Chapter 39

Chapter 39
The room allocated to Alena felt cold and alien, even though it was located in the eastern wing of the main house, far from the bustling barracks. It was a rarely used guest room, its walls painted a dull white, as if the pack intended to keep its distance, ensuring that this returned anomaly remained contained.

Alena sat on the edge of the hard wooden bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. The pungent scent of pine and herbal antiseptic from her wounds mixed with a faint, familiar aroma—the scent of her pack, of home, which now felt like sweetened poison.

Since her cold encounter with Orion, Alena had only seen faces filled with fear or hatred. Every step down the hallway felt like crossing a minefield, anticipating the next explosion of insult.
The door was knocked twice, softly.

Alena did not move. She was prepared to face another guard, or perhaps an Elder coming to lecture her on how she must behave to avoid causing trouble.

"Alena? It's Zara. The Alpha sent me to look at your injuries." The voice was gentle, lacking the tone of authority or hostility she expected.

Alena sighed, weary. "Come in."

The door opened, and a she-wolf with brown hair pulled high and kind brown eyes entered. Zara carried a wooden tray holding small bottles of green liquid, rolls of bandages, and, most surprisingly, a steaming cup of hot tea.

"I know you probably don't want company," Zara said, placing the tray on the side table. Her movements were calm and efficient.

"But I am the Healer. And your wounds, regardless of who you are or why you are here, are my concern."

Alena looked at Zara suspiciously. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Zara offered a small, sincere smile, not the cynical smirk she often saw. "I once had to stitch Liam after he tried to challenge a polar bear. Trust me, I've seen things far more frightening than a disgruntled wolf." She pulled up a chair and sat down, demonstrating a patient, waiting demeanor.

"I just need to check the laceration on your left shoulder and bandage the bruises on your abdomen. You look exhausted."

Alena felt a sliver of her internal resistance melt. There was an unexpected warmth in Zara's presence. Slowly, she opened the borrowed shirt, revealing the deep wound that had been cleaned by Lyra, but still needed serious attention.

"You don't need to thank Alpha Orion," Zara said as she began applying a mint-smelling herbal ointment. "He did it out of obligation. I do it because it's my job. And you look like you need rest."

"I don't rest," Alena retorted sharply. "I'm here under surveillance. This isn't a vacation, Zara."

"Of course not," Zara agreed calmly.

"But there's no point in being agitated. The energy you unleashed at the border... it drains you. I can feel it. You possess immense power, Alena, but it's not stable yet."

Alena tensed. "You can feel it?"

Zara nodded, her gentle fingers moving to examine Alena's shoulder. "I'm a Healer, I have to be sensitive. Alpha Orion's aura is powerful, like solid stone. Beta Liam's aura is like flowing water. But your aura... it's like lightning trapped inside a glass bottle. Beautiful, but dangerous."

"I don't want to be beautiful," Alena muttered, stifling a groan as Zara pressed slightly around the wound. "I want to be strong. So they can't throw me out again."

Zara paused, looking into Alena's eyes. "The rejection left deeper scars than I can see, didn't it?"

"The scar isn't on the skin," Alena countered. "It's where the bond is supposed to be. Empty, and cold. All the time."

"I understand," Zara said. She resumed her work, now moving to the rib area, where Alena had severe bruising from the impact. As she touched Alena's skin on the left side, beneath her ribs, Alena flinched violently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Zara said.

"It's not pain from the bruise," Alena said, her breath slightly ragged. "It... that's the place of the rejection. Where the bond tore."

Zara withdrew her hand and looked at the area with a more serious gaze. It looked physically normal, but the Healer could sense the energetic disturbance beneath. It wasn't a physical injury, but the center of a spiritual trauma that pulsed with chaotic vibrations.

"Alpha Kael once told me that the mate bond is not just a promise. It is a physical connection to our wolf's energy core. When it manifests, it is like a thread drawn from two hearts and tied into one. When it is rejected..." Zara swallowed. "It doesn't just break. The thread is pulled out, tearing a piece of your soul with it."

Alena stared at her, astonished by the chillingly accurate description. "You know a lot about this."

