Elira’s POV

The moment I reached the hospital entrance, I didn’t slow down—not even a little. I was still running when I pushed through the doors, breath spilling out in sharp white bursts in the freezing air. My lungs burned with every inhale, but I ignored it. My heart was beating too violently, too erratically, like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest.

“Ezra… please… hold on…”

I hurried through the bright corridor, not stopping to think, just following instinct. I knew his scent too well—soft, warm, comforting, like fresh bread right out of the oven. It pulled me straight toward the children’s ward.

But before I could reach it, two Winterfell warriors stepped in front of the door.

I stopped abruptly. “I need to get in. My son—he’s inside.”

They didn’t respond.

Instead, one of them raised a small board and held it up in front of me.

[Luna Elira is prohibited from entering.]

My chest tightened. “No… what do you mean prohibited? That’s my child!”

Their faces stayed blank.

[Alpha Adrian’s orders.]

My voice broke as I stepped closer. “Please, you don’t understand—he needs me. Ezra needs his mother. Let me see him.”

Still nothing.

The second guard lifted his hand and pointed firmly at the hallway behind me.

[Step away.]

When I tried to reach the door anyway, he shoved me back. Hard. My shoulder slammed against the wall and pain shot through me.

“Please!” My voice cracked under the pressure. “He’s just three years old! He’s sick—he must be scared out of his mind. I need to be with him. I’m begging you!”

They didn’t even look at me.

The first guard wrote again, slower this time.

[He is under medical care. Leave.]

“I’m his mother!” I choked, tears already spilling. “How can you stop a mother from seeing her own child?”

Silence.

I pressed my forehead against the cold wall, struggling not to fall apart. How did it come to this? How could this pack be so cruel… and Adrian even more so?

Footsteps suddenly echoed down the hall.

I turned sharply.

Alpha Adrian was there—with Mira beside him.

My breath caught.

“Please,” I said quickly, wiping my face. “Let me see him. Ezra is sick. He needs me. You can’t keep me out like this.”

Adrian didn’t look moved at all. He lifted his hands and signed slowly, deliberately.

[He requires doctors, Elira. Not you. Don’t interfere.]

I shook my head violently. “That’s ridiculous! He’s just a child! He needs comfort, not just medicine! He needs his mother!”

Mira gently slid her arm through his like she belonged there and glanced at me with a soft, fake pity.

“You’ll only upset things,” she said calmly. “Just wait.”

“I said I’m his mother!” My voice rose, breaking completely.

“Enough.” Adrian’s tone turned sharp. He signaled to the guards. “Keep her out. No exceptions.”

Then they walked in.

And the door shut in my face.

The lock clicked.

That sound hit harder than anything else.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the closed door, struggling to breathe.

Then my strength gave out and I slid down to the floor.

If anything happened to him… if I lost Ezra…

I couldn’t even finish the thought.

Tears fell freely now as I wrapped my arms around myself. The hospital hallway felt too bright, too cold, too empty. Nurses passed by without stopping. No one dared approach the Luna who wasn’t really a Luna.

My breathing turned uneven. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Time blurred after that.

I don’t know how long I sat there.

All I could think about was—

please… let him be okay.

I leaned my head back against the wall, trying to steady my breath.

Then I heard it.

A soft click.

The door hadn’t fully closed.

It was slightly open.

My body stiffened instantly.

Voices drifted from inside.

I hesitated… then slowly moved closer, just enough to hear.

Mira spoke first.

“So the Winterfell Pack is really going to launch an attack on Ironvale? Without warning?”

My blood turned cold.

Ironvale.

My home.

I pressed a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping.

“Yes,” Adrian answered flatly. “They took the weapons meant for us. They used my father’s trust against us. That is betrayal.”

Mira hummed softly. “So that’s why you’re attacking them?”

“Yes.” His voice was colder now. “They crossed a line. This week, we strike. Ironvale Pack will fall.”

My heart dropped so hard it felt like it hit the floor.

No… that’s not possible.

Ironvale would never steal weapons. Never.

My father was an honorable Alpha. My brother protected their name with everything he had. We were not thieves.

Something must be wrong. A misunderstanding. A setup. Anything but this.

My hands trembled uncontrollably.

They were planning war. This week.

