Chapter 5: Wrong Role, Right Pack

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 fact that he was still a Crassus. Not to mention, he was Jason's father!

The thought alone made my face morph into a frown. But before the disdain could fully show on my features, a tall, dark-haired man stepped into the room and made his way toward us. He had a lean build and looked to be in his mid-thirties.

Upon getting closer, he bowed slightly, then stood in front of Alpha Damon. He stared directly into the Alpha's eyes, his expression suddenly turning serious. I didn't need anyone to tell me they were definitely communicating through a mind link.

Just as I was about to find somewhere else to stand, Alpha Damon’s deep voice rumbled from behind me.

“Have her files stamped and take her to the verification room for document finalization.”

And with that, he turned and walked out of the room.

After he was gone, the man he left behind turned to me. “Follow me.”

I didn't argue. I had no idea where the verification hall was, and I didn't want to waste any more time searching for it. It wasn't like Helena was nearby to take me, and I doubted anyone else here would volunteer.

After stamping my files, he steered us left, away from the thickest part of the crowd, down a quieter stretch toward the registration office where the actual paperwork needed to be finalized.

The registration office was smaller than the main hall, containing just two clerks behind a long desk and a handful of wolves waiting their turn.

He handed my file to the clerk on the left. Turning to me, he said without much emotion, “This shouldn't take long. Once you're done here, you can go back to the pack.” Then, he walked out.

Meanwhile, the clerk opened the file and paused for a moment. His eyes scanned over the approval mark, flicked up to me briefly, and then dropped back down to the papers.

Then he just… moved through it. Flip. Stamp. Flip. Stamp.

He typed a few words on the computer, printed a fresh document, and handed it over. “Go through this when you get home. Your files have been verified. You can go.”

He dismissed me without any additional verification or secondary review. There was none of the intense cross-referencing Helena had warned us about on the walk over this morning. Not even a single question I didn’t want to answer.

Something told me it had a lot to do with that stamp.

Still, I wasn't going to stand there and overthink it. I just wanted to find Mom, get her registration done, and get the hell out of there.

But upon stepping out, my gaze landed on her.

I don’t know if she’d been waiting for me or if it was just the specific cruelty of my luck, but there she was, even though she'd just been in the arms of Jason not long ago.

My hand clenched around the newly printed papers. Seeing her so close brought it all rushing back, I could still hear the laughter, the mockery.

Even though I thought I was ready for this, seeing her face-to-face tore the scab right off the wound. The betrayal stung just as sharply as it did the day I left. But I wasn't that broken girl anymore, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let her see me bleed.

I hadn't seen her when I first walked in, and I didn't care to know why she was here now. I tried to simply walk past her, but she stepped into my path.

“Welcome back, Elara,” she said lightly, acting like she hadn’t watched my life burn two years ago and laughed. Like she wasn't one of the people who orchestrated it.

I didn't even bother responding, but she went on anyway.

“I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now, but I need to let you know that coming back here,” she said softly, “after everything… was already a mistake.”

That finally got me to speak.

“Just like befriending you was a mistake?” I asked coldly. “At least I'm not repeating that one.”

Her expression flickered for just a second, but she recovered quickly.

Of course she did.

“You always did miss the bigger picture,” she said, her tone almost gentle. “This isn’t about what happened before.”

“No?” I challenged.

“No.” Her voice lowered slightly. “This is about what happens next. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Funny,” I said, waving the papers in her face so she could see them. “Because I just got approved.”

“An approval that can still be canceled if you go back and tell them you don't want any of this.”

I finally turned to fully face her. “And why would I do that?”

“Because I know you don't want to go through all of that again, Elara.”

I stepped right into her space, watching the way her eyes tightened when I didn't flinch. Just hearing her speak was enough to remind me of how much of her crap I had accepted in the past, and I was entirely done being polite.

“The only thing I don’t want to go through again is the absolute boredom of listening to you,” I said coldly. “You took your best shot two years ago, and it didn't stick. And just so you know, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay. So keep the act for someone who actually buys it, and get out of my way.”

Her face darkened. “Just because I'm being nice, you think you're important now?” she shrieked, finally dropping the agonizingly fake 'kind' act. “Look, I don't care why you came back. I just want you to return to whatever dump you crawled out of before this becomes something you can’t handle.”

