Chapter 52

Chapter 52
Damian’s POV

By the time night settled over the packhouse, the noise outside had grown into something ugly. Wolves weren’t just whispering anymore. They were arguing. I heard the growls, the footsteps pacing back and forth, the sudden shouts that cut off when others told them to keep their voices down. The pack was restless, divided, and Elara lay unconscious in the next room like the center of a storm she never asked for.

I stayed by her side longer than I should have. Every time she stirred, I reached for her hand, checking if she would wake. But she didn’t, and I couldn’t sit there doing nothing while my wolves tore each other apart. So I left her with the healer and made my way to the council chamber.

The door hadn’t even closed behind me when the voices hit me full force.

“She’s dangerous!” one elder snarled, his hands flat against the table. “You saw it yourself, she touched Doran and he stumbled like his strength had been drained out of him. If she can do that to one wolf, what’s stopping her from doing it to all of us?”

“She also gave Arlen speed he didn’t have before,” another shot back. “You forget that part? She didn’t just take. She gave. That’s a gift we could use, especially now when half our numbers are still wounded from the war.”

Their words clashed like blades. No one was listening, just shouting louder and louder, until I slammed my hand on the table. The crack silenced them for a breath, but their eyes were still burning with tension.

“She’s not a danger,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Elara risked herself today to prove she belongs here. Every bruise on her body is proof of that.”

“She risked herself, or she risked all of us?” the elder countered. His tone was sharp, meant to cut. “You’ve seen how unstable the pack is already. Wolves question your bond to her. Now she shows she can bend their strength with her hands. What if she decides to use that against us? Against you?”

The words struck harder than I wanted them to. Not because I believed them, but because I knew others might. My wolves were proud, stubborn, slow to trust outsiders even when those outsiders bled beside them. And Elara wasn’t just an outsider. She was something they had no name for.

“I decide who is a threat in this pack,” I said finally. My hands gripped the table so tight my knuckles whitened. “And she isn’t one.”

Murmurs rippled around the chamber. Some nodded, some scowled.

One younger wolf spoke up from the corner. His voice wasn’t as loud, but it carried weight because it was steady. “Then give her a place. Not as your mate, not as some untouchable figure. If she’s going to stay, make her take on duty like the rest of us. Let her fight, let her guard, let her bleed with the rest. Then we’ll see if she’s pack or not.”

The idea spread through the room like wildfire. Wolves who had been shouting for her to be cast out now leaned forward, considering. Others frowned, worried about putting her in the line of danger, but none could argue it was better than letting suspicion rot us from the inside.

They looked to me. Waiting. Testing.

It felt like a trap either way. If I refused, they’d claim I was shielding her, proving she wasn’t to be trusted. If I agreed, they’d push her into battles she wasn’t ready for, hoping she’d fail. My chest ached with the weight of it, but I couldn’t hesitate. Not here. Not in front of them.

“She’ll take a role,” I said. “Not as a shield to throw away, but as a wolf of this pack. You’ll give her the chance to prove herself the same way you demand it from anyone else.”

The room broke into mixed voices again, but I didn’t wait to hear more. I left them arguing over details, because my decision had already been made.

When I stepped out into the corridor, Marcus was waiting. His arms were crossed, his jaw set. “You really think this is wise?”

“I don’t have a choice,” I muttered. “They’re already split down the middle. If I don’t give them a way to test her, they’ll tear her apart behind my back.”

Marcus’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t argue. “Then you better hope she survives what’s coming. Wolves don’t forgive weakness, Damian. Not in her. Not in you.”

His words followed me back to the room where Elara slept. She was curled on her side, hair damp with sweat, face pale. I sat down beside her again, brushing strands from her forehead. She didn’t stir.

I thought about what I had just promised. About putting her in front of wolves who wanted to see her fail, who might push her harder than any warrior just to break her. My gut twisted, but I couldn’t pull back now.

If she proved herself, she’d earn a place no one could take from her. If she didn’t…

I clenched my fists and pushed the thought away.

When she finally woke, she would see the storm she had started. And she would see the storm I had just set her in the middle of.

And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know if I had made the right choice.