I found Maggie in the border woods, her body crumpled against the base of an ancient oak. Blood trickled from a cut above her eyebrow, staining the collar of her training shirt. Her breathing came in shallow gasps, each one punctuated by a wince of pain. The scent of her attackers—three distinct male wolves with the unmistakable Vasquez family markers—lingered in the air around her like a taunt.

Sable howled in rage within me. *They dared to touch our friend. Our sister.*

'Maggie,' I whispered, dropping to my knees beside her. 'Who did this to you?'

She tried to smile, but it twisted into a grimace as she shifted her weight. 'Just some of Kaden's loyal pups,' she managed. 'Said I needed to learn my place. That I should convince you to back down. They knew, Evie. They knew you gave up your suite for my program.'

My fingers curled into fists as I helped her sit up. 'They'll pay for this. All of them.'

'No,' Maggie grabbed my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong despite her injuries. 'That's what they want. They want you to break. To fight dirty so they can justify getting rid of you.'

I looked down at my best friend, her face swollen and bruised but her eyes clear and defiant. In that moment, something crystallized within me—a cold, sharp clarity. 'Then I'll fight clean,' I said, my voice steady. 'And I'll still win.'

I helped Maggie to her feet, supporting most of her weight as we made our way back toward the packhouse. She leaned heavily against me, her breathing gradually steadying as we walked. The moonlight cast long shadows across our path, and I could feel Sable's presence strengthening within me, lending me her power.

'Luna Evelyn,' a young Delta wolf called out as we approached the main grounds. 'The Alpha council is meeting now. Beta Darius sent word that you should come immediately.'

I nodded, adjusting my grip on Maggie. 'Perfect timing.'

The council chamber doors loomed ahead, carved with the Silverfang Pack's emblem—a wolf with bared teeth. I didn't knock. I kicked the doors open, Maggie's blood staining my hands as I supported her.

Conversation died instantly. Kaden sat at the head of the long table, flanked by his parents and the pack elders. His eyes widened as he took in Maggie's condition, then narrowed as he realized what this meant.

'Luna Evelyn,' he began, his voice carrying that false concern he'd perfected. 'What's happened here?'

I let Maggie's weight shift slightly, making her wince again. 'Your supporters attacked my friend. My pack sister. They beat her in the woods and told her to convince me to step down.'

The council erupted in murmurs. Kaden's mother leaned forward, her perfectly manicured hand covering her mouth in a show of shock. 'How terrible,' she said, her tone suggesting it was anything but.

Kaden stood, his Alpha aura flaring. 'This is pack business, Evelyn. We can discuss it privately.'

'No.' I stepped closer, my own aura rising to meet his. 'We discuss it now. In front of everyone.'

'She was probably just roughhousing during training,' Kaden said dismissively, his eyes flicking to the elders. 'You know how the younger wolves can get carried away.'

Maggie made a sound of disbelief that turned into a pained laugh. 'Roughhousing? I have a broken rib, Kaden. And a concussion.'

I felt something snap inside me—the last thread of respect I'd been clinging to. 'You're dismissing this? After what they did to her?'

Kaden's jaw tightened. 'What would you have me do, Evelyn? Hunt down every wolf who gets too aggressive during training?'

'Yes,' I said simply. 'If that wolf is your Luna's best friend. If that wolf was attacked because of your mate's actions.'

The silence that followed was deafening. Kaden looked trapped, caught between his pride and the growing realization that he'd just revealed his true nature to the entire council.

I turned away from him, my decision made. 'Since you won't act,' I said, my voice carrying to every corner of the room, 'I will.'

I guided Maggie to a chair and knelt before her, pulling healing supplies from the council room's emergency kit. As I began to clean the cut above her eye, the lower-ranked wolves who had gathered at the door stepped forward, their eyes filled with a mixture of shock and something else—loyalty. Not to Kaden, but to me.

'You're right, Maggie,' I said softly as I worked. 'This isn't about fighting dirty. It's about showing them what real leadership looks like.'

