The cage smelled like rust and old death. I couldn't tell if the blood crusted on the bars was mine or belonged to whoever had been here before me. My wrists were raw from the chains, silver-laced and burning. Every bump in the road sent fresh agony through my body.

They'd drugged me before loading me into the caravan. Something that made my thoughts swim and my limbs heavy as stone. I couldn't fight. Couldn't speak. Could barely breathe through the gag they'd shoved in my mouth.

Through the canvas covering the cage, I caught glimpses of other caravans. Banners from different packs. The Summit. Greyson was taking me to the Summit.

A warrior's voice drifted back from the front. "Alpha says we're trading her to Blackthorn. Heard he likes breaking rogues."

Laughter. Cold and casual.

"Better her than us dealing with her."

I closed my eyes. Blackthorn. I knew that name. Everyone did. Alpha Silas Blackthorn ran a pack on the northern border, and the stories about what he did to rogues made even hardened warriors go quiet.

This was it, then. Greyson wasn't even going to take my eyes himself. He was going to trade me away like garbage, let someone else finish what he'd started.

The caravan stopped. Voices outside. The canvas was ripped back, and harsh sunlight stabbed into my eyes. Hands grabbed the cage, dragging it off the wagon. I hit the ground hard, my shoulder slamming into the bars.

They left me there. In the dirt. Behind the Blood River encampment, hidden from view like something shameful.

I could hear the Summit in the distance. Alphas greeting each other. The formality of it all. Once, I would have been at Greyson's side for something like this. Once, I would have mattered.

The drug was wearing off. Slowly. My thoughts were clearing, but my body still wouldn't obey. I tried to shift, tried to call for Luna, but there was nothing. Just silence where my wolf used to be.

Time passed. I didn't know how much. The sun moved across the sky. My throat was so dry it felt like sandpaper.

Then I smelled it.

Vanilla. Rich and warm, cutting through the stench of my own blood and fear. It wrapped around me like a blanket, like safety, like something I'd forgotten existed.

Footsteps. Fast and purposeful.

The tent flap tore open.

A man stood there, backlit by the setting sun. Tall. Broad-shouldered. His eyes were wild, glowing with his wolf just beneath the surface. He stared at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.

"Moon Goddess," he breathed.

He moved toward the cage, and I flinched. Couldn't help it. Every instinct screamed that men who looked at me like that brought pain.

But he stopped. His hands were shaking.

"I've been looking for you," he said, his voice rough. "Years. I've been looking for years."

I didn't understand. Couldn't process what he was saying.

He gripped the cage door. The metal groaned. His eyes met mine, and something in my chest pulled tight. Recognition. Not of his face, but of something deeper. Something that felt like coming home.

"Hold on," he said.

Then he threw his head back and roared.

The sound shook the earth. It wasn't a command. It was a challenge. A declaration. Every wolf in the Summit would have heard it, would have felt it in their bones.

He shifted. One moment, a man. The next, a massive black wolf, bigger than any I'd ever seen. His fur was midnight dark, his eyes burning gold.

He tore the cage door off its hinges like it was paper.

Shouts outside. Running footsteps. Greyson's voice, sharp with fury. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The black wolf stood over me, his body a wall between me and the tent entrance. A growl rumbled from his chest, so deep I felt it in my ribs.

Greyson burst in, Beta Kane at his heels. His face was twisted with rage. "Reynolds. Step away from my property."

The black wolf's growl turned into a snarl. He didn't move.

Other Alphas were gathering outside now. I could hear them. Smell them. The whole Summit was watching.

The black wolf shifted back. He stood there, naked and unashamed, his body still positioned between me and Greyson. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of absolute authority.

"Mine."

One word. But it changed everything.

Greyson's laugh cut through the tension like a blade. Sharp. Mocking.

"You want her?" He stepped closer, his boots crunching on gravel. "You want this broken thing? This mad rogue who can't even shift?"

The black wolf—Reynolds, Greyson had called him—didn't flinch. His body stayed between us, a wall of muscle and barely contained fury.

"She's yours," Greyson said, his voice dripping contempt. "Take her. I'm done wasting resources on damaged goods."

Something in my chest cracked. Damaged goods. That's all I was to him now.

Reynolds shifted back to human form. His voice was low, dangerous. "Name your price."

