Chapter 4: The Arrival

Lucas tried the mindlink at five past eight, and got nothing.

 It was eerily quiet, almost as if there was no one on the other end.

His brow furrowed as the silence dragged on. He’d never put much stock in the bond. It had always been weak between them as it was more a political tie than a true mating. But there had always been something.

Today, it felt like it had been severed.

He tried to dismiss the thought. This isn’t the time.

The Wind Wolf council had taken the long ballroom of the Grosvenor on Twelfth. A hundred and forty alphas, betas, and elders from neighbouring packs.

They were here to vote on one thing tonight, and Lucas had been preparing for it for four years: whether the Alpha Summit at year's end would be hosted in Wind Wolf territory.

If it was, he was president-favorite.

If it wasn't, ten more years of patience.

He had no intention of being patient.

Ayla was at his elbow in a pale rose silk Lucas had chosen for her himself. She held a wine glass she did not drink from. She looked breakable in a way that suited the room.

"Where's the Luna?" Alpha Hadley of Crescent Peaks asked, coming up to shake Lucas's hand. He was a careful man, allied but not bought. His eyes counted, politely, who was at Lucas's side and who wasn't.

"On her way," Lucas said.

"Hm," said Hadley, and moved on.

The third one to ask was Lucas's father-in-law.

He came at Lucas fast, all weather and edge, in a grey suit. Behind him, Elaine's stepmother had her hand wrapped around the elbow of Lucas's mother, both of them wearing the brittle smiles of women who had walked into a room already on fire.

"Lucas." The Beta did not bother with the formalities. "We need to talk about your wife."

"Do we."

"She refused her duty on the phone tonight. Refused. To her own father." The Beta's voice was a hiss low enough not to carry. “She’s becoming unmanageable. All that power’s gone to her head. A pity, really. She used to be so obedient -”

"Beta."

The single word stopped the Beta mid-syllable. Lucas had not raised his voice. He very rarely did. He was simply, suddenly, an Alpha addressing a Beta in front of other Alphas, and the older man remembered where he was.

"My apologies, Alpha."

"Find your seat."

The Beta found his seat.

He didn’t like Elaine’s family, never had. They were greedy, like parasites. They were not dignified, as well, always causing troubles. But Elaine had always indulged them, giving them money. He couldn’t help but feel that she was just like them, cut from the same cloth.

But now, as they laughed quietly about her failings, something uncomfortable prickled in his chest.

He turned to ask Kyle the time.

He did not get to ask.

The doors at the back of the ballroom opened.

Every conversation paused, and every head turned.

Then she walked in. It was Elaine, but not as the Luna they all remembered.

Tonight, she was fire incarnate wrapped in a deep crimson gown that hugged her waist and flowed like blood at her feet. Her hair had been swept into loose waves, pinned by delicate silver combs. Her makeup was subtle but striking, emphasizing the sharp line of her jaw and the intelligence in her dark eyes.

Even the way she walked had changed.

It was not the quiet shuffle of a woman made to work behind her Alpha. Each step was now confident and intentional.

Lucas felt something hot twist inside him. It was part disbelief and part something else he didn’t want to name. Even his wolf jostled in his mind.

Elaine had changed. That much was evident. Lucas didn’t know how to feel about it. It’d been easier when she’d do anything he asked and do it without complaining. Now, Elaine was a red-hot fire that didn’t want to be tamed.

The other Alphas whispered among themselves.

“Is that the Luna?”

“She looks like a queen.”

“That dress is so extravagant.” Lucas stepped forward before he could stop himself.

“Elaine,” he said, low and disapproving, “is this really appropriate for an event like this?”

Elaine didn’t stop walking. She approached calmly, her smile as cool as moonlight.

“What I wear is my choice,” she replied, voice steady. “My Luna title was always symbolic anyway. What does it matter if I continue to play the role?”

Gasps rippled quietly through the room. Elaine’s family stood up, scandalized.

“You’re shameless,” her stepmother hissed. “Do you have no dignity? No gratitude? You’re embarrassing yourself!”

Elaine turned to face them. “You used me for your own gain for years. The only embarrassment I feel is that I let you.”

“How dare you! Is this how you treat your family, who has given you everything?”

“What exactly have you given me that I didn’t earn myself?” Elaine asked coldly. Her father’s face turned red with fury, but he didn’t dare speak again, not with half the room watching.

Ayla coughed hoarsely, clutching her side. Her expression was the picture of meek suffering. Her cheeks were pale, and there was sweat above her brow.

“I know I shouldn’t have come,” she said faintly, as if on cue. “But with Luna Elaine away, I thought I could help.” She blinked rapidly as if fighting tears. “I never meant to take anyone’s place.”

The sympathy was immediate.

“Oh, poor girl.”

“She’s so kind, despite everything.”

“Everything she does, she does for the Alpha.”

Lucas moved toward Ayla, helping her back into her seat. “That’s enough now, you should rest.”

Elaine’s step-mother brought Ayla a glass of water. The sight of Ayla getting care from her family and help from her husband made Elaine sick to her stomach.

Lucas stood to face her. “She’s not well. She didn’t come here to fight you.”

Elaine’s heart ached at the irony. Ayla may not be well, but neither was she. No one offered her a seat. No one defended her name.

Not even him, the man who was once the man she loved and the man who was still her husband.

The mate bond throbbed faintly—wounded, ragged—but she didn’t flinch.

Ayla’s voice broke the tension again, soft and shaking. “Elaine, if you’re mad at me, just hit me. Maybe that’ll make you feel better.”

Another soft gasp echoed through the room. Elaine did her best to keep her face neutral. The pain, both physical and emotional, was enough to remind her to stay the course. Everyone who looked down on her for this didn’t deserve her. They didn’t see how long she had suffered.

Elaine’s family rushed to Ayla’s side, casting furious glares at Elaine.

“She’s trying to be understanding, and you’re humiliating her!”

“You should apologize.”

“You’ve always had a temper.”

Lucas comforted Ayla softly, didn't give Elaine a glance.

Elaine turned slowly to him, expression unreadable. She hadn’t even said a word to Ayla, but she was always the villain. After all, she was only a chosen mate. Ayla was his fated.

She took a slow, steady breath. She needed to hold her ground here if she wanted to accomplish everything. She wanted everyone there, all the Alphas from the most powerful packs across the nation, to know that she was not to be walked all over. This was her first demonstration of the woman she was becoming.

"I won’t apologize." Elaine said coldly, her gaze condescending. "If you wanted to be struck so badly, provoke someone else. I don’t raise my hand to trash.”