Elara POV:
I leaned back against the black leather seat of the bulletproof SUV and closed my eyes. I took a deep, shuddering breath. The enclosed space smelled of sharp, grounding cedarwood. It was Liam's scent. For the first time in three years, I was not choking on the cloying smell of blood and cheap vanilla perfume.
Liam sat beside me. He did not crowd my space. He reached into the small console and handed me a bottle of room-temperature Fiji water. His movements were smooth, natural, and entirely restrained.
"Drink," he said, his voice a low rumble.
I took the bottle. "Thank you."
My fingers were still trembling slightly. The chill of the rain from the Blood Moon estate was still clinging to my skin. I looked out the tinted window. In the side mirror, the towering iron gates of the Blood Moon pack house were shrinking, swallowed by the heavy curtain of rain.
Deep inside my coat pocket, my cheap, everyday cell phone began to vibrate violently.
I pulled it out. The cracked screen lit up, flashing Kael's name.
I slid my thumb across the glass to open the message. It was a text, dripping with the same commanding, condescending tone he always used.
Stop throwing a tantrum. Come back and admit your mistake right now, and I can still forgive you.
He was so used to standing above me. For three years, I had swallowed my pride, suppressed my pureblood aura, and offered him infinite tolerance. He thought I was a stray dog that would always crawl back to his porch.
A cold, mocking smile pulled at the corners of my mouth.
I did not type a reply. I did not hesitate. I pressed the power button and held it until the screen went completely black.
Beside me, Liam watched my hands. A flicker of deep appreciation crossed his dark eyes.
I set the dead phone aside and pulled my handbag onto my lap. I unzipped the hidden compartment at the bottom and pulled out a heavy, black metal box. It had no keyhole, only a biometric scanner.
I pressed my thumb against the glass panel. The box emitted a soft click and popped open.
Inside lay a heavy satellite phone with no brand logo. I had kept it hidden for three years. Kael and Lyra had walked in and out of my room countless times, completely blind to the fact that the woman they treated like a servant was holding the leash to their entire empire.
I turned the device on. The screen flared with an eerie blue light, casting cold shadows across my face.
My fingers flew across the keypad, typing in a long, complex string of dynamic passwords. My muscle memory was flawless.
The phone connected directly to an offshore, hyper-secure system based in Switzerland. The screen loaded a massive web of financial routing data. This was the independent trust my mother had set up before she died. She had been a human heiress who learned the hard way what happened when you let an Alpha control your wealth. She made sure I would never share her fate.
I opened the encrypted contact list and selected the Wall Street financial director coded as Gatekeeper.
I typed the command quickly. Initiate Winter Plan. Cut off all shadow funding to the Blood Moon pack immediately.
A massive red warning box popped up on the screen, demanding highest-level authorization.
I tapped confirm. The data transfer progress bar shot across the screen and hit one hundred percent.
The satellite phone let out a low, mechanical hum. The task was complete. The Blood Moon pack's financial lifeline was severed.
I locked the phone back into the metal box and shoved it into my bag. The ice in my chest solidified.
Liam watched my fluid, ruthless movements. He reached into the back compartment, pulled out a premium cashmere blanket, and draped it gently over my shoulders.
I gripped the soft fabric, pulling it tight around me. I felt light. I felt entirely free.
Kael POV:
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of my top-floor office, swirling a glass of expensive bourbon. The rain lashed against the glass.
I glanced down at my phone resting on the mahogany desk. The screen was dark.
My jaw tightened in annoyance. I did not understand why Elara had not replied yet. Usually, it only took five minutes for her to apologize after I scolded her. She had nowhere else to go. She was nothing without me.
The heavy oak door of my office suddenly slammed open, hitting the wall with a deafening crack.
My adjutant rushed in. Sweat was pouring down his face, soaking his collar. He was gripping a tablet so hard his knuckles were white.
"Alpha, our offshore accounts were just sniped. Thirty million dollars evaporated in an instant!"
