The forest embraced me as I slipped through the shadows, following Damon's scent through the morning mist. Lyra's presence warmed my chest, our shared secret giving me strength while I maintained my façade of weakness. Three days had passed since I'd discovered the truth, and each hour had only sharpened my resolve.
"He's heading toward your ancestral territory," Lyra observed as we tracked Damon's path through the eastern woods.
"My territory," I corrected silently, bitterness coating the words. "Not our territory. Mine. Passed down through my bloodline long before I ever met him."
I kept a careful distance, my movements silent as I'd learned during my year of solitude. Without the pack's awareness of my recovered abilities, I could move undetected—a ghost observing the living who believed me half-dead.
Damon's powerful frame came into view ahead, standing tall amid a construction site that hadn't existed when I last visited my lands. Workers moved about, carrying materials, while a massive foundation stretched across what had once been a beautiful meadow where I'd played as a child.
"What is he building?" Lyra growled, our shared anger pulsing between us.
I crept closer, ducking behind stacks of lumber as Damon conversed with the site manager. Their voices carried clearly to my enhanced hearing.
"The new wing needs to be completed before the Regional Alpha ceremony," Damon was saying, his tone brooking no argument. "Seraphina wants to host the after-celebration here."
"Here. On my land," I whispered, fingers digging into the rough bark of a fallen log.
The site manager nodded, flipping through a ledger. "We're on schedule, Alpha. The additional funding helped speed things along."
Damon smiled, a self-satisfied expression I once found charming but now saw as smug. "Good. The pack treasury can cover any additional expenses."
I waited until they moved toward the foundation before slipping from my hiding place. The manager had left the ledger on a makeshift table, and I moved swiftly to examine it. Page after page detailed expenses, materials, and—most damning of all—the source of funds: "Luna Territory Investment Account."
My personal account. The one containing profits from investments made with my inheritance, separate from pack funds.
I pulled out my phone and quickly photographed the pages, my hands steady despite the rage building inside me. Not only was Damon housing my attacker in our home, but he was using my own money to build her a palace on my ancestral lands.
"This is theft," Lyra snarled. "Legal theft, but theft nonetheless."
"And theft," I replied silently, "is something even an Alpha can be held accountable for by the pack council."
I slipped away before I could be discovered, my mind racing with possibilities. By the time I reached the edge of the construction site, I spotted what I had suspected—a cluster of small cabins nestled in the trees beyond the main construction. Unfamiliar wolves moved between them, their scents marking them as rogues. Seraphina's followers, given sanctuary on my land without my knowledge or consent.
Back in my recovery cabin, I examined the photographs I'd taken, building my case methodically. When the afternoon sun began its descent, I sent a message to Maeve requesting a private audience. The old wolf had always respected my lineage, even if she deferred to Damon's Alpha status.
She arrived as twilight fell, her ancient eyes sharp with curiosity.
"This is unexpected, Luna Celeste," she said, settling into the chair across from me. "You rarely seek company these days."
I kept my posture slightly hunched, my voice soft—the broken Luna everyone expected. "I've been... reflecting, Elder Maeve. About my role, diminished as it is."
She nodded, sympathy in her gaze. "Even without your wolf, you remain our Luna by bond."
"Yes," I agreed, "and as Luna, certain rights remain mine regardless of my... condition." I hesitated, as if gathering courage. "My ancestral territory, for instance."
Interest flickered in Maeve's eyes. "What about your territory?"
"I believe it may have been... occupied without proper authorization." I kept my tone uncertain, vulnerable. "I wondered if the council might... inspect? As is their right when territory disputes arise?"
Maeve's gaze sharpened. "You speak of a dispute. With whom?"
"I'm not certain," I lied delicately. "But there are... structures being built. Wolves I don't recognize living there."
"Rogues," Maeve said flatly, not a question but a statement.
I lowered my eyes, the perfect picture of helplessness. "I wouldn't know. I just... I may have lost my wolf, but those lands are still mine by birthright. The pack laws are clear."
Maeve stood abruptly. "I will convene the elders tonight. We will inspect at dawn."
As she left, I allowed myself a small, cold smile. The first piece had been moved.
The elders' inspection was swift and decisive. Standing back, I watched as Maeve confronted the rogues, her ancient authority making even these hardened outsiders lower their eyes.
"These lands belong to Luna Celeste by birthright," she declared, her voice carrying across the clearing. "No occupation may occur without her express permission, regardless of her... current state."
The eviction order came immediately. By midday, the Gammas had arrived, their presence leaving no room for argument as they escorted Seraphina's followers from my territory.
I stood at the edge of the trees, watching as the last of them departed. From the distance came a scream of pure rage—Seraphina, no doubt being informed of what had transpired.
"The first blow," Lyra murmured within me.
"A small one," I replied silently. "But enough to create the first crack in their perfect little world."
As I turned to leave, I caught sight of Damon racing toward the construction site, his face twisted with fury. Our eyes met briefly across the distance, and for the first time in a year, I didn't look away first.
Let him wonder what strength remained in his broken Luna. Let him begin to fear what else she might remember about pack law.
