Chapter 17 - Cora
Cora didn’t hear the knock until it came again, louder the second time. She glanced at the clock, where the soft tick marked the sluggish crawl of mid-morning. Her body still felt heavy from the fight with Grayson, and she’d barely slept. She wasn’t ready for visitors.
The third knock jolted her into motion. She wiped her hands on her jeans, leaving smudges of dried herbs behind, and opened the door. Elena stood on the other side, wearing the kind of no-nonsense look that only she could pull off.
“Are you going to let me in, or should I deliver my lecture on the porch?” Elena asked, not waiting for a response as she stepped past Cora into the small apartment.
Cora blinked, then shut the door. “What are you doing here?”
“Checking on you,” Elena replied. “I heard from Zach that things got…heated.”
Cora sputtered her lips. “Zach talks too much.”
Elena smirked, but her eyes softened as they landed on Cora. “That’s true, but I’m glad he does for once. He said you and Grayson had a fight.”
“It wasn’t a fight,” Cora claimed as she moved to the kitchen table where her unfinished potion supplies were still spread out. She began tidying them without much thought. “It was more of a disagreement.”
“Uh-huh.” Elena pulled out a chair and sat, watching her like a hawk. “Want to tell me what this ‘disagreement’ was about?”
“Not really.”
Elena didn’t budge. “That’s too bad because I’m not leaving until you do.”
Cora huffed before tossing a bundle of dried sage into its container. “Fine. He found me working on the bond-breaking potion again and lost it. He said it was dangerous and reckless, and I said he didn’t get to decide what I do with my life. End of story.”
Elena tilted her head, studying her. “And is that really the end of it?”
“Yes,” Cora snapped, but the word lacked conviction. She turned her back to Elena, busying herself with rearranging jars on the shelf. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’ll get over it.”
“Will he? Because it sounds like there’s a lot more going on here than just a potion.”
Cora froze with her hand hovering over a jar of lavender. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Elena responded carefully, “that maybe this fight wasn’t just about the potion. Maybe it was about you two and whatever’s going on between you.”
“There’s nothing going on,” Cora insisted quickly, too quickly.
Elena’s silence was louder than any retort. After a long moment, she said, “You’re a terrible liar.”
Cora spun around. “What do you want me to say, Elena? That I’m confused? That I don’t know how to feel about any of this? Because I don’t.”
“I want you to be honest. With me. With yourself. And maybe with Grayson, too.”
Cora slumped into a chair, burying her face in her hands. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“Because I didn’t ask for this!” Cora’s voice cracked as the words spilled out. “I didn’t ask for the bond or for him to tie us together. I didn’t ask to be rescued or dragged into this mess. All I wanted was to live my life on my own terms.”
“And you think breaking the bond will give you that?”
“I don’t know,” Cora admitted. “But it’s the only thing I can control right now.”
Elena reached across the table, resting her hand over Cora’s. “Control is important, but so is understanding what you’re giving up. This bond isn’t just a magical leash, Cora. It’s… It’s deeper than that.”
“I don’t want it to be,” Cora said, her eyes stinging. “I don’t want to feel connected to him like this. It’s too much.”
“Why? Because it scares you?”
“Because it makes me feel things I’m not ready to feel. It makes me vulnerable.”
“And you hate that,” Elena supplied knowingly. “Because you’ve spent your whole life trying to prove you don’t need anyone.”
Cora flinched as the truth of Elena’s words hit too close to home. “You sound like my mother.”
“That’s not a bad thing. Your mom wasn’t wrong about everything, you know.”
“Don’t,” Cora almost shouted, cutting her off. “Don’t bring her into this.”
“You still haven’t spoken to them, have you?”
Cora shook her head. “Not since I left the coven.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s nothing to say. They made it clear where they stood. I wasn’t the daughter they wanted, and I wasn’t going to waste my life trying to be.”
“You don’t think they miss you?”
“I don’t care if they do. I made my choice, and they made theirs.”
Elena studied her for a moment before saying, “Sometimes people don’t know how to fix the mistakes they’ve made. Sometimes, they’re just waiting for a chance to try.”
Cora scrunched her nose and shook her head. “It’s too late for that.”
“Is it? Or are you just too afraid to find out?”
Cora didn’t respond. She couldn’t. So, she focused on the wood grain pattern on the table instead.
