they've been in meetings with Alpha Kaden constantly for the past two days. Demanding that he... that he make you leave."
My stomach dropped. "Leave the pack?"
"Yes they are saying you are too dangerous to stay. That you're a threat to pack safety."
Kara sat down in the chair across from me. "But Alpha Kaden is refusing; he is fighting them on every point defending you."
"What is he saying?"
"I don't know exactly if the meetings are private. But the servants who clean the council chambers say the arguments are intense. Shouting, threats. The elders are pushing hard and Alpha Kaden isn't backing down."
I felt tears burning in my eyes. "This is my fault…. I'm causing problems for him again."
"This isn't your fault, Elara you didn't ask for this power you didn't choose to lose control."
"But I did lose control and now everyone's suffering because of it."
Kara reached out and took my hand. The gesture surprised me. If she was scared, she would still choose to be my friend.
"You are not a monster," She said firmly.
"You are a scared, pregnant woman dealing with things no one understands. Don't let them make you feel like you are evil."
"I almost killed Selena."
"Selena has been trying to kill you for weeks. Maybe she needed a taste of her own medicine."
The dark humor in Kara's voice surprised a laugh out of me. A bitter, broken laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.
"That's not funny," I said.
"Maybe not but it's a little bit true."
After Kara left, I tried to eat the food she had brought. But my appetite was gone. Everything tasted like ash in my mouth.
I wanted to see Kaden, wanted to talk to him about what happened, and wanted to understand what he was dealing with because of me.
I went to the door and tried to open it. I tried again, harder still locked.
"Hello?" I called out.
"Is someone there?"
One of the guards appeared on the other side. I could see him through the small window in the door.
"I need to speak with Alpha Kaden," I said.
"The Alpha is in council meetings he can't be disturbed."
"Then I will wait just let me out and I will wait in his office-"
"I'm sorry, miss but you are to remain in your quarters until further notice. Alpha's orders."
"What? He locked me in here?"
"For your safety and the safety of others. I'm sorry."
The guard walked away before I could argue further. I stood there staring at the locked door, feeling panic rising in my chest.
I was a prisoner again just like when I had first woken up with no memory, I was trapped in a room with no freedom and no control over my own life.
Days passed.
I knew because the light through my window changed. Morning, afternoon, evening, night then morning again.
Kara brought meals three times a day. Damian came to check on the baby. But other than those brief visits, I was completely alone.
No one else would come near me.
The servants who used to clean my room stopped coming. Kara told me they had drawn lots to see who had to deliver my food, and the losers had actually cried.
I was a monster to them, a threat to be feared and avoided.
I tried to stay strong and tried to remind myself that this would pass. That Kaden would figure something out. That I just needed to be patient.
But on the fourth day of confinement, I heard something that broke me. Voices in the hallway outside my room. Two servants talking as they passed.
"I heard the elders are threatening to overthrow him if he doesn't exile her."
"The Alpha? They can't overthrow an Alpha."
"They can if they have enough support and apparently half the pack agrees with them. They want her gone."
"What's he going to do?"
"I don't know but he looked terrible at the last council meeting. Like he hasn't slept in days. This is tearing him apart."
The voices faded as they moved down the hallway.