CHAPTER TWO

1714 Words
ELISA’S POV "Please, Elisa..." Alec's voice cracked, his hand cupping my cheek so tenderly I almost leaned into it. "Please don't let her die." I could barely breathe. My heart was still racing from everything that had just happened, and now he stood in front of me, his eyes finally seeing me… but only because he needed me. Not because he missed me, he only needed what was inside me. "Alec," I whispered, swallowing hard, "I told you... using my magic might kill me. You want me to die just so she can live?" He shook his head quickly, brushing a soft kiss on my forehead. His lips lingered there as he whispered, "Don't say that. I don't want to lose you, but we both know what's at stake. A war is coming, Elisa. I need my Beta, I need her by my side. You should understand, my love…" I pulled away from his touch slightly, feeling like I was suffocating. "So you need her beside you... not me." "That's not what I meant," he said quickly, grabbing my hands now. "Once she’s healed, we’ll go straight to the altar, I swear. We’ll get married today, we’ll finally have the life you always dreamed of. Just you and me… Please, Elisa... help me save her." My chest felt like it was being squeezed. Every word sounded like something I'd once wanted to hear but now, it all felt like manipulation. I didn’t say a word. I just stood there, frowning deeply, frozen in place. "Maybe it won’t kill you," Priest Festus said softly beside me. "If anything goes wrong, I’ll be here. I’ll do everything I can to pull you back, I promise you that, my child." I opened my mouth to say no again, to put my foot down, to walk out with whatever dignity I had left. But before I could, Alec pulled me into his arms and kissed me. It was a deep, slow kiss… the kind of kiss that used to make my knees weak, the kind I hadn’t felt from him since Talyra came back into the pack a week ago. Everything slowed down between Alec and me, when she reappeared after two years of going rogue and leaving him broken. I hated that his kiss still had power over me. When he pulled away, my heart stuttered. I wanted him, I still loved him, even though he made me feel invisible. "I…," I whispered, cursing myself with every breath. "I’ll do it." He smiled with so much relief, you’d think he was the one who had just been saved. "Thank you," he said, brushing a kiss to my forehead again. "Once she’s okay, we go straight to the altar, I promise." Touching her was the hardest part. I sat beside her bedside and looked at her pale face. This was the same woman who broke Alec and left him drowning in misery. The same woman who returned and was welcomed like a queen. My lips twisted bitterly... I placed my trembling palm on her forehead and my magic tingling under my fingers. I could feel my anger rising, but I closed my eyes and let it go. A soft white light began to glow from my hand against her skin. The silence in the room was so intense that I could feel both Alec and Festus watching closely. Even Talyra stirred slightly, her breathing was becoming less shallow. Then suddenly, the glow stopped and my hand dropped from her forehead. I pulled away, breathing heavily. "What happened?" Alec asked, stepping forward. "Why did you stop?" "I... I can’t," I said, my voice came in a whisper. "There was a burning... in my legs. It spread so fast, I was scared and I had to stop." "Then stop," Festus said immediately, stepping up as fear also crossed his features. "We’ll find another way. If it’s hurting you, we can’t risk…" "No," Alec snapped, cutting him off with a glare so sharp it felt like the room itself went cold. "We don’t have time to find another means." He turned to me, his face becoming softer now. "Elisa, is there no way to endure it? Just a little longer? She’s almost there…." I stared at him, my mouth parted in shock. Endure it? My legs felt like they were on fire, and he wanted me to endure it? "I can’t believe you," I said slowly. "Who are you right now? You want me to suffer just to save her?" "No," he said, cupping my face again, kissing me gently. "I love you, I’m doing this for us... after saving her, they would no longer be any distractions and we can go ahead to the altar. Just a little more, and it’s all over... You’ll be my Luna." He placed my hand back on her forehead and wrapped an arm around my waist, anchoring me with his touch. I closed my eyes, and the glow returned. The magic poured out of me again, and this time I could see the color returning to her face. Talyra’s lips were no longer as pale, her breaths became steadier. But