" Elena!" Kael caught her just before her unconscious body was about to hit the ground. " Quick! Get the healers. She has fainted. Come on, Leo, come with me! " Kael sprinted towards the healer's quarters with Elena's limp body in his arms as Leo followed them closely.
"Healer Wood, come here at once! " His paranoid roar tore through the healer's front porch. Healer Wood came running at the Alpha's command, wiping his wet hands on a towel wrapped around his waist. A quick glance at the unconscious woman in Kael's arms, and he hurried to open the door.
"What happened? " He asked. Kael was totally out of breath. "That's what you are supposed to tell me! " He snapped.
"She fainted all of a sudden. It was lucky that it didn't happen mid-fight! " Leo quickly added.
The healer immediately got into action, pulling out his suitcase and checking Elena's vitals. Kael and Leo closely watched as he went over her eyes, tongue, and teeth. After giving it a thought, the healer turned back to the two of them. "This child looks familiar. Have I seen her somewhere before?"
Leo rolled his eyes. Healer Wood and his memory never really worked well together. He was called a miracle doctor , true, but it was a miracle that he even became a doctor.
"It's Elena, Healer Wood, Elena Hawksworth. Remember? "
"Oh, yes, yes! I do. The child who always fell ill. Of course, I remember. Who was asking you anyway? " He turned back towards Elena, fixing his half-moon glasses. " Well, it's probably exhaustion. I will give her some concoction. Let her be here for the time being so I can keep her under observation," he said.
"No way! She stays at my quarters! Or the infirmary! No way I am keeping her in this shabby hut! " Kael looked absolutely unwilling, but Leo gave the nod. "It's for the best, Alpha. She will be under close observation."
"Alright! But please keep a good watch on her. If anything happens to her, I will annihilate your entire bloodline!" Kael brought his nose close enough to touch the healer's nose.
Healer Wood gulped and then replied,"Are you going to kiss me, boy? If not, please move. I left something boiling. I need to go and check."
Kael kept staring back at him as if he had committed something forbidden. Had he not been the best in his trade, Kael wouldn't mind knocking off the rest of his remaining teeth.
"Alpha! " Leo gently nudged Kael on his shoulder. "We should be heading back. You know… " His voice trailed off, but Kael understood they had to tend to pack business, so they left the place.
Fighting off Rogues at the border was one thing, but it was another thing, trying to make a report on it for the council and the elders. It was going to keep them occupied through the rest of the night. And so it did.
When Leo finally lifted his head and stretched for a small break, it was almost midnight. "Geez! I hate paperwork!" he quipped.
Just then, a voice rang in his head. A mindlink from Healer Wood. His voice was strained and scared. Did anything happen to Elena? He immediately got up from his chair. "What is it, Healer Wood? Louder! I can't hear your voice!" Leo roared.
"The Alpha is going to kill me!" Healer Wood whimpered at the other end.
"Damn! What happened to Elena?" Leo was already sprinting towards his hut.
"She is fine. I mean, she woke up. I went to bring some warm tea for her. But when I came back, she was gone! I can't find her. Her mindlink is shut off." Healer Wood stammered.
Leo immediately turned and rushed towards his car.
"Come on, Elena, pick up!" Leo's hand shook as he dialed Elena's number for what felt like the hundredth time. He was already driving, combing through the fringe areas and outskirts of the pack.
When the call went to voicemail again, he cursed under his breath and tried once more. This time, someone finally answered. "Hello?" The voice completely caught Leo off guard. It wasn't Elena.
"Huh! Who is this?" Leo demanded. His voice was almost on the edge. "This is Beth, the receptionist at the packhouse. I found this phone in a bag that was ringing like crazy. It was in the common room, so I just picked it up." The woman on the other side answered nonchalantly.
"Where is Elena? Hand the phone over to her, please." Leo's voice came across as rough and full of annoyance.
"I can't!" Beth replied. She sounded genuinely confused. "Like I said, it was just in her bag.I answered because it had been ringing for like forever. I thought it might be an emergency. I haven't seen her, though."
"Alright! Thanks," Leo abruptly hung up. He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, slamming his hand against the steering wheel in frustration. "Damn it, Elena, where the hell are you?"
He knew he ought to tell Alpha Kael, as that was the protocol, but something held him back. He decided to keep searching on his own.
"This is on me!" Something inside him told him that Elena might not want to be found at the moment. It was her normal behavior.
As the night grew darker, Leo felt more and more on the edge. "You better be okay, Elena," he whispered to himself, gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.
Usually, back in the human world, Leo would often find her sulking all alone on a rooftop, in the forest, or in the abandoned house by the campus. He knew all her hiding spots. She loved her burrows. However, he had no clue where she had taken off in the middle of the night while the threats around their pack were far from over. He needed to find her for safety reasons.
"Come on, Leo, think. Where would she go?"
Suddenly, Leo's sharp senses caught a wisp of cigarette smoke. It was the smell of Elena's favorite brand and flavor – blueberry. He found Elena and smoking contradictory. However, she always cooled off with a few puffs whenever she was feeling rattled.
"Thank the Goddess, you are here! Do you have any idea how long I have been looking for you? You do realize that the Rogues just retreated, right? They haven't left. They are camping somewhere in the woods. What the hell are you doing here all alone Elena?" He couldn't control his outburst.
Elena momentarily stopped swinging her legs and glanced down at the paranoid Leo from the top of the tree. He literally looked like he had run a hundred miles. But Elena quickly turned around, puffing her cigarette once more, sending smoke rings toward the moon.
