Elira’s POV
I left the Winterfell Pack borders with my heart pounding painfully in my chest. I didn’t want to leave Ezra behind, not even for a second, but I had no choice. If Adrian’s pack really planned to attack Ironvale without warning, then my parents, my brother, my whole family was in danger.
I ran the entire way. My legs were shaking when I finally reached Ironvale Pack, but I forced myself to keep going. The moment the guards recognized me, they let me in.
“Lady Elira?” one of them asked.
“I need to see Alpha Jace. Right now,” I whispered.
They didn’t ask questions. They guided me straight to the main hall. My brother was there, talking with a group of elders. When he turned around and saw me, his eyes widened in shock.
“Elira? What happened?”
I opened my mouth and everything spilled out. My voice trembled.
“Winterfell Pack… Adrian… he’s planning to attack us. Soon. This week.”
The elders murmured. Jace’s expression darkened instantly. “Explain everything.”
So I did. I told him about the overheard conversation in the hospital. The accusations that Ironvale stole weapons. The declaration of war. The timing. Everything.
My brother clenched his jaw, eyes flashing with anger. “We never stole anything. That claim is false.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Someone is framing us… or bending the truth.”
Jace took a breath, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll prepare. We’re not a weak pack, Elira. We will defend our home.”
I nodded shakily. “I just… I didn’t want you all to be caught off guard.”
“You did the right thing.” He paused. “But what about you? Why did you come alone? What’s going on?”
The moment he asked, my tears fell.
“Jace…” My voice cracked. “I’ve been suffering there… for years.”
My brother froze, then stepped closer. “Elira…”
I told him everything. The bullying. The isolation. The fake marriage. The cruelty. The humiliation. The mistress. The lies. Everything Adrian hid behind my back. Every reason why I lost myself.
Jace’s hands curled into fists. “I should’ve taken you home the first time I saw your eyes change. I should’ve known.”
“No,” I whispered. “It was my choice. I thought… I thought enduring made me strong. I thought being patient would make him love me.”
My voice trembled. “I was wrong.”
Jace sighed and pulled me into a hug. “You’re leaving him, right?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “I just… I just need to go back first. I need to get Ezra. I’m not leaving without my son.”
“We’ll help you,” he said firmly.
But right then, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
My heart dropped when I read it. [I knew you can hear now. You took the bait, dear fake luna.]
My blood ran cold. It was Mira. She knew I could hear. She knew I went home. She knew I found out.
I tightened my grip on the phone. “Jace… I have to go back. Right now.”
“Elira—”
“My son is there,” I whispered. “If Mira knows I can hear, she won’t sit still. She’ll do something. I can feel it.”
Jace’s eyes sharpened. “Then go. I’ll send my warriors behind you.”
I nodded, turned around, and ran again. But the moment I stepped back inside Winterfell Pack, it was chaos. Warriors shouting. Omegas running. Wolves shifting. Panic everywhere.
“What happened?!” I grabbed the closest maid.
The maid’s eyes filled with fear. She quickly used sign language, [Your son… was kidnapped. At the hospital.]
My heart stopped. “No…” My knees weakened. “No—no—NO—”
I grabbed her arm desperately. “Who took him?! Who—”
The maid shook her head, crying silently.
I didn’t wait. I ran to Adrian’s office and slammed the door open.
“Alpha!” I screamed. “Where is my son? WHERE IS Ezra?!”
Adrian was already furious, pacing, slamming his fists on the desk. A warrior ran inside, breathless.
“Alpha! Mira—she was kidnapped too!”
Adrian’s face twisted. “What?! What the fuck are you all doing?! How did you let her out of your sight?!”
I froze. Mira… kidnapped? At the same time as my son? Something was wrong. Something didn’t make sense.
“Alpha!” I shouted, stepping forward. “Ezra is missing! He’s your son, your flesh and blood. FIND HIM. Please! Just find him—”
He lifted his hands and signed calmly, [I will find him, Elira. Don’t worry. We will rescue him.]
Relief washed over me, but then he turned to his warriors and yelled, “Find Mira first! I don’t care what it takes!”
My eyes widened. Mira first. Not Ezra. Not the sick three-year-old boy who might be terrified and freezing somewhere out there.
I felt something inside me break. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
He used sign language to deceive me into thinking he was looking for our son. I couldn’t even imagine the horror if I still hadn’t regained my hearing at that moment. I would have believed that monster!
I stormed out. But halfway down the hall, I stopped. Ezra’s nanny, Leni, was standing there, shaking.
I rushed to her. “Leni! What happened? You were with him! How did he get taken?”
She hesitated and started using sign language out of habit.
I grabbed her wrists gently. “No. Speak. I can hear for a week now. Talk to me.”
Her eyes widened. “L-Luna… you regained…?”
“That doesn’t matter!” I snapped, breath shaking. “Tell me what happened to my son.”
Leni swallowed hard, tears falling. “I—I was with him at the hospital. He was asleep. Feverish. I didn’t leave his side. But then… Mira came.”
My stomach twisted.
Leni continued, voice trembling. “Mira told me to buy something to eat. She said she would watch him… only for a few minutes.”
“And you believed her?” I whispered, voice breaking.
Leni sobbed. “She’s close to the Alpha. I couldn’t say no… I thought it was fine. I thought… I thought she would help.”
I closed my eyes tightly.
“When I returned,” Leni cried, “Ezra was gone. And Mira was nowhere to be seen.”
My chest burned. “It was a setup.”
Leni nodded, shaking. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…”
I placed a hand over my heart, trying to breathe through the panic. “No… no… I have to find him. I have to.”
I turned around, grabbed my phone, and called Jace with shaking hands.
“Jace…” I whispered when he answered. “Send your elite wolf warriors. All of them. Ezra is missing.”
“We’re coming,” he said. “We won’t stop until we find him.”
I ended the call and stepped outside, staring at the storm clouds gathering over the Winterfell Pack.
And this time, I wasn’t waiting for Adrian.
I would search every mountain, every forest, every river until I found my child. Even if I had to tear this entire territory apart with my bare hands.
