Hated By The Alpha Bound To Me (Completed)

Chapter 51 - Rose

Elara pushed the remaining snacks aside and turned to face Kaia.

The Beta cracked open one eye, studying her briefly before closing it again.

"Can you tell me about her?" Elara asked.

One eye opened once more.

"Tell you about who?"

"Rose."

Kaia was quiet for a moment.

Then she opened both eyes and slowly sat up. Her gaze drifted across the territory before settling somewhere far beyond it.

A soft smile touched her lips.

"Rose was beautiful," she said quietly. "Not just because of how she looked."

A fondness entered her expression that Elara hadn't seen before.

"Everything about her was beautiful."

Kaia let out a soft laugh.

"She was all sunshine and butterflies. The kind of person who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with a dozen new friends."

Elara found herself smiling along with Kaia.

"Rose was the kind of person who rescued every injured animal she came across. She was even a vegetarian."

Kaia laughed.

"Can you imagine? A wolf refusing to eat meat."

The sound was warm and genuine, and Elara found herself content simply listening.

"I remember one time when we were younger, Thorne managed to catch a deer during his first solo hunt. He was so proud of himself. He brought it home, left it outside, and went inside to tell everyone."

The grin on Kaia's face widened.

"When he came back out, it was gone."

Elara laughed.

"What happened to it?"

"Thorne spent hours looking for that deer. He searched the entire territory before he finally discovered Rose had dragged it away and buried it."

Kaia shook her head.

"She held an entire funeral for it."

Elara's eyes widened.

"A funeral?"

"Oh yes. A proper one."

Kaia laughed again.

"When that wasn't enough, she snuck into Thorne's room and stole all his personal belongings. His toothbrush, his hairbrush, half his clothes, every sock she could find."

Elara couldn't help laughing.

"She didn't."

"She did. Then she refused to speak to him for an entire month."

"That's ridiculous."

"It was Rose."

The fondness in Kaia's voice was impossible to miss.

"After that, Thorne learned to take anything he caught directly to the pack cooks. He never brought another animal home."

The afternoon slipped away beneath the shade of the large tree as Kaia shared one story after another.

Some had Elara laughing until her stomach hurt while others left her shaking her head in disbelief. With every memory, Rose became more real.

She could picture her clearly.

A young woman with bright eyes and endless energy, dragging injured animals home, arguing with Thorne over every creature that crossed her path, and somehow convincing everyone around her to indulge her.

By the time Kaia fell silent, Elara had reached a simple conclusion.

She would have liked Rose.

"I would have liked to know her."

The warmth in Kaia's expression faded. The smile that had lingered throughout the afternoon slowly disappeared, taking some of the light from her eyes with it.

"When Thorne lost Rose, he changed."

A breeze swept across the grass, rustling the leaves above them.

"She balanced him out," Kaia continued quietly. "Rose could make friends with anyone. She always knew when somebody was struggling and somehow managed to involve herself in their problems."

A faint smile touched her lips before fading once more.

"Life felt easier when she was around."

The sadness in her voice lingered long after the words faded.

"How did she die?" Elara asked gently.

Kaia's gaze drifted toward the distant tree line surrounding the territory.

"The attacks near the border were getting worse. Rose liked gathering herbs out there and Thorne spent months trying to convince her to stop."

A short laugh escaped her.

"He never stood a chance."

For a few moments, only the sounds of the territory surrounded them. Children laughed in the distance while a pair of wolves crossed the open field carrying supplies between buildings.

"When we found her, she was lying near the border."

The image formed instantly in Elara's mind.

Dark earth soaked with blood.

Broken undergrowth.

The scent of death clinging to the air.

"A Valamere wolf was lying beside her. We found tracks from several others."

Kaia lowered her gaze to her hands.

"We believed she was ambushed. Rose fought back hard enough to kill one of them before they brought her down."

The pain in Kaia's eyes tightened something inside Elara's chest.

She knew what it was like to lose someone who had always been there.

Knew what it felt like to wake up every morning and remember they were gone all over again.

For the first time, Thorne's grief felt less like a distant tragedy and more like something she could understand.

The image of the cold Alpha who always seemed in control became harder to hold onto when she pictured the brother who had lost his sister.

Eventually Kaia glanced toward the sky where the sun had begun its slow descent.

"We should head back."

The walk to the pack house passed quietly.

Later, alone in her room, Elara sat on the edge of her bed and stared out the window.

Rose's story lingered in her thoughts.

Something about it continued to bother her.

Valamere had spent years defending its borders. Patrols were common. Skirmishes happened. Yet organised attacks into Draegon territory didn't fit with what she remembered growing up.

The uneasy feeling remained.

No matter how many times she turned the story over in her mind, one piece refused to fit with the rest.

That feeling followed Elara throughout the evening.

She tried reading, sleeping, even taking a relaxing bath, yet her thoughts refused to settle.

Every time her mind wandered, Rose resurfaced in her thoughts.

The attacks.

The mysterious Valamere wolf found beside her body.

None of it made sense.

By the time darkness settled over the territory, she had reached a decision.

There was one person who might be able to help.

Lyria.

If anyone could access old records or speak to wolves who had been alive during that time, it would be her sister.

Elara slipped from her room and made her way through the quiet pack house.

Most of the lights had been extinguished, leaving the hallways illuminated by the soft glow of wall sconces.

Her pace slowed as she reached Thorne's office.

The private line inside was the only one she trusted.

After a brief hesitation, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

As her gaze fell on the phone resting on Thorne's desk, a knot of anticipation tightened in her stomach.

She just hoped Lyria would answer this late into the night.