Elara's POV
I hated myself.
Hated that I was here again, in Henry’s chambers, like some caged animal. Hated that I had let myself be captured not once, but twice. I should’ve been smarter. Stronger. I had vowed never to let him put chains on me again, yet here I was, behind thick walls, guarded doors, and under the shadow of the Alpha who was supposed to have been my mate.
The room smelled of cedar and smoke, his scent woven into the stones themselves. Every time I inhaled, it was like swallowing fire. My wolf stirred restlessly, reminding me of the mark burned into my skin, the one I had been denying, rejecting with every shred of will I had left.
But rejection was not freedom. I was still here.
I paced the chamber, my eyes scanning for a weakness. The window was too narrow. The doo
