I’d let another couple of weeks pass, running the pack the way Elias would have wanted. We were back to rescuing people again, but the biggest issue now was figuring out where to put
everyone.
The vige wasing along well–many families had already moved into the newly built apartments–but the reports of abuse kepting in. We couldn’t ignore them, which meant I was constantly sending out more and more teams to save those who needed us.
But I couldn’t shake the thought of Elias. It had been weeks, and I knew I needed to check on him again. I didn’t expect much to have changed, but I wasn’t <i>going </i><i>to </i>give up on him. Elias was the best friend I’d ever had, and he’d saved my life more times than I could count. I refused to turn my back on him now.
When I reached the field where Lyra had vanished, I scanned the area <i>and </i>then focused on
the tent.
That’s when I saw him.
Elias was lying motionless on the ground in front of the tent.
I sprinted toward him and knelt at his side. The sight made my stomach twist–he’d lost even more weight than thest time I was here, and it had only been two weeks. He must havepletely stopped eating. His breathing was shallow, and he was close to death.
“No, not like this,” I muttered.
I hauled <i>him </i>up <i>and </i>slung him over my shoulders, carrying him back to the car with grim determination. Once he was in the back seat, lying down, I drove straight to the castle.
Chris and Liam were waiting when I arrived, and together we helped get Elias inside.
As soon as we opened the door to his room, Elias‘ head lifted slightly. We all knew why. Lyra’s scent still lingered here–it was everywhere. On the bed, on her clothes, in the air. No one had been in this room since she disappeared.
We carried him straight into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and practically dropped him under the stream of water.
It roused him a little, but not much. He barely reacted, and he certainly didn’t fight us.
Once we had him clean, we got him dressed in fresh clothes and moved him to the bedroom. We sat him in a chair and brought in a tray of food.
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< CHAPTER 81
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He was so weak he couldn’t even lift his arms, so we started feeding him ourselves, one spoonful at a time.
Then two women came in–one to cut his hair, the other to shave off the thick, unkempt beard he was now hiding behind.
It was startling to see how far he had let himself go. He didn’t even look like Elias anymore.
The women quietly worked, but the one standing in front of him suddenly froze.
Elias had grabbed her wrist, his ck eyes snapping up to hers with a force that made the entire room fall silent. The intensity in his stare was enough <i>to </i>chill everyone in the room. No one moved, unsure of what the hell he was thinking.
<b>“</b>Alpha, let her go. She’s not here to hurt you,” I said, keeping my <i>voice </i>calm as I stepped
closer.
Elias kept his dark, piercing eyes locked on the woman for a moment longer, his grip iron–tight, before finally releasing her wrist.
“Get out,” he ordered coldly.
The women looked at me nervously, waiting for direction. I gave a slight nod, and they quickly
scurried out of the room.
I moved around to stand in front of Elias so he could see me clearly, then picked up the scissors myself. Without a word, I started trimming his overgrown beard down to a length short enough <i>to </i>shave.
He didn’t stop me. He didn’t tell me to get out. He just sat there, silent and still, letting me
work.
When I was done, Elias didn’t even nce toward the mirror. He didn’t shift in the chair, didn’t change his posture–just sat there, hollow and motionless, like he was somewhere else entirely.
Not long after, I was called downstairs to deal with the newest group of survivors that had arrived. They needed cements, and I was the one who had to make it happen.
Before I left, I told one of the guards to stay stationed outside Elias’s bedroom. I needed to know if he tried to leave or did anything suspicious. I didn’t want to think of it as putting him under guard, but that’s exactly what it was–twenty–four–hour watch.
It took hours before I was able to get back upstairs, and when I did, Elias was no longer in the chair. He was lying on the couch now, pointedly avoiding the bed.
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“Why did you bring me back here?” Elias asked quietly as I stepped inside.
“Because you were killing yourself out there,” I said simply.
“That was the point,” he replied, his voice cold and lifeless.
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I clenched my jaw. “I know you miss her. We all do. But I am not going to stand by and watch you waste away. We need you, Elias. <i>I </i>need you. I can’t do this alone.”
He didn’t even look at me. “I need her. That’s all I care about.”
“I know. And I don’t me you for that,” I said, softening my voice. “She’s your mate. But if she makes it back, she’ll know where to find you. I promise you that.”
“Just get out,” Elias said sharply. “Leave me alone.”
I stood there for a moment, looking at the man who had once been unstoppable, now broken
in a way I’d never seen.
“You might not believe it right now,” I said quietly, “but I’m doing this for you. You’re in pain, but I know you don’t really want to die.”
I left the room and shut the door behind me, exhaling a heavy breath.
“Anything,” I told the guard stationed outside. “If you hear <i>anything </i>inside that room–him walking, moving around, whatever–I need to know immediately. In case he tries to do something stupid.”
Everyone loved Lyra. But I wasn’t about to let Elias destroy himself because of her absence. Even if losing her had been the worst thing to happen to him.
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