CHAPTER: 04 Your Everything?

Elara's father, Calisto, walked into her room in the morning to give her medication. Elara was his only child with his late wife, and even though he was raising her alone, he wanted to provide her with everything she needed.

Calisto glanced at his sleeping daughter. She seemed to be having a bad dream, with furrowed brows and a troubled expression. Calisto wondered if Elara was dreaming again about Emely's death or if she was feeling the pain she had been enduring.

"Elara, wake up. It's morning," Calisto said as he gently touched his daughter's forehead. Elara had been running a fever for a week, so she couldn't join Fernanda and Fiona on their vacation.

Calisto's forehead creased as Elara suddenly bolted upright as if emerging from a nightmare. She was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath. Tears streamed down Elara's face as she frantically clutched her stomach.

"My child! My child!" Elara searched for any sign of blood on her thighs, her head hitting each step of the stairs as she reached for them. She felt her womb, her whole body trembling.

Her entire body went cold, sweating profusely but feeling cold inside. She still keenly felt the pain of the fall and the impact on her body from the steep stairs. Her jaw and body remained stiff, rendering her unable to move. Above all, the anger from her stepmother and stepsister's attempt on her life, along with Elijah's deception, still burned in her heart and mind.

"Elara, what's happening? Sweetheart, calm down," Calisto tried to soothe his daughter, immediately embracing her. He was puzzled by Elara's behavior, unsure if she was having a nightmare or had seen something terrifying.

Calisto could smell the fear emanating from his daughter, sensing her trembling and intense sweating due to anxiety.

"Elara! I'm here, what's wrong?" Calisto desperately sought the attention of the hysterical Elara, wanting to calm his child and provide comfort.

"Dad?" Elara asked, puzzled.

"Dad? Why are you here?" Elara asked again, looking around, realizing it wasn't night anymore. She wasn't in the hospital, and the mother-daughter duo who deceived and killed her weren't in front of her.

She immediately clung to her father's shirt and hugged him tightly. "Dad, they killed me. Elijah betrayed me and our child... our child is gone," Elara confessed, crying uncontrollably to her father, who could only try to calm her down, though Calisto was filled with wonder at Elara's words.

Calisto could only think that perhaps his daughter had a vivid dream, which was why she was reacting like this.

"Relax, my child, it's just a dream. I'm here by your side, nothing bad will happen to you," Calisto reassured her, rubbing Elara's back and handing her a glass of water.

"Drink some to calm down, I'll get your medication from downstairs, just a moment," Calisto replied, handing his daughter a glass of water.

Calisto quickly walked out of Elara's room to get her medication, while Elara held onto the glass of water, her hands trembling, still unable to believe what was happening.

"Dreams? Everything couldn't just be a dream," Elara whispered as she gazed at her reflection in the water, noticing the healthy glow of her cheeks. She quickly stood up and faced the mirror, witnessing the return of her body and face's beauty, far from the frailty and weakness she had experienced.

"How did this happen?" She wondered, unable to comprehend what was happening because she knew everything had happened. She knew she had died and fallen down the stairs. She knew she had a miscarriage and hit her head on the floor.

So why was she not in agony now? Why was she able to move her body and not have any wounds on her head?

She immediately grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table to call Elijah, but when she opened it, she saw the date on the screen.

"February 20? 2023?" Elara was puzzled when she saw the date and year. Was time playing tricks on her? Was she going insane? Or had something truly extraordinary happened to her?

She didn't know whether to believe what she saw, but only one thought entered her mind.

She must go back to the past to correct all her present decisions.

She remembered once again the last words her stepmother had uttered to her.

'Just a piece of advice for your next life, darling. Don't trust too easily, okay? Don't be too kind. You should also use your brain. So you won't end up pitiful like you are now.'

It was like a splash of cold water had awakened her to everything happening around her. She could feel her blood boiling as she recalled all the deceit they had subjected her to.

Elara gripped her cell phone tightly as if it might crumple under her anger.

"If this is a second chance from the Moon goddess Chandra, I vow not to waste it seeking revenge for everything they've done to me." Elara looked into the mirror, scrutinizing her eyes, gradually turning vivid green.

"Elara? Sweetie, I can't find the medicine—" Calisto paused as he saw his daughter standing by the bed, appearing oddly calm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and Elara smiled, nodding at her father. She forced herself to conceal her feelings and plans from him because who would believe her if she said she had come back from the future to seek vengeance?

This was her second chance at life in this world.

"I'm fine now, Dad, sorry if I startled or worried you. I just had a bad dream," Elara excused herself, even though she knew everything that happened was real.

She tried to compose herself, even though she desperately wanted to cry and confide in her father. She wanted to spill everything about what Fernanda and Fiona did to her. She wanted to say she had a miscarriage and was grieving for her child, and she wanted to say that she was deceived and replaced by Elijah with her stepsister.

