Chapter

*Waiting*

Elara's POV:

My heart was wounded even though I tried to be strong while snow felt utterly defeated, we had lost the one we were meant to be with. As werewolves, our mates  were supposed to know us deeply, understand, and care for us always without wanting anything in return. It's tough feeling knowing that we won't ever experience that kind of love from a destined partner since he chose another over us. I ended up being a wolf without a mate.

But I shouldn't be sad about it. It's his loss for choosing Caitlin instead of his real partner just to impress the Dawn Pack.

We ran until we could hardly breathe. Finally, we stopped at our pond, a place that brings us peace, and we howled sadly into the night. Snow felt really beaten down and hurt, so she retreated into my mind to heal, while I finally let myself cry a lot.

That was the last I heard of her. I had hoped the effects would have lessoned by now since we broke our bond, but I wasn’t that lucky. But again, I shook off the feeling and prepared to push through this like everything was normal.

"Well, if you don't want to talk, it's fine but don't take too much time to heal." I sighed, uncovering myself from the bed to find fur patches on my neck, remnants of my wolf. It puzzled me; transformation furs usually vanished quickly. My body felt amiss. I ran to the mirror to take a look at it—it was fur.

"Snow," I called inwardly, urgency rising, but she remained silent. "I have to work today, and I can't have fur on my body."

Preparing to leave, I felt wetness under my nose and rubbed my hand on it, blood dripping from my nose—a troubling sign of something worse to come.

*****

Work today superseded the other days as we had to clean the bouquet hall where the wedding took place and all the guest rooms in the mansion. After doing some of my share of work, I decided to take a short break, holding my phone in my hand when I received a call from Jason, my close friend, and neighbor.

"Hello-"

"Elara, something happened," Jason said, sounding troubled over the phone. "What is it, Jason? I'm so busy and don't have time for gossip."

"This is serious. Your father has been taken away by warriors of the pack." The moment he said that my phone slipped from my ear. My father, taken away? I didn't understand what he meant.

"Hello, hello..." I heard his voice.

"Elara?" I picked up the phone and answered it, "Tell me you're joking?!"

"I'm not. The Alpha came here with some men a while ago, and your father was taken in chains. I have no idea what he did, but I think it has something to do with snitching on the pack."

"That can't be true."

"It is." He responded, "And I hate to admit that I warned you! I told you that being the Alpha doesn't guarantee that he is a good person." While Jason spoke over the phone, I turned speechless.

Jason was my childhood friend, and he'd always kick against my relationship with Harden. He never trusted him, and I should have followed his words back then.

I couldn't believe that he would do this to my father and needed to confirm. Although he betrayed my heart, the Harden I knew would never hurt my family. He'd never think of hurting me.

I put my phone in my pocket and ran outside, going to find my father. Since Jason said he was taken by the warriors, he should be at the confinement center already. I made my way there without thinking twice.

At the gate, I was denied entry by the guards, "Let me in, my father is in there!" I yelled, but the men in charge acted deaf. Another person from inside came over and asked who I was. Who was I? I asked myself too.

"My father has been sent here, I want to meet him."

"Who are you?" He asked again. "Only wolves of high status can be allowed in, or criminals."

I was a nobody. Just the daughter of an Omega who meant almost nothing to the pack. My family was like scavengers in the eyes of everyone. We fed on what was left after least. My mother and I worked at the Alpha's mansion to ensure that the Alpha's kindness was still sufficient for the family, and my father barely left the house. What must he have done to be sent to prison?

"Please, let me see my father," I begged, moving forward because he seemed like a good man, but he came in front of the other two, stopping me with his hand.

"You can only be allowed here if you got permission from the Alpha. Leave now." He growled.

Seeing I was unsuccessful, I decided to leave. I thought of my next plan as I walked back.

Harden. I said to myself. The relationship between the both of us wasn't so good, but he might help me if I talked to him.

I made my way back to the mansion to ask one of the maids about his whereabouts.

I heard them gossiping this morning about the mansion the Alpha gifted Harden and Caitlin for their wedding. I also heard that they moved there, and I just needed the address. Once I returned, I asked one of the others about the mansion, and after getting the information I needed, I didn't waste more time going to find him at the mansion close to the border on foot.

"Get out!" The guard said sternly as soon as I told him I wanted to see Harden.

At first, I believed he was in there; perhaps he did not want to see me, but I wouldn't leave here till I meet with him, even if it would take the whole day.

I jumped up, trying to see through the gates to check if he was around, and yelled his name, "Harden!"

"Girl, do you want to die? I asked you to get the fuck out!" The guard barked, and then another stopped him from yelling further. "Mike, if she doesn't want to leave, it's fine. We already told her that the Alpha is away; she can spend all her time waiting for him.

I continued to wait by the side of the gate, constantly checking my time to see if it should be around the usual time he'd return, but that time went by, and he still wasn't here. The weather had begun to dull out, and the thunder roared occasionally, showing signs that it would rain heavily, but I couldn't leave. My mind only made instances of what if he returns after I must have gone? And it pushed me to spend more time waiting for him.

Soon fatigue tugged at my limbs, threatening to pull me into the embrace of unconsciousness. The rain had begun to fall, hammering hard, blurring my vision, making the world a blurry watercolor painting. My strength waned, the ground beneath me felt unsteady, and I fought against the overwhelming urge to surrender to weariness.

I found a small shade by the side of the fence and lowered my back to the ground, rubbing my hands against my palms. The cold had crawled under my skin, giving me goosebumps; my body could no longer stand the cold, and it felt like I was going to pass out.

Just when the edges of my consciousness blurred, a figure emerged through the downpour. Harden finally acknowledged my presence. My heart swelled with a mix of relief and frustration. I looked from his boots up to his face; he was a dark shadow that had come to get me. An umbrella over his head with an expressionless face.

"Why now?" I wanted to scream, but my parched throat only managed a hoarse whisper. Harden approached, his face obscured by the rain, a silhouette of authority and power. His voice, stern yet laced with concern, cut through the storm. "Why did you come here?" My body felt uneasy and needed to rest.

"Thank you for coming..." I muttered.

I woke up feeling groggy, surrounded by a strange living room. It was fancy, with art and furniture I didn't recognize. Panic hit me—I couldn't figure out why I am here or where I am "How did I end up here?" I asked inwardly and then realized that I had fallen unconscious in the rain. What happened after that?

 Managing to drag my tired body out of the couch, I massagedmy head with my hands. It felt like I had been hit hard in the head, and then I started to recall what had happened in the last few hours—my Father! It all came back like an overwhelming emotional surge. I needed to find Harden.

My eyes searched around, hoping to find something familiar, and that's when I saw him, standing in front of the huge open glass window, and it made my heart skipped a beat. I stood up, staring at him, unable to look away. Not seeing him for a few days felt like years of being away. He held his shoulder high and proud, just like the Alpha his parents wanted him to be.

"H-Harden?" I mumbled with a parched throat.

He turned to me with his eyes meeting mine.