Elana POV
For three days following the auction, I didn't leave my room.
To the pack, it looked like I was cowering in shame. The gossip mill was relentless, grinding on just outside my door.
*“Did you see her face?”*
*“Emilio is a saint for putting up with her.”*
*“Hayden is so much better suited for him.”*
I let them talk. Their voices didn't break me; they fueled me.
My room was dark, lit only by the cold, blue glow of three monitors I had set up. I wasn't hiding. I was hunting.
I had bugged the Alpha suite months ago. Not because I suspected infidelity back then, but because I was the architect. I needed to monitor the structural integrity and airflow of the renovation.
Now, those environmental sensors were my eyes and ears.
I watched the screen.
Hayden was in the kitchen, mixing something into a ceramic tea pot. She pulled a small vial from the lining of her bra.
I zoomed in.
The label was worn, but I recognized the symbol immediately. *Moonshade.*
It was a rare herb used to mask scents. Specifically, it masks the scent of *other* wolves on your skin.
Why would a "loyal" Mate need to mask scents inside her own pack house?
I saved the clip to an encrypted drive.
Then, I pulled up the financial records. Emilio had frozen my accounts, but he forgot that I built the firewall for the bank. A back door is only useful if you know where the key is.
I traced the "defense budget" withdrawals. They weren't going to contractors. They were being funneled in small, inconspicuous increments to a private account under the name "L.T. Trust."
Leo Thomas.
He was siphoning pack funds to secure a future for his bastard son.
Suddenly, the door to my room burst open.
I minimized the windows instantly.
Emilio stood in the frame. He looked wrecked. His tie was loosened, his hair messy, and he marched in carrying the scent of stale whiskey and aggression.
"What do you want?" I asked, not looking up from my blank screen.
He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. He invaded my space, his heavy Alpha presence filling the small room like a suffocating fog.
"We need to talk, Elana."
His voice was softer now. The "good cop" routine.
"I've been thinking," he said, staring down at his hands. "I was harsh at the auction. I'm sorry."
I raised an eyebrow. "You humiliated me."
"I had to show strength!" he insisted, his head snapping up. "The pack needs a strong leader. And you... you challenged me."
He sighed, trying to look burdened by the weight of the crown. "Look, my childhood... you know how it was. Growing up without a father. I just want Leo to have what I didn't."
He reached out to touch my hand. I pulled it away as if he were burning hot.
"Here is the deal," he said, his eyes hardening slightly as he pivoted to business. "I still need you. You are the best architect in the region. You can stay. You can be the Luna. We will get married."
I stared at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "And Hayden?"
"She stays too," he said, as if it were obvious. "She is the mother of my child. She and Leo will live in the pack house. You will accept them. You will be a... sister to her."
I felt a laugh bubbling up in my throat. It was a dark, jagged thing.
"A sister?" I stood up, ignoring the phantom pain in my leg. "You sleep with your sister, Emilio? You buy diamond necklaces for your sister while your fiancée pays the bills?"
"She is my Mate!" he snapped, dropping the act completely. "In every way that matters. She gave me a son! What have you given me? Blueprints?"
"I gave you my life!" I shouted. "I gave up Alpine for you!"
"And you should be grateful I kept you around!" he countered, standing up to tower over me. "Hayden is my priority. Leo is my priority. You are second. Learn your place, Elana."
*Buzz.*
His phone vibrated against the dresser.
His face softened instantly. "Yes, Hayden? What? He’s coughing? I'm coming."
He looked at me one last time, his eyes devoid of warmth. "Think about it. It's this, or the streets."
He turned and ran out the door. He didn't even close it.
On the floor, near the door, lay a small wooden wolf carving. He had made it for me on our first anniversary. It was crude, ugly, and I had cherished it for years as a symbol of his devotion.
I picked it up. It felt light. Cheap.
I walked to the trash can and dropped it in.
*Thud.*
"Second place," I muttered.
I walked back to my computer and woke the screens.
I opened the calendar.
One month.
In one month, the pack would hold the Grand Baptism for Leo. Every Elder, every neighboring Alpha, every important wolf in the region would be there.
It was the perfect stage.
I opened my chat with Ayla.
To: Ayla Guy
Message: Get me the silver nitrate. And the projector codes. I'm ready.
From: Ayla Guy
Message: It's going to be a bloodbath. I love it.
I looked at my reflection in the black monitor screen.
I wasn't the girl who cried over a broken photo anymore.
I felt a strange sensation in my chest. My inner wolf, usually so silent, was pacing. She was waking up.
And she was hungry.
