Chapter 94 Elara's POV
I ran.
The moment Kaden released me, the moment I processed what had just happened, I ran.
Through the crowd of staring guests. Past the whispers and gasps. Out of the main hall and into the cool night air.
My hand pressed against my neck, feeling the fresh mark. Still bleeding, still burning, still impossibly real.
He had marked me in front of everyone. Without warning without permission. Had claimed me as his mate publicly when I hadn't even fully forgiven him for the rejection.
Footsteps followed behind me, not Kaden's; these were lighter, more careful.
"Elara, wait," Ethan called.
I didn't stop walking, then running when walking wasn't fast enough. My dress made it difficult, the heels even worse, but I didn't care.
I needed space, needed air, needed to think without hundreds of eyes on me. Ethan caught up but didn't try to stop me. Just fell into step beside me, keeping pace.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"I don't know anywhere but there."
"Okay. I will come with you to make sure you are safe."
We walked in silence for several minutes. Away from the pack house, through the gardens, toward the river that ran along the eastern border of the territory.
I heard whispers from pack members we passed. Saw them bow their heads slightly. Show respect they'd never shown before.
All because of the mark on my neck, all because Kaden had publicly claimed me.
We reached the riverside and I sank onto a fallen log, suddenly exhausted. Ethan positioned himself a few feet away, giving me space but staying close enough to protect if needed.
"You can go back," I said.
"You don't need to babysit me."
"Kaden would kill me if I left you alone right now. Besides, someone needs to make sure you don't do anything drastic."
"Like what?"
"Like running away to release the pack."
He paused. "You're thinking about it, aren't you?"
Was I? Part of me wanted to just vanish and avoid all of this the politics, the expectations, the weight of being marked as an Alpha's mate in front of the entire pack.
But I couldn't run, not with the baby, not with Erebus hunting me. Not with everything so unstable.
I touched the mark on my neck again. It was already starting to heal, the bleeding stopped. But the scar would be visible forever.
A permanent claim, memories hit me without warning.
Standing in the servant quarters, my head bowed while the head maid yelled at me for some minor mistake.
Walking through the pack house with my eyes down, trying to be invisible because invisible servants didn't get noticed or punished.
Hearing pack members laugh about that pathetic omega who couldn't do anything right.
Being nothing, nobody, worthless. And now Kaden had marked me in front of all those people who had declared me his mate. His Luna.
Had made me visible in a way I wasn't sure I could handle.
The tears came before I could stop them. Quiet at first, then harder. My entire body shaking with sobs I'd been holding back for weeks.
"Elara?" Ethan moved closer, concerned. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know how to be this person," I cried.
"I don't know how to be a Luna, how to be important. I spent years being told I was worthless and now I'm supposed to just accept that I matter?"
"You've always mattered, you just didn't know it."
"How am I supposed to stand beside Kaden as his equal when everyone knows what I was? When will they remember me scrubbing floors and serving food and being nothing?"
Before Ethan could answer, a sharp pain lanced through my stomach.
I gasped, doubling over my hand flew to my belly. The baby, the baby, was kicking hard. Harder than ever before.
"Elara? What's wrong?"
"The baby, something is wrong."
Another kick then another so forceful it felt like my ribs were breaking. I cried out, tears streaming faster now. Pain mixing with fear mixing with overwhelming emotion.
"I'm getting Kaden," Ethan said, already pulling out his phone.
Within minutes, I heard running footsteps. Kaden appeared through the trees, still in his formal clothes, his own neck still bearing the mark I'd given him.
He dropped to his knees beside me. "What happened?"
"The baby is kicking so hard. I think….I think I upset it the stress, the crying-"
"Breathe….just breathe." His hands were on my stomach, gentle but firm.
"The baby can feel your emotions, you need to calm down."
"I can't calm down. Everything is too much. This is too much."
"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have marked you like that, not without asking, not in front of everyone."
His voice was strained. "I just couldn't hold back anymore, couldn't keep pretending we weren't mates. My wolf took over and I let him."
"You claimed that I was property."
"No. I claimed you were mine, there is a difference."
"Is there?" I looked at him through my tears.
"Because right now it feels like you made a decision for both of us without caring what I wanted."
The baby kicked again and I whimpered.
"Come on," Kaden said, helping me stand carefully.
"I'm taking you home getting Damian to check on the baby. Making sure everything is okay."
"I don't want to go back there. I don't want to face all those people-"
"You don't have to. We'll use the back entrance and go straight to my quarters so no one will see you."
He supported most of my weight as we walked back toward the pack house. Ethan followed silently, still protective.
When we reached the parking area, Kaden helped me into his car. I sank into the passenger seat, exhausted and hurting and overwhelmed.
Kaden started the engine.
We were just pulling out when a figure stepped directly in front of the car.
Selena.
Kaden slammed on the brakes.
"Get out of the way," He called through the windshield.
Selena didn't move. Just stood there, her face twisted with fury.
Then she bent down, picked up a large stone from the landscaping, and hurled it at the car.
Directly at my window.
The stone hit with a deafening crack. The window shattered, glass exploding inward.
I screamed, throwing my arms up to protect my face and stomach.
Shards of glass rained down on me, cutting my arms, my shoulders, the side of my face.
Kaden was out of the car in seconds, shifting partially, his claws extended and his eyes pure amber.
"You tried to hurt her!" he roared. "You just attacked my pregnant mate!"
"She doesn't deserve you!" Selena screamed back.
"I do! I'm the one who should be marked! I'm the one who should be Luna!"
Kaden lunged for her. Ethan grabbed him from behind, using all his strength to hold Kaden back.
"Don't
! She's trying to provoke you! Don't give her what she wants!"
I sat in the car, blood running down my arms from the glass cuts, tears still streaming, my baby still kicking frantically inside me.
And all I could think was that this was never going to end.
Selena was never going to stop.
And I was never going to be safe.