Chapter 30 - Without Her
983 Words
*Raiden – pov*
Three days.
Three f*****g days.
The hospital room smelled too clean.
Too sterile.
Wrong.
Nothing about Elara belonged in a place like this.
She should’ve been at Rosewood arguing with Jake over training drills or reorganizing the library for the tenth time.
Not lying motionless beneath white blankets while machines monitored her heartbeat.
I paced again.
Restless energy clawed beneath my skin hard enough that my wolf wanted to rip through the walls.
Mate sleeping too long.
“I’m aware,” I muttered.
The doctor passing outside the room gave me a concerned look.
I ignored him.
Every few minutes I found myself looking toward the bed again expecting movement.
Anything.
A twitch.
A sound.
Her eyes opening.
Nothing.
Elara looked peaceful which was somehow worse.
Pale hair spilled across the pillow while moonlight from the hospital window softened her features into something almost unreal.
Alive.
But unreachable.
I stopped beside her bed again and brushed my thumb carefully across the back of her hand.
Cold fear twisted beneath my ribs immediately.
Still too cold.
My wolf paced violently beneath my skin.
Wake mate.
“I’m trying.”
The problem was, no one fully understood what had happened.
The healers called it magical exhaustion.
The witches from the northern territories called it “soul displacement.”
The elders called it dangerous.
Helpful.
Very helpful.
A quiet knock interrupted my spiraling thoughts.
Rafe entered first.
Jake followed behind him carrying coffee and looking like he hadn’t slept properly in days.
“You look homicidal,” Jake observed.
“I am homicidal.”
“Good,” he said approvingly. “Means you’re coping.”
Rafe ignored both of us and moved toward Elara’s bed carefully.
“She still hasn’t woken?”
“No.”
Silence settled heavily for a moment.
Even Jake lost his usual humor when looking at her because everyone in the pack had seen what happened that night.
No one would ever forget it.
The white wolf.
The storm.
The magic.
Half the territory now whispered that the Moon Goddess herself had intervened.
The other half feared Elara entirely.
Idiots.
“She saved my life,” I said flatly. “Anyone questioning her place in this pack can challenge me directly.”
Jake snorted softly.
“Most of them saw you heal from wolfsbane poisoning in real time. They’re too terrified to challenge anything right now.”
Fair.
Rafe handed me a folder.
“Updates.”
I took it automatically while continuing to watch Elara.
“Trackers found anything?”
“Nothing yet.”
My jaw tightened immediately.
Lucien had vanished after the challenge.
No trail.
No scent.
Nothing.
Which meant one thing.
He had help.
Rafe leaned against the wall crossing his arms.
“The elders are getting nervous.”
“They should be.”
His eyes flicked toward Elara briefly.
“They’re also divided.”
Of course they were.
Some believed I’d won the challenge because Lucien fled. Others argued Elara’s intervention invalidated everything.
Cowards looking for technicalities while the former Alpha disappeared into the wilderness.
Jake rolled his eyes dramatically.
“The elders can choke.”
“Jake,” Rafe sighed.
“What? They sat there debating ‘tradition’ while Raiden nearly died, Elara is out cold…for what?”
My wolf growled low agreement.
Jake looked toward me again.
“You did good stepping in immediately though.”
I hadn’t really had a choice.
The pack had been spiraling after Lucien disappeared.
Confused.
Leaderless.
Fearful.
So I stepped in.
Assumed temporary Alpha command before anyone else could seize control.
The elders resisted at first.
Until half the warriors sided with me instantly.
Including Rafe.
Jake.
Most of the patrol leaders.
And apparently several families Lucien had alienated over the years.
Turns out ruling through fear had consequences.
Interesting.
“How’s Rosewood?” I asked quietly.
Jake’s expression softened slightly.
“Elara’s parents are handling things.”
That eased something in my chest.
Her parents had practically adopted the entire construction crew by now.
Rafe flipped open another folder.
“Perimeter upgrades are finished. Additional patrol rotations start tonight.”
Good.
Because if Lucien came anywhere near Rosewood, I would be ready to kill him.
No challenge circle.
No rules.
No mercy.
My gaze drifted back toward Elara again.
Three days.
Three endless days without hearing her laugh or feeling her argue with me or catching her staring at me when she thought I wouldn’t notice.
The bond ached constantly now.
Like missing half my soul.
I sat carefully beside her bed and took her hand again.
“She’s fighting something,” I said quietly.
Rafe and Jake exchanged a glance.
“You can feel it?” Rafe asked.
I nodded slowly.
“The bond isn’t broken.”
If anything, it had grown stronger. Deeper.
I could feel flashes of emotion occasionally.
Fear.
Grief.
Confusion.
And something ancient moving beneath all of it.
Jake shoved a coffee into my hand.
“You need sleep.”
“No.”
“You haven’t left this room properly in three days.”
“I said no.”
Jake looked ready to argue again before Rafe cut him off.
“We’ll handle patrol updates tonight.”
I nodded absently.
They moved toward the door quietly.
Then Jake paused.
“She’ll wake up.”
The certainty in his voice caught my attention.
Jake shrugged slightly.
“She’s too stubborn not to.”
A small smile almost appeared.
After they left, silence returned again.
Machines hummed and beeped softly beside the bed.
Rain tapped gently against the windows outside.
I looked down at Elara’s hand still curled weakly inside mine.
Then lowered my forehead carefully against it.
“You scared me,” I admitted quietly.
No response.
But the bond pulsed softly.
Warm.
Alive.
I closed my eyes briefly.
“Come back to me, Elara.”
Because without her, everything suddenly felt cold.
- Writer
