CHAPTER NINETEEN: THREATS AND HOSTILITY

The guilt from letting the young warrior die was eating me alive.

For three days after the Mountain View Pack left, I barely slept or ate.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his pale face and heard his uncle's crying.

I was sitting in the garden, trying to find some peace among the flowers, when Marcus came running up to me with a worried expression.

"Laila," he said urgently, "there's a messenger at the gate. He has a letter for you specifically."

My blood turned cold. "A letter for me? From who?"

"He won't say," Marcus replied.

"But he's insisting that only you can receive it."

I followed Marcus to the main gate, my heart pounding with fear.

A rough-looking man on horseback was waiting there, holding a sealed envelope.

"You Laila Ashwood?" he asked in a harsh voice.

"Yes," I whispered.

He tossed the letter down to me and rode away without another word.

With shaking hands, I opened the envelope.

The letter inside was written in handwriting I recognized immediately.

'Laila, Did you really think you could hide from me forever? I know exactly where you are and I know exactly what you've been doing with the Shadow Ridge Pack.'

'You belong to me. You will always belong to me, no matter how far you run or which powerful Alpha you try to hide behind.'

'I'm coming for you soon and when I do, I'll make sure you remember exactly what happens to disobedient mates who try to leave me.'

'Sleep well, knowing that I'm getting closer every day. Your true mate, Damien'

I dropped the letter like it was on fire and began shaking uncontrollably.

"Laila?" Marcus asked, concerned.

"What does it say?"

I couldn't speak.

All I could think about was Damien's cruel face, his harsh words, the way he used to hurt me when he was angry.

"Laila, you're scaring me," Marcus said. "Who was that letter from?"

"Damien," I whispered.Marcus's face immediately darkened with anger.

"What did he say?"

I handed him the letter with trembling hands.

As he read it, his expression grew more and more furious.

"That bastard," he said through gritted teeth.

"How dare he threaten you. Kieran needs to see this immediately."

But before we could go find Kieran, Elena appeared around the corner.

She took one look at my terrified face and Marcus's angry expression and demanded to know what was wrong.

Marcus showed her the letter. Elena read it quickly, then looked at me with cold, calculating eyes.

"So," she said slowly, "your past is catching up with you."

"Elena," Marcus warned, "this isn't the time for—"

"No, it's exactly the time," Elena interrupted.

"This is exactly what I was worried about when Kieran brought her here."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice still shaking from fear.

"I mean that you're bringing danger to our pack," Elena said harshly.

"Your ex-mate is threatening to come here because of you. He's going to cause problems for our people because you couldn't stay away from places you don't belong."

"That's not fair," Marcus said angrily.

"Laila didn't ask for this."

"Didn't she?" Elena replied coldly.

"She chose to come here instead of dealing with her own problems. She chose to make herself Kieran's responsibility and now her troubles are becoming our troubles."

I felt tears starting to fall down my cheeks.

Elena was right.

I was bringing danger to people who had been kind to me.

"Elena, that's enough," Marcus said firmly.

"No, it's not enough," Elena continued, her voice getting harsher.

"Do you know what happens when ex-mates come looking for revenge?"

"People get hurt. People die. And for what? For some half-breed girl who can't even shift into her wolf form?"

"Stop it," I whispered, but Elena wasn't finished.

"I've been watching you for weeks, Laila," she said, stepping closer to me.

"I've seen the way you hide from problems, the way you let other people solve your troubles for you. You're weak, and weak people get strong people killed."

"Elena!" Marcus shouted, but she ignored him.

"My brother thinks he's protecting you, but you're going to get him killed,"

Elena said, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Just like you probably got people killed in your old pack. That's what happens around people like you."

Her words hit me like physical blows.

The guilt I already felt about the young warrior who died mixed with new guilt about potentially bringing danger to the Shadow Ridge Pack.

"I never wanted to cause problems," I sobbed.

"But you did cause problems," Elena said coldly.

"And now you're going to cause more. Damien is coming here because of you. If anyone gets hurt when he arrives, their blood will be on your hands."

"Elena, stop!" Marcus said, stepping between us.

"You're being cruel."

"I'm being realistic," Elena replied.

"Someone has to be."

Just then, Kieran appeared, having heard the shouting from inside the house.

"What's going on here?" he demanded.

Marcus quickly explained about the letter and Elena's harsh words.

As Kieran read Damien's threatening message, his face grew dark with fury.

"This piece of garbage dares to threaten you?"

He said, looking at me with protective concern.

"Laila, are you alright?"

I couldn't answer because I was crying too hard.

"She's not alright," Elena said before I could respond.

"And she shouldn't be alright. She's brought danger to our pack, and she needs to deal with the consequences."

"Elena," Kieran said in his Alpha voice,

"that's enough."

"No, it's not enough!" Elena exploded.

"Kieran, you're so blinded by your feelings for this girl that you can't see what she's doing to our pack."

"She's weak, she's needy, she brings nothing but problems, and now she's going to get our people hurt!"

"She's not weak," Kieran said firmly.

"Isn't she?" Elena challenged.

"What has she ever done to help this pack? What has she contributed besides causing drama and needing constant protection?"

I thought about my healing abilities, about all the people I could have helped but chose not to because I was scared.

Elena was right - I was weak.

I was a coward who let people die rather than risk being judged.

"I should leave," I said quietly through my tears.

"What?" Kieran asked, looking shocked.

"Elena's right," I said, my voice getting stronger despite my crying.

"I'm bringing danger here. Damien is coming because of me. I should leave before anyone gets hurt."

"You're not going anywhere," Kieran said firmly.

"But people will get hurt because of me," I protested.

"People will get hurt if you leave too," Kieran said.

"Laila, running away isn't the answer."

"Then what is?" I asked desperately.

"How do I stop being a burden? How do I stop causing problems for everyone?"

"You fight back," Kieran said simply.

"You stop letting fear control your decisions."

But I didn't know how to fight back.

I didn't know how to be strong.

All I knew was how to hide and hope that problems would go away on their own.

"I'm scared," I admitted.

"I know," Kieran said gently.

"But you don't have to be scared alone. We'll face this together."

"Will we?" Elena asked sarcastically.

"Or will she run away again the moment things get difficult?"

"Elena, you're out of line," Kieran said angrily.

"Am I? Or am I the only one willing to say what everyone else is thinking?"

As Kieran and Elena continued to argue about me, I felt smaller and more worthless than ever.

Damien's threats had reminded me of how powerless I was and Elena's harsh words had reminded me of how much of a burden I was to everyone around me.

I thought about the young warrior who died because I was too scared to help him.

I thought about the danger I was bringing to the Shadow Ridge Pack.

I thought about how Elena was right - I was weak and cowardly.

Maybe I really should leave.

Maybe everyone would be better off without me.

But the thought of facing Damien alone terrified me even more than the thought of staying and causing problems for the people I was starting to care about.

I was trapped between two terrible choices and I didn't know which one would cause less harm.

All I knew was that I was tired of being scared, tired of being weak and tired of disappointing everyone around me.

But I didn't know how to be anything else.