---- Chapter 7 Elara POV: Pain was a relentless tide, pulling me under. | don't know how | did it, but | crawled. | dragged myself out of that house of lies, across the lawn, and towards the faint, glowing lights of the pack's medical center. Each movement was agony, a fire in my womb. | awoke to the clean, herbal scent of a Healer's den. My first conscious thought was a jolt of pure terror. My hand flew to my stomach. It was still there, a gentle curve beneath the thin blanket. "The pup is strong," a kind, wrinkled voice said beside me. It was Elder Maeve, the pack's most respected Healer. "A fighter, like its mother. But the shock was severe. You must rest. The connection is fragile." She looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "Where is Alpha Damien? He should be here, lending you his strength." | had no answer for her. | pushed myself up, my body aching, and swung my legs over the side of the cot. | had to face him. | had to know. | stepped out into the hallway and there they were. Damien was holding Lyra's hand, his expression a mask of grim concern. Lyra, for her part, looked perfectly fine. The moment ---- she saw me, she shrank back, hiding behind Damien like a frightened deer. "Please," Lyra whimpered, tears welling in her eyes. "Please, Elara, don't hurt my baby again. He's all | have." A cold, bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat. | ignored her, my gaze locking with Damien's. | didn't want the pack to hear this. | reached out to him through the one thing he couldn't yet deny me. Our bond. "You believe her?" | sent the thought, sharp and pained, across our Mind-Link. "You would believe a rogue over me? Your mate?" The Mind-Link was a sacred connection, a gift from the Moon Goddess meant for mates to share their deepest thoughts and feelings, binding their souls. But in his hands, it had become a weapon. His mental voice roared back, filled with such fury it made me flinch. "| saw it with my own eyes! | saw you standing over her! How could you become so vile, Elara? To attack an innocent pup?" "| was the one who was bleeding, Damien! | was the one who was hurt!" "You did it to yourself to gain my sympathy!" he snarled back, his conviction absolute. "Don't you dare use the risk of a miscarriage as a tool for your jealousy!" He took a step towards me, his eyes hard as stone. He didn't ---- need the link for his next words. He spoke them aloud, for Lyra to hear his loyalty. "This is your last chance, Elara. You will come to Lyra, you will apologize, and you will personally care for her son until he is fully recovered. Do that, and | will consider canceling the rejection." He then turned, placing a protective arm around Lyra, and walked away. Just as they left, my mother's voice, calm and strong, echoed in my mind. "The escort is in position, my love. They are waiting for you beyond the territory border." | took a deep breath, steeling myself. It was time. As if sensing my decision, Damien paused at the end of the hall. He turned his head slightly, and the full force of his power slammed into me. The Alpha's Command. "Do not leave my territory until you have apologized." Lyra glanced back over her shoulder. Her lips formed a single, triumphant word, a silent taunt just for me. "You lose."