Chapter 5  

*Saved*  

*Elara's POV*

Morning arrived with a jolt. My head pounded, breaths ragged as I surfaced from unconsciousness. My aching body felt as though I had been dragged from a deep sea.

I scanned the unfamiliar room, meeting the gaze of a striking blonde-haired stranger leaning against the door, cigarette and a bottle of alcohol in hand. He had many beautiful traits: blonde hair, grey eyes, a protruding nose, thin fine lips, a strong jawline, and a huge build of about 6.3 feet. He was more handsome than any man I'd seen. I looked away from him when it felt like I was gawking too much.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" I asked, disoriented and puzzled by the environment.

"You're awake? I'll get you something to eat," he replied, tossing the cigarette away and walking to the bedside.

He reached out for the wet rag, which I hadn't noticed on my head, took it, dropped it in water, and then left the room for a short while. When he came back, he carried a tray of food with him, which he placed by the headrest.

"If you're feeling better, then you should eat so you regain your strength," he said. He moved close to me, and I instinctively moved back, a bit scared as I had no idea who he was, and he didn't seem inclined to answer my questions.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" I pressed, a hint of fear creeping in.

Without notice, he lifted my right foot to look at it, closely staring for a while before speaking again.

"Hmm... Sounds like I didn't notice this one before," he tsked. The blonde-haired stranger went ahead to bring a first aid box, placing my foot in front of him, slipped off the cover from the ointment bottle, and applied some of the cream to my injury. I felt the coldness from the ointment on my skin.

The blonde-haired man continued what he was doing, his fingers grazing my feet softly. I should ask again, I thought.

"I asked who you were and why I'm here?" I requested again, this time with more pressure in my voice.

"You jumped in front of my car; sounds like you wanted to get killed."

"Why did you do that? You could have died, you know?" I barely concentrated anymore as thoughts flooded my mind. He promised he would kill me if he found me near the pack house. Why did this stranger have to bring me back here?

"Eat fast and leave," he said, then left the room. A few moments later, a middle-aged nurse came to tend to me.

"Do you not like the food?" She asked, noticing I hadn't touched it. I had more significant problems than worrying about food. I had successfully crossed the Scorpio pack boundary without anyone questioning me, and now I'd have to face that again without knowing the consequences.

"I should leave quickly; what if he sends the warriors after me? They'll kill me if they find me," I mumbled, getting up from the bed. As I stepped on my feet, I felt pain; my feet were sore from wandering around the pack borders for the last two days, and with snow extinct, I couldn't heal properly.

I limped with immense pain in my feet, and then the nurse rushed to me. "You're not supposed to walk; your feet are hurt," seeing she was unable to convince me, she spoke hastily, "Just wait here; I'll call the Alpha and get you something to ease the pain," she said and ran out of the room, locking the door from the outside.

My head ran wild as I heard the word, "Alpha." What do I do? He's going to kill me if he finds me here. He clearly stated that I shouldn't be anywhere around the pack, but I hadn't found another place to go as I had been limited between the borders of the pack all my life.

I shouldn't let Harden see me here. I dragged my tired self to the door, twisted the knob, but the door was locked from the outside. Impossible thoughts ran inside my head as I thought of escape plans; should I jump out the window? No, I cannot do that. I'm a wolfless girl, and jumping out of there would only guarantee my death. I should at least see the height of it. I went to the window, and looking down, I noticed this place was at least a three-storied mansion. I stepped one foot outside, shut my eyes for a moment, and mentally prepared myself for the actions I'm about to take.

"Come on Elara, you can do this, Snow is still in there, somewhere, and she wouldn't let us get hurt," I convinced myself. My determination to save myself from Harden was more than my fear of breaking a few bones.

"Ms., what are you doing??!!!" The shocked voice of the nurse from earlier, her hand over her mouth, and I paused with one foot still over the window.

She ran to my side, holding my hand, "Do you want to hurt yourself? Do you realize how deep this place is? I doubt you'd heal from that; you're just a mere human."

"Please let me leave; I don't want him to find me here; he'll kill me," I begged. But she didn't seem to understand what I was saying.

"Who's going to kill you? The Alpha helped you; he doesn't want to kill you!" She said, but I couldn't believe her just yet as Harden's words still lingered in my head. He'd kill me. My mind was convinced, so I had to leave. I peeled her fingers from my wrist. "Let me go."

"Oh my Goodness, what should I do with you?" She held me again, this time pulling my arm and hurting me. Then I struggled with her; being an older werewolf with more strength, she pulled me with more force, and I fell back in the room, my ribs hitting the dresser by the side of the bed.

"Foolish girl! Do you want to die? Gracious Goddess, Alpha Arthur should come home and see this quickly; I cannot handle you alone with you acting all crazy."

So this wasn't my previous pack? I asked myself. My eyes suddenly caught something on the dresser, a card. Amidst the throbbing pain in my ribs, I managed to pick up the card and stared at it: A business card belonging to attorney Arthur Graham; he was an attorney too?

And then I recalled having heard of the name from the previous Alpha while cleaning; he wanted to get this lawyer on their side by all means.

"Alpha Arthur?" I mumbled, and she responded. "Yes. The Alpha of the pack is Arthur Graham, the leader of this pack."

"I'm so sorry dear; are you in pain?" She asked as she ran to me. I could barely notice the pain as my interest in knowing more about this man grew.

"Can I speak with him?" I asked, and then she replied to me.

"Arthur is away, dear; you can talk to him once he comes back tonight," the nurse said. Will I remain here until that time? I asked myself.

She started to fold the blanket, "I'll only leave you once I'm sure you're not going to try to kill yourself again. The Alpha wouldn't spare me if anything happened to you."

(Warning: +18 Content.)

Harden's POV:

Staring at the woman in front of me, she didn't have the same vibe as the Elara I knew. The Elara I knew all these years would always give in to what I wanted, even if it was almost impossible for her to do. I watched her leave, she didn't look back, not once. *I felt a guilty-mixed feeling stare in my guts, realizing that I had been cruel to her. Not once did I give her the chance to stand up for herself and now I sent her away knowing she's my true mate.*

After she left, my beta appeared; he must have heard everything.

"Alpha, I got a call. The Luna is coming soon," he informed.

"She left already," I said, pouring another glass for myself and one for Jack too.

"Jack, I made the greatest mistake of my life," I sighed deeply, feeling nothing but regret, the regrets I've successfully hidden until now.

"What happened?"

"My wolf is hurt." I responded, holding my chest, I felt a prickling sensation in my heart and I knew it had to do with Anton's disapproval.

"I made a wrong choice by choosing Caitlin instead of Elara, knowing she was my true mate. What should I do?"

"The previous Alpha has made it clear; you have to spend your lifetime with Caitlin if you want the pack to enjoy more favor from the Dawn pack." He reminded.

Why does my life have to be so difficult? I chose Caitlin even though I do not love her, and Elara is not ready to understand anything. How do I explain to her that this is what mother and father want?"

"You shouldn't have let her leave then, try convincing her again, perhaps she will change her mind and give in to what you want." Jack said, patting my shoulder.

"But she left, finally. She doesn't want anything to do with me. She willingly turned rogue, knowing she'd never be able to return after leaving." I smashed the glass on the wall. The sound from the glass was so loud that one of the maids rushed to the room.  Seeing the mess on the floor, she left and came back to clean it.