Chapter 59

Chapter 59
Elara’s POV

Dawn came too fast.

I had barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard them whispering. Dangerous. Curse. Gift. Salvation. None of those words felt like me, but now they were all I had to carry into the chamber.

Sarah helped me dress, her hands gentle but firm. Every movement sent fire through my back. I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood, refusing to let a sound slip. If I groaned or cried out, it would give them another reason to think I was weak.

“You don’t have to prove anything,” Sarah murmured, tying the last strap of the simple tunic she had chosen.

“Yes, I do.” My voice was quiet, but steady. “If I don’t, they’ll decide for me.”

The door opened, and Damian stepped inside. His hair was damp, his shirt half buttoned, his face hard with sleeplessness. His eyes softened only when they landed on me.

“You’re not ready,” he said immediately.

“I am,” I whispered.

His jaw worked like he wanted to argue, but then he crossed the room and slid his arm around me. His touch was careful, his support steady as he helped me stand. My legs trembled under me, but with him there, I stayed upright.

“You fall once in front of them,” he muttered near my ear, “and they’ll tear you apart with their words.”

“Then don’t let me fall,” I whispered back.

His arm tightened, a silent vow.

The walk to the chamber felt endless. Wolves lined the hallways, their voices hushed as we passed. Some looked at me with awe, some with suspicion, some with raw fear. I wanted to hide, but I lifted my chin instead. If they saw me falter now, it was over.

The council chamber doors opened with a groan. Inside, the air was thick, heavy with tension. Elders sat along the long table, their faces grim. Warriors lined the walls, their eyes sharp, waiting. And at the center of it all was Joran, his expression carved from stone, his gaze already burning holes through me.

Damian guided me to a chair, but I shook my head. “I’ll stand.”

The pain in my back screamed at me for it, but I held my ground. My hands curled at my sides to hide the shaking.

“She shouldn’t even be here,” one of the elders muttered. “She’s still bleeding.”

“And yet she stands,” Damian shot back, his voice cutting through the room. “That’s more than can be said for the rogues she faced.”

Murmurs rippled, some approving, some doubtful. My stomach knotted tighter.

Joran leaned forward. “We aren’t here to praise her. We are here to decide what she is. To us. To this pack.”

“What I am?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. My voice wavered, but I didn’t care. “You talk about me like I’m a weapon on a table, waiting to be claimed. I’m not. I’m a person.”

“Are you?” Joran’s eyes narrowed. “Or are you something else entirely? We’ve all seen what you can do. Wolves who couldn’t shift, shifting under your touch. Warriors who fought longer and harder just because you stood with them. That isn’t normal. That isn’t natural.”

The weight of every gaze pressed down on me. My hands trembled. I wanted to hide, to let Damian speak, but then I saw Sarah in the corner, nodding once, firm, urging me on.

I swallowed hard. “You want to know what I am? I’m the omega who your future Alpha rejected. I’m the girl who survived when no one believed me. I’m the one who stood beside you when the rogues came. I’m not asking to be worshiped, but I won’t be treated like a curse either.”

The words came faster now, pushed out by something deep in my chest. “I didn’t choose this gift. I didn’t ask for it. But it’s mine. And you can call it dangerous, or you can call it salvation. I don’t care. What I won’t do is let anyone use it to build armies or slaughter innocents.”

Joran’s lip curled. “And what happens when you lose control? When the power consumes you?”

“I already lost everything once,” I whispered. “I won’t let it happen again.”

Silence fell. My breath shook, my body trembled, but I didn’t back down.

Then, slowly, one of the elders spoke. “She speaks truth.”

Another nodded. “But truth does not erase risk.”

The arguments started then, voices rising, some siding with me, some with Joran. Damian finally stepped forward, his presence cutting through the noise.

“Enough.” His voice rumbled with command. The room fell quiet. “You can argue all day, but here is the fact. Elara is under my protection. As Alpha, I say she stays. And anyone who challenges that challenges me.”

Gasps echoed. A few warriors bristled. Joran stood, fury written across his face.

“You would risk the pack for her?” he demanded.

Damian didn’t flinch. “I would risk everything for her.”

The words hit me like a blow, raw and undeniable. My chest ached, my throat tightened. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. He meant it. Every word.

The chamber erupted in noise, wolves shouting, arguing, the pack fracturing right there before my eyes.

And then, cutting through it all, came a howl outside. Long, low, filled with rage.

Every head turned. Warriors stiffened. Damian’s eyes snapped to the door, his body tense.

“That’s not one of ours,” Sarah whispered.

Another howl joined the first. Then another. And another.

The sound filled the chamber, wrapping around us like a noose. The rogues weren’t gone. They were here. The decision about me would have to wait.