Eliana POV:
The emergency room doctor was a human. He stitched the wound on my forehead with efficient hands. He asked if I wanted to call the police.
"No," I said, my voice raspy. "I'm calling a lawyer."
I left the hospital with a white bandage wrapped around my head and a scar that would never fully fade. Silver burns leave marks on the soul as well as the skin.
I called Laura, the corporate attorney I had hired to manage my independent patents. She was a shark in a pencil skirt.
"File the divorce papers," I told her. "And get me a restraining order. Also, get me a specialist team. I need to decommission the penthouse security grid."
"Decommission?" Laura asked.
"I own the IP for the wards and the surveillance algorithms. I'm revoking the license."
Next, I called Craig.
Craig was a Rogue I had met years ago when I was sourcing rare metals for the pack's defense system. He wasn't just a wolf; he was an elemental. He could manipulate metal. He was dangerous, expensive, and owed me a favor.
"I have a job," I told him. "It involves extracting proprietary tech from a hostile environment."
"I'm listening," his deep voice rumbled over the phone.
Two hours later, I stood in front of the penthouse door again. This time, I wasn't alone. I had Craig, a massive man with tattoos covering his arms, and two technicians carrying specialized extraction gear.
The guards tried to stop us.
"I am the architect of the building's security wards," I told them, holding up my tablet. "I am here to remove my intellectual property due to contract violation. Interfering with this process is a federal offense."
I tapped a button. The red lasers blocking the elevator deactivated. The guards stepped back, confused.
We went up.
Dustin and Jami were gone—probably at the obstetrics clinic.
"What's the plan?" Craig asked, looking around the opulent living room.
"I designed the runes that keep this place hidden from humans," I said, pointing to the copper wiring embedded in the walls. "I built the surveillance system that tracks the pack's stocks. I created the thermal regulation."
I looked at Craig. "Extract the cores. Leave the wiring, but take the magical conduits. Without them, this is just a cold, defenseless box."
We didn't smash walls. We were surgical. Craig placed his hands on the plaster, sensing the runic nodes I had hidden behind the drywall. With a subtle flex of his power, he pulled the magnetized cores through the wall without leaving a scratch.
The lights flickered and died. The hum of the privacy wards vanished.
I walked to the kitchen. Dustin's prized alchemy coffee machine—worth more than a car—sat on the counter.
I removed the heating element I had custom-enchanted.
"Eliana," Craig called out.
I turned. He was holding the broken pieces of my mother's ring that I had retrieved from the floor earlier.
"The silver is tainted," he said, sensing the metal. "It can't be fixed."
"I don't want to fix it," I said. "I want to change it."
Craig nodded. He held the pieces in his palm. His eyes glowed orange. Heat radiated from his hand, intense enough to melt steel.
The goblin silver liquefied. The sapphire dust burned away.
When he opened his hand, there was just a lump of ugly, twisted metal.
I took it. I pulled out a small engraving tool from my bag and carved a single rune into the hot metal: Debt.
The elevator dinged.
Dustin and Jami stepped out. They stopped dead.
Jami screamed.
The apartment was dark. The air was already getting cold. The smart-glass windows had turned opaque, blocking the view.
"What have you done?!" Dustin shrieked, his face turning purple. "Why is the system down?"
"My intellectual property," I corrected him, my voice calm. I pointed to the bandage on my head. "You broke my property. I reclaimed mine."
"You're insane! The rogues will be able to get in!" Dustin panicked. Without the wards, the penthouse was a beacon for any enemy.
"Better hire some guards," I said.
I tossed the lump of melted silver at him. He caught it instinctively. It was still hot. He yelped and dropped it.
"That's for the medical bill," I said.
"I'm going to kill you!" Dustin lunged.
Craig stepped in front of me. He didn't shift. He just hardened the metal in his own skin, turning his arm into a steel bar. He shoved Dustin back with a single, effortless motion.
Dustin stumbled and fell onto the dusty floor.
"I wouldn't do that," Craig rumbled.
I looked down at my ex-husband. He looked small. Pathetic. Sitting in the rubble of the luxury I had given him.
"I transferred my shares of the company out of your name ten minutes ago," I said. "You have the title, Dustin. But the bank accounts are empty."
I turned to the elevator.
"Goodbye, Alpha."
As the doors closed, I saw Jami crying and Dustin screaming at the ceiling.
For the first time in ten years, I breathed. And deep inside me, the White Wolf threw back her head and howled.
