I was helping Lily practice her balance when Marcus appeared at the edge of the training circle, his expression tight.
"Elodie," he said quietly. "We've got a situation."
My wolf stirred uneasily. I knew that tone.
"What kind of situation?"
"The kind that just crashed through our border checkpoint without permission." Marcus's jaw tightened. "Alpha Finn Knight is here. And he's demanding to see you."
The world tilted slightly. My damaged wolf whimpered, that old instinct to submit trying to claw its way back up my throat.
No. Not anymore.
"Tell him I'm busy," I said, turning back to Lily.
Marcus didn't move. "Elodie, he's not taking no for an answer. And he looks... rough. Real rough."
I closed my eyes and took a breath. The severed bond ached in my chest, that phantom pain that never quite went away.
"Fine," I said. "But I'm not going alone."
Marcus nodded. "Valentino's already waiting in the courtyard."
Of course he was.
---
Finn looked like hell.
His clothes were wrinkled, his hair uncombed, and there were dark circles under his eyes that spoke of sleepless nights and a wolf going feral. He stood in the center of the courtyard, his shoulders hunched, his hands clenched into fists.
When he saw me, something desperate and wild flashed across his face.
"Elodie." My name came out broken, pleading. "Thank god. I've been looking everywhere—"
"You need to leave," I said, my voice steady despite the way my heart was hammering. "You have no business here."
"No business?" He laughed, and it sounded unhinged. "You're my mate. The pack is falling apart without you. My wolf is dying without you. How can you say I have no business?"
Valentino stood a few feet behind me, silent but present. I could feel his calm strength at my back, anchoring me.
"I'm not your mate," I said. "Not anymore. I rejected you, remember?"
Finn flinched like I'd struck him. "You didn't mean it. You were upset, you were hurt, but we can fix this. We can—"
"There's nothing to fix." I took a step forward, and my wolf didn't cower. She stood tall, damaged but defiant. "You made your choice, Finn. You chose Summer. You chose your guilt over our bond. You chose to humiliate me in front of the entire pack. Those were your decisions, not mine."
"I was wrong." His voice cracked. "I know I was wrong. But the pack needs you. I need you. Please, Elodie. Just come back. We can start over. I'll mark you properly this time, I'll make you Luna, I'll—"
"I don't want to be your Luna," I said, and the truth of it rang through the courtyard like a bell. "I don't want to be your anything. I'm done, Finn. I'm done waiting for you to see me. I'm done being second choice. I'm done."
His face twisted, desperation giving way to something darker. That old Alpha arrogance, the need to control, to dominate.
"You don't get to decide that," he said, and his voice dropped into that commanding register. "You're mine, Elodie. The Moon Goddess made you mine, and I'm not letting you—"
His Alpha Tone hit the air like a physical force, suffocating and oppressive.
But it never reached me.
Valentino moved so fast I barely saw it. One moment he was behind me, the next he was between us, his body a solid wall of protection.
And then he growled.
It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It was low and vibrating, coming from deep in his chest, and the sheer pressure of it made the air itself feel heavy. The suppressed power in that sound was terrifying, ancient, absolute.
Finn stumbled backward, his Alpha Tone dying in his throat. His eyes went wide with shock and something that looked like fear.
Valentino didn't shift. Didn't raise his voice. Just stood there, that devastating growl rolling through the courtyard, and I felt the weight of his aura for the first time.
It was massive. Overwhelming. The kind of power that made Alphas look like children playing at dominance.
What the hell was he?
Finn's face had gone pale. He stared at Valentino like he was seeing something impossible, something that shouldn't exist.
"You need to leave," Valentino said quietly, and even without the growl, his voice carried absolute authority. "Now."
Finn looked at me one last time, his expression a mixture of desperation and dawning horror.
Then he turned and ran.
