Elara’s POV
The night had fallen, casting the forest in an eerie silence. The moonlight seeped through the gaps in the leaves, painting the forest floor in hues of silver. I sat by the fire Alpha Anthony had built, feeling its warmth but unable to shake the cold, gripping my insides. The flames crackled, a rhythmic sound that seemed to pulse in time with my restless heartbeat. Despite the fire's warmth, my thoughts kept pulling me back to the chill inside, the one I couldn’t seem to get rid of no matter how many fires were lit around me.
His promise echoed in my mind: "You’re safe now, Elara. I won’t let anyone hurt you."
Safe. It sounded like such a simple word, but it was anything but simple. Safety had eluded me for so long that the idea of it felt foreign, almost impossible to gras