"Elena! Are you even listening? " He scaled the branches, reaching her in seconds. " We need to get back to the pack house! It's not safe out here! " Leo continued.
"I needed some time alone! You can go back and sleep. I can take care of myself! " Elena didn't feel like paying much attention to what he was saying.
Her emotions were a whirlwind of confusion and frustration. Her first encounter with Kael was constantly replaying in her mind like a broken record now that everything had cooled off.
Leo sighed, taking the cigarette away from her and putting it out on a branch.
"I don't doubt your ability to take care of yourself. But I have seen what Kael and his words can do to you. I am just trying to be your punching bag, like always. Take it out on me instead of yourself, alright? This isn't your university, Elena. It's our world, the werewolf world. Survival of the fittest isn't just a phrase; we live by it every second, remember? If you take my opinion, I think you need to sleep it off."
Elena looked away. She said nothing for a while and then added, "Leo, I can't believe I came back to put myself through this all over again. He wants us to act like the last five years didn't happen? He wants me to forget everything? Is it even possible? He is just being…he is just…" Elena muttered under her breath, unable to finish her sentence.
"A jerk? " Leo scuffled her hair as she looked up. Then he immediately added, "Wanna run away like the last time? " Elena punched him on his chest and they both giggled. But their laughter evaporated faster than camphor, and it was followed by absolute silence.
Leo leaned against the branch behind him, watching Elena with concern.
"I know, Elena. It's a lot to take in. But maybe he has changed, you know? People can surprise you." Leo mumbled.
Elena turned abruptly to face him with a mix of disbelief and resentment.
"Changed? After everything he did to me? He doesn't get to waltz back in here and expect me to forgive him. Does he expect me to keep the space he left empty? Did he keep it empty for me? I don't even know. "
Leo sighed, pushing himself off the branch and leaning forward towards her. " I get it. But maybe hear him out? There might be more to the story than you know."
He hesitated for a moment before reaching out to gently touched her arm. His voice softened. "I am here for you, Elena. Whatever you decide."
His touch was different. It gave Elena certain goose pimples, unexpected and unsettling. She looked up to meet his gaze, seeing worry and something else flickering in his eyes.
For a moment, she was tempted to lean into him, to seek solace in his embrace. "I just wish things were simpler," she mumbled in response.
Leo's eyes darkened slightly as he bent even closer; "Sometimes, complications can lead to something unexpectedly beautiful."
Before she could process his words, Leo leaned in, his lips capturing hers in a kiss that was nothing friendly in nature. It was raw. Elena's mind went blank, and her body responded instinctively.
But she immediately pulled back, shaking off the confusing emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.
"Leo, I…Sorry…I mean…I just need some time to process everything."
Leo nodded understandingly, though disappointment flashed briefly across his face. "Take all the time you need. I will be around if you need anything."
The hooting of the owl in the distance and the flapping of bat wings became louder in the background as the silence between them grew eerie.
"I will be waiting for you in front of the pack house. If you do not show up within the next few minutes, I will be forced to report the situation. You won't like being pulled back inside, I am sure. So, get back as soon as possible! "He gently tapped the back of Elena's head and smiled before jumping off the branch.
As Leo retreated, Elena leaned back against the branch, closing her eyes and taking in deep breaths to steady herself. The tension in the air was suffocating.
The cool breeze of the night soothed her frayed nerves a little, but it wasn't a remedy. Her mind drifted back to that fateful night that changed everything.
"And don't come crying to me when you realize no one else wants you either..." Kael's words rang in her head. Those weren't mere words for Elena; they were her nightmares. They have haunted her for years, breaking her heart and making it bleed. Honestly, she could never heal from that wound.
"Grow up, Elena. Did you really think you were special? That I would choose you over someone like Selena?" His voice rang again, accompanied by a female giggle. Elena grabbed her ears. She was not fond of those voices in her head but it seemed like she was stuck with them for all her life.
"Alright! Let's get back! " Reluctantly, she jumped off the branch and started walking back to the main pack house.
Kael was back from his meeting with the councilmen and the elders, by that time. It was tiring. They always acted like Kael owed them. He wanted to grab a quick drink before going back to check on Elena. He presumed she was fine, or else he would have been notified.
He casually peered out of his window as he pulled out a bottle from the shelf when he caught sight of Leo standing at the door of the pack house across the road. He strained his eyes as he saw him waving at someone. In the distance, a figure appeared. He saw Elena walking towards him with a smile, waving back.
What was Elena doing with Leo? Wasn't she supposed to be resting at the Healer's place? Kael's grip on the bottle tightened as he saw them embracing before walking towards the common room together.
His force was enough to shatter the bottle. His palm started to bleed, but he didn't care. There was an open wound in his heart, and nothing could ever come close to that.
Rejecting Elena was never easy. She was a pure soul. And he loved her way too much to do that. He loved her more than he loved his throne.
He would have run away if he could with her and lived a happy life on a deserted island, away from all the pack's responsibilities and politics. But he could not. Not with being the only child . It wasn't about his happiness; it was more about the innocent lives of the pack members.
Besides, he could not risk dragging Elena down along with him. When he hurt her, a part of him wished she would find someone else who would heal her again.
Someone who would give back her old smile. But another part – the selfish part – of him wanted her to return. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. He wanted to feel her even though he knew he would be breaking her all over again.
He didn't expect that he would have to summon her back so soon and under such terrible circumstances. He was happy. He felt like his soul was back. He was finally breathing. But with her return came another dread – the dread of losing her forever.
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