Throne Of The Broken Bonds のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

Elara’s PovI was at the courtyard for a long time after the incident. My chest felt empty. It didn't hurt, though. It felt like a room that had been cluttered with heavy furniture for years, and someone had finally cleared it all out.“It’s done,” I whispered and took a deep breath.The moment I said the words, a surge of heat rushed through my arms. It wasn't the stinging heat of a burn. It felt like my muscles were tightening, becoming stronger. My vision adjusted to the dark. I could see the individual veins on the leaves of the bushes. I could hear the heartbeat of a bird sleeping in a tree fifty yards away. Everything was sharp.“Elara!” I turned around. Two Omegas, girls I had worked with in the laundry for three years, were standing near the door. They looked like they wanted to run.“What?” I asked. My voice sounded deeper, even to my own ears.“Mrs Gable... she sent us,” one of them said. She was clutching her apron so hard her knuckles were white. “She says you need to c

Aiden’s PovShe slammed the door after her statement. I didn’t move. I stayed right there on my knees, my forehead pressed against the cold, dark wood of Elara’s new door. The hallway smelled like the whiskey I’d been drinking, but mostly it smelled like her. It was a smell I hadn’t let myself notice for a year. “Elara,” I whispered. My voice sounded like I’d been swallowing glass. “Please. Just open it. Just for a second.”Silence. I could hear her breathing on the other side. She was standing right there. I knew it. My wolf was scratching at my insides, begging me to break the door down, but I kept my hands flat on the floor. The blood from the cuts on my arms was starting to dry, making my skin feel tight and itchy.“I didn’t want any of this,” I said, louder this time. “When we were younger... when we were in the woods that night. I saw the way you shifted. I saw the way the trees seemed to bend toward you. It scared me, Elara.”I took a shaky breath and closed my eyes. I could

Aiden’s PovI sat at the small wooden desk in my room. My hand was shaking so hard the pen kept skipping across the paper. I had already crumpled up five pages and thrown them at the wall. How do you write to someone who won’t even look at you? How do you say sorry for a whole year of pretending they were trash?“Elara,” I whispered.I wrote the name at the top of the sixth page. I didn't use fancy words. I just wrote what happened. I wrote that I was a coward. I wrote that I remembered the way her hair looked in the sun when we were kids. I wrote that every time I saw her scrubbing the floors, a part of me had wanted to stop her, but I was too scared of my father.I finished the note and folded it. I grabbed a small silver dagger from my drawer, one with a hilt made of pearl. It was a family heirloom. It was worth more than most houses in the village. I placed the note under the blade and walked out.I went to her new room in the guest wing. The guards at the end of the hall didn't

Elara’s PovWhen we got to my room, I didn't go inside right away. My hand was still on the doorknob, but I could feel Marcus standing behind me. He hadn't moved. The hallway was quiet, lit only by the silver glow coming through the high windows. My heart was thumping against my ribs, making it hard to think straight.“Elara,” he said again. I let go of the door and turned around. He was closer than I thought. I had to tilt my head back to look at him. He didn’t look away. He didn’t look at my scar or the dirt on my clothes from the training yard. He just looked at me.“What?” I asked. My voice was low.“I don’t want to go,” he said.“Then don’t,” I replied. He reached out and finally touched me. His fingers were warm against my jaw. I expected to feel that sharp, painful pull of a bond, the kind that used to make me feel like I was choking when Aiden was near. But this was different, it just felt solid. It felt like he was actually there, choosing to touch me, not because a moon g

Aiden’s Pov The door to the cellar cell didn’t just close; it felt like it sealed the world away. I sat on the cot, my knuckles still raw and stinging from hitting Marcus.“Guard!” I yelled. “Let me out of here!”Ten minutes later, the heavy door at the end of the hall creaked open. Silas walked in. He looked at me with a mix of pity and fear. He didn't say anything as he unlocked the gate. “The Alpha says you’re sober enough to go to your room,” Silas said. “But you’re to stay away from the guest wing. If you go near her again, I have orders to use the silver cuffs.”“Whatever,” I snapped. I pushed past him. I didn't go to my room. I didn't go to the dining hall. I went straight to the storage room near the kitchen and grabbed three bottles of the strongest grain alcohol I could find. Then, I headed for the old archives in the basement of the north tower. It was a place no one went. It was dusty, dark, and smelled like rotting paper. It was perfect. I sat on the floor between tw