Sisters of the Heart

Elsa’s POV

The knock was soft, but it pulled me from my restless sleep like thunder.

I blinked against the dim morning light, the silken canopy above me unfamiliar even now. My heart stuttered in my chest. It couldn’t be Dylan—if it were, I would have already felt his presence, the heavy command of his aura pressing against my wolf.

I sat up quickly, clutching the edges of my robe and tying it around my waist. My bare feet sank into the thick carpet as I moved toward the living room. The knock came again quieter, hesitant.

I pulled open the door.

And my world stopped.

Standing there, wide-eyed, trembling, was Lila.

I froze, my throat closing, convinced I was dreaming. My hand shot up to my face, wiping at my eyes, desperate to clear the illusion. But she didn’t vanish. She was real. And before I could speak, she threw herself forward and wrapped me in her arms.

Her familiar scent warm, earthy, threaded with lavender hit me all at once, and my knees buckled. My arms wrapped around her instinctively, clutching her to me as though she’d disappear if I let go.

“Lila…” My voice cracked. “How…how are you here? Did Caleb…?”

She pulled back only far enough to look into my face. Her eyes glistened with tears, but her smile was wide and real. “It was Alpha Dylan,” she whispered. “He brought me here.”

I blinked, stunned. “Dylan?”

She nodded, brushing a tear from my cheek with her thumb. “He paid Caleb to release me. I don’t know how much, and I don’t care. I’m free, Elsa. Free. And I’m here with you.”

The words slammed into me, tearing down the walls I’d built around my heart. I sobbed, the sound raw and broken, and clung to her with everything I had.

Lila rocked me gently, just as she had when we were girls huddled together against the cold of the servant’s quarters. “Shh,” she murmured, her hand stroking my hair. “Don’t cry, Elsa. I’m here now. I’m not leaving you.”

I pulled back to stare at her face, memorizing every detail as if I hadn’t seen her in years….the slope of her nose, the stubborn set of her chin, the freckles that dusted her cheeks when she spent too long in the sun. “You’re really here,” I whispered. “Not as a maid. Not under their cruelty.”

“Not as a maid,” she confirmed, her voice firm. Then she took my hands in hers, squeezing them tight. “Alpha Dylan told me… I’m not just your friend anymore. I’m to be seen as your sister. The Luna’s sister.”

The words sent a shiver down my spine. Not a maid. Not a servant. A sister. Recognition.

Fresh tears welled in my eyes. I shook my head, overwhelmed. “I don’t deserve this. After everything….I thought I’d lost you. I thought Caleb…”

Her expression hardened at his name, but she silenced me with a hand against my cheek. “Forget him. Caleb doesn’t matter anymore. He can’t touch me, and he won’t touch you. Not here.”

I swallowed hard, the sobs still caught in my chest. “I missed you so much, Lila. Every night, I prayed you were safe. That somehow, you’d survive what he did to you because of me.”

Her arms tightened around me. “I survived because of you. Every time they mocked me, every time they beat me, I remembered your face. I remembered your promise….that one day, things would change. And they have, Elsa. They really have.”

I buried my face in her shoulder, inhaling her warmth, letting the truth of her words sink in. For the first time in so long, I didn’t feel alone.

We sat together on the couch, hands still linked, our shoulders pressed close as if we feared being pulled apart again.

“Tell me everything,” I begged, my voice hoarse. “How did Dylan bring you? Did Caleb fight him?”

Lila gave a bitter laugh. “Of course he fought. He shouted, threatened, raged. But Dylan…” She shook her head with awe. “He didn’t waver. He walked into Caleb’s territory like he owned it. And in a way, he does. He gave Caleb an offer he couldn’t refuse. The pack will whisper about it for weeks.”

I frowned. “Caleb won’t forget. He’ll want revenge.”

“Yes,” Lila admitted. “But that’s not our burden to carry anymore. Dylan made it clear…you’re his mate. His Luna. And that means I’m untouchable too.”

Her words should have comforted me, and they did….but part of me trembled. Dylan had paid for Lila’s freedom. Caleb would see that as humiliation, and humiliation always festered into hatred.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to dwell on it, not now. Not when Lila was here.

I reached out and cupped her face, my hands shaking. “I can’t believe this. For so long, I thought I’d never see you again. I thought I’d lost you forever.”

Her eyes softened, shining with tears she refused to let fall. “You’ll never lose me, Elsa. We’re not just friends. We’re sisters. Blood or not, that’s what we are.”

The word sisters wrapped around my heart like a shield. I had been stripped of so much…family, safety, dignity. But here, with Lila, I had found something stronger than blood.

We talked for hours, our voices overlapping, laughter breaking through tears. We remembered the nights we spent stealing scraps of food, the times we huddled beneath thin blankets during winter, whispering stories of freedom we thought would never come.

Now freedom had come, even if it looked different than we imagined.

At one point, I caught myself studying her…her glowing smile, the fire in her eyes—and guilt crept in. “I dragged you into all this, Lila. If you hadn’t been my friend, Caleb wouldn’t have….”

“Stop.” Her tone was sharp, cutting through my self-blame. She gripped my shoulders, forcing me to meet her gaze. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. Caleb is the monster, not you. And if I had to suffer a hundred times worse just to stand here with you now, I’d do it. Because you’re my sister. And sisters don’t leave each other behind.”

My chest tightened, tears spilling freely again. I leaned forward, resting my forehead against hers, our hands clasped between us.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” I whispered. “I don’t know if I can survive what’s coming. But with you here…” My voice cracked. “With you here, I feel stronger.”

Her lips curved into a gentle smile. “Then we’ll face it together. Whatever comes, Elsa, we’ll face it together.”

The words rooted deep inside me, stronger than any vow I’d ever spoken. For so long, I had walked this path alone, stumbling beneath the weight of cruelty and despair. But no longer.

For the first time in years, hope flickered inside me. Small, fragile, but real.

I pulled her into one last fierce hug, whispering into her hair, “You’re my sister. My only family. And I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

Her reply was immediate, fierce and certain. “And I’ll protect you.”

We sat there in the Luna’s chambers, wrapped in each other’s arms, two broken girls clinging to the bond that had carried us through every storm.

And in that moment, I knew: no matter what plots brewed in the shadows whether from Caleb, Veronica, or anyone else they would find us stronger than before. Because I wasn’t alone anymore.

I had Lila.

I had a sister.