Chapter 57

Chapter 57
Damian’s POV

Elara’s body was limp against me, her blood warm on my shirt. I could smell iron, sharp and heavy, mixed with the acrid tang of fear rolling off the pack. My wolf snarled in my chest, desperate to tear Marcus apart right there in front of everyone.

“You dragged her into this,” I hissed, my voice low, trembling with barely controlled rage.

Marcus didn’t flinch. His jaw was tight, his eyes cold, his skin still smeared with rogue blood. “She dragged herself. She showed them what she is. Now the pack knows.”

“She’s bleeding out, and all you care about is your damn trial by fire?” My voice rose, and every head turned toward me. I didn’t care. Let them see. Let them hear. “You used her!”

“I tested her,” Marcus shot back. His chest heaved, his voice carrying over the crowd. “And she passed. But don’t pretend you can hide what we just saw.”

The pack was whispering louder now, a storm of voices crashing over one another. I caught words that burned in my ears. Dangerous. Gifted. Unstable. A weapon.

Elder Thomas stepped forward, his shoulders squared, his voice sharp. “Enough.” His eyes flicked to Elara in my arms, then to Marcus. “The girl killed rogues with her hands. That is not natural.”

“She saved his life,” I snapped, jerking my chin toward Marcus. “Or would you rather she had stood by and watched him die?”

Thomas’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t answer.

I shifted my grip on Elara, trying to keep her upright. Her eyes fluttered, her lips parting like she wanted to speak, but only a soft groan came out. The sound twisted something in my chest so hard I could barely breathe.

“Get her inside,” Sarah called from the edge of the crowd. She was already pushing her way through, her healer’s satchel banging against her hip. “She’s losing too much blood.”

I started forward, but Marcus blocked me. His arm shot out, his voice hard. “Not until the council decides what to do with her.”

I saw red. My wolf lunged against my control. In one motion I shoved Elara into Sarah’s arms and grabbed Marcus by the throat. Gasps erupted around us. His eyes went wide as I slammed him back into the dirt, my claws half-shifted and pressing against his skin.

“You ever touch her again, you won’t walk away,” I growled, every word vibrating with the beast under my skin.

The crowd was silent, waiting, breathless.

“Damian.” Elder Thomas’s voice was sharp, commanding. “Release him.”

I looked down at Marcus, saw the challenge still burning in his eyes even as he choked for air, and for one wild second I wanted to crush the fight out of him forever. But Elara’s faint whimper cut through my rage.

I shoved Marcus away, disgusted. He rolled to his knees, coughing, glaring at me like this wasn’t over.

Sarah’s voice cut through the tension. “If you want her alive, you’ll let me work now.” She was already pressing cloth to Elara’s back, her hands moving fast, her face pale.

I knelt beside them, brushing Elara’s hair out of her face. Her skin was clammy, her lips pale. She tried to focus on me, but her eyes rolled back.

“Stay with me,” I whispered, my chest aching with every word. “Please, Elara, stay with me.”

Behind us, the council gathered, their voices low but heated. I caught snippets. She’s too dangerous. This power could save us. What if it destroys us instead?

The pack watched, divided. Some looked at Elara with awe. Others with fear. All of them waited to see what I would do.

I turned back to Marcus, my voice shaking with rage. “You wanted proof of her strength. You got it. But don’t think for a second that means she belongs to you or to your council.”

“She belongs to the pack,” Marcus said, standing, blood still dripping down his arm. “And the pack has a right to decide what she is.”

I rose slowly, every muscle in my body tight. “She belongs to no one but herself. And if anyone tries to take that from her, they answer to me.”

Silence fell over the ridge. Every wolf was watching us now, the line drawn clear in the dirt. Marcus with his cold logic and his obsession with order. Me with Elara bleeding in my arms and a pack on the verge of breaking in two.

Thomas’s voice cut through the tension. “Then we convene the council at dawn. Every elder. Every witness. We decide her fate together.”

My stomach turned at his words. Her fate. As if she were some problem to be solved, not a person fighting for her life.

I bent, lifting Elara back into my arms, ignoring the burn in my chest from my still-healing wounds. She felt too light, too fragile. I could hear her shallow breaths against my neck.

“No council decides her fate,” I said, my voice low but carrying. “Not while I draw breath.”

I didn’t wait for their response. I pushed through the crowd, Sarah at my side, the pack parting around us in silence.

But I could feel their eyes on my back, heavy, torn between fear and loyalty. The cracks in their trust were spreading faster than I could hold them together.

And Marcus’s voice followed me, cold and sharp.

“You can’t protect her forever, Damian.”

I didn’t look back. If I did, I might have killed him.