Chapter 93 The witch’s warning
Two days later.
“Ronan…”
Her name slipped from her lips before her eyes even opened.
Ronan.
The memory came rushing back all at once.
The hollow. The storm. His touch. The way he had claimed her, completely, utterly. Heat flooded her cheeks as her eyes snapped open, landing on the familiar dark ceiling of Ronan’s chamber.
Her breath hitched.
It wasn’t a dream.
“Oh Goddess…” she whispered, pressing her palm against her forehead as flashes of the night replayed in her mind.
Her body reacted before her thoughts could catch up. She pushed herself up in a hurry, panic rising in her chest.
Where was he?
The movement was too sudden.
A sharp wave of dizziness crashed over her, stealing her balance.
“Elara.”
Strong hands caught her shoulders before she could fall back. The voice was low, strained, and far too familiar.
She lifted her head.
Ronan.
He looked… terrible.
Dark shadows rested beneath his eyes, his usually composed hair was disheveled, and his expression carried something she had never seen so openly on his face before.
Fear.
Elara blinked, confusion settling in as she reached up, cupping his face gently with both hands.
“What happened?” she asked softly.
For a moment, he just stared at her. Then suddenly, he pulled her into his arms.
The force of it stole her breath.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against her hair, his voice rough. “I should have been gentler. I lost control. I was… selfish.”
Elara stiffened in surprise, her hands hovering awkwardly before she slowly wrapped them around him.
“You’re holding me too tight,” she said, a small strain in her voice.
Ronan immediately loosened his grip, but he did not let go completely. His hands remained on her arms as if grounding himself.
“Next time,” he said quietly, searching her face, “you tell me if it is too much.”
Elara frowned.
“Next time?”
She tilted her head slightly, genuine confusion clouding her expression.
“What exactly happened?”
Ronan froze.
He cleared his throat, suddenly looking anywhere but at her.
“Well… you…” He coughed lightly, running a hand through his already messy hair. “You passed out.”
Elara blinked.
“…What?”
He winced slightly. “After I marked you.”
Silence.
Elara blinked again, slower this time.
“What?”
Inside her mind, she called out quickly.
"Lyra. Tell me he is joking."
Lyra’s voice came instantly, laced with disbelief and lingering amusement.
"I wish I could. One moment we were enjoying ourselves, the next we were gone. Completely gone."
A pause.
Then Lyra added, teasing creeping into her tone. "Honestly, Elara, passing out during sex is a new level even for you."
Elara’s eyes widened.
“Lyra!” she snapped internally, cutting her off before she could say more.
Ronan leaned closer, concern taking over his features again.
“Do you feel any discomfort?”
His gaze moved over her carefully, studying every small reaction, every breath she took.
Elara shook her head slowly.
“No… I feel fine.”
“Are you sure?”
The question came too quickly.
Too tense.
Elara narrowed her eyes slightly.
He was expecting something.
“Is there something I should know?” she asked.
Before he could answer, the chamber doors opened.
Morrigan stepped in first, composed as always. She gave Ronan a respectful bow. “Your Highness.”
Her gaze shifted to Elara, softening slightly. “My lady.”
Behind her, Arwen rushed forward without ceremony.
“Elara!” she exclaimed, reaching her side in seconds. “Are you alright? I apologize on Ronan’s behalf. He can be too rough when he loses control.”
Ronan exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Mother…”
Arwen turned to him sharply. “What?”
Morrigan stepped forward calmly. “If I may.” The room quieted. “I examined her power flow,” Morrigan continued, her voice steady and precise. “When she collapsed, her state was critical. She was barely alive.”
Elara’s breath caught.
Morrigan continued.
“The Goddess was on her side. The Aether Hollow stabilized her. The Moon Goddess’s breath prevented a complete breakdown.”
Ronan’s jaw tightened.
Elara swallowed. “What do you mean… breakdown?”
Morrigan' s gaze held hers. “Your three bloodlines reacted violently to the Lycan venom introduced during the marking. They became unstable.”
The words settled heavily.
“You are not a simple hybrid,” Morrigan added. “You are a system. A circle. Each bloodline feeds into the other. If they are not balanced…”
She paused.
“They will destroy you from within.”
Elara felt it then. A faint echo in her chest. Unsteady.
Ronan’s voice suddenly brushed against her mind. "You had me worried."
Her eyes widened.
Mindlink.
“You have been unconscious for two days,” he added quietly.
“Two days?” she gasped.
It felt like mere hours.
Ronan exhaled slowly. “Those two days felt like hell.”
Morrigan spoke again. “If you do not learn to balance them soon, your power will incinerate you from the inside out.”
Silence followed.
Elara’s hand moved unconsciously to her neck, her fingers brushing over the mark Ronan had left.
His mark.
Her mate.
A quiet resolve settled in her chest. Then she would learn. She had to.
Moments later, they stepped outside the infirmary
Ronan stayed close, his presence almost suffocating in its protectiveness as he began to guide her toward the Great Balcony.
Before they could take more than a few steps, Matthew rushed toward him, urgency clear in his movements.
He didn’t speak out loud.
Ronan’s expression shifted.
A mindlink.
“I am not leaving,” Ronan said immediately, his tone sharp.
Elara understood instantly. Something important.
She reached for his hand. “Go,” she said gently.
His gaze snapped to hers. “No.”
“You need to,” she insisted, her voice soft but firm. “I will be fine.”
“I just got you back.”
The rawness in his voice made her chest tighten.
“I am not going anywhere,” she said, squeezing his hand. “But your pack needs you too.”
A brief silence passed between them. Then he sighed, clearly unwilling.
After a few more seconds of quiet resistance, he nodded.
“Fine.”
Before leaving, he summoned two figures. Liora and Faye appeared almost instantly.
The moment Elara saw them, her composure broke.
She rushed forward and pulled them into a tight embrace.
“I missed you,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
Both women stiffened before bowing slightly.
“We failed to protect you,” Liora said.
“We are sorry,” Faye added.
Elara pulled back, shaking her head.
“No. This was not your fault. The Red Moon… it happened because of me.”
They exchanged glances.
“We will not fail again,” Faye said firmly.
“You will not face this alone,” Liora added.
After a few more reassurances and Ronan’s repeated instructions for them to watch over her, he finally left.
The three of them made their way toward the Great Balcony.
As they walked, whispers followed.
“She has been marked.”
“The King chose her.”
“She bewitched him.”
“Did you hear she fainted?”
“A tribrid that weak?”
Elara heard every word. But her mind was elsewhere.
Ronan.
His touch.
The way he had looked at her.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
Then a sharp, mocking voice cut through the air.
“Well, if it isn’t the future Queen.”
Pandora.
She stepped forward, her expression twisted with disdain.
“How disappointing,” she sneered. “A fragile tribrid who blacks out after a real man touches her.”
Faye and Liora tensed instantly.
Elara stayed still. "I thought this red head was under house arrest?"
Pandora stepped closer.
“I wonder,” she continued, her tone dripping with mockery, “was it too much for you? Or are you simply not enough?”
Still, Elara said nothing. Pandora smiled wider.
“Then again… he never had that problem before.”