Greyson's smile widened. He'd been waiting for this. "The eastern border. Five miles of Silver Lake territory. Sign it over, and she's yours."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd of Alphas outside. Five miles was a fortune. Hunting grounds. Water rights. Power.

Reynolds didn't hesitate. "Done."

The word hit me like a slap. He was buying me. Trading land for a broken omega he didn't even know. Why?

Greyson's expression flickered—surprise, then something uglier. He'd expected negotiation. Expected Reynolds to walk away. Instead, he'd lost territory and looked weak doing it.

"Beta Kane will draw up the papers," Greyson said, his jaw tight. "Take her and go."

Reynolds moved. He crouched beside the ruined cage, his hands reaching for me. I flinched hard, my body slamming back against the bars. Every instinct screamed danger. Men who touched me brought pain.

He froze. His hands hovered in the air, not touching, not forcing.

"I won't hurt you," he said. His voice was soft. Careful. Like I was something precious instead of broken. "I'm going to carry you out of here. Is that okay?"

No one had asked my permission for anything in five years.

I managed a tiny nod.

His arms slid under me, gentle as a whisper. He lifted me like I weighed nothing, cradling me against his chest. The vanilla scent wrapped around me, warm and safe. My body went rigid, waiting for the pain that always came.

It didn't come.

He carried me through the crowd. Alphas stepped back, their faces a mix of curiosity and disgust. I kept my eyes down, my fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt. He was warm. Solid. Real.

When we reached his caravan, he set me down on soft cushions inside. Not a cage. A bed. Blankets that smelled like pine and winter air.

"Rest," he said. "We'll be home soon."

Home. The word felt foreign.

The journey blurred. I drifted in and out of consciousness, my body finally giving in to exhaustion. When I woke, we were moving through gates. Silver Lake Pack territory.

The pack house was nothing like Blood River. It was smaller, warmer. Lights glowed in windows. Wolves moved through the grounds without fear, without the rigid hierarchy that had ruled my old life.

Reynolds carried me inside and up a staircase. He pushed open a door to a room that stole my breath. Soft carpet. A massive bed with clean white sheets. Windows overlooking a forest that stretched forever.

"This is yours," he said, setting me down on the bed. "No one will come in without your permission. Not even me."

I stared at him. At this stranger who'd traded land for a broken omega. Who spoke to me like I mattered.

"Why?" The word scraped out of my throat.

His eyes met mine. Gold and warm and impossibly gentle. "Because you're my mate. My true mate. And I've been searching for you for a very long time."

The world tilted.

He moved toward me with a cloth and water basin. "Let me clean your wounds."

His hand reached for my arm. I jerked back so hard I nearly fell off the bed. My heart hammered. My breath came in short gasps.

He pulled back immediately. No anger. No frustration. Just patience.

"Okay," he said softly. "Okay. I won't touch you."

He set the basin on the nightstand and backed toward the door. Then he grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the closet.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Sleeping here." He gestured to the floor by the door. "So you know you're safe. So you know I'm not going anywhere."

He settled onto the floor, his back against the wall. A powerful Alpha, sleeping on hardwood to make a broken omega feel safe.

Over the next two days, he proved it wasn't an act. He brought me food and set it on the nightstand, never forcing me to eat. When I finally reached for the bread with shaking hands, he smiled like I'd given him the world.

He spoke to me in low, soothing tones. Told me about his pack. About the forest. About nothing and everything. Never demanding answers. Never pushing.

On the third morning, there was a commotion downstairs. Shouting. The sound of someone being dragged.

Reynolds stood, his body going tense. "Stay here."

He left. I heard his voice, sharp with command. Then another voice. One I recognized.

Dr. Thorne.

My blood went cold. I crept to the door, pressing my ear against it.

"I didn't have a choice!" Thorne's voice was high with panic. "She threatened my family!"

"Tell me everything." Reynolds' voice was ice. "Now."

"The pregnancy—it's fake. Scent charms and herbs. I've been lying in every report. And the wolfsbane injections—Camille ordered them. To keep the omega weak. To keep her wolf dormant."

Silence. Heavy and terrible.

"What else?" Reynolds growled.

"Files," Thorne gasped. "Old files about the Moonshadow Luna's death. Greyson tried to burn them, but I saw—it wasn't rogues. It was his father. He orchestrated the whole attack."

The floor disappeared beneath me.

My mother. Greyson's father had killed my mother.

And Greyson knew.

