Elara's pov
The gates of the Valerius estate opened and I knew there was no going back from this point. I hadn't even given Luna a goodbye kiss or seen her wag her tail for me for the last time.
There were men standing by the gates like statues, tracking the SUV with predatory stillness. As we rolled past, they snapped to a salute.
"Stay close," Lucian rasped.
The car screeched to a halt at a marble portico. A woman in tactical wear was standing there with her eyes pinned on the car.
Lucian ripped the door open and hauled me out by the arm. My knees buckled and if he hadn't clamped a hand onto my waist, I would have facedived into the stone.
"Lucian," she called out. "The council is frantic. And you return with... this?"
"Vanya," Lucian said, his voice was ice-cold. "Move."
Vanya recoiled, nostrils flaring.
"You risked the pack for a human stray?"
She reached out, fingers hooked like claws, and grabbed my chin.
"Look at her. She can barely breathe our air."
A growl ripped from Lucian's chest. He swiped Vanya's hand away with a force that sent her stumbling.
"Touch her again, and I'll feed your hands to the hounds."
"You're protecting a pet? Over your Beta's daughter?"
"She isn't a pet. She is the Anchor. My Anchor."
Color drained from Vanya's face. "The debt... you used the Lunar loan for her?"
"Kneel."
Vanya's knees hit the floor instantly. Forced submission.
Lucian didn't look back. He dragged me through the doors, with his twin following behind.
Lucian barked at the guards. "Her wing is off-limits. If a wolf comes near without my permission, they die. Clear?"
"Yes, Alpha!"
When we got to a corner, he shoved me into a bedroom. No gentleness.
He began unbuttoning his vest, his movements jerky.
"The suppression starts now," he said.
"I... I'm dizzy, Lucian. Please."
He was across the room in a blur, hands slamming against the wall on either side of my head. "If you don't do this, I will tear you apart."
He buried his face in my neck. "Get on the bed."
His frame was distorting, broadening. "I can't filter the energy through fabric. The Suppressor strain in your blood... it requires direct contact."
I crawled onto the silk duvet naked, trembling as the cool air hit my skin.
Lucian stripped with violent efficiency and lunged. His heavy, fever-hot body slammed into me, pinning me flat against the mattress.
The shock of the skin to skin was overwhelming. I felt his large hands clamped over my breasts. I was very aware of my own body, the vulnerability of my unshaven core and his thick manly cock pressed against my inner thigh.
I squeezed my legs shut, a sob catching in my throat as I prayed it wouldn't slip inside me.
He buried his face in my neck, breathing deeply.
Then, the pull started.
A cold sensation ignited in my chest. The destructive energy screaming through him flowed into me. My heart rate spiked. My vision went black. It was agonizing. My nerves felt like they were being threaded with live wire.
But for Lucian, it was a sedative. His muscles softened. His breathing slowed.
"Better," he whispered against my throat.
--
I woke up cold and...empty
When I tried to sit up, I retched into a porcelain basin.
"Don't move," Lucian commanded. He was by the window, fully dressed.
"I... I can't feel my legs," I croaked.
"Your human body isn't used to the strain." He walked to the bed, his fingers brushing my cheek. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not today."
"You already did. You took it all."
"I saved your father. In exchange, you keep me sane. That was the contract."
He signaled a maid who had been waiting in the shadows. "Feed her. High protein. She needs to be standing by noon."
"Please, I'm not an animal!"
He stopped at the door. He didn't look back. "In this house, Elara, everyone is an animal."
The door clicked shut. The maid, a young wolf with nervous eyes named Mia, approached with a tray. She stared at the bruising grip-marks on my arms.
"Eat, Miss," Mia whispered, her voice trembling. "The Alpha is right. If you don't have food in your system, the next pull will stop your heart."
"He's killing me." I whispered, clutching the duvet.
Mia paused, her hand hovering over a glass of a dark liquid substance. "The last anchor they brought in... she only lasted a week. Her organs just gave up.You're different."
"How?"
"He's still sane," Mia said, finally meeting my eyes. "Usually, by this point in the moon cycle, the servants are cleaning blood off the walls. You're holding back an explosion, Miss. That makes you the most powerful person in this house and the biggest target."
Mia helped me into a dress and every time she brushed against my skin, I flinched. The suppression had left my nerves raw.
"The Beta is waiting," Mia warned as we reached the hallway. "Stay upright. Wolves smell fear like a scent, but they smell weakness like a meal."
I dragged my feet to the Council Room. It was a pit of monsters.
Twelve wolves sat around a stone table. The look of raw aggression made my stomach flip.
"Is this the savior?" Silas, the Beta, sneered, Vanya's father. "A fragile human? One shift and she'll be a corpse."
Lucian sat at the head of the table, Killian standing like a dark sentinel behind him.
"I will be stable because of her."
"She can barely walk," Vanya mocked from the back. "Is this what the Valerius name has come to? Depending on a dying girl?"
I gripped the back of a chair, my knuckles white. "I'm... I'm standing."
Silas slammed his hand on the table. Crack. "Silence, human! You only speak when spoken to."
Lucian's eyes flashed silver. A low vibration started in the floor. "She is under my protection, Silas. Bark at her again and i will rip out your heart. "
"The council demands proof," Silas challenged. "Tomorrow is the peak of the moon. If you can't control yourself in front of us, with her... then we trigger the succession clause. We find a new Alpha, one who has better control and doesn't need..a leash."
Lucian stared at his beta with so much hate that I thought he would really rip out his heart, then he turned to me.
"Tonight. We show them."
He stood up and dragged me into the hallway.
"Lucian, please," I whispered. "I'm shaking. I'll die."
He pinned me against the stone wall. "You have ten hours to rest. Tonight, they're going to watch me shift. If you fail to anchor me, they won't just kill me."
He leaned in. "They'll hunt you for sport. And you're too weak to run."