Chapter 108: Chapter 108
Elara POV
My heart jumps between excitement and anxiety when we arrive at my childhood home. It is tucked away in the woods, and as picturesque as I remember.
“Are you okay?” Kane asks, squeezing my hand. After a lengthy discussion, Axel decided that he would return home with Gabriela, and Kane would come with me. I argued that the pack might gossip about why Kane suddenly took a week off, but I am grateful he is with me. It is so much easier with him by my side than alone. “You seem a little nervous.”
“I am,” I chuckle humourlessly. “I’m risking their safety by being here.”
“Would you rather go somewhere else?” He asks sympathetically. “A hotel or ...”
“No,” I shake my head. “Mother begged me to come. This has been a terrible ordeal for her as well.”
I saw Mother briefly in the café, but my heart nearly cracked in half when I realised it had been almost a year since I last saw my sister.
As soon as we park and get out of the car, Selena sprints up to me, throwing her arms around me, and covering me with her blanket of hair that is just a little brighter red than mine.
“Selena,” I whisper, breathing in her familiarly comforting scent, a scent that reminds me of skipping stones in a pond, gossiping instead of sleeping, and bonds that cannot be broken.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I say as I pull away from her. I take in her face, the crowded dusting of freckles across her nose that matches Mother’s. She is only seventeen, a year out from being of age, but she looks so much older than the last time I saw her. On closer look, she seems tired, her face a little sunken.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she replies, smiling, but it does not quite reach her eyes.
“Oh, uhm ... hello, Alpha,” she stutters when she sees Kane.
“Please call me Kane,” he smiles. “I’m here to help your sister, nothing else.”
“Okay, sure,” she giggles nervously, but her face brightens when she sees Stella.
“Goddess, is this Stella?” Selena squeals, running toward Kane, who was holding her.
“Meet your niece,” Kane smiles, and I look at the house, seeing Mother standing in the doorway, a wistful expression on her face.
“My girls, back together again,” she smiles, and I frown. Am I imagining it, or does she look more exhausted than usual?
“Mama,” I sigh happily, walking to her and wrapping her in a tight hug. “It’s good to be home.”
“Welcome, Alpha,” she says, looking at Kane as he and Selena join us. “Our house isn’t a luxurious mansion, but it’s comfy, and ...”
“It’s beautiful,” he reassures her. “Thank you for having me.”
Selena slips through the front door, holding Stella, and the sight of them together makes my heart swell.
“Be careful with her, Selena,” Mother warns. “She’s still tiny.”
“Fuck off,” she mutters, stomping into the living room and plopping down onto the couch with Stella.
“Selena,” I gasp at her response. It is so unlike her to be rude to Mother. She has always been the quiet, prissy type. I used to make fun of her about it. “What the hell has gotten into her?”
“Honestly,” Mother sighs, leaning in closer. “I’m worried for her safety. I think she’s seeing someone, and I think they might be hurting her.”
A hot surge of anger courses through me, and I pull Mother into the kitchen, away from Kane and Selena.
“What the hell, Mom?” I snap. “If you think Selena is getting hurt, why don’t you stop it? Why don’t Dad stop it? Where are they?”
Selena is barely seventeen, she needs people to look out for her. What the fuck are my parents doing letting her run around by herself?
“Your dad has been called away to help build a council facility at the far edge of our territory,” Mother replies with a twinge of bitterness in her tone.
“What kind of facility?” I ask. Dad has worked as a pack engineer for as long as I can remember, but he always made time for us. He would come home for dinner and even cook for Mother sometimes. It is unlike him to leave her and Selena alone.
“He can’t say,” Mother replies, her eyes going glassy and unfocused. “I keep waiting up at night, hoping he’ll surprise me with a visit home, but it’s been over a month now.”
So, that is why she looks so exhausted. My heart aches for her and Selena. Besides worrying about Dad, she was forced to pretend I did not even exist. I cannot imagine doing that with Stella.
“Oh, Mom,” I pull Mother in close, and her body shakes with sobs. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m okay now,” she sniffs. “When Gabriela told me you were coming back, that you were Elara again ... I can’t tell you how happy I was.”
My anger subsides as Mother clings to me, sobbing in my arms. I do not live here anymore, who am I to judge her if I have no idea what is happening here?
“I tried talking to Selena,” she sniffs. “I even tried tracking her, but she knows how to throw me off too well. I don’t know how to help her anymore.”
“It will be okay, Mom,” I whisper, gently rubbing her back. “Together, we’ll find a way to fix it.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, ladies, I know this is personal,” Kane says, peeking into the kitchen, “but is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh, no,” Mother says, pulling away, shaking her head and wiping away her tears, giving Kane a watery smile. “I’m just a little overwhelmed having Elara home again.”
Just then, Stella’s cries carry in from the living room, and without missing a beat, Kane runs in to grab her, and she quiets instantly.
“I’m going to put her down for a nap,” he calls.
“Upstairs bedroom,” I call back, and we listen to the sound of his footsteps retreating up the stairs.
“He really has a way with Stella, doesn’t he?” Mother mutters.
“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” I smile. “It’s like he’s her dad or something.”
“Or something,” she sniffs. “I know your situation is complicated, but I’m so happy you’re home, and that Stella can grow up knowing her dad.”
“Yeah,” I smile, avoiding eye contact. As elated as I am to be reunited with my mates, there is still a sword over my head ... and Stella’s. Time has passed, and nothing has changed. Axel and Kane are still the alphas, and the Council is still out for blood.
