Semua Bab The Cursed Luna And Her Ruthless Alpha: Bab 221 - Bab 230

Elara's POVI stood there, my hands clenched at my sides, the ache in my chest deepening as every second ticked by in silence. The silence wasn’t just around me—it was in them too. Andrew. Michael. Lora. Even Greg, who normally couldn’t hold back a word if his life depended on it. They were frozen, their gazes darting between me and the council.And Rhea.Rhea, who stood with her arms folded and a smugness so thick it made my stomach turn. Mara, standing just behind her like a guard, like she belonged here. As if she hadn’t betrayed us all.“For the good of the pack,” Elder Tobias said slowly, as if the words physically pained him. His voice cracked with the weight of it. “We must consider what is best. Not for one. Not even for the Alpha. But for all.”“This isn’t what’s best,” Andrew growled beside me. I could feel the heat from his body, the way his fists trembled. “You know damn well she didn’t betray anyone.”Tobias didn’t meet his eyes.“Your judgement is compromised,” Rhea spok

Elara's POVPain throbbed at the back of my skull as I blinked through the haze, the cold stone beneath me biting into my skin. My wrists burned—tight metal cuffs secured them behind my back. I tried moving, but my limbs felt heavy, like they’d been weighed down with lead. Breathing was shallow, stale. The air tasted like mildew and rot.I wasn’t in the forest anymore.For a moment, I was confused by my environment as I was in the woods one moment, then the next…Dorian.This was Dorian’s stronghold. The last time I was here, he almost killed me. What does he want with me again.A dim light flickered above me, casting long, shifting shadows against the damp stone walls. Chains rattled softly in the silence. My heart thudded once, then again, faster."You're awake."The voice crawled over my skin like ice. No, no, no. I'm stuck with this psychopath again.I looked up.And it was none other person than Dorian.He stepped into the light, arms folded behind his back, a cruel smile dancin

Elara's POVThe door slammed shut behind Dorian with a deep finality that echoed down the stone corridor. The silence that followed wasn’t peaceful—it was thick and suffocating, pressing in on me like the walls themselves were waiting to swallow me whole.I let out a shaky breath and leaned back against the cold stone. My arms ached, my wrists raw from the chains. My throat was tight from holding back the scream clawing at my chest.I stared at the far wall, but I wasn’t really seeing it. Dorian’s words swam in my head, louder than the silence. He used them. Mara. Rhea. The trial. All of it.Fates, I’d been such a fool.I curled my fingers into fists and bit the inside of my cheek, forcing the rising panic down. I couldn’t fall apart. Not now. Not here.The Owlshard had reacted to me. It wanted something. Or maybe it remembered me from before.But what if it remembered too much?I shut my eyes and tried to still my mind, but something moved. Not in the room—not exactly. A faint sound

Elara’s POVMy breath caught like a hook had caught in my throat. Dorian’s voice echoed again, smooth but deadly. And it was closer this time.“Elara.”Just my name, but it sounded more like a command.I stepped back instinctively, eyes darting to the narrow tunnel my mother had opened behind the wall. My fingers curled around the edge of the stone, heart pounding so hard I thought it might shake loose from my chest.There was no time.“What do I do?” I asked, whisper-urgent, panic rising fast and hot. “What if I can't hold it? What if the Shard—what if it changes me?”Her eyes met mine. Steady and unshaken. She didn’t even blink.“Then you fight it,” she said. “You don’t let it speak for you. Don’t let it twist your wants into its needs. Because it will try.”My lips parted. “But what if I’m not strong enough?”She stepped closer, putting both hands on my face this time. Her thumbs brushed my temples, grounding me. I couldn’t breathe. The room felt too small.“You are,” she said. “Yo

Andrew’s POVI didn’t wait. My breath was like fire in my chest, my muscles tight with rage and desperation. The second I saw the blood on the trees, the crushed earth, and the direction it pointed to, something inside me snapped. It wasn’t fear. It was fury.“Elara…” I whispered, my voice cracking.Michael caught my arm. “Andrew. We need to move. Fast.”“I know.” I shoved my hand through my hair and turned on my heel. “We go back. We’re getting everyone. We’re not doing this half-assed.”Greg jogged up beside me. “What if we lose the trail?”“We won’t,” I said. “I’ll burn every tree in that forest down if I have to. But I’m getting her back.”We ran—me in front, heart pounding like a war drum, the others close behind. The wind lashed at my face, my boots hammering the earth. I didn’t care. My mind only saw her tied, bleeding, afraid. The memory of her laughter, the softness in her eyes when she looked at me, how she fit into my arms like she was made for me—I clung to that like oxy