CHAPTER 3

Adrian’s PoV

I watch sadly as they put Elara's charred cloth pieces wrapped in a fine fabric into the casket. We couldn't find her body. Yet everyone was in a rush to say goodbye already.

But that was our pack's tradition. The sooner we say our goodbyes, the sooner our loved ones find peace and reincarnate as a werewolf. They believed this kept the bond between the wolf and the human soul intact beyond their death.

But for me, I was not ready to let her go! How could I?

Elara was my perfect, amazing girlfriend. I wiped a stray tear, steadying myself as I looked at the somber faces gathered around the casket in a tight circle. Her parents and her brother were in shock, trying to accept the harsh reality. But someone was missing. Isla.

My doubts about her solidified. Even now, with everything that happened - the preparations, the explosion, the fire, and now her sister's funeral, she was missing. Why? What could be the reason? I can't get rid of this eerie feeling that she was somehow involved.

Then, as if summoned by my thoughts, Isla appeared, walking slowly into the courtyard. Her expression is blank, almost confused, like she doesn’t understand what’s happening here. She’s pretending. I know she is. She’s feigning ignorance, trying to look innocent. But I know better. I know she had something to do with what happened last night.

And there, as if summoned by my thoughts, she walked through the crowd, looking confused and flustered - like she had no idea what was happening here. She was feigning ignorance to look innocent. She was pretending to be surprised.

But I know better. I know something others might not, yet. I was forced down memory lane of our last night.

Only if I had stopped Elara from meeting the vicious Isla.

*Flashback Starts*

Last night was supposed to be perfect.

I had planned everything. Everything was in place. A quiet, elegant dinner under the stars. It would have been the kind of night that would make her realize just how special she was to me. I was going to confess my feelings to Elara. I wanted to tell her that she was my everything and that I wanted her by my side as my mate, as my future Luna.

I could already picture her radiant smile, the way her eyes would light up when I told her how much I loved her. She was perfect, and I had no doubt that we were fated to be mates.

I wanted to propose to her before her eighteenth birthday. The confession would have been more meaningful and my love for her would have felt more real. After all, even though I knew her birthday would confirm that we were fated mates, I wanted her to know that I loved her, nevertheless. It was supposed to mark the beginning of our future together.

We were cuddled on my couch, watching a movie. I was waiting for the perfect moment to ask her for dinner later. But when I asked her to spend the night with me, she turned me down. Though I didn't expect this, I believed her excuse.

“I want to spend tonight with Isla. We are meeting in the woods.” She said, her voice soft but firm. “Adrian, you have to understand. It’s our birthday tomorrow. Not just mine. We need some sister time, you know? To discuss mates and our future. Everything is going to change for both of us.”

I didn’t argue when she insisted on having that 'Girl Talk', though it stung. I wanted her all to myself, to celebrate us, but I swallowed my disappointment and nodded. “Of course. We’ll have tomorrow.” A decision I would regret for the rest of my life. I should have stopped her. I know how much Isla disliked her. Yet, I let my Elara go to her.

What could I have done when she smiled at me like that... that perfect smile, and kissed my cheek? “Tomorrow,” she promised, before slipping away into the night.

I comforted my heart that if it made her happy, I was willing to wait one more night. Nothing would change. Tomorrow, everything would fall into place. Or so I thought.

Because this tomorrow never came.

Why didn't I stop her? Why would I let her go? Why? These questions were going to haunt me for the rest of my life. And they should.

I had to burn some heat and sweat to occupy myself. I was in the training hall when the worst news of my life arrived. One of the guards rushed in, breathless, his face pale.

“Alpha, there has been an explosion. A fire... in the woods.” The news hit me like a ton of bricks.

Didn't Elara go into the woods? Fear crept inside my skin, making my heart pound in my chest. I prayed to every God that had ever existed to keep my Elara safe.

“Take me there,” I demanded, already pushing past him.

I bolted from the hall, my legs moving faster than my thoughts. My wolf was restless to reach the orange-golden flames flickering through the leaves and branches. Though they were already beginning to die down. The night air began to muffle with the scent of smoke as I neared the site. When I arrived, guards and pack members were already there, trying to extinguish the last of the blaze. Among them stood Ryan and Elara's father.

"Adrian! We can't find Elara!" Ryan rushed beside me, his eyes full of dread.

"What?" I gulped hard, my throat tightening.

I searched relentlessly to find any clue. But there was none. I was happy, that it meant Elara was safe somewhere else.

And then I saw it. My hands shook as I knelt to check the scattered charred fabric and burnt pieces of clothing under the bark of a large tree that was brutally burnt. My heart pounded in my chest. I recognized it. It was Elara’s.

"Elara!" Ryan knelt beside me, recognizing her clothes.

"My precious daughter! Why?" Her father stumbled, his voice full of despair and disbelief.

Ryan and Elara's father had already concluded that she was dead.

And there, lying amid the ashes, was her necklace. My hands trembled, and my throat choked as I picked it up and cleaned the dust. The heart-shaped pendant shimmered under the moonlight as if mocking me.

 “No…” My voice came out in a whisper, as I gulped a lump of fear. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. “Elara…” I looked around desperately, hoping someone would come and say Elara was safe. I was wrong. She had just dropped it. Or this necklace in my hand was an exact copy. But I knew better. It was special to her. To us. It was my gift for her eighteenth birthday - something we had carefully chosen together. She won't lose it... until...

I clutched the necklace tighter, my heart racing, refusing to believe it. “She can't be dea... ” My voice was rising with panic. “I won't believe it until I see her body.”

“She is gone, Adrian,” her father said quietly, his voice shaking. He was shattered to his bones, yet trying to be strong for his family.

I ignored him. I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. I turned back toward the woods, my eyes scanning the ground desperately. “Search again!” I barked. “We will search the entire forest if we have to. We are not stopping until we find her.”

I and other pack members had searched thoroughly before the elders and the alpha ordered us not to delay the funeral. I had to stop.

*Flashback ends*

And here we are, in the courtyard of her house, with her charred cloth pieces wrapped in a fine fabric inside a casket. All the pack members had come to bid farewell to our lovely, amazing, perfect Elara - my mate. My chest felt constricted as I saw Isla.

Elara was gone. And Isla was still there.

I felt a heavyweight pressing down on me. Something was wrong... terribly wrong. I held the necklace tightly in my fist, my mind replaying the last conversation we had. She had been with Isla, preparing for the birthday celebration.

Something cold and dark twisted inside me. Isla had been with her last. She had to know something. She definitely used this opportunity and did something to get rid of Elara before their eighteenth birthday.

I don’t care what others say. I know in my heart that Elara is alive and in danger. I was determined to take my revenge, my heart racing with rage.

I have to find out who is responsible. I will make them pay.

Make her pay.