CHAPTER 3

ELSPETH CROWHURST POV

"Get off me!" Elspeth Crowhurst shrieked, spinning around on the cold cobblestones and swinging her small leather purse with all her remaining strength.

"Whoa, Elspeth! Stop, it is me!" Mavis Ellington shouted, jumping backward and taking the hit straight to her forearm. "By the Moon, you nearly broke my arm!"

Elspeth’s heart thundered inside her ribcage as her eyes finally adjusted to the face standing under the dim lantern light of The Howling Hearth Café. Her hands trembled violently, her claws threatening to snap out through her skin from pure panic. "Mavis? What... what are you doing here? You scared the life out of me!"

"I was screaming your name for three blocks!" Mavis panted, rubbing her bruised arm and glaring with deep concern. "I saw you sprinting away from that massive black carriage like a rogue was on your tail. Why were you running like that?"

Elspeth swallowed hard, her throat feeling like sand. She glanced over her shoulder at the empty street, half-expecting the intimidating male from the dark transport to appear out of the shadows to claim his revenge. "I wasn't... I just needed to get away."

Mavis grabbed Elspeth's cold, shivering wrists and pulled her inside the warmth of The Howling Hearth Café. She guided her straight to a secluded booth in the back corner, far from the whispers of the gathering pack members.

"Sit down," Mavis ordered softly, waving her hand to signal the pack house staff. "Bring two cups of strong spiced tea, now."

The heat of the hearth crackled nearby, but Elspeth’s skin remained icy. She stared down at her lap, her fingers clutching the edges of her torn cloak over her ruined dress.

"Alright, talk to me," Mavis urged, leaning across the wooden table, her eyes searching Elspeth’s pale face. "You missed the morning ritual, your phone went dead, and now you are wandering Frostwick City dressed like you survived an attack. Did Hadley do this?"

At the sound of her former mate's name, a single, hot tear broke past Elspeth's eyelashes and spilled down her cheek. The emotional dam inside her shattered completely.

"Hadley and I... it is over," Elspeth whispered, her voice breaking on the words. "The Moon-Bond Pact is severed."

"Severed?" Mavis gasped, slamming both palms onto the table hard enough to rattle the tea cups the server had just placed down. "You were bound at the Mooncrest Wedding Lodge less than twenty-four hours ago! Are you losing your mind? How could it be severed?"

"He brought Rosamund Kettering and the Moon Gazette Reporters into our suite," Elspeth choked out, wiping her wet face with the back of her trembling hand. "They took scrying photos. I was... I was set up, Mavis. Rosamund spiked my wine during the reception. I woke up in a strange room, completely marked by another male."

Mavis’s jaw dropped in absolute horror. "Rosamund? That venomous snake! I told you never to trust her near your circle! And Hadley just believed her?"

"He didn't just believe her, he planned it with her!" Elspeth hissed, her sadness flaring into raw, burning rage. "He used the photos to blackmail me. He threatened to show them to my father while he lies dying in the Silverfang Pack Infirmary. If Patriarch Barnabas saw those pictures, his heart would fail instantly. I had no choice, Mavis. I signed the severance papers and gave up my rights to the Crowhurst territorial claims."

Mavis leaned back, her teeth grinding so hard her jaw muscles twitched. "That absolute bastard. He waited until your father fell sick to steal the Crowhurst legacy and throw you to the wolves! I am going to find Hadley right now and rip his throat out with my bare teeth!"

"No, Mavis, stay here!" Elspeth pleaded, grabbing her friend's sleeve before she could stand up. "If you attack a pack leader, his guards will lock you in the dungeons. I can't lose you too."

Mavis sank back into the bench, her breath coming in ragged, angry bursts. "So what now? What about the male from last night? Do you know who he was? Do you have his scent?"

"No," Elspeth said softly, her fingers tracing the rim of her warm cup. "It was completely dark. I thought... I thought it was Hadley coming back to complete the bond. But he felt different. His scent was heavy, dark, like ancient pine and storm clouds. His wolf was so powerful it completely overwhelmed mine... and I let him take me."

"Don't blame yourself for being poisoned," Mavis said firmly, taking Elspeth's hand and squeezing it tightly. "Rosamund will pay for this. The Moon Circle sees everything, Elspeth. Her victory won't last long, and neither will Hadley's."

Miles away, slicing through the heavy evening fog of Frostwick City, the sleek black carriage smoothly pulled up to the massive iron gates of Wrenford Moon Holdings.

Inside the passenger seat, Alistair Wrenford let out a sudden, sharp sneeze.

