All Chapters of Chained To An Enemy Alpha: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Zane A lot can change in a few days. Not dramatically, not all at once, but in small things that build on each other. Elariana no longer trembles when she enters a room. She does not automatically look for the exit. She does not flinch at every sound. The past has not disappeared from her, but it no longer controls everything. She spends most of her time with the children. At first, that surprised me. I thought she would be afraid of them, of the noise, the sudden movements. Instead, she sat down with them in the grass, let them swarm around her, ask questions, pull at her hair, talk about everything and nothing. She was not awkward. She was not tense. As if something in her worked completely naturally when she was with them. She laughed. She smiled. Genuinely. That was what truly struck me. I worked in the meantime. More than I would have liked. Black Rock did not disappear just because they suffered one defeat. There was movement near

Zane It does not let me rest. As I watch her from the other side of the training hall, as she works with the children, helps them hold the wooden swords, corrects Renn’s foot position, laughs at Lysa’s exaggerated explanations, I can see the difference clearly. She is not running away. She is not closing herself off. But she is not as free as she was when I arrived. And that is my fault. I am not used to delaying things. Leading a pack does not allow it. If there is trouble, we say it. If danger is coming, we prepare. And yet here I am, standing still, thinking about how to speak without causing more damage than I already have. In the end, I let out a breath and walk over to them. “Lysa,” I say, “can you take the others to the bags? Show them that new exercise you came up with yesterday.” The girl’s eyes light up. “The spinning one?” “The spinning one,” I nod. “Come on!” she shouts, already pulling Toren and Mika with her, Renn hurrying after them. E

Zane I arrive at the training hall later than I wanted to. The morning did not let me go easily. Reports from the border, arguments, decisions that could not be pushed onto anyone else. By the time I finally close the door of my office behind me, my head is still full of tracks, possible routes, and the question I cannot shake: if they come, are they looking for her. That is why I want to train with a clear mind today. Slow pace. Control. Nothing unnecessary. I step through the door of the training hall. And I stop. Not metaphorically. I actually stop, one foot still halfway forward, as if my body reacts before my mind does. Because Elariana is standing there in the middle of the hall, waiting. She is not sitting. Not talking to anyone. Not playing with the children. She is simply there, as if this place belongs to her too now. That alone is new, but it is not what throws me off. It is how she looks. The training clothes are dark, simple cut, nothing flash

Elariana After the alarm, everything happens too fast. The great hall that a minute ago was full of plates, conversation, and Lysa’s endless stories suddenly turns into disciplined movement. People stand up, benches scrape, weapons appear. Everyone knows where to go, and for a moment I just stand there, because my body remembers what danger used to mean. You are the target. Zane looks at me, and there is no question in his eyes. There is an order. “Come. Now,” he says. I move. Not because he commanded me, but because I know that if I stay alone right now, my mind will fall apart. The bond pulls, not painfully, just firmly. Toward him. We leave the hall. Warriors are already running through the corridors. Shouts come from the direction of the gate. Julie pulls Lysa toward a side passage, but the girl turns back and shouts, “Elara! Come!” Zane’s face hardens. “Go with them,” he tells me. I stop. “No,” slips out of me. He stops too and turns so th

Elariana My hands slip in the blood. No matter how hard I try, no matter how tightly I press the wound, my fingers refuse to obey, as if my body has suddenly forgotten what it is supposed to do. The red soaks into my clothes, my forearms, the stones beneath us, and with every breath I panic more. “No… no…” I keep repeating as I lean over Lysa. “Look at me, please… I’m here… I’m here…” My voice breaks, and no matter how hard I try to stay strong, the sobbing forces its way out. The girl’s skin is cold. Too cold. Julie’s hands shake as she tries to help, and I see the same terror in her eyes that I feel inside myself. “Keep pressure on it!” someone shouts from behind us—maybe a healer, maybe a warrior, I don’t even know. “We’re almost there!” But it’s not fast enough for me. My chest tightens as if something is tearing me apart from the inside. The bond with Zane pulls wildly, I feel his fury, his power—but he isn’t here. I am. And that feels… like it’s not enough. “Please…”