5

# Chapter 5: The Return of the Queen

The drive to the Blackwood territory was a journey back in time.

I sat behind the wheel of my black Aston Martin. The engine purred like a tamed beast beneath my hands. The leather seats were heated against the chill of the morning. The suspension was smooth enough to glide over the cracks in the highway.

Everything inside the car screamed wealth and power.

Everything outside the car screamed decay.

I slowed down as I passed the rusted iron gates that marked the entrance to the pack lands. The large sign that used to read *Welcome to Blackwood Territory* was hanging by a single bolt. It was covered in moss and graffiti.

I felt a pang of sadness in my chest. My father had helped build that gate. He had been proud of this pack. He had believed in its strength and its honor.

Now it looked like a graveyard.

I pressed the button to roll down the window. The guard in the booth leaned out. He looked young and tired. His uniform was faded and two sizes too big for him.

"State your business," the guard said. He sounded bored.

I lowered my sunglasses. I looked him in the eye.

"I am Elara Vance," I said. "Open the gate."

The guard blinked. He dropped his clipboard.

"Ms. Vance," he stammered. He scrambled to hit the button. "Alpha Blackwood said you were coming. I mean. He said the investor was coming. I did not know it was... you."

He stared at me. He remembered me as the girl who scrubbed the floors. He could not reconcile that memory with the woman in the luxury car wearing a silk scarf and diamonds.

"The gate," I reminded him.

"Right. Sorry."

The heavy iron gates creaked open slowly. The metal groaned in protest.

I drove through without looking back.

The main road through the territory was in worse shape than the entrance. Potholes littered the asphalt. The houses I passed needed paint. The lawns were overgrown. I saw pack members walking on the side of the road with their heads down. They looked defeated.

This was Kael's legacy. He had inherited a thriving kingdom and turned it into a slum.

I turned off the main road and headed toward the northern border. I was not going to the Pack House. I refused to sleep under the same roof as Kael and Siena.

I was going to the cottage.

It sat on a hill overlooking the valley. It was a small stone house with a slate roof. It had been my parents' home before they died in the raid. After their death, the pack had seized it and turned it into storage.

I pulled into the driveway.

My breath hitched.

It looked exactly the same.

Kael had followed my instructions. The yard was cleared of weeds. The windows were washed. The front door had a fresh coat of blue paint.

I killed the engine. The silence of the woods wrapped around me.

I stepped out of the car. The air here was cleaner than in the city. It smelled of pine needles and damp earth. It smelled like home.

"Mommy?"

I turned. A black SUV pulled up behind my car. Dorian stepped out. He opened the back door and unbuckled Leo.

Leo jumped out. He looked around with wide eyes.

"Is this the forest?" Leo asked. He spun in a circle. "It is huge!"

"Stay close, Leo," I warned. "The woods are big and it is easy to get lost."

Dorian walked over to me. He scanned the perimeter with his golden eyes. He was in bodyguard mode.

"The perimeter is clear," Dorian said quietly. "But I smell them. The patrols are watching us from the tree line."

"Let them watch," I said loudly. "They need to get used to their new landlord."

I walked up the stone path to the front door. I unlocked it with the key Kael had mailed to my office.

I pushed the door open.

Dust motes danced in the sunlight that streamed through the windows. The furniture was simple but clean. The fireplace was cold.

It felt like walking into a mausoleum.

"I like it!" Leo announced. He ran into the living room and jumped onto the sofa. "It is cozy."

"It is temporary," I said. I placed my purse on the table. "Dorian. Take Leo upstairs and get him settled. I have a feeling we are about to have visitors."

Dorian nodded. He sensed it too. A car was approaching fast up the winding driveway.

"Come on, monster," Dorian said. He hoisted Leo onto his shoulder. "Let us go pick the best bedroom before your mom takes it."

They disappeared up the stairs just as a red convertible screeched to a halt outside.

I checked my reflection in the hallway mirror. My lipstick was perfect. My expression was icy.

I opened the front door before she could knock.