Behind me, I could feel Kaden's stare burning into my back. But I didn't turn. I didn't need to. The tide had shifted, and we both knew it.

The first drops of rain hit the window like tiny daggers, each one more insistent than the last. Within minutes, the gentle patter transformed into a deluge, sheets of water cascading down the glass as thunder cracked overhead. I pulled Leo closer to my chest, his small body warm against mine as I rocked him in the nursery's rocking chair. Sable stirred anxiously within me, her unease matching my own as the storm intensified.

'It's just weather,' I whispered to both Leo and myself, but the words felt hollow even as I spoke them.

By midnight, the storm had become a monster. Wind howled through the trees surrounding the packhouse, and lightning illuminated our room in harsh, intermittent flashes. Leo had finally fallen asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm that had become my lullaby over the past year. I placed him gently in his crib, tucking the blankets around his small frame.

'Mommy's here,' I whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

I didn't hear him begin to cry. The storm's fury drowned out his first weak whimpers, and by the time I realized something was wrong, Leo's face was flushed an alarming shade of red. His breathing came in shallow, rapid gasps, his tiny body burning beneath my touch.

'Leo?' I scooped him up, my heart hammering against my ribs as I felt the heat radiating from him. 'Baby, what's wrong?'

Panic clawed at my throat as his temperature spiked dangerously high. I'd seen this before—a fever that came on too fast, too severe. Pack pups were susceptible to these sudden illnesses, and without an Alpha's healing aura...

I didn't hesitate. I reached for the mind-link, calling out to Kaden with desperate urgency.

*Kaden! Leo needs you. He's burning up. Please, your healing aura—*

Nothing. The link remained silent, and I could feel the deliberate blockage on the other end. He was shutting me out.

I tried again, pushing harder against the barrier he'd erected. *Kaden, this isn't the time. Our son needs his Alpha's healing. Please!*

The silence that answered me was deafening. Sable howled in rage and desperation, clawing at my consciousness as Leo's breathing grew more labored. I could feel his little body struggling, fighting against whatever had taken hold of him.

'He's not coming,' I whispered, the realization crashing over me like another wave of rain. 'He's with her.'

I wrapped Leo in his favorite blanket and ran through the storm-soaked corridors to the pack healer's wing. The old woman's eyes widened as I burst through her door, Leo's feverish form clutched to my chest.

'Luna Evelyn, what—'

'He needs healing. Now.' My voice cracked as I placed him on the examination table. 'His breathing...'

The healer worked quickly, her weathered hands moving with practiced efficiency as she mixed herbs and applied compresses. I stood beside them, watching helplessly as she fought to bring down his fever without the benefit of an Alpha's healing touch.

Hours passed in a blur of anxiety. Leo's cries eventually subsided to whimpers, then to exhausted silence. The storm gradually calmed outside, mirroring the quiet that settled over the healer's wing. By dawn, his fever had broken, but the damage to my heart was complete.

I sat beside his bed, holding his tiny hand in mine, and felt something fundamental shift within me. The last fragile thread of hope I'd been clinging to—that Kaden would remember what mattered, that he would choose us when it counted—snapped like a brittle bone.

'He chose her,' I whispered to Sable, who whimpered in agreement. 'When our son was fighting for his life, he chose her.'

The healer touched my shoulder gently. 'Luna, you should rest.'

I shook my head, my eyes fixed on Leo's sleeping face. 'I need to make arrangements. This pack is no longer safe for us.'

With trembling fingers, I reached for my mind-link once more, but this time, I called out across territories, to the one person I knew would answer.

*Mom?* I called softly. *I need help.*

My mother's response came immediately, warm and steady like a summer breeze. *I'm here, Evelyn. What's wrong?*

*I'm coming home,* I told her, the decision crystallizing with each word. *To Moonveil. For good. Can you help me?*

The silence that followed was brief, filled with the weight of understanding. Then: *Alpha Rhett is already preparing the paperwork. We're ready for you, sweetheart. Come home.*