The knock came just after midnight.
I knew it was Jacob before I opened the door. I could feel him through the bond—what was left of it. A cold, heavy pressure against my ribs, like a hand pressing down on my chest.
I set down my tea and walked to the door.
He was standing on the porch with Fiona beside him. She had her hand on his arm. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.
"The ledgers," Jacob said. "Hand them over."
I didn't move. "They're pack records. I'm the Luna. I have access."
"They're Alpha property," he said. His voice was flat. "You're holding them without authorization."
Behind him, Fiona made a small sound. A whimper. Jacob's hand moved to her shoulder, steadying her.
I felt my wolf stir. Not pacing this time. Something sharper.
"Come in," I said.
I stepped back and let them enter. Jacob walked in first, scanning the room like he was looking for something. Fiona followed, staying close to his side.
I walked to the desk and picked up the folder Jovie had brought me. The one with the wolfsbane evidence. I opened it and pulled out the first page.
"Before you take the ledgers," I said, "you should see this."
I laid the page on the table between us.
It was a patrol schedule. Dates. Times. Courier names. Shipment weights. All cross-referenced with the main inventory logs.
Jacob looked down at it. His jaw tightened.
For a moment—just a moment—I saw something flicker in his eyes. His wolf, pushing forward. Recognizing the truth in the numbers.
Then Fiona gasped.
"Jacob," she whispered. Her voice broke. "She's—she's making this up. She's trying to destroy me because she's jealous."
She started crying. Real tears this time, or at least they looked real. Her shoulders shook. She pressed her hand to her mouth.
"I would never—" She couldn't finish. She turned into Jacob's chest, sobbing.
Jacob's expression hardened. The flicker was gone.
"You're fabricating evidence," he said.
I stared at him. "Those are your signatures. Your courier assignments. Your resource requisitions."
"You altered them."
"I didn't—"
"Enough." His voice was sharp. Final. "I'm taking the ledgers. Now."
I didn't move. My wolf was snarling now, clawing at something deep inside me, something I couldn't name yet.
"Jacob," I said quietly. "Look at the numbers. Just look at them."
He crossed the room in two strides and grabbed my arm. His grip was tight. Too tight.
"I said enough."
Then he pulled. Hard.
I stumbled backward. My hip hit the desk. I tried to catch myself, but his grip was too strong, his momentum too sudden. He shoved me, and I went sideways into the wall.
The impact knocked the air out of my lungs. Pain exploded across my shoulder, my ribs. I slid down and hit the floor hard.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. There was just pain, sharp and bright, radiating from my shoulder to my neck.
Then I felt it.
Wet. Warm. Spreading.
I pressed my hand to my neck. When I pulled it away, my fingers were red.
The mate mark. It had split open along the old scar. Blood was soaking into my collar, running down my chest.
I looked up.
Jacob was standing over me. He was breathing hard. His eyes were wide, like he'd just realized what he'd done.
Then Fiona made a small sound. A gasp. She swayed on her feet.
"Jacob," she whispered. "I—I don't feel well."
She collapsed.
Jacob caught her before she hit the ground. He lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.
"Fiona," he said. His voice was panicked. Desperate. "Fiona, stay with me."
She didn't answer. Her head lolled against his shoulder.
Jacob turned and carried her toward the door. He didn't look back. Didn't glance at me on the floor, bleeding.
The door slammed shut behind him.
I sat there in the silence, my hand pressed to my neck, feeling the blood pulse hot and slick between my fingers.
My wolf was howling now. Not in pain. In rage.
I closed my eyes and reached for the mind-link. The emergency channel I'd set up with Jovie weeks ago.
*Safe house. Now.*
Then I let my head fall back against the wall and waited.
---
Jovie found me twenty minutes later.
I heard his truck before I saw him. The engine cut off, and then his boots were on the porch, heavy and fast.
The door opened.
"Luna—" He stopped. His face went pale.
I was still on the floor. The blood had slowed, but my shirt was soaked through. My hand was sticky with it.
"I'm fine," I said.
He crossed the room in three strides and dropped to his knees beside me. "You're not fine. What happened?"
"Jacob."
His jaw tightened. He didn't ask anything else. He just slipped his arm under my shoulders and lifted me carefully, like I might break.
"We're going to Dessa," he said.
"Not the pack house."
"I know."
He carried me out to the truck and set me in the passenger seat. I leaned my head against the window. The glass was cold. It felt good against my skin.
Jovie drove fast, but not reckless. The safe house was on the eastern border. Dessa's clinic was south, tucked into the forest near the old logging road.
We didn't speak. There was nothing to say.
When we arrived, Dessa was already waiting. Jovie must have mind-linked her on the way. She opened the door before we even stopped.
"Inside," she said. Her voice was calm. Professional.
Jovie carried me in and set me on the exam table. Dessa moved immediately, pulling back my collar, examining the wound.
She didn't flinch. Didn't gasp. She just worked.
"Bond fracture," she said after a moment. "The mark split along the original scar. It's not a surface wound. It's deeper than that."
"The pup?" I asked.
She pressed her hand to my abdomen, her eyes closing briefly as she reached for her healer's sense.
"Unharmed," she said. "But the bond is degrading. Critically. If it continues like this—"
"I know," I said.
She cleaned the wound and bandaged it carefully. Then she stepped back.
"I need you to document this," I said. "In writing. The injury. The cause. Witnessed and signed."
Dessa looked at me for a long moment. Then she nodded.
She pulled out a form and began writing. When she finished, she signed it and handed it to Jovie.
"Witness," she said.
He signed without hesitation.
Dessa handed the document to me. I folded it carefully and slipped it into my jacket pocket.
"Thank you," I said.
She nodded. "Rest. At least a few hours."
"I will."
I slid off the table. My legs were steady. My wolf had gone quiet again, but I could feel her there, waiting.
Jovie drove me back to the safe house. When we arrived, he helped me inside and started a fire.
"You should sleep," he said.
"I will. In a bit."
He hesitated, then nodded and left.
I sat down at my desk. The folder was still there, the evidence page still on the table where I'd left it.
I pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and started writing.
Every detail. Every word. Every moment from the time Jacob entered until the door slammed shut.
When I finished, I made tea. Black. Bitter.
Then I opened the ledger and got back to work.