Elena let the silence linger for a moment before leaning forward, her fingers tracing an invisible pattern on the table. “You know, you remind me a lot of myself when I left my own coven.”
“How’s that?”
“You hated the feeling of being boxed in, of having someone else dictate what your life should look like. I did, too. My family had all these expectations, these rules about what I was supposed to be. And I fought them every step of the way because I thought breaking free was the only way to survive.”
“And you think I’m the same?”
“I think you’re running. From the bond, from Grayson, maybe even from yourself. And I get it. I do. But breaking the bond isn’t just another rebellion, Cora. It’s not a tradition you can walk away from or a role you can refuse.”
“It’s my life,” Cora argued. “And I won’t let anyone or anything dictate it. Not my family, not the coven, and certainly not a bond I didn’t choose.”
“I’m not saying you don’t have a right to choose, but this isn’t like leaving the coven. Severing a mate bond—it’s not just as simple as walking away. It’s about unraveling something fundamental that ties you to him on a level you don’t fully understand yet.”
Cora’s lips pressed into a thin line. “You’re starting to sound like him.”
“I’ve been doing research,” Elena continued, ignoring the jab. “Old texts, obscure sources. I wanted to understand what breaking a bond like this actually means. And the more I learned, the more I realized it’s not as simple as just cutting a cord.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying the bond doesn’t just connect you physically or emotionally. It’s tied to your souls, Cora. To who you are at your core. Severing it could destabilize you both. It could change you in ways you can’t predict, ways that might be irreversible.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“No, but neither do you,” Elena shot back. “And isn’t that enough of a reason to be cautious? To think this through before you do something you can’t take back?”
Cora shook her head, pushing away from the table. “You don’t get it. You don’t know what it’s like to feel trapped like this, to have something forced on you that you didn’t ask for.”
“Don’t I? You think I don’t understand what it’s like to feel powerless? To want to claw back control over your life with everything you have?”
“It’s not the same,” Cora insisted.
“It’s more similar than you think,” Elena said. “And I’m telling you, control isn’t about cutting ties or burning bridges. Sometimes, it’s about learning how to hold on to what matters without letting it consume you.”
Before Cora could respond, the front door opened, and Grayson stepped inside. His eyes darted between the two women until his gaze settled on Cora’s tense posture.
“What’s going on?” he asked, low and wary.
“Just a friendly chat,” Elena answered, her voice laced with sarcasm. She crossed her arms, leaning casually against the table. “Nice of you to join us, by the way.”
Grayson ignored her. He just kept his focus fixed on Cora. “Are you okay?”
Cora opened her mouth, but she had to swallow because she responded. “I’m fine.”
Grayson’s expression darkened, but Elena spoke up before he could press further. “You know, for someone who claims to care about her, you’re doing a pretty lousy job of showing it.”
Grayson whipped his head to face her. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re supposed to be her protector, right? Her mate? Then why are you standing around letting her carry the weight of this bond like it’s her burden alone?”
“I’ve done everything I can to protect her,” Grayson snapped. “Everything.”
“Have you?” Elena challenged. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just as scared as she is. Maybe even more.”
Grayson’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t back down. “You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through. About what I’ve lost.”
“And you think that justifies shutting her out? Letting her feel like she’s in this alone?” Elena shook her head. “You’re supposed to be in this together, Grayson. That’s what a bond means.”
“This isn’t your fight. Stay out of it.”
“I care about her,” Elena declared. “And if you won’t step up, then someone has to.”
“That’s enough,” Cora cut in. She stepped between them with her arms outstretched. “Both of you, stop.”
Elena exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry, Cora. I didn’t mean to—”
“I know.” She turned to Grayson and added, “And you need to stop treating me like I’m some fragile thing that needs to be handled with kid gloves. If this bond is going to mean anything, then we both need to figure out what that looks like. Together.”
Grayson’s shoulders sagged, and for a moment, the anger in his eyes gave way to something softer. “I’m trying.”
“Try harder,” Cora told him.
Elena stepped back, giving Cora a small nod. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
She paused as she moved toward the door, glancing back at Grayson. “For what it’s worth, I do think you care about her. But caring isn’t enough. You have to prove it.”
With that, she left Cora and Grayson alone in the quiet apartment.