The days passed in a haze of warmth I didn't trust. Ashton—he'd told me his name on the second day—kept his distance but never left. He slept on the floor. Brought me food. Spoke in that low, careful voice that made something in my chest ache.

The wolfsbane was leaving my system. I could feel it. The constant burn in my veins was fading, replaced by something else. Something that felt like life.

Then the storm came.

Thunder cracked across the sky, so loud the windows rattled. Rain hammered against the glass. I was back in the Asylum before I could stop it. Back in that cell with water flooding in, silver chains cutting into my wrists, guards laughing as I screamed.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't see. My body shook so hard my teeth rattled.

"Lorelei."

Ashton's voice cut through the panic. He was there, kneeling in front of me, his hands hovering near mine. Not touching. Never touching without permission.

"You're safe," he said. "You're here. With me. You're safe."

Another crack of thunder. I flinched, curling into myself.

"Can I touch you?" His voice was steady. Calm. "Just your hand. That's all."

I nodded. Couldn't speak.

His fingers wrapped around mine. Warm. Solid. Real.

The panic didn't disappear, but it shifted. His touch anchored me, pulled me back from the edge. Heat spread from his palm into mine, not burning like wolfsbane, but soothing. Like sunlight after years of darkness.

Then I heard it.

A voice. Faint and weak, like an echo from far away.

*Lorelei.*

I gasped. My free hand flew to my chest.

"What is it?" Ashton's grip tightened. "What's wrong?"

"My wolf," I whispered. "I can hear her."

His eyes went wide. Gold flared in their depths. "Say that again."

"Luna." The name came out broken. "Her name is Luna. She's—she's still there."

Ashton pulled me against his chest. I should have fought. Should have pulled away. But I didn't. I let him hold me while the storm raged outside and my wolf whispered my name over and over, like a prayer.

The next morning, Ashton spread files across the desk in his office. Old papers, yellowed with age. I stood beside him, my legs still shaky but stronger than they'd been in years.

"Thorne gave us everything," Ashton said. His jaw was tight. "Letters. Transaction records. Witness statements."

I picked up the first letter. The handwriting was elegant, controlled. Alpha Montgomery—Greyson's father.

*The Moonshadow Luna must be eliminated. The moonstone mines are too valuable to leave in weak hands. Make it look like a rogue attack. I'll pay triple your usual rate.*

The paper crumpled in my fist.

"There's more," Ashton said quietly. He handed me another document. "Greyson found these three years ago. He knew, Lorelei. He knew what his father did, and he buried it."

I read the note in Greyson's handwriting. *Burn these. The pack's wealth depends on the mines. No one can know.*

My mother's face flashed through my mind. Her smile. Her laugh. The way she'd braided my hair and told me stories about the Moon Goddess.

Greyson had known. He'd known his father murdered her, and he'd chosen money over justice. Over me.

Something inside me snapped.

Heat flooded my body. Not the burn of wolfsbane, but something else. Something wild and fierce and alive.

"Lorelei?" Ashton's hand touched my shoulder. "Your eyes—"

I didn't let him finish. I ran.

Out of the office. Down the stairs. Through the pack house and into the forest. My body moved on instinct, faster than it should have been able to. The trees blurred past me.

I heard Ashton behind me, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

The clearing opened up ahead. Moonlight broke through the clouds, silver and bright.

I fell to my knees. My body convulsed. Bones shifted. Skin rippled.

It hurt. Moon Goddess, it hurt. But it was different from the Asylum. This was transformation, not torture.

I threw my head back and let it happen.

Fur erupted across my skin. My spine lengthened. My hands became paws. The world sharpened—colors brighter, scents stronger, sounds clearer.

When it was done, I stood on four legs.

I looked down at myself. My fur wasn't the dull gray of an omega. It was silver-white, gleaming like moonlight on water. Massive. Powerful.

*We are whole,* Luna whispered in my mind. *We are strong.*

I lifted my head and howled.

The sound tore from my throat, raw and primal. A declaration. A promise. A war cry.

The Silver Lake pack answered. Howls rose from every direction, surrounding me, supporting me.

Ashton shifted beside me. His black wolf was huge, but I matched him in size. He dipped his head, a gesture of respect.

Then he howled with me.

The forest echoed with our voices. With our rage. With our promise of justice.

Greyson had taken everything from me. My mother. My mate bond. My dignity. My sight.

But he hadn't broken me.

I was still here. Still standing. Still fighting.

And I was coming for him.