Chapter 23

Elora’s POV

The maids woke me up again. Not even light outside yet. I mean, I barely knew where I was. New chambers, whatever...never really felt like mine, just something Dominic handed over when Mira strolled in and took the real deal. I guess that’s what borrowing feels like.

That ache in my chest wasn't going anywhere, but I am not letting it run the show.

The omegas shuffled in, soft as ghosts. One did the apologetic routine: “Luna, sorry if we woke you.” Tray in hand. The other had this pile of silk robes, fancy stuff, way too elegant for a pawn in someone else’s game.

I just let them do their thing. Hot water steamed, washcloth pressed to my cheek. One untangled my hair, the other zipped me into this emerald robe that screamed Luna. Caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror... stared back at some woman who looked way put together for how wrecked I felt inside. Not gonna lie, the pain was still there, a heavy, press-down-on-your-lungs kind of grief, but I could fake steady eyes. I would have mastered that trick.

They could try to take my marriage, sure. My title? Good luck prying that from my hands.

Fast-forward, council meeting’s coming up. I wanted to get there ahead of schedule. But creeping down the east hall, I slowed down. Mira’s chambers. Or what should have been mine. Avoided her since yesterday, after Dominic pretty much pasted himself to her like some lovesick shadow.

Whispers, of course. Get enough omegas together and suddenly Mira’s sickness is the only thing anyone talks about. Like, is she even sick, or just staging her own sad little coup? Honestly, her moving in here stings. Not just for me...makes the pack look weak. People eat up drama like wolves on bones.

Anyway, I knocked once and just opened the door.

There she was. Mira was spread out theatrically as ever, sunlight catching her hair all gold and ridiculous. Breakfast, untouched, steaming away. She acted like a queen of somebody else’s castle.

“How are you feeling?” I said, my voice calm.

She barely glanced. Rolls her head away. Standard enemy move. I’m screaming inside, but keep it cool.

“Alright, cut the act,” I said, stepping up. “You think I care? The whole place is buzzing. You staying here makes the Alpha look bad. You might not care about respect, but some of us do. Stop thinking it’s just about you, because it’s not.”

Finally, she spoke. Her voice is sharp enough to cut silk. “If it bugs you, leave. I like it here. I’m not budging.”

Amazing. I breathed slowly, holding my temper on a tight leash. “Your stubborn streak isn’t just petty, it’s tearing this house up. Maybe Dominic tolerates this circus act, but people won’t. You think they’re on your side? They’re just whispering about how weak you make him look.”

For a split second, I caught something ugly in her eyes. “Get out.”

I sighed so hard my ribs hurt. I wanted to snap. Yell. Break something. Instead, I turned and walked. Sometimes silence bites deeper than words ever could.

Council chamber, elders everywhere, papers flapping, everyone talking over each other. I sat, back straight. Game face on. There’s trouble. The southern border was a mess, fighting, blood, threats. Elders want to play the vengeance card, naturally.

I slide into my chair, plant my hands down. “Gentlemen!” The whole room shuts up.

“Let’s not jump the gun. First, who led the patrol?”

A young guy stands, pale as milk. “Me, Luna. They came close to Ash Hollow. We warned them. They didn’t budge.”

“How many?” Not here for stories.

“Seven. Armed.”

“And ours?”

“Five.”

Elders mutter, all doom and gloom.

“So tell me,” I pushed, “provocation... or desperation?”

He bites his lip. “They looked hungry. Not like a raid. More like, I don’t know...strays.”

That’s it. I fixed my gaze on every stiff-collared elder in there. “If we go in swinging, we’ll start a war. Or, and hear me out, we try to figure out why rogues are camping at our doorstep, maybe we stop one before it starts.”

Strength isn’t all claws and swords. Sometimes it’s just seeing a train coming before it hits you.

Everyone just... paused, calculating, weighing, nobody breathing too loud. “What do you want to do, Luna?”

I didn't wait. “Let’s hit this on two fronts. Double up our border patrols and keep swapping shifts before people burn out. And, because I’m not a total blockhead, send scouts out. Not to pick a fight, just to sneak around, see what they’re actually doing. Figure out if they wanna start trouble, or if they’re just lost and hungry or something. Then, we’ll decide how to handle them.”

The place got loud again, but this time? A different kind of loud. No more dubious side-eye, just... a grudging kind of respect. Some of them looked at me like they’d finally pulled their heads out of their asses, even if they weren’t thrilled about it.

And then there was Dominic.

He didn’t move, just sat there across the table with his elbows digging into the edge all intense. Zero anger, nothing icy, his eyes were different. Hell if I could name it. Proud, maybe? Or something softer I honestly wasn’t ready to look at head-on.

Felt my shell crack, just a hair. Almost let the wall drop.

Almost.

But then, Dante entered, lurking in the literal and metaphorical corner. He didn’t blink, didn’t fidget. Watched me like I was speaking half to him, like he felt every word as if it cost him something, too. He got it, the fight to keep the pack safe without selling my own pride at a discount.

And my idiotic heart, absolutely no sense of self-preservation, tilted toward his focus, not Dominic’s.

My thoughts were distracted as Dominic spoke. “Alright, unless anyone wants to argue, I am drafting the new orders tonight.”

No arguments. They just nodded, or maybe they were just happy I had stopped talking. Hard to say.

They shuffled on to the next issue, but I barely registered the words. All I could see was Dominic’s look, something I couldn’t trust anymore, and Dante’s steady, grounding gaze that held me together when I felt like I was one hard question away from shattering.