The Rejected Healer's Retribution 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 11 - 챕터 20

The shock from the mind-link invasion shattered Kael's defenses, giving me an opening. I slipped back into the quarantine room before dawn, not as the proud Elyra, but as a determined, sorrowful Healer. My thirst for revenge had vanished, replaced by the urgent need to save his life and that of his Pack.Kael sat awake on the cot. He still looked weak and confused from the mental assault, but his anger had faded. He regarded me with a deep, unsettling stillness."Your diagnosis?" he asked, his voice low and stripped of Alpha authority."The sickness is connected to your spirit, Alpha," I said, lying with conviction. "It required a deep psychic cleanse. It is done. The Wolfsbane residue affecting your shifting energy is now contained and fading."I stepped closer, removing my gloves for the last time. "This needs contact. Do not fight it or block your shields. I must connect to your core to complete the healing."He didn't resist. He watched me, his stormy blue eyes searching my face f

Kael ran in his true form, a massive, powerful wolf that covered ground quickly. The change was a relief; his human body was too slow for the urgency in his soul. Yet, even with the instincts of a wolf, the weight of Elara's silence pressed on him. The mate bond was strong; he felt her spirit anchored to him, but she would not acknowledge him. It was a deliberate, painful separation that reinforced her sacrifice.She is trying to protect me by dying alone, his wolf thought, pushing his legs harder across the snow-dusted ridges.The trail was a chaotic mix of scents. Elara's scent-cedar and control-was faint and subdued by the suppressive magic. Alongside it was the heavy, nauseating stench of the Shadow Wolf, a blend of ozone, dark magic, and the metallic tang of old, cursed silver. Kael had smelled this before in a territory ruined by dark magic years ago. This enemy was ancient and ruthless.The Shadow Wolf was barely ahead of Elara, confirming Kael's worst fear: the enemy was fast,

The psychic wave hit Kael like a sheet of ice. It wasn't the pain of a broken bond; it was the cold, calculated disdain of someone cutting all ties. You should have stayed with your Pack, Alpha. You are compromising my mission. Kael slammed his paws into the snow, digging deep gouges into the mountainside. The sharp pain from the psychic rebuke was overwhelming. It confirmed that Elara had sensed his presence and chosen to push him away. The message was a deliberate wound, meant to stop his pursuit. But Kael was no longer the proud, foolish Alpha who believed his own lies. He was a desperate mate who understood her sacrifice. He viewed the coldness of her message through the lens of the prophecy. She wants me to think I'm compromising her; therefore, the danger is real and approaching fast. Her emotional distance was a calculated shield, a final, painful act of protection. He swallowed the bitter taste of her rejection and focused on what truly mattered: closing the gap. He turne

Kael reached Silver Creek Junction just as the evening shadows became long and cold. He shifted back to his human form outside the chaotic settlement to better understand the complex contamination Elara had left behind.The Junction overwhelmed the senses. The air smelled strongly of cheap human alcohol, coal dust, and synthetic perfume. Yet, piercing through it all was the strong scent of dark magic, mixed with Elara's faint cedar aroma, concentrated around the unconscious rogue shifter near the mine shaft.Kael found the rogue still twitching, a crude Serpent Fetish hanging from his belt. He knelt down, ignoring the nervous crowd of miners and shifters whispering about the terrifying "Shadow Witch." He focused solely on the scent.Elara's lingering magic was powerful, a sharp blast of cold violet energy. It pointed decidedly and aggressively East, towards the densely populated lowlands where tracking would be difficult. It was the perfect diversion.But Kael knew Elara. His understa

The air in the Sunken Crag felt heavy with adrenaline and the unspoken history between them. Kael stood before Elara, his hands clenched and his heart pounding in tune with their mate bond. The fear of almost losing her had pushed aside all caution."Elara," Kael said, his voice thick with guilt from the years. He didn't make excuses. "I know why you left. I saw the prophecy in my mind-the chaos, the Shadow Wolf. I did what I thought was necessary to protect the Pack, and I cursed you for it. I am sorry."Elara finally took a shaky breath; the violet light around her faded. She felt exhausted, but hearing the truth in his voice allowed her to drop the mask of 'Elyra.'"It's why I came back," she whispered, her voice raw. "Not for revenge, Kael. But to heal the wound you created and prevent a bigger one from consuming you. I needed you strong to fight the doom my power draws."She glanced at the ridge where the enemy's howl had come from. "The ambush was the confirmation. The Shadow Wo