Siena stood on the porch. She held a basket wrapped in cellophane. She wore a floral dress that looked ridiculously out of place in the woods. She looked like she was dressed for a garden party in the Hamptons.

"Elara," Siena said. Her smile did not reach her eyes. It was a baring of teeth. "Welcome home."

"Siena," I replied. I leaned against the doorframe. I did not invite her in. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I brought you a welcome basket," Siena said. She thrust the basket toward me. "Just a few essentials. Since you have been gone so long. I assumed you forgot how we live out here."

I looked at the basket. It contained a loaf of stale bread, a jar of generic peanut butter, and a bottle of cheap cleaning spray.

It was an insult. She was treating me like a charity case again.

I did not take the basket.

"You can keep it," I said. "I have my groceries delivered from the city. I do not eat processed food."

Siena's smile faltered. She set the basket down on the porch with a thud.

"You think you are so special," Siena hissed. Her voice lost its fake sweetness. "You think because you have money you can just waltz back in here and take over? This is my territory, Elara. I am the Luna."

"You are the Luna of a bankrupt pack," I corrected. "And technically you are not the Luna yet. Kael has not marked you. I checked the registry. You are just his long term girlfriend."

Siena's face turned red. I had struck a nerve. Kael had never completed the mating bond with her. He claimed he was waiting for the right time. I knew the truth. His wolf refused to accept her because I was still alive.

"He loves me," Siena spat. "He is going to mark me on the next full moon. And when he does I will have you evicted."

"If you evict me," I said calmly, "I will call in the loan. The foreclosure happens within twenty four hours. You will be homeless. Is that really a risk you want to take?"

Siena stepped forward. She got in my face. She smelled of synthetic roses and desperation.

"You are nothing," she whispered. "You are a wolfless freak. I do not know how you got that money but it does not change what you are. You are the help. You will always be the help."

I laughed. It was a cold and dark sound.

"Siena," I said. "I see that dress you are wearing. It is from the Fall collection of Dolce and Gabbana. It retails for three thousand dollars."

Siena blinked. She looked confused by the change of topic. "So? I have taste."

"You bought it using the pack credit card," I said. "I reviewed the statements this morning. You also bought a diamond bracelet and a spa weekend in Aspen. You spent twenty thousand dollars last month while your pack members are eating canned soup."

Siena went pale. "That... that is none of your business."

"It is my business," I said. My voice turned hard. "Because it is my money. And I am cutting you off."

"What?" Siena shrieked.

"I froze the pack accounts an hour ago," I said. I crossed my arms. "From now on every expense over fifty dollars requires my written approval. No more dresses. No more spas. No more pretending you are rich. If you want money you can get a job."

Siena looked like I had slapped her. Her mouth hung open.

"You cannot do that!" she screamed. "Kael will not let you!"

"Kael signed the contract," I said. "He knows. In fact he is pulling up right now."

I nodded toward the driveway.

Kael's black truck rumbled up the hill. He parked behind Siena's convertible. He stepped out. He looked exhausted. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt that clung to his chest. He looked rugged and handsome and dangerous.

My wolf stirred in my chest. She purred at the sight of him.

I crushed her down.

Kael walked up the path. He looked from Siena to me. He felt the tension in the air.

"What is going on?" Kael asked. His voice was rough.

"She froze my cards!" Siena yelled. She ran over to Kael and grabbed his arm. "Kael! She said I cannot buy anything! She said I have to get a job! Tell her she is crazy!"

Kael looked at Siena. He looked at the expensive dress she was wearing. Then he looked at the run-down truck he had just driven.

He gently pulled his arm away from her.

"We discussed this, Siena," Kael said quietly. "The pack is broke. We have to make cuts."

"But not me!" Siena cried. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I am the future Luna! I have an image to maintain!"

"Your image is not more important than feeding the pack," Kael said. He sounded defeated. He turned to me.

"Was it really necessary to do it today?" Kael asked me. "You have been back for less than an hour."

"Efficiency is key to business," I said. "And I do not like thieves."

"I am not a thief!" Siena shrieked.

