chapter 5

POV: Elara

"I want a divorce."

The words left my mouth before I could second-guess them.

The entire longhouse seemed to freeze.

One step on the staircase. That’s all I had taken before I stopped, turned, and dropped the bomb like it meant nothing.

Silence.

Heavy. Thick. Dangerous.

I slowly looked over my shoulder.

Silas hadn’t moved.

But the glass in his hand had.

Cracked.

A thin line split through it, dark liquid dripping through his fingers onto the floor.

Genevieve blinked. Once. Twice. Like her brain refused to process what she just heard.

"What did you just say?" Silas asked quietly.

Too quietly.

I turned fully now, leaning casually against the wooden railing like we were discussing the weather.

"I said," I repeated, shrugging slightly, "I want a divorce. You heard me the first time, Alpha."

The title rolled off my tongue like an insult.

His jaw tightened.

The air shifted, his Alpha aura pressing down hard, suffocating, demanding submission.

My wolf stirred.

But instead of shrinking…

I smiled.

And that, more than my words, seemed to snap something in him.

"You don’t get to make that decision," Silas said, his voice dropping into a growl. "You are my fated mate."

"And?" I shot back instantly. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

Genevieve let out a sharp laugh, stepping forward. "Oh, this is rich. She hits her head once and suddenly she thinks she has options?"

I glanced at her, slow and unimpressed, my gaze dragging from her perfectly styled hair down to her jeweled fingers still clinging to Silas.

"You're still here?" I asked flatly. "I thought mistresses usually knew when to leave."

Her face snapped, the smile gone.

Silas’s eyes flicked between us, something unreadable flashing through them.

Good.

Let him be confused.

Let him feel what I’ve felt for years, disoriented, dismissed, irrelevant.

"I’m not asking for permission," I continued, pushing off the railing and walking down the stairs slowly, each step deliberate. "I’m informing you."

The sound of my boots echoed through the hall like a countdown.

Silas’s gaze tracked me the entire way down.

"You think you can just walk away from the Silverfang Pack?" he said. "From me?"

I stopped a few steps away from him.

Close enough to feel his heat.

Close enough to see the flicker of something behind his anger.

Curiosity.

I tilted my head slightly. "Watch me."

His lips curled, not in anger this time.

Something darker.

"You won’t survive a week," he said. "You don’t even remember who you are."

That hit.

Just slightly.

But I didn’t let it show.

Instead, I leaned in just enough for my voice to drop.

"Then I guess I’ll finally find out."

For a moment… neither of us moved.

The tension between us snapped tight, like a wire about to break.

Then—

His hand shot out.

Grabbing my wrist.

Hard.

A sharp gasp escaped me before I could stop it.

"You're not going anywhere," Silas said, his voice low and dangerous, his grip tightening. "Not until I say so."

My eyes dropped to his hand on me.

Then slowly lifted back to his face.

Calm.

Cold.

Unbothered.

"Take your hand off me."

"No."

I smiled again.

And then

I twisted.

Fast.

Precise.

His grip slipped just enough

Enough for me to drive my knee straight into his stomach.

Silas staggered back, releasing me instantly, a shocked grunt tearing from his chest.

The hall erupted into chaos.

Guards stepped forward.

Genevieve gasped.

And Silas…

Silas just stared at me.

Like he had never seen me before.

I flexed my wrist, rolling my shoulders like I hadn’t just attacked the most feared Alpha in the region.

"Next time," I said calmly, "ask before you touch me."

No one moved.

No one breathed.

Because something had just changed.

Something irreversible.

Silas straightened slowly, wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his lip.

And then

He laughed.

Low. Dark. Unstable.

"Interesting," he murmured.

His eyes locked onto mine, burning now—not with disgust…

But something far more dangerous.

"Very interesting."

My stomach tightened instinctively.

Not fear.

Instinct.

Predator recognizing predator.

"Seems like my Luna finally grew claws," he continued, taking a slow step toward me.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

"Too bad," he added softly, "you still belong to me."

My smile faded.

Just slightly.

"Keep telling yourself that," I said.

Then I turned.

And walked away.

Again.

This time—

No one tried to stop me.

But as I reached the hallway leading to my chambers—

I heard him speak.

Not loudly.

But enough.

"Lock down the borders."

My steps slowed.

Just for a second.

"You want to run, Elara?" Silas’s voice followed, cold and absolute.

"Let’s see how far you make it."

My fingers curled slightly at my sides.

Good.

Let him try.

Because he had no idea—

I was already planning my escape.

And this time…

I wouldn’t just leave.

I would disappear.

But what I didn’t know…

Was it that someone else had already discovered my secret?