Chapter3:Awakening

 Elena spent her first three hours free, proving herself useful. She had planned every East Coast operation of Viktor, including names, dates, and bank account numbers her father kept in his safe. Dante listened without interrupting, taking notes on his tablet, and by the time she finished, the sun was setting outside the massive windows.

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"Viktor's been paying off someone in your shipping division," Elena said, referring to a transaction record she'd memorized months earlier. Similarities every two weeks, routed through three shell companies. My dad keeps receipts because he likes leverage on business partners."

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‎ Studying the information darkened Dante's face. That's my logistics coordinator. I've known him for 8 years."

‎"Well, he's been selling you out for six months," Elena said without sympathy. Victor doesn't negotiate without an insider. He operates that way."

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The room fell quiet after that, and Elena became uncomfortably aware that she was alone in a bedroom with a man who could apparently turn into a wolf whenever he felt like it. She'd been trying not to think too deeply about that part because thinking about it meant accepting that everything she'd believed about the world was wrong.

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"You're handling this situation better than I expected," Dante said, and Elena realized he was watching her.

‎Handling what?

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"Learning werewolves exist," he said. "Most people panic or think they imagined it."

‎ Elena shrugged, causing her bandaged ribs to hurt. At home, my father executed people in the basement. 

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‎ Werewolves aren't weirder than what we've already seen."

Dante said, "Fair point," with a hint of respect. "You should rest. The pack meets in two hours."

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‎ Elena lied, "I'm not tired," despite her bones aching. I want your warehouse fire security footage. The crew my father recommended will be familiar to me if Viktor uses them."

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‎ After looking at her, Dante nodded and stood up. My office is lower. Can you walk?"

‎ Elena's leg was wrapped tightly enough to support her weight, but she wouldn't admit weakness in a house full of predators. I'll manage."

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‎ She mostly managed, but Dante was close enough to catch her if she shadowed. The CEO's office had dark wood and expensive furniture with security monitors on one wall, just like she expected from an alpha werewolf CEO. He showed her the latest warehouse fire footage and stepped back.

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Ellena recognized the crew leader in 30 seconds. That's Ala demolition. My father's a demolition pro. Two Petrov brothers follow prove it?" orders."

‎"Can you prove it?" Dante asks.

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"Check their left wrists," Elena said. "They share a tattoo. Three moon-circling wolves. This is my father's inner circle mark."

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Dante enlarged the footage and saw it on the lead man's wrist when he set the charges. "Your father marked and loaned Viktor his men?"

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‎“My father doesn't loan anything,” Elena clarified. "He invested in Viktor's operation, so he gets a cut of his thefts. The marriage was supposed to formalize and merge the two organizations."

‎"And you were the signing bonus," Dante whispered.

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‎ No response from Elena, what to say? She knew her father saw her as an asset, not a daughter, since she was sixteen. Finding out he'd kill that asset when it was useless confirmed what she'd always suspected.

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‎ Turning away from the monitors, she saw a framed photo on Dante's desk. A young woman with dark hair and striking green eyes laughed at the cameraman. Elena couldn't identify her face's familiarity.

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‎"Who's that?" she asked before stopping.

Dante's body stiffened, and when Elena looked up, his expression was blank. "A former acquaintance."

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‎ Elena said, "She looks like me," because she'd noticed it was unmistakable. The same mouth, bone structure, and dark hair color.

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‎"She was your mother," Dante said, hitting hard.

‎ Elena's brain failed to process that statement. That's impossible. I was six when my mother died in a car accident. Father told me..."

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‎"Your father lied," Dante interrupted. Katerina was a silver wolf. A rare bloodline, thought extinct until she appeared 25 years ago."

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‎ Elena grabbed the desk edge to steady herself as the room tilted sida werewolf."u say my mother was a werewolf."

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“I'm saying your mother was the last known silver wolf, and she disappeared after marrying your father,” Dante said. We thought Dmitri killed her after discovering her identity. Now I'm doubtful."

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‎"Why would my dad marry a werewolf?" Elena demanded, her voice harsher than intended. "He hates uncontrollable things."

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‎“Because silver wolves are valuable,” Dante said. Their blood can be used to make drugs that boost regular wolf strength and healing. Your father has never turned down a profit margin, and people will pay millions for a vial of silver wolf blood."

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‎ Elena's stomach turned as the implications hit. "You think he's used her blood all along?"

‎"I think she might be alive," Dante said cautiously. I think Viktor wants you so much because of that. Since you're her daughter, you may share her bloodline."

"I'm human," Elena said, but she could hear her uncertainty.

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Dante took a folder with her name from a desk drawer. “My pack doctor tested you while you were unconscious. Your DNA has silver wolf markers that are dormant."

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‎ Elena stared at the medical report as if it were in another language. "That's meaningless. Dormant means inactive, right? Not working?"

‎"It means it hasn't activated," Dante clarified. Are you twenty-three? Silver wolves don't usually appear until their twenties.

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‎"Twenty-four," Elena said automatically, still reeling from what he said. This is a werewolf." I would know if I were a werewolf."

‎Would you? Dante asks. Do you ever feel stronger than you should? Recovery faster than senses?? Had moments of sharper senses?"

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‎ Elena thought about all the times she'd survived things that should've killed her, the knife wound that was healing after one day, and how she could hear her father's men entering a room. She said, "I thought I was just lucky," weakly.

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‎“You're not lucky,” Dante said. You're mom's daughter. If Viktor discovers your true nature before you learn to control it, he'll do what your father did to Katerina."

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‎ The house alarm blared before Elena could respond. Dante's phone buzzed, and he looked at the screen with a deadly cold face.

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‎"We must move," he said. "Now."

‎"What's up?"

Dante was heading for the door at that unnatural speed that still made Elena's brain stutter. "Viktor arrives. He has twelve men at the front gate and demands I hand you over in five minutes or he kills my pack."

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Ellena protested as she followed him into the hallway with her injured leg. "He knows I'm here?"

‎"He knows you cut your tracker near my territory," Dante said. "He's betting I got you."

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‎"So give it to me," Elena said, feeling queasy. It's not worth fighting over me."

‎ Ellen almost hit Dante when he stopped suddenly. 

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‎ When he faced her, his amber eyes shone again. Being protected by me makes you pack. I never stop packing."

"I'm not packed," Elena said, but Dante moved again.

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‎ He said, "You are n

ow," over his shoulder. Elena, welcome to Blackwood. Try to survive the next 10 minutes."