the pain was getting worse. I gritted my teeth as the burn in my legs spread. It was like fire crawling through my veins, reaching my thighs and biting deeper with every second I kept my hand on Talyra. I whimpered, groaning from the pain but he held me in place. "Alec, please..." I begged. "Just a little more," he said, tightening his grip on my waist. "You’re doing great." Festus stepped forward, noticing my pains. "She needs to stop, Alpha. She’s in pain, look at her!" "You watch your mouth," Alec snapped again, not even looking at him. My knees buckled. I collapsed to the ground with a choked cry, but Alec kept my hand pressed to Talyra’s forehead. "You’re almost there," he whispered urgently. "Just hold on, we’re almost done." The glow finally stopped and the light faded. Talyra sat up, but I crumpled to the floor, my entire body weakened in a way I had never experienced before. Her eyes fluttered open, her skin now healthy and glowing. She blinked slowly, like someone waking from a long sleep. Alec let go of me and rushed to her, pulling her close as she rested her head on his chest. He held her in his arms, gently stroked her hair, and whispered softly to her. "You’re okay now," he murmured. "You’re safe. Can you tell us who did this to you?" She was still too weak to speak. I lay on the cold floor, panting, trying to move. But I couldn’t feel my legs. "Festus..." I whispered, terrified. He knelt beside me instantly, his hands moving gently across my legs, checking for any signs of life. The look on his face made my heart drop. "I’m sorry, Elisa," he said quietly. "Your legs... you won’t be able to walk again." My breath got stuck in my throat. A silent scream rose in my chest, but I buried it deep inside of me, it never left my lungs. No one could see me break. Then I heard Alec’s voice. It was sharp, cold, and final, “This means the wedding must be called off.” My mouth dropped open, as my lips parted out of shock. But before I could speak up, Festus turned to him with a furrowed brow, also clearly confused by what he’d just heard. “What?” he asked. Alec didn’t hesitate. He stood slowly, keeping one arm securely around Talyra. His face remained calm, as if what he was about to say carried no weight at all. “You heard me,” he said. “I’m the Alpha. You need to understand that I can’t marry a cripple. I need a Luna who can stand beside me, not one who has to be carried.” The entire room fell into an intense silence. My lungs refused to draw in air. My heartbeat faltered, and for a moment, I couldn’t even feel my own body, everything just stopped. He didn’t even look at me. I was lying there on the floor, barely conscious, aching in places I couldn’t even describe, and he couldn’t spare me a single glance. The man I had loved with everything had just abandoned me without hesitation. He walked away… just like that. He walked away with Talyra. The same woman who once left him, the same woman I had risked everything to save. My heart didn’t just ache…it shattered. Not because he left me, but because he never truly cared. If he had, there would’ve been hesitation. There would’ve been pain in his voice but there was nothing. He had used me and now that he no longer needed me, he discarded me like I meant absolutely nothing. I couldn’t even cry. The pain was too deep, and my body too numb. Tears wouldn’t come, even though they should have. Maybe it was shock. Or maybe, deep down, I had always known this moment would come. It hadn’t even been five minutes when the door suddenly burst open. Two pack guards rushed in, their faces looking deadly as they approached me. “The Alpha has requested your presence,” one of them said sharply. “You’ve been charged with poisoning the Beta, Talyra Stones.” Before I could react, they grabbed me, one on each side, and yanked me to my feet. Pain shot through my legs, and I realized I couldn’t even feel them properly. My eyes widened in shock. “Wait, what? No! That’s not..” The words barely left my mouth as panic rose in my chest. Festus stepped forward quickly, trying to reason with them. “This must be a mistake. She would never do something like that. At least be gentle, she’s can’t walk...” But one of the guards raised a hand to stop him. “Don’t interfere with the Alpha’s orders.” My heart was racing now, beating so hard I thought it might crack my ribs. Poison? Where had that come from? Why would they think I did something like that? As they dragged me out of the room, one terrifying thought echoed in my mind… Talyra.
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