Chapter 2

I didn't bother knocking. The ornate double doors of the Sterling pack house crashed against the walls as I shoved them open, my Luna aura crackling with silver energy that made the chandelier lights flicker. The scent hit me immediately—Amanda's floral perfume mingled with my family's scents in what should have been my sanctuary.

"Where is he?" My voice echoed through the marble foyer, steady despite the storm raging inside me. Lyra paced restlessly beneath my skin, her anguish fueling my rage.

Jonathan appeared at the top of the grand staircase, his powerful frame silhouetted against the warm light from our—no, his—bedroom. His face registered shock, then quickly shifted to annoyance.

"Elena, it's nearly midnight. What are you doing bursting in here like this?" His voice carried that familiar tone of condescension that I'd always excused as Alpha stress.

"I saw you," I said, climbing the stairs with deliberate steps, my heels striking each marble step like a judge's gavel. "At Rosetta's. With Amanda. With our sons."

He had the audacity to sigh, running a hand through his dark hair—that nervous gesture I now recognized as guilt. "You were supposed to be in the Northern Territories until tomorrow."

"That's your response? Not a denial, not an explanation—just irritation that I caught you?"

Movement from the hallway caught my attention. Leo and Liam stood in their doorways, identical faces wearing matching expressions of disdain. Behind them, Amanda hovered uncertainly, wrapped in one of Jonathan's shirts that hung to her thighs.

"What's going on?" Liam asked, his adolescent voice cracking with sleep and annoyance.

"Your mother is making a scene," Jonathan replied before I could speak. "As usual."

"I deserve answers," I said, fighting to keep my voice level. "I deserve to know why my mate and my children are playing happy family with another woman while I'm securing alliances to strengthen our pack."

"ENOUGH!" Jonathan's Alpha tone slammed into me like a physical force. The command vibrated through the pack bonds, designed to force immediate submission.

I staggered back, my wolf howling in protest, but years of Luna training kept me upright. "Don't you dare use your Alpha voice on me."

"Mom, why do you always have to ruin everything?" Leo stepped forward, his young face twisted with an anger that cut deeper than any claw. "You're never here anyway. You're always choosing business over family."

"Yeah," Liam joined in, emboldened by his brother's outburst. "Aunt Mandy actually cares about pack stuff. She helps with our homework and comes to our games. When's the last time you did that?"

Each word was a dagger. I looked at my sons—my beautiful boys whose first steps I'd missed because I was negotiating territory rights, whose school events I'd often attended via video call while traveling for pack business. Had I truly been so absent in their eyes?

"I have been building an empire for you," I whispered. "Everything I've done has been for this pack—for our family."

"No one asked you to," Jonathan said coldly. "You chose your corporate ambitions over your Luna duties. Amanda has been more of a mother to the boys than you ever were."

I looked at Amanda, who had the grace to lower her eyes. But there was no shame in her posture—only the quiet confidence of someone who knew she'd already won.

"This isn't over," I said, turning away before they could see the tears threatening to spill. "We will discuss this tomorrow when everyone is calm."

I spent the night running through the territory borders, Lyra taking control as we pushed our body to exhaustion. The physical pain was a welcome distraction from the emotional devastation. Dawn broke as I returned to the pack house, my suit exchanged for running clothes, my hair wild from the wind.

I placed my palm on the security panel, expecting the familiar beep of recognition. Instead, a harsh red light flashed.

"Access denied," the automated system announced.

I tried again, then attempted to override with my Luna code. Nothing.

Through the glass panels flanking the door, I could see Amanda moving freely through my kitchen, preparing breakfast. Leo and Liam sat at the island counter, laughing at something she said. The domesticity of the scene was a mockery of everything I'd lost.

My phone buzzed with a text from Jonathan: 'The boys changed the codes. They need space from you. I suggest you use your corporate apartment until we figure this out.'

Locked out. Of my own home. By my own children.

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, watching the family I thought was mine function perfectly without me. Lyra whimpered, her earlier rage now collapsed into grief.

*How long?* I wondered, turning away from the scene that would haunt me for years to come. *How long have I been fighting for a place that was never truly mine?*

I walked away from the pack house, each step heavier than the last. My corporate apartment awaited—sterile, impersonal, but at least there, no one could lock me out. As I drove through town, every memory with Jonathan replayed in my mind, now tainted with suspicion. The late nights he claimed were Alpha duties. The cold distance in our bed. The way he never quite looked at me when he said he loved me.

Had any of it been real? Or had I been merely a convenient business arrangement all along?

My phone buzzed again. Not Jonathan this time, but an unknown number with a message that made my blood freeze:

*The mate bond you cherish is built on lies. Northern clearing, midnight. Come alone if you want the truth.*