Chapter 89 Elara's POV
"You are not going back to your quarters tonight."
Kaden's voice was firm as we walked back from the forest edge. The sun had set completely now, darkness settling over the pack lands.
"I will be fine-"
"No, not after what you told me about the dark figure. Not after it attacked you today."
He guided me toward the main staircase. "You are staying in my room where I can keep an eye on you."
"Kaden, that's not necessary-"
"It is necessary something tried to choke you today. In broad daylight. In my pack house."
His jaw was tight. "You're not sleeping alone until we figure out what that thing is and how to stop it."
I wanted to argue, wanted to insist I could take care of myself. But the truth was, I was terrified of seeing that figure again. Of feeling those cold hands around my throat.
"Okay," I said quietly.
He led me to his quarters rooms I had only been in once before, the night we'd conceived the baby I was carrying. The memory made everything feel complicated and heavy.
"You can take the bed," he said. "I'll sleep in the chair."
"You can't sleep in a chair all night."
"I've slept in worse places."
"Kaden-"
"Please. Just let me do this, let me keep you safe, even if it's just from bad dreams and shadow creatures."
I was too tired to argue, too emotionally drained from Helena's revelation and the conversation in the forest.
I climbed into his bed, still wearing my clothes. The sheets smelled like pine and earth and something uniquely Kaden.
"Try to sleep," he said, settling into the armchair near the window. "I'll be right here if you need anything."
I closed my eyes, expecting sleep to be impossible. But exhaustion won. Within minutes, I was unconscious.
I woke to sunlight and the feeling of being watched.
Kaden was still in the chair, but he'd turned it to face the bed. He was awake, his eyes on me, his expression unreadable.
"How long have you been watching me sleep?" I asked, my voice rough with sleep.
"A while you were restless talking in your sleep."
"What was I saying?"
“Names....things that didn't make sense."
He paused. "You said Elena three times."
I sat up slowly, my hand going to my stomach. The baby was moving, active in the morning as usual.
"I dreamed about fire," I said. "And screaming. And someone carried me through the smoke."
"A memory, maybe from the Silver Moon Pack attack."
"Maybe. Or just my brain trying to create memories based on what Helena told me."
I swung my legs out of bed. "I don't know what's real anymore."
Breakfast was waiting in the main dining room.
Helena was already there, along with Damian and Ethan. Selena arrived moments after Kaden and me, her smile tight when she saw us enter together.
"Good morning," Helena said warmly. "I hope you slept well."
"Well enough," I lied.
We ate in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. I could feel Helena's eyes on me, studying me, cataloging every similarity to the girl she'd known fifteen years ago.
"Elara," Helena said finally.
"After breakfast, I was hoping we could talk. Privately about the Silvercrest family about Elena."
"I would rather not."
"I understand this is overwhelming. But there are things you should know about your family and your heritage."
"I'm not sure I want to know."
"Knowledge is power, child and right now, you need all the power you can get."
I set down my fork, my appetite gone. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I'm not ready. I need time to process everything before I dive deeper into a past I don't even remember."
Helena looked disappointed but nodded. "I understand but when you're ready, I'm here."
After breakfast, Helena tried to approach me again.
"Just a few minutes,"
She said, "Please."
"I'm sorry. I can't."
I saw Damian heading toward the medical wing and followed him quickly, using him as an excuse to escape.
"Elara?" he said when he noticed me. "Are you alright?"
"Can we walk? I need to get out of the pack house for a while."
He studied my face, then nodded. "Let me grab my bag. I need to check on some of the border patrol wolves anyway. You can come with me."
We walked through the pack lands together, Damian stopping occasionally to examine wolves who'd been injured in training or patrol duties. Minor stuff sprains, bruises, nothing serious.
Pack members we passed greeted Damian warmly. Some greeted me too, though others just stared or whispered once we'd passed.
"They're talking about you," Damian said. "About Helena's revelation, news travels fast in a pack."
"Great so now everyone thinks I'm some Alpha's missing daughter."
"Are you? Do you believe Helena?"
I was quiet for a moment. "I don't know what I believe anymore but the birthmark. The power I have the way Helena looked at me like she was seeing a ghost..."
I trailed off. "It fits all of it fits."
"But you don't want it to be true."
"I don't know if I want it to be true or not. Part of me wants to have a family. A history. Something that explains who I am. But another part…”
I touched my stomach. "Another part is terrified of what it means."
"What do you think it means?"
"That I'm not just some omega who got caught up in Alpha politics. That I'm a target that Erebus destroyed my entire pack and might come after me again if they find out I'm alive."
We reached a quiet clearing and sat on a fallen log. The forest was peaceful here, sunlight filtering through the leaves.
"There's more," I said. "Something I haven't told you."
"What?"
I told him everything about the dark figure appearing in my room, in the bathroom, in the library. About it choking me about how it vanished whenever I turned on lights or when I was about to pass out.
Damian listened without interrupting, his expression growing more troubled with each detail.
"And it only appears to you?" He asked when I finished. "No one else has seen it?"
"No one… Just me."
He was quiet for a long moment, thinking.
"What?" I asked.
"You have that look you get when you've figured something out."
"It's a spell," He said finally.
"What you are describing sounds like shadow binding. It's a specific type of dark magic used by Erebus's followers."
"What does it do?"
"It attaches a shadow entity to a person. The entity can only be seen by the target. It feeds on fear and stress. And it can physically harm the person if the spell is strong enough."
My blood ran cold. "How do you know about this?"
"I saw it used once.” His expression was dark.
"It's a tracking spell. Whoever cast it can see through the shadow's eyes. Can monitor the target's movements and their conversations. Everything."
"So someone's been watching me?"
"Yes and based on what you've described, they're getting bolder. Testing how much control they have. The choking in the library wasn't random. It was a message."
"A message saying what?"
"That they can hurt you whenever they want. That you're not safe anywhere."
Damian looked at me seriously. "This kind of spell requires proximity; whoever cast it has to be close to you regularly. Close enough to maintain the connection."
"You're saying someone in the pack house is responsible?"
"I'm saying someone you see frequently. Someone who has access to you. Someone who could have cast this spell without you noticing."
The implications settled over me like ice water.
Someone in the pack house was working with Erebus. Someone close enough to cast a spell on me. Someone who'd been watching me through that dark figure for weeks.
"Who?" I whispered. "Who would do this?"
Damian's jaw was tight. "I don't know but we need to find out. Before that shadow does more than just choke you.”