Chapter 32
ELENA
The ride home from the Masquerade Ball felt longer than it should have. I asked my driver to put the partition between us up and I changed clothes in the back seat of the limousine, opting for a comfy pair of sweats; I needed something less constricting and light.
The weight of the evening pressed into my ribs, thick and suffocating, though I wasn’t entirely sure why.
The ball had been a success. Many people had found their mates, alliances had been strengthened, and for one perfect night, the tensions between packs had been masked by music and candlelight.
But for me, it had been something else entirely.
It had been another night of missing pieces. Another night of chasing ghosts. Another night spent standing in front of Derek and pretending I wasn’t still haunted by him.
I had left him there, in the shadows of the playhouse hallway, his accusations still ringing in my ears.
"How long have you been with Logan?"
"And Aiden? Is he his?"
I had let him believe it. Let him think Aiden wasn’t his, let him assume that Logan had taken the place he had once held in my life. I didn’t know why. Maybe because it was easier. Maybe because I couldn’t owe him the truth when I didn’t even have it myself.
But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
The estate came into view as the limousine took the last bend, the grand sprawl of Moonstone lands bathed in silver moonlight. The moon itself was waxing and I could feel the full moon approaching in my bones.
I inhaled deeply as we pulled to a stop, hoping the crisp night air would settle something inside me.
It didn’t.
By the time I stepped through the front doors, exhaustion dragged at my limbs, but I knew sleep wouldn’t come easily.
I wasn’t the only one still awake.
Laughter drifted from the courtyard beyond the great hall, a soft murmur of voices carried through the quiet of the night. I followed the sound, stepping out onto the stone terrace that overlooked the garden.
Maggie, Carly, and Erin sat near the fountain, their bodies illuminated by the flickering torches lining the path.
They had been here for weeks now, living under my roof, eating at my table. I had offered them sanctuary. A place to belong.
But the moment Maggie turned, the wariness in her gaze told me the truth. They still felt like outsiders.
“Elena,” Maggie said, inclining her head slightly as I approached.
“I didn’t expect you all to still be up,” I said softly, taking a seat on the stone bench across from them.
Carly huffed a small laugh. “Can’t sleep,” she said. “The beds are too soft.”
I opened my mouth to tell her that that could easily be remedied, but I read the look on her face. She was teasing. I had found modern comforts difficult to adjust to myself after living as a rogue for those months.
“We were talking about maybe going for a run,” Erin said. Ah. So I wasn’t the only one feeling my wolf tonight.
I had to admit that thought of changing and letting Nox run free held some appeal. I could let her take over for a while, tamp down all these feelings in me and just be a wolf for a few hours.
Maggie sighed. “Decided against it, though,” she said glumly.
I sat up. “Why?”
“Because three rogue wolves running on Moonstone pack lands would probably get us killed.”
“I’ve given strict orders to our Gamma not to—”
“Elena,” Maggie said softly.
She looked sad, but also resigned to her fate. Even the way the three of them were sitting; they were pulled into themselves, wary. Like they were somewhere where they didn’t belong.
“You’re safe here,” I said, wanting desperately to believe it. “You belong here.”
“Elena—” said Carly.
I frowned. “You do.”
I remembered that feeling. I had felt it in Derek’s pack up until the day I left.
“Do we?” Erin asked, her voice quiet. “Because no one else seems to think so.”
Maggie shot her a look, but I had already seen the flash of doubt in her eyes.
“This is your home now,” I insisted. “I promised you that.”
Maggie studied me carefully. “It’s not just about a place to sleep, Elena. It’s about belonging. And I’m not sure this pack will ever see us as anything but rogues.”
I exhaled, guilt tightening in my chest. “I know it’s been hard. But give it time.”
Maggie held my gaze for a long moment, something unreadable in her expression. Then she nodded. “Time.”
But something in her voice told me she didn’t believe me.
The next morning, I barely had time to open my eyes before my family descended on me. I had stayed up with Maggie, Erin and Carly, reminiscing, laughing. But I had fallen into bed only a few hours before.
I was in the kitchen, reaching for the pot of coffee when they swept in, fully and immaculately dressed. All business.
“The engagement party should be held at the estate,” my mother said, her tone already final, as if there had been some discussion on the matter that was now settled.
I blinked at her, still groggy from lack of sleep. “Engagement party?”
My father sighed. “The Alpha Ball was a show of strength, but with everything happening with the rogues, the pack needs something to celebrate.”
“Has there been another rogue attack?” I asked, but my father’s brows lowered and he remained silent.
I turned my attention to my mother, taking a sip of hot coffee, setting it to the repair of my soul.
“And you think my engagement is the answer?” I asked.
“You and Logan are the answer,” my mother corrected. “Your union will bring stability. A reason for people to hope.”
I pressed my lips together. “I already told Logan I’m not ready to marry him.”
“And he understands,” my father said, as if that ended the discussion. “No one expects the wedding tomorrow. But the engagement is official, and it should be acknowledged properly.”
I stared at them. It was official?
I had told Logan I wasn’t ready.
He had agreed.
But he hadn’t called off the engagement.
And now, standing before my family, watching the way they spoke of this like it was inevitable, like it was already set in stone, I realized something:
He wasn’t going to.
MAGGIE
The Moonstone estate felt suffocating.
The longer we stayed, the more I felt the weight of it pressing down on me. We were guests, yes. But that was all we would ever be.
Elena was different. She wanted us here.
But the rest of them?
The rest of them would never see us as anything but rogues.
I had known that from the beginning. But it wasn’t until I saw him waiting for me in the shadows of the courtyard that I realized exactly how temporary this was.
I froze as he stepped forward, his posture rigid, his presence carrying the quiet command of someone who knew he was about to be obeyed.
I swallowed hard. “What do you want?”
His voice was low, measured. “You need to leave.”
Carly and Erin were asleep. It was just us now. Just me and the man who had come to deliver the final blow. Again.
I clenched my fists. “Elena invited us.”
“And here you are. But you’ve outstayed your welcome.”
I knew better than to argue. The truth of it was written in the way he stood, in the quiet finality of his words.
Still, I couldn’t stop myself. “Why now?”
A pause. “Because it’s time.”
My breath hitched, flashes of the past clawing at the edges of my mind.
Blood in the dirt.
The weight of a body against mine, pushing me to the ground.
Elena’s scream—raw and terrified.
The sudden silence as she fell.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Take your friends and go,” he said, his voice cutting through the fog of memories. “Tell them you couldn’t be cooped up anymore. Tell them rogues don’t belong here.” A pause. “I really don’t give a damn. I want you gone by morning.”
And then he was gone himself, vanishing into the shadows as if he had never been there at all.
But his words lingered.
I turned toward the darkened windows of the estate, my chest tightening. Elena had given us a home. But now, it seemed, someone was determined to take it away.
I knelt, sniffed the air, breathing in the scent that still lingered. It was intoxicating. He had always smelled like power.
But there was something else now—something sharp and bitter, curling beneath the surface. Like smoke from a fire that had burned too long, there was the unmistakable sting of deception, something rotting beneath the sweet façade.
He smelled like lies.
