"Why is the afternoon service session logged under my master access?" I asked, tapping the tablet screen.
Dawson wiped grease from his hands with a dirty rag and leaned over the garage terminal. "Your Luna card opened the maintenance bay, ma'am. The system merges the next operation into your initial clearance unless you log out manually."
"I left hours ago. I brought the banners in at noon and went straight back to the field."
"If you did not close the session, the bay stays active under your name," he said, shrugging. "Anyone who walked into Bay Three after you just piggybacked on your digital footprint."
"Who went in after me?"
Dawson tapped the screen, scrolling through the afternoon logs. "System just shows the master access. No secondary ID required since the door was technically unlocked by your profile. Could be anyone from the maintenance crew, or someone looking for spare parts."
"And they did not swipe their own card?"
"No need to, since yours held the door open in the system. It is a security flaw, but that is how the old software runs."
I handed the tablet back. I had been rushing to return to the festival, my mind occupied with the event schedule, and skipped the logout protocol. The explanation made sense, neatly answering why the logs pointed to me. I pushed the suspicion aside. I had more pressing things to worry about today than a lazy mechanic using my access trace.
Sun beat down on the riding ring, kicking up dust as the horses circled. Bianca sat perched on the top rail of the wooden fence, watching my son ride. Adrian stood right behind her, his hands gripping her upper arms to steady her balance. It looked exactly like the stories the older pack members loved to retell. Eight years ago, Bianca took a piece of silver shrapnel meant for Adrian. He pulled her out of a burning barn. They were the pair who saved each other. I never resented their history, but I despised how that history was currently being weaponized to demand my endless patience.
Inside the ring, Lucas steered his mount away from the beginner section. He kicked his heels into the flanks of a tall, untrained roan gelding. The horse tossed its head, fighting the bit and sidestepping aggressively.
"Get down from there, Lucas. Now," I said, stepping up to the fence.
Bianca waved a dismissive hand at the riding coach. "It is fine. I will ride alongside him. The roan just needs a steady pace."
Lucas yanked the reins, making the young horse dance nervously. "I am ten years old! You do not have to control every single thing I do!"
Three years ago, in this exact stable, a spooked mare threw him toward a stone wall. I threw my body between him and the rock, shattering two ribs. He cried so hard his whole body shook, and I spent the entire night whispering that Mom was strong enough for both of us.
I did not offer him those words today.
"Dismount," I said, keeping my tone entirely flat. "Use the safe horse."
Adrian stepped away from Bianca and closed the distance between
Adrian stepped away from Bianca and closed the distance between us. "He heard you, Claire. Do not turn this into a public power struggle."
"A safety rule is not a power struggle."
"He has a coach watching him."
"And the coach put him on the beginner mare until Bianca told him to switch."
The riding coach looked down at the dirt. That was answer enough.
I stepped through the gate myself. The roan pinned its ears when I approached, foam gathering at the bit. Lucas's knees were locked, his hands too high on the reins. He was pretending confidence because Bianca was watching.
"Feet out of the stirrups," I told him. "Slide down on my side."
"I can handle it."
The gelding hopped sideways.
Lucas's face flashed with fear.
"Now."
He obeyed. The second his boots touched the dirt, the horse reared high enough to expose its belly. The coach caught the bridle and dragged the animal toward the far rail.
Lucas stared at the churned dirt where he had been sitting seconds earlier.
I waited for Adrian to say something. Anything that acknowledged I had not been controlling for the pleasure of it.
Instead, Bianca climbed down from the fence and wrapped an arm around Lucas's shoulders. "That horse was being a jerk. You did fine."
Lucas leaned into her.
"He did not do fine," I said. "He ignored a direct safety instruction. That matters."
"Claire," Adrian warned.
I looked at him. "No. You do not get to make me the villain because I am the only person willing to say no."
Lucas's face hardened. "Aunt Bianca is my favorite because she does not ruin everything."
The words landed cleanly.
I did not remind him about the broken ribs. I did not tell him how many nights I had slept outside his door during his first year with me because he woke screaming if he could not hear my breathing.
"You can be angry," I said. "You still follow the rule."
I walked away before my face betrayed me.
At the edge of the field, I opened the white ultrasound envelope. The grainy image looked impossibly small against my palm. For one reckless second, I imagined placing it in Adrian's hand and watching him remember we were still a family.
I stopped myself. A child was not leverage.
I put the photo away.
The festival marshal found me near the registration tent. "Luna, convoy assignments are confirmed. Alpha Adrian leads in the black SUV. Bianca Vale is vehicle two. She requested Lucas as her passenger. You are rear escort."
"Who approved the passenger change?"
He hesitated. "The Alpha."
Of course he had.
"Fine," I said. "Run the final vehicle checks again before departure. Especially brakes and electronic safety controls."
"Already scheduled."
I watched Lucas race toward Bianca's SUV, the black-and-silver family radio clipped to his belt. Adrian lifted a hand when he saw me looking, as if the gesture could smooth over the afternoon.
I did not wave back.
My tablet buzzed again.
Bay Three service session closed.
I opened the log. My master access had ended at 1:24 p.m., almost half an hour after I left. The software listed no secondary user.
Dawson's explanation about the old system made sense, but unease crawled over my skin anyway.
I emailed the screenshot to my private account before climbing into my sedan.
If someone had used my access, I wanted a record that existed outside Vale Pack servers.
Ahead of me, Lucas leaned out of Bianca's open passenger window and waved both arms.
"Mom! Radio check!"
I pressed the transmitter. "I hear you. Seat belt. Window up before we move."
He groaned dramatically, but the window rose.
Adrian's voice came through next. "Convoy rolling in two minutes."
I rested my hand over the white envelope inside my jacket.
Two minutes, I promised myself. One safe drive. Then I would tell them about the baby before another person got to decide where I belonged in my own family.
