If they thought she was weak, they were wrong.
If they thought she'd stay quiet, they had forgotten she had survived every attempt to erase her.
And if they touched Leo… they'd learn what true fury looked like.
The morning air was colder than usual.
Elena stood at the window in her hospital room, arms crossed over her chest as she watched pack members walk by the courtyard below. Every face told a story, some curious, others cautious. But most of them? They avoided looking up.
Even now, she was a stain no one wanted to confront.
The door behind her creaked open.
She didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"I didn't expect you," she said.
Sebastian's voice followed. "You said that yesterday."
Elena glanced over her shoulder. "And it's still true."
He walked in anyway, setting a brown paper bag on the table. "Leo asked me to bring you breakfast. Pancakes with extra syrup."
Her mouth twitched. "Of course he did."
"He wanted to come, but he's at combat class this morning."
"He's seven."
"Better he starts early than late."
Elena turned fully to face him. "You're already training him to fight?"
"He's a Sterling and an Ashworth. That's a lot of legacy to carry."
She exhaled. "Maybe he just wants to be a kid."
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck. "He asked me if he was strong enough to protect you."
Her chest clenched.
"He said he wants to be your wolf," Sebastian added, his voice quieter now.
Elena looked away, swallowing the emotion rising in her throat. "He's already everything I need."
Sebastian stepped closer. "So am I allowed to ask how you're really doing?"
She met his gaze. "You mean physically or emotionally?"
"Both."
"Physically? I still hurt. "Emotionally?" She gave a bitter smile. "That depends. "Are you here to check on me, or to smooth things over because Aurora's getting nervous?"
He sighed. "You think that's why I came?"
"I know that's why you didn't come sooner."
Sebastian sat in the chair across from her. "I was wrong to let things get this far."
Elena raised an eyebrow. "Which part? The marriage? The silence? The fact that I almost died again, and you went to Aurora first?"
"I made mistakes."
"No. "You made a choice," she said. "And you always do. Every time something happens, you choose her."
"She was being attacked too."
"So was I."
He didn't respond.
She leaned forward. "The rogues weren't there for the pack. They were there for me. Someone wants me gone, Sebastian."
"I know," he said. "And I won't let them touch you again."
"You already did."
There was a knock on the door before he could respond.
Damien stepped in.
"Bad time?"
Sebastian straightened. "Depends."
"I need a word with Elena. Alone."
Sebastian stood slowly. "I'll check on Leo."
Once the door shut, Damien stepped closer.
"You might want to sit for this," he said, pulling out a folded sheet of paper from his coat.
"I've spent a lot of time sitting. Just tell me."
He handed her the paper. It was a pack territory map, marked with red ink.
"I got this from one of our scouts," he said. Someone's been moving through the woods behind your property. Same pattern. Same time. Three nights in a row."
"Rogues?"
"No. Someone from inside the pack."
Elena's stomach turned. "Why behind my house?"
"That's what I asked. There's no easy access point, no training grounds nearby. Unless… they were watching."
She stared at the map. "You think they've been tracking me?"
"I think someone inside this pack has been feeding them information. "And I think you're not just a threat to them, Elena, you're an obstacle."
"To what?"
Damien hesitated. "To Aurora's full reinstatement."
Elena looked up. "I'm divorcing Sebastian. What more do they want?"
"They want you gone. Entirely."
She stood, ignoring the way her side protested. "You said it yourself. If I want to survive, I need to be smarter."
"You planning something?"
"Yes," she said. "But not alone."
That afternoon, Elena requested to be discharged early. The doctor was hesitant, but she pushed through. She couldn't afford to stay in that hospital bed one more day while enemies closed in.
She stepped into her home just as Leo came running down the stairs.
"Mommy!"
He wrapped his arms around her waist.
She winced slightly but hugged him tightly. "I'm okay, baby. I promise."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
He pulled back and grinned. "Wanna see what I drew?"
"In a minute. I need to talk to Aunt Margot first."
Margot Rivers, one of the few pack members who had always treated Elena like a human being, appeared from the kitchen.
"Still as stubborn as ever," Margot said, folding her arms. "You should be resting."
"I will," Elena replied. "But first, I need your help."
Margot raised an eyebrow. "With what?"
"I want to activate my father's safehouse."
That made Margot pause. "The one buried under the old training compound?"
"Yes. That one."
"Elena, no one's been there since before Roman took over as Beta."
"I know. Which means no one would expect me to go there."
Margot narrowed her eyes. "You planning on hiding?"
"No," Elena said. "I'm planning on preparing."
Margot nodded slowly. "You're really going to do this, aren't you?"
"Yes. If someone wants to push me out, they're going to have to try harder."
Late that night, after Leo was asleep, Elena drove alone to the old ruins of the Sterling training compound.
She walked through the shadows until she reached the overgrown cellar entrance, hidden beneath a collapsed shed. With a flashlight and trembling fingers, she found the steel hatch. The passcode still worked.
The door clicked open.
The air inside was musty, untouched by time. She stepped into the darkness, not as the rejected Luna or the wolfless disgrace…
But as a mother with nothing left to lose.
The air inside the safehouse was stale but intact. Dust coated every surface, and the old fluorescent lights flickered once before flooding the room with a low, humming glow.
Elena closed the heavy steel hatch behind her, sealing herself inside.
The bunker wasn't much, two narrow rooms, a small desk, storage cabinets, and a wall-mounted locker with her father's crest burned into the metal.
She moved slowly, every muscle in her side still aching from the rogue attack, but her determination outpaced the pain.
Her fingers hovered over the crest.
"Last time I touched anything of yours," she murmured, "I got burned. Let's see what happens this time."
She twisted the emblem, and the locker clicked open.
Inside was a stack of files. Thick, dusty, labeled in her father's harsh, angular handwriting.
Elena pulled the top one free and opened it.
"Pack Council Communications – Private."
She skimmed the pages, her brow furrowing deeper with every paragraph.
There were logs, meetings, votes, decisions that never reached the public.
One caught her attention immediately.
Subject: Luna Eligibility VoteDate: Six years ago.Motion Filed: Amendment to Luna requirements. Prohibits wolfless females from assuming permanent Luna status, regardless of mate bond or marriage.
Her stomach twisted, the vote had passed.
Seven to two.