Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Luna Pretender

Elena’s POV

The light of the dawn falls on the curtains, brash and undesirable. The wolfsbane dust is gone, swept off early in the morning. But the scent lingers, bitter and taunting.

Someone in this house wants me weak.

I won’t tell Damon. Not yet. He’d lock me down harder, and I can barely breathe as it is.

A knock echoes through the suite door. Before I can answer, it opens.

Victoria Nightfang walks in like she owns the air itself.

Her perfume hits first, rose and venom. Her hair shines like black glossy obsidian and her lips are a painted smile hiding icy teeth.

“Should I call you Elena Winters?” she says smoothly. “Or had I better say, the prodigal rogue who came back.”

I get out of the chair, and each muscle is tensed. "You should say nothing at all.”

She laughs lightly, gliding closer. “Still direct. I remember that.”

“Then you remember to stay out of my way.”

Her gaze slides toward the adjoining door where Maya sleeps. “So it’s true. The little girl carries Alpha blood.”

My hands curl into fists. “Don’t talk about her.”

“Oh relax,” she purrs. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just wanted to welcome you back. Damon’s been… occupied.”

Her eyes drift toward the hall. A shadow crosses the threshold. Damon steps in, papers in hand.

He stops when he sees her. “Victoria. Why are you here?”

Her tone turns syrup-sweet. “Checking on our Luna suite, Alpha. Making sure your guests are comfortable.”

I bite back a laugh. “Our Luna suite?”

She turns to me, smile unwavering. “I’ve been running this pack for five years. Someone had to fill the role you abandoned.”

Damon’s jaw flexes. “Victoria.”

She tilts her head, ignoring him. “It’s funny, really. You show up after all this time and expect what? Sympathy?”

“I expect nothing from you.”

Her eyes glint. “Good. Because you’ll get nothing.”

Damon steps between us. “Enough.”

Her voice softens immediately. “Of course, Alpha.” She touches his arm with some kind of a light, her fingers trailing on top of which my stomach turns inside out. “You’ve been under so much stress. The council wants to meet tonight about Maya’s status. I told them you’d need rest first.”

He doesn’t pull away fast enough. The sight burns.

I fold my arms. “You must enjoy pretending you matter.”

Her gaze snaps back to me, sharp now. “You left. You forfeited the right to this pack and this title.”

“Title?” I echo. “You mean that one which you have been drooling since the day his father betrothed you?”

Color flash in her cheeks, but she recovers quickly. “Careful. I could remind the council you’re still a rogue by law.”

Damon’s voice cuts through. “That’s enough.”

She turns to him again, her tone sugar again. “I was only trying to protect you. You can’t afford another scandal.”

His patience thins. “Leave.”

Her smile doesn’t falter, but her eyes narrow slightly. “Of course. I’ll see you at dinner.”

She starts to walk past me. I move aside, however not too far.

She pauses, leaning closer. Her perfume chokes the air. “You are tired, Elena,” said in a low whisper. “Maybe you are not quite fond of captivity as I had imagined.”

“Maybe you should worry less about me and more about your place here.”

She smiles wider, voice almost purring. “My place is right beside the Alpha.”

I whisper back, “Not for long.”

Something sharp flashes in her eyes. Then she gets nearer, her lips are almost touching my ear.

“But do you know the real reason why he rejected you?”she whispers.

My pulse spikes. “You should leave while you can still walk.”

Her voice drops lower, cold and intimate. “It wasn’t duty. It wasn’t his father. He told me once you were never Luna material.”

The words slice through me. My chest tightens, my wolf roaring awake inside me.

“What did you say?”

Victoria’s smile widens. “You heard me.”

The air trembles. My wolf surges forward, claws pressing against my skin, demanding release. The room tilts red.

I grip the table hard, nails biting into wood. “Say that again.”

She leans in closer. “He chose power because you were too soft. Too emotional. Too human.”

My wolf snaps. A low growl slips out before I can stop it.

Damon’s head jerks up, voice sharp. “Elena.”

But it’s too late. My wolf floods my veins with fire, pushing against the surface. The urge to tear her throat open is pure instinct.

Victoria steps back, smirking like she’s already won. “Temper, temper.”

My fangs ache to drop. I sense the strength rushing beneath my skin, and loudening to bloodshed.

Damon grabs me by the wrist and pulls me back, before I can move. His voice penetrates through smog. "Enough."

I tear my arm free. “Keep her away from me.”

Victoria tilts her head, eyes full of mock pity. “Careful, Elena. Wolves who can’t control themselves end up exiled twice.”

My wolf lunges against my control, a violent snap inside my chest. The sound that leaves my throat isn’t human.

She flinches for the first time. Just a flicker. Satisfaction burns through the fury.

Damon steps between us, voice like steel. “Victoria, leave. Now.”

She hesitates, lips curving into a final smirk. “Of course, Alpha. I’ll see you at the council.”

She slides away, and the odor of her perfume still haunts like poison. There is a soft click of the door behind her.

I stand there shaking, my nails half-shifted, and a ragged breath. Damon watches me, silent.

“She’s lucky I didn’t let the wolf take over,” I whisper.

He studies me for a moment. “What did she say to you?”

“Nothing worth repeating.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “Elena.”

I glare at him. “Ask your Beta. She seems to know all your secrets.”

His eyes harden. “She’s not my Beta anymore.”

“Then tell her that. Because she still acts like she owns you.”

He exhales slowly, stepping closer. “You know she doesn’t.”

“Do I?”

The question hangs in the air.

Before he can respond, I pass by him, the heat of anger still vibrating in my nerves. My wolf roaming beneath my skin, and snarling.

She lied, I tell myself. She just wanted to break me.

But the whisper lingers anyway, sliding under my skin like ice.

He told me you were never Luna material.

My hands shake. I press them against the window frame and stare out at the mountains until my reflection steadies.

Outside, the sun glints off the pack’s training grounds where warriors spar.

My wolf growls again, low and vicious.

“She wants a fight,” I whisper. “Fine.”

Because if Victoria Nightfang thinks she can take what’s mine again, she’s about to learn what a rogue Luna really is.