"Alpha, should I raise the heat inside the compartment?" Wilfred Hatherley asked quickly, watching his master through the rear mirror with nervous caution.

"No," Alistair muttered, rubbing his jaw where a strange, phantom heat lingered. "Maintain speed."

His personal communicator buzzed in his pocket. He pulled out the glowing device and pressed it to his ear.

"Alpha Wrenford," his steward, Percy Langridge, spoke urgently through the link. "The Elders have summoned an immediate emergency council at the Alpha Moon Residence. Your uncle is attempting to challenge your claim on the northern pack territories while you were away at the lodge. You need to arrive before the third moon rise."

"Let him try," Alistair said, his voice cold enough to freeze water. "I am ten minutes away. Have Rupert Cavanaugh meet me in my study with the complete intelligence files on the Crowhurst bloodline."

"The Crowhurst line?" Percy paused, surprised. "Patriarch Barnabas is dying in the Silverfang Pack Infirmary, Alpha. Their territory is already being divided by the lower packs."

"Just gather the files," Alistair commanded, sliding the communicator shut. He looked out the dark window, his dark eyes reflecting the passing city lights. The fierce, stubborn face of the female who had thrown his own trade tokens back at him remained burned into his mind. She was wounded, betrayed, and fighting like a cornered wolf—and her scent was still lingering on his tunic.

Back in the heart of Frostwick City, the stars had fully taken over the sky.

Elspeth stood outside the café, watching Mavis wave from inside a departing pack carriage. Mavis had begged Elspeth to come home with her, but Mavis lived under her mother's strict roof, and Elspeth refused to bring her shame or endanger her family when Hadley's scouts were likely watching.

The cold night air nipped at Elspeth’s exposed neck as the carriage disappeared around the bend.

She was completely alone.

Her family’s manor, the Crowhurst Moon Manor, had been signed over to Hadley months ago under the pretense of their upcoming union. He had convinced her to transfer the title into his name to 'protect' it from the pack creditors while her father was bedridden. She had trusted him blindly, out of love and desperation. Now, she had no home, no money, no mate, and no pack protection.

Elspeth walked aimlessly down the deserted stone street, her heels clicking softly against the frost. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her body, trying to ignore the sharp aches between her thighs and the pounding inside her head.

She reached the central square of Frostwick City and sat down on a cold marble bench under the shadow of a towering wolf statue. The streetlamps flickered faintly in the fog. She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her arms as the harsh reality settled over her shoulders like a heavy lead blanket.

She was an outcast. A ruined heiress.

As she closed her eyes, trying to force down the sob rising in her throat, the heavy sound of crunching gravel echoed behind her bench.

A shadow lengthened across the cobblestones in front of her feet.

Elspeth snapped her eyes open, her instincts flaring wildly as two tall, heavily armed pack enforcers stepped out from the shadows, blocking her only path of escape.

"Elspeth Crowhurst?" the lead guard growled, his voice rough and devoid of respect. "By order of Alpha Thornbury, you are trespassing on central pack territory as an unsanctioned rogue."

Elspeth scrambled off the bench, her back slamming against the cold stone statue as she raised her hands. "Hadley exiled me from his lands, not the public square! I have every right to be here!"

"You have no rights without a pack," the guard sneered, stepping closer and reaching for his silver restraint cuffs. "He ordered us to ensure you leave Frostwick City permanently. Or we drag you to the border dungeons."

Before his fingers could touch her arm, a dark, velvet-trimmed carriage screeched to a halt right at the edge of the square.

The carriage door opened, and a tall, slender male in a high-collared steward's uniform stepped out into the fog, holding an official parchment sealed with a glowing red crest.

"Touch her again, and your hands belong to the executioner," Percy Langridge announced coldly, stepping between the guards and Elspeth.

The guards instantly froze, their faces turning pale as they recognized the crest on the scroll. "Steward Percy? What is the meaning of this? This female is a rogue under Alpha Thornbury's order—"

"This female is no rogue," Percy interrupted, unrolling the glowing parchment and holding it directly in front of the guards' eyes. "As of five minutes ago, her entire lineage debt has been paid in full, and her person has been claimed under the direct protection of Wrenford Moon Holdings."

Elspeth stared in total disbelief, her heart hammering against her ribs. "What... what are you talking about? Who paid my debt?"

Percy turned to her, bowing his head with deep, absolute respect.

"Pack Heiress Elspeth," Percy said clearly, his voice echoing in the quiet night. "Alpha Wrenford requests your immediate presence at the Alpha Moon Residence. Your father's life depends on it."