Chapter 142

DEREK

The door to the Alpha’s office shut behind us with a heavy click, sealing the tension inside.

Elena stalked ahead of me down the hallway, her bare shoulders tight with fury and frustration.

I caught up to her in three long strides.

"I want to talk to her," she said, voice low and feral. "Now."

I didn’t blame her.

I wanted to talk to Maggie too—though for probably far less noble reasons. My questions would have sharper teeth.

And if Maggie’s answers didn’t come fast enough, I wasn’t sure I could keep my temper in check.

Still, I stayed steady.

"Elena," I said quietly, reaching for her hand to slow her down. "She’s in Council custody now."

She yanked her hand free, turning on me, her eyes bright with pain.

"Do you think she’s the one who attacked our bond?"

Her voice cracked on the last word. It killed me to hear it. Killed me even more that I didn’t have a clean answer to give her.

I let out a slow breath.

"It seems likely," I admitted. "Otherwise it’s a hell of a coincidence that she’s out there at the same time we were attacked, but... I have to be honest. I don’t see how or why she’d do something like that."

I waited until her gaze met mine again before continuing.

"The bottom line is, we won’t know until we can speak to her directly. And they’re not going to allow that tonight. The Sentinels will have orders to keep her in complete isolation until the Alpha Council decides what happens next."

She sagged a little, the fight draining out of her shoulders.

I hated it.

I wanted to give her something. Some promise. Some piece of certainty to cling to.

But lying wouldn’t help either of us.

"And," I added, gentling my voice, "we can't exactly walk away from your brother’s wedding. Maggie will still be there tomorrow. We’ll figure it out then."

Elena closed her eyes for a long moment, her hands curling into fists at her sides.

Finally, she nodded.

A tiny, miserable nod that made me want to punch a hole through the wall just to bleed off the helplessness clawing at my chest.

We made our way back to the garden, the noise of the celebration washing over us again like a tide we didn’t want to stand in.

The party hadn't slowed at all.

The bond breaking attack. The capture. The heavy, coiling dread none of them could feel—none of it had touched this place yet.

The wolves still laughed, still danced, still drank and threw flowers and dared each other into increasingly ridiculous games.

It was a thousand miles away from the lead weight dragging at my chest.

Elena moved through it all on autopilot, her smile brittle, her laughter hollow and a second too late.

No one else seemed to notice. They were too wrapped up in the glow of Mason and Erin’s happiness.

But I noticed.

Every strained movement. Every missed cue. Every flash of grief that crossed her face when she thought no one was looking.

I stayed near her all night, a silent shadow at her side, offering my presence but asking for nothing.

The magic we had touched earlier—the raw, soul-deep connection—felt so far away now, a dream already slipping between our fingers.

I couldn’t blame her.

She was trying to be strong.

Trying to be a good sister. A good Luna. A good daughter.

But the ache between us grew anyway, a quiet thing neither of us could soothe tonight.

Near midnight, when the last song finally played and the pack began to thin, Elena found Aiden curled up near a fire pit, half asleep in the crook of a low Adirondack chair.

With a look from her, I scooped him up into my arms.

He woke just enough to mumble something about frosting and dancing and needing “five more minutes,” but he snuggled against my chest with a sigh, clinging to me like a lifeline.

Elena followed us inside the packhouse, the three of us moving in slow, heavy silence up the staircase to the family wing.

Elena nudged Aiden’s door open with her hip, carrying him inside.

We tucked him into the bed together, smoothing the covers over him, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

The simplicity of it—the warmth of it—broke something open inside me. A glimpse of the life we might have had if the world hadn’t been so cruel to us. If I hadn’t been so cruel to her.

Aiden mumbled something in his sleep, and Elena bent low, pressing a kiss to his temple.

My heart twisted.

She rose slowly, quietly, turning toward me in the half-light.

For a moment, we just stood there in the darkened room, listening to Aiden’s even breathing.

Then she slipped past me, pulling the door shut behind her.

We stood alone in the hall.

Elena leaned back against the wall, her head tipping up, her throat working as she swallowed hard.

I didn’t push her. I didn’t rush.

Finally, she spoke.

"What was that?" she whispered. "Out in the garden. With our bond. What happened?"

I moved closer, bracing one hand against the wall beside her, careful not to touch her unless she wanted it.

"I think," I said slowly, "we’re going to need to speak with a spiritual advisor."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"I think we’re going to need answers neither of us can find on our own," I went on.

She nodded slowly, her shoulders sagging.

The distance between us still thrummed painfully.

I hated it.

But I would wait. However long it took. However many walls she needed to rebuild first.

"Goodnight, Elena," I said softly.

And then I turned and walked away, forcing myself not to look back.

MAGGIE

The tree branch dug into the backs of my thighs, but I didn’t dare move.

I stayed as still as a stone, binoculars pressed to my face, heart hammering wildly inside my ribs.

Spread out below me, the Moonstone Pack celebrated under a sea of golden lights.

I watched Erin standing at the center of it all, glowing in her wedding dress, Mason beaming down at her like she was the only thing in the universe that mattered.

Gods, she deserved this. After everything we’d survived together—the cold nights, the hunger, the fear—Erin deserved to have someone look at her like that.

I shifted carefully, just enough to adjust the binoculars for a better view.

I should’ve left hours ago.

I shouldn't have been here at all.

It was stupid. Reckless.

But I couldn’t help myself.

I had to see it. Had to see her safe and happy with my own eyes.

Just one glimpse. That was all I wanted.

I was about to slide the binoculars back into my pack and start climbing down when I heard it.

Voices.

Footsteps crunching through the undergrowth.

Panic slammed into me like a fist.

A patrol.

I tucked myself tighter into the crook of the tree, flattening against the trunk, trying to slow my breathing.

Maybe they would pass. Maybe they wouldn’t look up.

The beam of a flashlight swept across the woods—and caught the gleam of the binoculars still clutched in my hand.

I swore under my breath.

Too late.

"Up there!" a voice barked.

I ducked lower, hoping, praying—

—but it didn’t matter.

Shouts rang out.

Weapons were drawn.

And then the wolves surged toward the base of the tree, bristling and furious, eyes gleaming in the dark.

I knew the drill. I knew what came next.

Still, my gut twisted with something too sharp to name as I pressed my forehead against the bark.

I hadn’t meant to cause trouble.

I just wanted to see her one last time.

Before everything I was burned away for good.