"You stole from the mouths of your people to put silk on your back," I said. "That makes you worse than a thief. It makes you a parasite."

Siena let out a sound of pure rage. She raised her hand. She lunged forward to slap me.

It was a slow and clumsy movement.

I did not even have to use my Lycan speed. I simply caught her wrist in mid-air.

I squeezed.

I applied just a fraction of my strength.

Siena gasped. Her eyes went wide. She tried to pull away but my grip was like iron.

"Let go," she whimpered. "You are hurting me."

"Never touch me again," I whispered. I leaned in close so only she could hear. "Or I will break your hand."

I shoved her back. She stumbled and fell onto the porch steps.

Kael watched the entire exchange. His eyes narrowed. He looked at my hand. He looked at the ease with which I had overpowered her.

He stepped forward. He sniffed the air again.

"Elara," Kael said. His voice was low and suspicious. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked. I smoothed my sleeve.

"You are stronger than you look," Kael said. He took a step closer to me. He entered my personal space. The heat radiating off him was intoxicating. "And you smell... familiar."

He inhaled deeply. He was scenting me. He was trying to find the wolf beneath the perfume.

My heart hammered against my ribs. He was too close. If he focused enough he might sense the Lycan blood. Or worse. He might smell Leo on me.

"I work out," I said flatly. "Pilates is very effective."

Kael did not back down. He stared into my eyes. The amber flecks in his irises swirled.

"You are hiding something," Kael murmured. "I can feel it. The bond... it is pulling at me. It is telling me that you are not just a human."

"The bond is a biological trick," I said. I forced myself to hold his gaze. "It is just hormones, Kael. Do not confuse lust with destiny."

"Is it?" Kael asked. He reached out. His fingers brushed against my cheek.

The touch sent a shockwave of electricity through my body. It was like sticking a fork in a socket. My knees almost buckled.

Kael felt it too. His pupils dilated. His breath hitched.

"You felt that," he whispered. "Do not lie to me."

I slapped his hand away.

"Do not touch me," I snapped. I stepped back into the doorway. "I am your business partner. Nothing more."

"Mommy!"

The voice rang out from the top of the stairs inside the house.

Kael froze.

He looked over my shoulder. He looked into the dark hallway of the cottage.

"Who is that?" Kael asked sharply.

My blood ran cold.

Leo.

I had told Dorian to keep him upstairs. But Leo was fast and curious.

"I told you," I said quickly. "I have family visiting. My nephew."

"Your nephew?" Kael narrowed his eyes. "You do not have siblings. You were an only child."

"I have cousins," I lied. "On my mother's side. From the city."

Kael did not look convinced. He took a step toward the door. "I would like to meet him."

"No," I said. I blocked the entrance with my body.

"Why not?" Kael challenged. "Are you afraid of something?"

"I am afraid of exposing an innocent child to your toxic drama," I said. "Siena is currently sobbing on my porch. You are interrogating me. It is not a welcoming environment."

I grabbed the door handle.

"Go home, Kael," I said. "Take your girlfriend and your fake tears and get off my property. I will see you at the weekly review meeting on Monday."

Kael looked at me. He looked at the closed door behind me. He looked at Siena on the ground.

He realized he had lost control of the situation yet again.

"This is not over," Kael warned. "I will find out what you are hiding."

"Good luck with that," I said.

I slammed the door in his face.

I locked the deadbolt. My hands were shaking again.

I leaned my back against the wood and slid down until I hit the floor. I buried my face in my hands.

That was too close.

He had felt the bond. He had heard Leo. He was suspicious.

"Mommy?"

Leo stood at the bottom of the stairs. He was holding his stuffed tiger. He looked worried.

"Why was the man yelling?" Leo asked.

I took a deep breath. I forced the wolf back into her cage. I forced the fear down.

I stood up and walked over to my son. I picked him up and hugged him tight.

"He was just confused, baby," I whispered. "He does not know who we are yet."

Leo rested his head on my shoulder.

"He smelled like the rain," Leo murmured sleepily. "I like him."

I closed my eyes. A tear slipped out.

"I know," I whispered. "I know."