Chapter 29
Elara’s POV
“You stood there and watched him scream for help. Why didn’t you step in?” My voice was cold, sMiela than steel. Blood was still drying on the side of my face, but it didn’t stop me from walking toward Garron like death in boots.
Garron stiffened. His fists clenched at his sides, but the cowardice in his eyes betrayed him.
“I mean–Jory called out, sure–but you were already handling it. What would’ve been the point? You didn’t need us,” he said, voice jittering.
“Vessa and Jory are injured,” I shot back, my eyes blazing into his skull. “If you’d stepped in when he called, maybe they wouldn’t be lying unconscious right now!”
Garron scoffed, and that was his mistake. “They’re your responsibility, not mine. You wanted this competition. You set the rules. Don’t act like a hero and then whine when it backfires.”
Before I even registered my next breath, my palm cracked across his face. The sound echoed through the clearing like a whip. It landed where Cael had punched him earlier, and now Garron’s face looked like a rotten fruit–bloated and swollen on one side.
“You little-!” he shouted, stumbling back, but I didn’t wait.
I lunged.
My boot connected with his gut so hard he folded and hit the dirt with a pitiful grunt. I dropped down over him and drove my fist into his ribs, again and again. The adrenaline roared in my blood. Iwasn’t thinking. I was avenging.
He screamed. “Alpha–somebody help-!”
A few soldiers stirred, unsure whether to intervene. But when they glanced at Thorne, who stood at the edge of the chaos, silent and unreadable, they backed off.
“Elara.” Thorne finally spoke, his voice a rumble. “That’s enough.”
I didn’t even look at him.
“Jory has three broken ribs. Garron’s barely started repaying that debt.”
My knuckles slammed into Garron’s chest again, making him cry out in agony. He writhed beneath me like a worm in the
sun.
Someone from Direstone Keep shouted, “That’s not his fault! You’re blaming the wrong person!”
I turned slowly, wiping blood off my chin.
“I’m not blaming him for the injuries.” I stood, letting Garron curl on the ground like a discarded sack. “I’m blaming him for the map. He set us up.”
Gasps echoed around us.
I looked straight at Thorne. “Your Gamma gave us false coordinates. That map led us straight to a den of mutated bears. It
was an ambush.”
Garron pushed himself up with trembling arms. “Me? You crazy–what proof do you even have?!”
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Chapter 29
“You were in the area when it happened,” I snapped. “There are miles of forest, yet you wandered near the cave right when the attack happened? Coincidence?”
“That doesn’t mean anything-
“Then ask the man who gave us the map.” I turned to Thorne. “He’ll tell you who ordered the change.”
Thorne’s gaze flicked to Garron, who was now sweating like a man on trial.
“I’ll speak to him,” Thorne said quietly, his tone unreadable. “You have my word.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the pressure in my body released–and with it, my strength.
My knees gave way.
The world spun and tipped forward. I felt weightless for a split second before strong arms caught me.
“Elara!” Thorne’s voice thundered into my spinning thoughts.
Then everything went black.
When I woke again, I was somewhere warm. Cotton sheets. Clean air. A faint herbal scent. I blinked up at the ceiling, blinking slowly until the world came back into focus.
“She’s awake,” someone said beside me. Thorne.
A doctor approached from the side of the room. “Gamma Elara, you passed out from exhaustion and blood loss. You’ll be fine with rest.”
“She’ll heal?” Thorne asked, hovering over me like a storm cloud.
“Yes,” the doctor replied. “Her wolf’s strong. She’ll wake fully in a day or two. Her body’s already doing the rest.”
I wanted to thank him, but my throat was dry, and every inch of me ached.
“And the wounds?” Thorne asked again, softer this time.
The doctor hesitated. “Most will heal without scars. But… I did notice old frostbite scarring on her feet.”
“From six months ago?” Thorne’s voice darkened.
The doctor shook his head. “No. Much older. She must have been very young–before her first shift. The damage never had a chance to regenerate. They’ve healed improperly.”
I turned my face away from them both, shame and anger washing over me. I didn’t want their pity.
“She should’ve treated them long ago,” Thorne muttered.
My voice rasped out before I could stop it. “I tried.”
Thorne’s eyes snapped to mine.
“I was ten. Your pack doctor wouldn’t see me unless Corla gave approval. She never did.” My voice cracked like dry wood. “I couldn’t even walk properly for days.”
Silence.
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Chapter 29
Then the doctor cleared his throat and nodded. “I’ll prepare an ointment. With consistent use, the marks should fade.”
He left, giving Thorne and me space.
I didn’t look at him.
“You knew,” he said finally. “About all of it.”
“I lived it.” I closed my eyes again. “The basement. The cold. The pain. I don’t need you to feel guilty now.”
“I should have listened,” he said softly. “I should’ve protected you back then.”
I didn’t reply.
What was there to say?
He should have.
But he didn’t.
Not when I needed it most.
Now the girl who used to beg for warmth had learned to burn on her own.