But Elara bottled it all up because, like Fernanda advised, she shouldn't trust anyone but herself.

"I got worried about you, I've never seen you like that before. Was the princess's dream that awful?" Calisto asked, pulling his daughter into a hug.

Elara approached and hugged her father again, whom she hadn't seen in a long time because he often left for his missions as the Gamma of the pack.

"Yes, I dreamt that I had a child and I miscarried. I felt the pain of a mother who lost her child," Elara replied, trying hard to hold back her tears.

Calisto stroked Elara's hair and kissed her head. "I'm here, my princess. Maybe it's just stress causing you to have bad dreams. It's a shame you didn't join Fernanda and Fiona on vacation. You could've rested and unwound."

If only Calisto knew, Elara would prefer to be locked in her room all day than be with those two.

"Alright, take your medicine. I just don't know where Fernanda put your medication stock," Calisto responded, and Elara pulled away from her father's embrace.

"In the cabinet, above the kitchen sink," Elara responded as they both descended into the kitchen. Elara felt a nervous flutter as they made their way down the stairs; she couldn't seem to plant her feet firmly on the steps because fear kept creeping back into her mind due to what had happened.

"Sweetie?" Calisto asked with concern, noticing Elara's hesitation to descend the stairs as if she was afraid to take a step.

"Come on, I'll help you," Calisto offered, extending his hand to his daughter. Elara took it, summoning all her courage to confront the trauma she was experiencing.

With her father's assistance, she felt somewhat reassured. She knew she was in good hands. She knew her father would never put her in harm's way.

"It's right here all along, I've been searching for it everywhere. Fernanda tends to misplace things," Calisto explained as he handed Elara a medicine tablet, prompting Elara to notice the difference in color between the medications she was taking.

She was now certain that ever since Fernanda and Fiona had started living in their house a few years ago, she had been slowly poisoning her and swapping her medication whenever she had the chance. That's why she was puzzled by the change in color of the medicine she was taking; from its usual white color, it had turned into a pale yellow, which Fernanda had been giving her.

"Dad, is it just one color for my medicine, right? What's this for anyway?" Elara asked before taking the medicine. She needed to be vigilant if she didn't want to repeat what happened to her in the future.

"It's a suppressant, sweetie, just plain white. You need to take it because you have to suppress your Lycan side. You're not yet capable of controlling your powers," Calisto replied, facing his daughter once more.

"I know I've reminded you countless times, but you can't unleash your Lycan side because it will lead to losing control. There's even a possibility of you dying if you can't handle your strength. So, until I find a cure for your condition, take that suppressant medicine," Calisto explained to his daughter.

He didn't understand why Elara was asking about her illness again, so he had to lie once more to conceal the truth.

"You're not feeling anything else in your body, right?" Calisto asked with concern, afraid there might be other side effects from Elara's medication.

Besides weakening her, it often caused other illnesses like fever and fatigue.

"It's still the same," Elara replied briefly, staring at the medicine before swallowing it.

"I'll be leaving later. The new Alpha has tasked me with tracking down some rogue elements that escaped the border. While I'm on the mission, I'll also gather more information about your condition," Calisto replied, flashing a smile at his daughter. Elara returned the smile and started eating the breakfast Calisto had prepared for them.

ding dong

Father and daughter turned towards the door, and Calisto immediately stood up to open it for their visitor.

"Just finish your meal there," Calisto instructed his daughter before heading out. Shortly after, he returned with the visitor. Elara glanced towards the door and saw Elijah walking behind her father.

"Looks like you have an early visitor, Elara," Calisto teased, expecting Elara to greet her beloved fiancé, Alpha Elijah, with a smile. However, instead of a warm welcome, Elara's usually gentle face was clouded with anger and resentment upon seeing Elijah.

Elara felt like her heart was being squeezed as she gazed at the handsome face of the man she loved most. She never imagined the man she had cherished her whole life could betray and choose her stepsister over her.

The phone call Elijah made to Fiona while Elara was paralyzed, unable to move, was still fresh in her memory. She could still hear Elijah's voice, uttering sweet words to her stepsister etched into her mind.

"Elara? Did I disturb your morning?" Elijah asked in surprise, as he didn't expect Elara to look at him with such disdain; far from the Elara he knew who would greet him with a kiss and a hug.

"Not really, sorry, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Elara made an excuse, trying hard to conceal her anger and resentment.

She needed to learn to hide her reactions or feelings in front of the people who deceived her so she could exact her revenge without anyone knowing.

"I hope this gift of mine will brighten your morning," Elijah whispered as he handed Elara a bouquet. Flowers that Elijah clearly picked from their pack house garden while walking towards their house.

"Ahem, I'll leave you two alone for now," Calisto responded, happily entrusting his princess to their Alpha.

"For my incredibly beautiful girlfriend, my everything," Elijah kissed Elara's hand, causing Elara to feel repulsed by his touch.

TO BE CONTINUED