Between Mother and Mate

Claude did not move.

His arms tightened around me, firm and protective.

“Elena,” he said slowly. “Put the blade down.”

My mother’s black eyes did not leave me.

“Step aside,” she repeated.

“Not happening,” Claude replied.

My voice came out weak.

“Mother… please.”

Her fingers twitched on the blade handle.

“You should not call me that,” she said. “That woman died years ago.”

“I don’t believe that,” I whispered.

Claude spoke gently but firmly.

“You don’t want to hurt her.”

“You don’t know what I want,” Elena answered.

Behind us, footsteps approached again.

“Claude!” Zack called. “Guards are coming”

He stopped when he saw Elena.

“Goddess…” Zack breathed.

Mia’s voice followed from behind him.

“Is that… really her?”

Elena’s gaze snapped toward Mia.

“You helped them,” Elena said coldly.

Mia shook her head quickly.

“I was lied to. I didn’t know what my father did.”

“Your father knew exactly what he did,” Elena replied.

Claude shifted his weight carefully so I wouldn’t slip.

“Elena,” he said, calmer now. “Rayna is dying. Let us pass.”

“No.”

My chest tightened with fear.

“She carries Silas’s blood,” Elena continued. “And Silas carries revenge.”

“I carry my own choices,” Claude said.

“You carry guilt,” Elena corrected.

Silence filled the corridor.

Then I spoke again.

“You used to sing to me,” I said quietly.

Her body froze.

“When I couldn’t sleep,” I continued. “You sang about the moon crossing the river.”

Claude looked down at me in surprise.

“You remember?” he asked softly.

“Yes,” I said.

Elena’s blade lowered slightly.

“That was long ago,” she said.

“But it was real,” I replied.

Her voice trembled just a little.

“They broke that life.”

“They didn’t break you,” I said.

Suddenly, Zayne stepped forward.

“Lady Elena,” he said carefully. “Elder Thomas is dead.”

Everyone turned toward him.

“What?” Mia whispered.

“I saw it,” Zayne continued. “In the Great Hall. The Ironclaw Alpha struck him down.”

Elena’s face went still.

“Thomas is dead?” she asked.

“Yes,” Zayne said.

Her grip on the blade weakened.

“For ten years…” she murmured. “Ten years I waited for that.”

Claude took one slow step forward.

“Elena,” he said. “The war you wanted is already ending.”

“No,” she replied faintly. “It never ends.”

Another horn echoed from below.

Zack looked toward the stairs.

“The Ironclaw warriors are inside the house,” he said.

Claude exhaled slowly.

“Elena, listen to me,” Claude said. “Silas is here. If he sees you like this”

“He made me like this,” she snapped.

I forced myself to speak again.

“Uncle Silas came for you,” I said.

Her eyes returned to mine.

“He told me the truth,” I continued. “He never stopped searching.”

She stared at me like she didn’t believe it.

“Silas… searched?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “He thought you were dead.”

Her hand began to shake.

Mia whispered, almost to herself,

“My father said she died during escape…”

Zayne looked at Mia.

“Your father lied to everyone,” he said.

Claude slowly lowered to one knee, still holding me.

“Elena,” he said gently. “Look at your daughter.”

My mother’s black eyes studied my face.

For a moment, they softened.

Then

A loud crash came from downstairs.

A deep voice roared through the halls.

“ELENA!”

My heart jumped.

“Silas,” Claude said quietly.

Heavy footsteps thundered up the staircase.

A massive man appeared at the end of the corridor, surrounded by Ironclaw warriors.

His eyes landed on Elena.

Everything stopped.

“Elena,” he said again, voice breaking.

Her blade slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor.

“Brother…” she whispered.

Silas crossed the hallway in seconds and pulled her into his arms.

For the first time, her body shook like she might cry.

“I thought you were gone,” Silas said.

“I tried to come home,” she answered weakly.

Claude finally stood again.

“We don’t have time,” Claude said. “Rayna needs help.”

Silas looked at me and nodded immediately.

“Medic!” he shouted.

One of the Ironclaw wolves ran forward.

“Elena,” Silas said gently, holding her shoulders. “Look at me.”

She did.

“You’re safe now,” he said.

But her eyes slowly drifted back to me.

“She has the bond,” Elena said quietly.

Silas looked confused.

Claude answered.

“Yes.”

Silas studied us both.

“Then fate has a strange sense of humor,” he muttered.

The medic began examining my wound.

“The silver is still inside,” the medic said. “We must remove it now.”

Claude’s jaw tightened.

“Do it,” he said.

Elena suddenly stepped forward.

“I will,” she said.

Claude hesitated.

“I was a healer once,” Elena continued. “Before everything.”

Silas nodded.

“She saved half our pack during the winter plague,” he said.

Claude slowly lowered me to the floor.

“Help her,” Claude said.

Elena knelt beside me, hands steady now.

“This will hurt,” she said.

“I know,” I whispered.

She placed her palm over the wound.

“Stay awake,” she said softly.

Claude held my hand tightly.

“I’m here,” he said.

Elena pulled the silver blade free.

Pain shot through my body.

I screamed.

Then everything went quiet.

Warmth spread through my chest.

The golden tether between Claude and me pulsed again.

Elena pressed cloth against the wound.

“Done,” she said.

Claude exhaled like he had been holding his breath forever.

“You saved her,” he said.

Elena looked at him.

“No,” she replied. “She saved me.”

For a moment, peace settled in the corridor.

Then a guard came running up the stairs.

“Alpha!” he shouted. “The dungeon cells someone opened them!”

Claude’s expression darkened.

“Who?” he demanded.

The guard swallowed.

“Garen is missing.”

Mia “And… the prisoners are gone.”

Claude slowly stood.

The bond in my chest burned again stronger than before.

A warning.

Something worse was coming.