Chapter 3 3

Elara POV

The noise of the Bloodmoon Pack's central market washed over us, a chaotic symphony of haggling merchants and barking dogs. The air was a thick, heavy blend of raw meat, damp earth, and the sharp tang of crushed herbs.

Diana was practically vibrating with an angry, restless energy as we navigated the crowded dirt aisles. Her eyes had that faint, distant glaze for a fraction of a second-the telltale sign of a recently severed Mind-Link.

"By the Goddess, that boy!" she hissed, aggressively tossing a bruised cabbage into our woven basket. "I swear he'd rather face a dozen Rogues than talk to his aunt about finding a Mate!"

I blinked, pulling my frayed cloak tighter against the chill. "Desmond?"

"Who else?" Diana huffed, her protective instincts momentarily overshadowed by sheer familial exasperation. "I tried to reach him at the training grounds through the official Pack links to discuss the upcoming full moon gathering. And do you know what happened?"

She stopped, dropping her voice to mimic a deep, impossibly authoritative male baritone that sent an unexpected, terrifying shiver down my spine. *"I'm sorry, Diana. Gamma Snow has been called into an urgent strategy meeting."*

Diana scoffed, her hands on her hips. "It was his friend! Alpha Kalen Lancaster intercepted the link himself! Does Desmond think I'm stupid? Tell him if he doesn't bring a girl to the gathering, he can forget about ever stepping foot in my house again!"

The name hit me like a physical blow to the chest. *Kalen Lancaster.*

My breath hitched, the bustling market fading into a dull roar. In the novel I had read in my past life, Kalen was the ruthless, overwhelmingly powerful Alpha who was destined to die a gruesome, heartbreaking death protecting me. Until this exact second, he had just been a fictional character in my memories. Now, hearing that he was my cousin's Alpha and best friend... the tragic hero of my story was terrifyingly real. And only I knew the bloody fate awaiting him.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my racing heart and focus on the present. "Mom, maybe we should let the Goddess handle it," I said softly, trying to soothe her. "When his Fated Mate appears, he'll know."

Diana stopped dead, fixing me with a look of exasperated pragmatism. "The Goddess? He's surrounded by sweaty Warriors all day! The Goddess isn't going to drop a Mate into the middle of a training pit! He's twenty-eight, Elara! A practical Pairing is better than dying alone!"

Her words stung, a harsh reminder of the Pack's brutal reality. For an Omega or a wolfless like me, survival always trumped fairy tales.

We moved in a tense silence toward a cluttered sundries stall. My lips were cracked from the biting wind, my skin dull and sickly from my recent fever. Diana's gaze softened as she noticed. Without a word, she reached for a small, greasy tin of coarse tallow balm sitting on the wooden counter.

I watched in horror as she dug into her worn leather pouch, pulling out three tarnished coins. They were warm from her body heat-the absolute last of our money. I looked at her hands, covered in deep fissures and thick calluses from scrubbing floors for the higher-ranking wolves.

A sudden, fierce pressure built behind my eyes. My newly awakened White Wolf bloodline made my emotions volatile, but the tears threatening to spill were entirely my own. I couldn't let her bleed herself dry for me anymore.

I reached out, my pale fingers wrapping firmly over her rough ones. "No, Mom," I said, my voice trembling but resolute.

Diana frowned, trying to pull away to pay the merchant. "Elara, your skin is cracking-"

"I said no." I gently pushed her hand back toward her pouch. "I... I remember some of Grandma's old herbal remedies. I can make something much better for us. Save the money."

Diana stared at me, searching my face. Whatever she saw in my eyes-a spark of defiance she hadn't seen since my illness-made her slowly lower her hand. She slipped the coins back into her pouch with a hesitant, bewildered nod.

As we walked away from the stall, a fire ignited in my chest. The herbal knowledge blooming in my mind wasn't just a side effect of my hidden bloodline; it was a weapon. I wasn't going to be a burden anymore. I knew exactly what I needed to make, and I knew exactly where to get the ingredients. Tomorrow, I was going to Albin Todd's shop.