“And if I don’t?” I asked, staring dead into her eyes. Daring her.

“Then you’ll wish you did.”

“What's going on here?” Mom, who had made her way over to my side, turned to look at me. “Is everything okay?” she asked, glancing between us.

“Yes,” I told her, right as Fiona rolled her eyes and marched away.

I exhaled slowly through my nose, trying to control my rising annoyance. As much as I would have loved to step down to her level and give her a piece of my mind, I had just gotten my stay approved and I wasn’t about to ruin it. The fact that they clearly wanted me gone only fueled my desire to stay and prove that their empty threats meant nothing to me.

“Don’t let her get you riled up. She’s nothing but a troublemaker who isn’t worth your time. Come,” Helena comforted, appearing right behind Mom. “Let’s get your mom registered and get out of here.”

***

It took about three more hours to get Mom's papers approved before we could finally leave the hall.

We reached Helena’s house, and she went straight to the kitchen, while I slumped into a chair at the table.

Mom on the other hand stood quietly by the window. Her lips were still pressed tightly together in annoyance, so I called out to her. “Mom. Are you okay?”

She turned away from the glass. “Maybe it was a mistake coming back here after all… I just packed everything up without thinking about how hard this was going to be on you. We just got here, and it’s already like this.”

“Mom!” I said sharply, needing to snap her out of the self-blame. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not like we had plenty of options to choose from.”

“But I could’ve—”

“You couldn’t have done anything more than this. It’s not your fault rogues are everywhere, ripping small packs apart.” The harsh truth was, all of this was my fault. If I hadn’t been swayed by Jason's lies, I wouldn't have been out of this pack in the first place.

She looked at me for a long moment. “Right.” She bit her lip, blinking rapidly. “I’m going to go to my room.” The words barely tumbled out of her mouth before she was already hurrying down the hall.

I leaned back in my chair, exhaling heavily. Everything suddenly felt like too much.

Helena soon approached the table with a plate carrying two washed apples.

She handed me one and took a seat beside me. “So, what role did you get?”

I looked at her blankly, taking the apple. “Role? What role?”

“Didn't the clerk tell you your assigned role?”

Thinking back, I didn't remember him mentioning anything of the sort. I shook my head and took a bite of the fruit. “He didn't mention anything like that.”

“Maybe he forgot. It's impossible to stay in the pack right now without an assigned role. Even your mom was given a place in the pack’s kitchen.”

I almost choked on my bite of apple. I stared wide-eyed at Helena, trying desperately to suppress my laughter but failing miserably. “Mom? In the kitchen?”

“Yes.”

“Then Redridge better have enough funds set aside to rebuild a new kitchen every week.”

Helena rolled her eyes at my comment. “Do you have your reprint?”

I fished the rumpled sheet of paper out of my pocket, a casualty of all my angry clenching back at the hall—and handed it to her.

She took it, her eyes quickly scanning the text until she suddenly stopped. Her finger tapped a word right in the middle of the page. “There. Your role.”

I leaned in, hoping to see something that might salvage this ruined day. But what I saw printed on the sheet was even more depressing than today's earlier drama.

When she had mentioned roles, I had been clinging to a tiny shred of hope that I'd at least be assigned as a warrior in training, or something close to it. If I was going to be stuck here, I wanted to make myself useful.

But I definitely wasn't expecting this. There was no way I was taking it.

“A healer?”

Helena flashed a sympathetic smile and patted my shoulder reassuringly. “It's not as bad as you make it sound. I'm sure you'll grow to love it.”

I wasn’t even listening to her. “Is there a way to change roles?”

“Of course…” She dragged out the last word, sounding as if she instantly regretted saying it.

“Then I'm switching,” I declared.

“You can't do that. It's almost impossible.”

“Didn't you just say I could?”

“I didn't say you can. I only said there's a way to change roles in general. And that was before Alpha Crassus arrived. Things are different now.”

“But there has to be some other way,” I pressed, staring intently into her eyes. “Right, Helena?”

“There is no other way… well, unless…”

“Unless what?” I asked impatiently.

“Unless you get Alpha Damon to approve it.”