CHAPTER 33
1463 Words
Elise sat by the window of the infirmary, her legs were folded together, swinging back and forth while she rested her forehead on the sliding glass of the window.
Outside, the training grounds were full of movement, they were filed with the sounds of laughter, shouting, and the rhythmic clash of weapons.
Life was continuing, like nothing had happened.
Everyone even seemed happier.
The thought of this gave Elise mixed feelings and emotions.
Not like she wanted them to be sad, she just felt bad for not fully enjoying or the happiness which loomed over them.
It all felt surreal.
Like she hadn’t just lost the one thing that made her feel like she belonged.
Like she wasn’t sitting here, broken and forgotten.
Kai had stepped out for a few minutes.
He’d been hovering around her nonstop, barely leaving her side, and while Elise appreciated it, a part of her needed space.
She didn’t want to be a burden to him.
And it wasn’t because of him in anyway.
Not because of him, but because of how heavy everything felt.
She could barely breathe with him watching her every movement, almost as though he felt like she might fall apart if he blinked.
But the truth was that, she was already falling apart.
Her hand rested in her lap, fingers wide open, trying to reach for a spark that wasn’t there.
Still nothing.
Still cold.
Still… empty.
“Elise?”
The soft knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.
It creaked open, and Chessa, one of the young pack healers, poked her head in.
“You have visitors,” she said gently.
Elise blinked. “Visitors?”
Chessa stepped aside to let two girls walk in.
Both were from the training division.
Girls Elise had once seen every day, shared meals with, even laughed with in passing.
Now they looked awkward.
Looking around the room, trying not to make eye contact with Elise.
One had her arms crossed tightly, and the other held a bowl of sliced fruit like she wasn’t sure why she brought it.
“We just… heard you were still in here,” the girl with the fruit said.
Elise nodded once.
“I’m okay,” she replied.
That was a lie.
But what else could she say?
The girls stood silently, and after a few exchanged glances, they dropped the fruit on the table and mumbled their goodbyes.
By the time the door clicked shut behind them, Elise’s chest was tight again.
That wasn’t support.
That was pity.
No one knew what to say to her.
No one knew how to treat her anymore.
Now that she wasn’t a threat, or maybe now that she was just a shell of what she used to be — alone and helpless, it was like she didn’t matter anymore.
Elise closed her eyes.
She was flustered.
Not just from sadness.
But from being left out.
Like something was happening that no one was telling her about.
And she was right.
Because while Elise sat in the quiet, trying to figure out how to get her life back…
Two people were already moving to take everything else away from her.
Somewhere across the estate…
Becky adjusted her velvet robe and poured herself a glass of wine, even though it was still afternoon.
Still too early for drinking by most normal people’s standards.
Luka sat opposite her with his legs resting on a shiny wooden table.
He had his hands folded together behind his head like he had no worries.
He looked relaxed, but he had a small smile on his face, more like a smirk thst was full of attitude.
“So, she’s useless now?” he asked, sipping from a teacup he didn’t even glance at.
Becky nodded. “Completely, no light, no power, nosense of control.”
She looked pleased almost too happy.
Luka whistled low. “That makes things easier.”
Becky leaned against the wall, her posture relaxed but her eyes ice cold. “It makes everything easier.
“To think I was going to join hands with that looser!”
“I must have lost my thinking for once, Yunno?”
“Hahaha!” She laughed in between her teeth, her voice cackling.
“Even father aided it…such poor judgement he had over that thing!” She said sarcastically in a loud tiny voice.
“Well, anyone would have thought she’d amount to something after her useless show off at school” Luka added.
“Darling brother, that day was just pure luck… I was close to my period, I had hormones all over the place, yunno…” she answered, scoffing while shaking the glass of wine in her hand.
“The council has already mentally written her off, Elder Kion may not have said anything, but I know how he works…. He’s not backing her anymore.” She added with a mischievous smile on her lips.
Luka chuckled. “Which means no more last-minute saves, no more freak power bursts.”
“No more threat,” Becky finished.
They both sat in silence for a beat.
Then Luka added, “Now we just have to make sure she stays broken.”
Becky’s lips curled. “And if she tries to stand again… we’ll make sure she regrets it.”
She raised her glass. “To erasing the mistake that should’ve stayed an Omega.”
Back at the packhouse infirmary…
Kai returned an hour later to find Elise still by the window.
She didn’t turn around.
She just kept staring at the world she used to be a part of.
“Elise.”
She turned her head slowly.
His chest grew tighter at the dullness in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” she said before he could ask.
“I didn’t ask.”
“Yeah, but you were going to.”
Kai walked over and crouched beside her. “You’re allowed to not be fine.”
“I don’t want to be allowed,” she said softly, “I want to be forgotten.”
He flinched.
“I didn’t mean—” She broke off and sighed.
“I just feel… like I’m in the way.”
“Like everyone is moving forward and I’m just…stuck here, useless, yunno… taking up all the space.”
“You’re not.”
“Tell that to the silence,” she whispered.
He didn’t know what to say to that.
So he stayed close, hoping that his presence could say the words he couldn’t.
They sat like that for a while, without speaking to the other; each of of them buried in deep thoughts.
Until Elise finally asked, “Is there a meeting today?”
Kai looked at her.
“The council? Yeah. They’re discussing the upcoming pack demonstration.”
“Oh,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t invited.”
He hesitated. “…It’s not really for—”
“No, I get it,” she cut in, her voice tight. “They don’t need a powerless girl messing things up.”
“Elise—”
“It’s fine,” she said again.
But her jaw was clenched, and her eyes were starting to get watery even though she tried her best to fight the waters off.
Of course it wasn’t fine.
She felt left behind.
Unwanted.
Weak.
And no one cared to tell her otherwise.
Later that night…
The halls were quiet.
Elise had been discharged, but she didn’t go back to her room.
She walked aimlessly around the compound instead, her cloak pulled tightly around her shoulders.
She didn’t want to go back to her room.
It felt too empty.
Too much like a reminder.
She passed by the training yard and paused.
She could hear voices.
“…once she’s out of the way, it’ll be easier to get the council’s full support,” Becky’s voice drifted in.
Elise froze, pressing her back to the wall.
“She still has Kai,” Luka said.
“You sure he won’t interfere?”
“He’s loyal, not stupid,” Becky replied.
“Once we push Elise far enough, even he’ll start to pull back.”
Elise’s blood turned cold.
They were talking about her.
Plotting.
Again.
And this time, she didn’t even have her powers to fight back.
She backed away slowly, heart racing.
But as she rounded the corner, her breath shaky and uneven… a flicker of heat rose in her chest.
Not power.
Not magic.
Just the beginning of something else.
Resolve.
She might not know how to stop them yet.
But she would.
Because even without a glow, even without a title or a blessing from the council — she was still Elise Thorne.
And this time, she wouldn’t wait for anyone to save her!
- Writer
