Chapter 34 - Home no longer feels safe
1069 Words
*Elara – pov*
Everything hurt. Not physically.
Physically I felt… strange. Stronger somehow. Like my body no longer quite fit inside itself properly.
But emotionally? Emotionally I felt scraped raw.
Raiden refused to let go of my hand the entire drive back to Rosewood.
Not that I minded.
The further we drove from the hospital, the more I found myself leaning into him unconsciously. Like my body needed reassurance he was truly there beside me.
Alive.
Every now and then his thumb brushed slowly across my knuckles.
Adira purred contentedly beneath the surface.
I missed mate.
I ignored her.
Mostly because she wasn’t helping my already unstable emotional state.
The moment Rosewood’s gates appeared through the trees, relief hit me so hard I nearly cried.
Home.
Which was insane considering I’d only lived here for a short time.
But somehow, this place had rooted itself beneath my skin.
The massive estate came into view between the forest trees, golden lights glowing warmly through the windows against the dark autumn evening.
Safe.
Or at least—
It used to feel safe.
Now trigger beams lined parts of the property while armed patrol men moved quietly through the woods surrounding the estate.
Reality had changed too much.
Raiden parked in the garage but before I could open my door, he was already there opening it for me.
Hovering overbearingly close.
Protective.
Adira loved it.
I stepped out slowly and immediately inhaled the crisp forest air deeply.
God.
Everything smelled stronger now.
Rain.
Forest.
The lake somewhere in the distance.
And Raiden.
Warm cedar and dark spice wrapped around me instantly.
Dangerous distraction.
His hand settled against the small of my back automatically while he guided me toward the kitchen entrance.
“You okay?”
“As okay as can be after waking from a magical coma,” I answered sarcastically.
His mouth twitched faintly.
“Fair.”
Inside, warmth hit immediately.
The kitchen looked even more beautiful than before.
Finished now.
The marble counters gleamed beneath soft pendant lighting while copper pots hung above the island Mom insisted made the room “feel alive.”
My mother froze beside the stove the second she saw me.
Then burst into tears.
“Oh thank the goddess.”
She crossed the kitchen so quickly I barely had time to brace before she crushed me into a fierce hug.
Dad followed immediately after looking equally emotional despite trying to hide it.
“You scared ten years off our lives,” he muttered roughly while pulling me into another hug.
Something inside my chest cracked painfully.
These people weren’t my biological parents. But they were mine. Mine in every way that mattered.
Lucien’s words from the meadow replayed sharply inside my mind.
If something happened to them…ice slid down my spine.
Raiden immediately noticed.
His hand rested on the small of my back. I missed the electricity that seemed to dance on my skin wherever he touched me.
“What is it?”
I forced a smile too quickly.
“Nothing.”
Liar.
Adira stirred uneasily.
Dinner became overwhelming fast.
Too much emotion.
Too many questions.
Too many people watching me carefully like I might disappear again.
Jake nearly tackled me with a hug.
Rafe looked relieved enough to sleep for a week.
Mom cried twice more.
Dad opened expensive whiskey.
And through all of it, Raiden hovered close.
Always touching me somehow.
A hand against my lower back.
Fingers brushing mine.
His knee pressed lightly against mine beneath the table.
Like he needed constant reassurance too.
Eventually everyone drifted toward quieter conversations while I stood near the kitchen windows staring out toward the dark forest.
Raiden appeared silently from behind, wrapping me in his arms.
“You’re thinking too loudly.”
I glanced sideways at him.
“That’s a thing now?”
His smile was soft.
“With us? Yes.”
The warmth in his voice nearly undid me again.
I looked back toward the woods.
“I saw my mother.”
Silence.
Then quietly, “What did she say?”
“That she was sorry.”
Emotion tightened unexpectedly in my throat again.
Raiden’s expression softened immediately.
“She loved you.”
“I know.”
That somehow made the grief worse. His fingers slid carefully through mine.
“She’d be proud of you.”
I laughed weakly.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
The certainty in his voice hit something deep inside me.
Because Raiden looked at me like I was extraordinary even when I felt broken apart at the seams.
Adira sighed dreamily.
Mate is perfect.
I mentally shoved her aside.
The forest outside shifted suddenly.
Movement.
I stiffened instantly.
Raiden noticed immediately.
“What?”
“There.”
I could feel Raiden’s body tense up from behind. Both of us stared into the darkness beyond the windows.
I saw nothing further, only trees swaying softly in the wind.
But Adira’s instincts flared violently.
Watching.
Raiden’s posture changed.
His eyes darkened while he stepped slightly in front of me automatically.
“Rafe,” he called calmly.
The room immediately quieted.
Rafe was beside us within seconds.
“What’s up?”
“I’m not sure.”
But something felt wrong.
The air itself suddenly seemed too still.
Too quiet.
Then—
One of the trigger alarms screamed outside.
Every wolf in the room moved instantly.
Raiden shoved me behind him.
Jake was already sprinting for the back entrance.
Rafe barked orders sharply.
And somewhere deep in the forest, a wolf howled suddenly.
Jake and Rafe disappeared through the back door so quickly they were little more than blurs.
The cold night air rushed into the kitchen before the door slammed shut behind them.
A tense silence settled over the room.
Outside, darkness swallowed the estate.
Only the security lights and the occasional sweep of flashlight beams broke through the trees.
Minutes dragged by.
Long enough for my pulse to climb steadily higher.
Long enough for every creak of branches outside to sound threatening.
"Rafe linked. They’ve checked the eastern perimeter." Raiden spoke as Rafe updated them.
A pause.
"Trigger beam is intact. No scent trail. No tracks. Jake says the western side is clear too. Whatever set off the alarm isn't there anymore."
Or it never was and my paranoia was starting to get the best of me.
The words went unspoken.
Yet somehow that possibility felt worse.
- Writer