"I had to know," Zara replied, her eyes now slightly moist. "I was the first Healer who treated Orion after his father died, and after... after your rejection. He was shattered. Not just by grief, but because that torn bond attacked him from both the emotional and physical sides."

Alena frowned. "He wasn't shattered. He was angry. He rejected me deliberately, in front of the entire pack."

"Anger is a good shield," Zara whispered, now focusing on applying a cooling salve. "I am not defending him. His action was unforgivable. But I know, Alena, the rejection hurt both of you. You simply chose to leave, and he chose to bury that pain under hatred. He couldn't afford to show weakness when he had to lead."

Alena scoffed. "He didn't show weakness. He showed foolishness. He listened to the idiotic Elders who feared power, and he cast out the only person who was meant to be his balance."

"Perhaps," Zara said softly. "But I'm not here to debate history. I'm here to ensure your future isn't spent in pain. You need to eat, Alena. And you need to sleep.

The power you hold can never be controlled if your body is a battlefield."
Zara finished the bandaging on Alena's shoulder. Before getting up, she placed her hand over Alena's folded hands. A genuine warmth, devoid of fear. It was the first truly human touch Alena had felt since she stepped across the border.

"This tea is a blend to calm the nerves. Drink it, and try to sleep," Zara said. "I will come back tomorrow morning."

"Zara," Alena called out before the Healer reached the door.

Zara turned. "Yes?"

"Thank you." The word felt strange and heavy on her tongue. It had been years since she spoke it with sincerity.
Zara smiled, brighter this time.

"Welcome back, Alena."

After Zara left, the silence in the room felt lighter. Alena picked up the cup of tea, the scent of jasmine and lavender soothing her senses. She drank it slowly. For the first time, she felt a measure of safety. Maybe, just maybe, not everyone here saw her as a monster.

She touched the area beneath her ribs again, the spot Zara called the 'torn bond.' The ache was still there, but now, the pain felt more real, more justified, than just a bitter memory.

In this newfound tranquility, her mind wandered. She recalled a small box she carried in her tiny bag, a box Alpha Kael had given her when she was a child, containing good luck charms and some old letters.

Alena reached for her bag, hidden beneath the pillow. Inside, there was a blurry photo taken when she was ten, next to Alpha Kael. On the back of the photo, Orion, her mate, had written a short poem, before everything became complicated. The poem was a pact of friendship, signed in thick black ink.
She pulled out the photo, stroking the lines of Orion's childish handwriting. The pact had felt so sacred back then.

She remembered the night of the rejection, how Orion's harsh words stabbed her, nullifying every past promise, tearing those sweet memories like worn cloth.

Beneath the photo, she kept a small, torn piece of parchment. It was a fragment of the official document that was supposed to bind the Primal Luna lineage with Alpha Kael. Her father had given it to her as a reminder of her destiny. When Orion rejected her, Alena had torn it into shreds, venting her fury.

Yet, in her escape, Alena found one fragment that had strangely remained intact, as if held together by a higher will. On that fragment, only one word remained from the long ancient vow:
PRIMORDIAL...

She held the parchment shard between her fingers. It was paper, yes, but it felt like holding the severed end of the bond. She knew Zara was right. This pain wouldn't go away. It would always be the echo of what had been torn. But now, she held the end of it, and she wouldn't let Orion tear it again. The power was hers, born from the destiny she broke and then reshaped. Yet, this small torn piece of paper, reminding her of uncontrolled power, remained the only bridge between her former self and her current self, between the weak Alena and the resurgent Luna.

She stared at the word, PRIMORDIAL, as if it were a mirror to her soul. If she was a storm, then this storm had been unleashed by Orion's hand. And that storm would now destroy anyone who tried to control it.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through the rejection scar in her ribs, so intense that she dropped the parchment shard. It wasn't a physical wound, but a psychic warning. It felt like the torn thread hadn't just severed the bond, but also pulled something else from the depths of her being. Alena scrambled down from the bed, grabbing the paper shard with trembling hands, aware that every tiny piece of her past was now a hidden time bomb.