Elena POV:

I collapsed in an alleyway. My phone buzzed.

Where are you? Come back immediately. Candida needs you.

He didn't ask if I was alive. I laughed, a wet, gurgling sound.

Minutes later, the pack SUV skidded to a halt. Jackson hadn't come. He sent his Beta, Marcus.

"Get in," Marcus said, grim. "Alpha's orders."

"I... need... a hospital," I gasped.

"We are going to the Infirmary. Candida fainted. She needs blood."

I froze. "What?"

"She lost blood from a scratch. Her blood type is rare. Rh-Null. You are the only match. Get in."

They dragged me into the car.

At the infirmary, Jackson was pacing. His leg was already healing.

"Where have you been?" he shouted. "Candida is weak!"

"Jackson," I whispered, pointing to my chest. "My ribs..."

"Stop making excuses!" he roared. He grabbed my arm, right over a bruise. "She is the future of this pack! Do your duty!"

They strapped me to a chair. They stuck a thick needle into my vein.

I watched my red blood flow out, into the bag for the woman who stole my life.

After the bag was full, they unstrapped me. I was dizzy, vision tunneling.

"Go sit with her," Jackson ordered. "I have to deal with the police report."

I stumbled into Candida's private room. She was sitting up, looking rosy. The "scratch" was gone.

"You look terrible," she smirked.

"Why?" I asked hoarsely.

She leaned forward. Her eyes flashed green.

"Because I am hungry," she whispered. "And your Alpha is a feast of energy. I will suck him dry, and then I will destroy this pack."

"Witch."

"Shh."

Joey walked in, holding a silver fruit knife. He looked at me, then at the knife.

"Joey, no."

He lunged.

I was weak, drained, and broken. But I dodged. Joey threw himself against the wall and dropped the knife, screaming.

"She tried to stab me! Daddy!"

Jackson burst in. He didn't ask questions. His aura exploded.

It hit me like a hammer. I flew backward, slamming into the cabinets. Glass shattered. I coughed up blood.

"Take her," Jackson said to Marcus. "Lock her in her room. Pack Discipline."

Marcus grabbed me. But as they dragged me down the hallway, I saw men in black masks near the exit. Rogues.

Marcus shoved me out the back door. "Sorry, Luna."

Before we reached the house, the Rogues jumped Marcus. They grabbed me.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes. The client said to make it hurt. Use the silver chains."

They slapped a collar around my neck. Pure silver. It sizzled, cutting off my connection to my wolf completely.

"Who sent you?" I gasped.

"The new Luna. She wants you gone before the Alpha changes his mind."

I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, past the pain.

Hamilton, I projected with my last ounce of strength. It is time.

I am coming, his voice roared back. Hold on, Elena.

Elena POV:

The world came back in a haze of agony. I was hanging.

Suspended by thick silver chains from the Pack House terrace. Below, the pack square was bustling. My people walked by, looking away in pity or fear.

"Look at her," a voice sneered. "The barren Luna."

Silver burns a werewolf like a branding iron. I could smell my own cooked flesh.

I hung there for hours. Finally, just before dawn, the chains were released. I dropped to the stone floor.

I crawled on my belly back into the house.

I heard laughter. Jackson was building a block tower with Joey. Candida was reading a magazine.

"Good job, son!" Jackson cheered.

I dragged myself up the stairs. Jackson appeared in the doorway ten minutes later.

"Oh, you're back," he said, emotionless. "The Rogues said they taught you a lesson about respect."

"They hung me... from the terrace," I whispered, showing my wrists.

"Don't be dramatic," Jackson scoffed. "I didn't authorize chains. I was... foggy. But maybe you needed a timeout."

He tossed a small orange bottle onto the bed. "Painkillers. Take them. We have a banquet tomorrow."

He left.

I looked at the bottle. My body was screaming. I needed relief.

I swallowed two pills.

Fire exploded in my stomach. Not the dull ache of medicine. Corrosive, molten lead.

"Argh!" I curled into a ball.

Liquid Silver.

Someone had hollowed the capsules and filled them with high-concentration poison.

I convulsed, foam gathering at my mouth.

Jackson rushed in. He smelled it. The metallic tang of silver poisoning.

"Elena?"

His hand reached out. His pupils dilated. His Inner Wolf was slamming against the barrier of his mind.

But then, he froze. He looked at the bottle.

"You... you tried to kill yourself?" he accused, voice shaking.

"No..." I gagged. "Joey... swapped..."

Jackson grabbed the bottle. "Joey!"

The boy ran in.

"Did you touch these?"

Joey looked at me, dying on the bed, and smiled. A predator's smile.

"I just wanted to help her sleep, Daddy."