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The wolf seems to grin, exposing his fangs as he coughs up blood. Before he can shift and speak, those mocking gold eyes dilate and glass over. He’s dead.
Kade stands slowly, surveying the loss of shifters and humans with his hand gripping his injured rib. All this death, all this loss, and he wasn’t able to stop anything. He learned nothing other than the witch has gathered more power to her side and that losing her shifters isn’t important to either her or Chad.
Slowly, Kade walks back to the fire and falls to his knees at the head of the last person to die. He lets out a gut-wrenching sob, falling on his hands and screaming in defeat. He wasn’t good enough on his own. He survived, but he saved no one. He’s useless, alone. Powerless. A waste of oxygen.
He lowers his head to the scorched earth as tears fall from his eyes. He can see the benefit of a pack, and if things were different, maybe Elara and Laith could form one with Kade and Guy.
But the prophecy would never allow…
The prophecy controls all.
Kade sits back on his heels and turns his face to the moon, his cheeks icy and wet. The prophecy, what he’s devoted his life to, takes everything. Maybe in the end it will take his conscience. That’s the only way he can see himself surviving all this loss.
The only way he can let Elara suffer as he does himself.
If only he could cut his heart out and live, every loss he’s suffered and will continue to suffer wouldn’t hurt anymore.
If only…
5
Elara
Elara's phone alarm blares in her ear, jolting her awake. "Monday morning," she whispers to herself, her body still a little tired from everything she put it through over the weekend.
She only has afternoon classes, so she considers hiding under the duvet and catching another couple of hours of sleep, but she sits up with a sigh. She hopes to see her friends before classes start and go ahead and move back into the dorm. She spoke to her parents last night, deciding it was time. She told them she felt practically normal and was ready to get back into the swing of things. But the truth is, she’s proven to herself she can control the wolf, and hopefully now they've helped Laith, he’ll keep himself under control as well.
Standing in the middle of her room, she shakes her head. Normal. How she used to take that for granted. Now, she’s not even sure what normal is. Adjusting her shoulders, she figures there’s only one way to find out.
Jumping out of bed, she quickly gets dressed, deciding she’ll have eggs on toast for breakfast. That’s normal. In the kitchen her parents are getting ready for work, her dad muttering about getting out before the traffic hits, and then her mom warns Elara to be careful of traffic if she doesn’t get away in time.
For the first time in a long while, Elara loves every moment of it. It’s…normal.
Her parents get up to leave and she impulsively gives them a hug and a kiss. Her father chuckles, and her mother asks if someone’s learned they have a terminal disease. Elara laughs, looking forward to appreciating her mother’s anxious tendencies from afar once more.
She’s just walking down the hall to go, too, when her phone rings, surprised to see it’s Laith. She picks up on the second ring. “Hey, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” he asks, sounding confused.
Elara stills as she realizes she feels a sense of responsibility for Laith. Probably because she’s the one who turned him. He practically lives alone on the other side of town, which leaves him vulnerable. Plus, he’s so enthusiastic about being a wolf, who knows what he might do. All the more reason to get back to campus and keep a better eye on him.
She lets out a huff. “No reason, sorry. I think it’s just the early morning call.”
“It’s nothing like that,” he says, and she’s pretty sure he’s rolling his eyes. “I wanted to make sure you heard the campus announcement yesterday.”
Elara picks up the bag again, her phone, and her keys, and heads out the door. "Oh?" she says, suddenly curious. If it isn't about the news or werewolf stuff, what could Laith want?
"Yeah," he continues, "You remember that lecture you wanted to attend on molecular biology?"
Elara perks up as she locks the door behind her and gets into her car, throwing the bag in the back. "You heard when it's happening? Tell me."
She's always known her future has been with biology. She just hasn't been sure if she wants to go into biomedical research and engineering or if she specifically wants to specialize in genetics, so she's been looking forward to this lecture for a while. When things were, er, normal, she’d studied everything that's been going on in the field, finding it fascinating. She holds her breath. Could something good finally be happening?
“Actually, they've canceled afternoon classes because he's coming today. Last-minute reschedule. I figured you'd want to know in case you'd missed the announcement.” Elara can hear the smile in his voice. Laith is also a biology student. Though he’s now specifically expressed interest in cellular replication and how it can go wrong in cancer patients, this lecture would be important for him too. “I know you wanted to go really bad.”
“Of course, I wouldn't miss the lecture for the world." Elara puts the key in the ignition and buckles her seatbelt, putting her phone on speaker and setting it in the seat next to her. “Actually, I'm just getting in the car now. I was hoping to see you, Jordyn, and Kira before classes today. I'm coming back to campus and moving back into my dorm.”
“Great idea,” Laith says warmly. “I’ll see you soon.”
