Mag-log inElara The hallway outside Damon’s room was completely silent, but I didn't stop moving until I was out the front doors and standing in the freezing night air. I pulled the thick sweater tight around my chest, my bare feet practically freezing against the cold dirt. I couldn't wait to look for it even if I wanted to. I didn't want to wake him after all. The walk back to Helena’s house shouldn’t have been far. On a normal day, it was just a quick, ten-minute or so walk across the village. But tonight, it felt like climbing a mountain. My body was completely shutting down. Every step sent a dull, throbbing ache up my legs. My vision blurred, the moonlight fracturing into spinning, dizzying halos. It had been exactly three days since I dumped that first cup of herbs down the drain, and whatever those herbs had been suppressing was violently fighting back. My head was spinning so fast I felt sick to my stomach. Worse than that, I felt incredibly strange in my own skin. It was li
ElaraI don't know how much time passed. I just knew I was floating in a hazy, suffocating darkness. My head throbbed, and a bone-deep, freezing cold clawed its way through my body.Slowly, fractured pieces of reality started slipping through the haze.And I know two things as a fact. I wasn't lying on the hard dirt. I was buried in something incredibly soft. A heavy, thick scent wrapped around my senses, wet cedarwood. Damon.I tried to force my eyes open, but my eyelids felt like they had weights tied to them. I managed a tiny, blurry slit. The room was not dark, but it wasn't bright either. Someone was walking toward me. Before I could tell who it was, something warm and damp pressed gently against my forehead. I let out a weak, pathetic whimper, leaning into the heat. The hot towel moved slowly, carefully wiping the cold sweat and dirt from my cheeks, down my jaw, and over my trembling neck.I forced my blurry eyes to focus, it was only then that I saw Damon. He was sitting on th
ElaraThree days.That’s how long it had been since I poured that first cup of herbs down the drain. I pushed the blankets off and sat up. My head spun instantly. My body felt incredibly heavy, like my bones were made of mush, and just walking to the door left me out of breath.When I made it to the dining room, the house was completely silent. A plate of food sat on the table, and right next to it, the steaming mug of dark herbs. Mom and Helena were out again.I hadn’t been back to the training grounds since that day at the waterfall. I kept telling myself it was because I wanted to stay as far away from Damon as possible. But the humiliating truth was that my traitorous body still ached for him. Even after everything, part of me still listened for his footsteps.But the other, more pressing reason I stayed in bed was that I just couldn't do it. My strength was completely gone.I took the food into the kitchen and forced myself to eat a few bites. Then, I picked up the mug, walked t
ElaraThe heavy footsteps were getting closer. I only had one logical option.I pushed off the wall and silently darted back down the hallway toward the front door. I grabbed the handle, rattled it loudly to make it sound like I was just walking in, and yelled, “I’m home!”The kitchen door swung open, and Helena stepped out, wiping her hands on a small towel.“Oh, you’re back, Elara. How was the outing with the young man?” She paused, her eyes sweeping over my dripping hair and soaked clothes. “...And why are you so wet?”She was smiling. There was no suspicion in her eyes or her tone, thank god.“Finn took me to a waterfall near the border,” I lied smoothly, forcing my tense shoulders to drop. “I went for a quick swim. Anyway, did you make lunch? I'm starving.”I clung to bring normal, desperately trying to ignore the words suppressant and three days screaming in the back of my mind.“Yes. Your mother actually baked some pie. Come have a piece.”Mom and Baked In the same sentence!?
ElaraI kept treading water, staring right through him.I was too pissed to care about his threats. He could command the whole pack, but he couldn't command me to stop hating him.I expected him to bark another order. Instead, there was a sudden, heavy splash.Before I could even blink, thick, solid arms locked around my waist. I thrashed, kicking my legs and shoving at his shoulders, but it was like trying to move a brick wall. Damon didn't even flinch. With that same cold, indifferent look on his face, he easily hoisted me up out of the freezing water and tucked me against his chest.Carrying me bridal style was nothing to him. But it was torture for me.Because of how tightly he held me, I felt everything. My bare, wet skin was pressed flat against his soaked shirt. He was burning hot—dizzying heat compared to the cold water. I could feel the hard, rigid muscle of his chest and the heavy, steady thud of his heart right against my ribs.He stepped onto the slippery gravel of the ba
Elara POV After speaking, she hissed under her breath and walked away, leaving me standing there completely frozen. I was surprised, dazed, and entirely confused. What did she mean by what she said? I thought, my mind spinning as I watched her figure disappear into the trees. What was that all about? Digging my own grave? Before I could even try to process her words, a hand suddenly touched my shoulder. I violently flinched, stepping back. “Are you okay?” Finn asked, his hand dropping back to his side as he looked at me with deep concern. I quickly nodded, forcing the panic down. “Yes. I’m fine.” It was a blatant lie, and Finn didn’t look like he believed me for a single second. But, thankfully, he didn’t press any further. He just let out a soft breath. “Are you sure you still want to go see the surprise?” he asked gently. I really didn't want to disappoint him after everything, and I desperately needed a distraction from Fiona's ominous warning. So, I nodded and s
Elara This man is Alpha Damon Crassus! The reality crashed into me, and any admiration I might have had for him went down the drain. All I could feel was anger. Even though he wasn't the Crassus who had dragged me through the mud and almost ruined my life two years ago, that didn't change the fa
Elara I woke at 4:30 in the morning staring at a ceiling I didn't recognize. I'd tossed and turned all night, given that I never slept well in new places. And last night exhaustion had been losing badly, because the other half of my brain had been occupied with something far more irritating than
Elara Seven hours on the road and the window had become my whole world. Trees. Road. Trees again. I watched it all blur past without really seeing any of it, my thoughts moving faster than the truck and in far worse directions. “I know how you're feeling right now,” Mom said. “But we don't hav
Two Years LaterElara“What are you doing in there, Elara? Andy's all over the place looking for you!”I didn't need to look out the window to know it was Kofi. The boy had a voice like a cracked bell, definitely impossible to ignore.“Give me a sec!” I called back, twisting the stove knob down to