“How convenient,” Mira chuckled. “She’s too clueless to even realize what’s happening. Even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway.”

Adrian let out a low laugh. “She believes everything she’s told. She always has.”

My lip trembled so hard I bit down until I tasted blood.

Everything was collapsing at once.

My son was sick behind that door.

And my entire pack was about to be destroyed.

I had to warn them.

I backed away from the door and ran down the hallway, heart pounding violently. I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and called my mother.

Ring.

Once. Twice. Three times.

No answer.

I tried my father next.

Nothing.

My brother.

Still nothing.

“Please…” My voice cracked. “Answer… please…”

I tried again.

Still silence.

My chest tightened painfully. Something was wrong. Something was already happening.

I leaned against the wall, my legs barely holding me up. My mind spun—fast, chaotic, suffocating.

I needed to go home. I needed to reach Ironvale. I needed to stop this.

But—

Ezra.

He was still inside that room. Feverish. Helpless. Mine.

And Adrian’s guards would never let me take him.

My hands covered my face as I whispered, broken, “What am I supposed to do…?”

For the first time in years, I felt completely cornered.

Like prey caught too deep in a trap.

My son needed me.

My pack needed me.

But I only had one body.

And it was being pulled apart in two different directions.

Elira’s POV

I left the Winterfell Pack borders with my heart pounding painfully in my chest. I didn’t want to leave Ezra behind, not even for a second, but I had no choice. If Adrian’s pack really planned to attack Ironvale without warning, then my parents, my brother, my whole family was in danger.

I ran the entire way. My legs were shaking when I finally reached Ironvale Pack, but I forced myself to keep going. The moment the guards recognized me, they let me in.

“Lady Elira?” one of them asked.

“I need to see Alpha Jace. Right now,” I whispered.

They didn’t ask questions. They guided me straight to the main hall. My brother was there, talking with a group of elders. When he turned around and saw me, his eyes widened in shock.

“Elira? What happened?”

I opened my mouth and everything spilled out. My voice trembled.

“Winterfell Pack… Adrian… he’s planning to attack us. Soon. This week.”

The elders murmured. Jace’s expression darkened instantly. “Explain everything.”

So I did. I told him about the overheard conversation in the hospital. The accusations that Ironvale stole weapons. The declaration of war. The timing. Everything.

My brother clenched his jaw, eyes flashing with anger. “We never stole anything. That claim is false.”

“I know,” I whispered. “Someone is framing us… or bending the truth.”

Jace took a breath, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll prepare. We’re not a weak pack, Elira. We will defend our home.”

I nodded shakily. “I just… I didn’t want you all to be caught off guard.”

“You did the right thing.” He paused. “But what about you? Why did you come alone? What’s going on?”

The moment he asked, my tears fell.

“Jace…” My voice cracked. “I’ve been suffering there… for years.”

My brother froze, then stepped closer. “Elira…”

I told him everything. The bullying. The isolation. The fake marriage. The cruelty. The humiliation. The mistress. The lies. Everything Adrian hid behind my back. Every reason why I lost myself.

Jace’s hands curled into fists. “I should’ve taken you home the first time I saw your eyes change. I should’ve known.”

“No,” I whispered. “It was my choice. I thought… I thought enduring made me strong. I thought being patient would make him love me.”

My voice trembled. “I was wrong.”

Jace sighed and pulled me into a hug. “You’re leaving him, right?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “I just… I just need to go back first. I need to get Ezra. I’m not leaving without my son.”

“We’ll help you,” he said firmly.

But right then, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

My heart dropped when I read it. [I knew you can hear now. You took the bait, dear fake luna.]

My blood ran cold. It was Mira. She knew I could hear. She knew I went home. She knew I found out.

I tightened my grip on the phone. “Jace… I have to go back. Right now.”

“Elira—”

“My son is there,” I whispered. “If Mira knows I can hear, she won’t sit still. She’ll do something. I can feel it.”

Jace’s eyes sharpened. “Then go. I’ll send my warriors behind you.”

I nodded, turned around, and ran again. But the moment I stepped back inside Winterfell Pack, it was chaos. Warriors shouting. Omegas running. Wolves shifting. Panic everywhere.

“What happened?!” I grabbed the closest maid.

The maid’s eyes filled with fear. She quickly used sign language, [Your son… was kidnapped. At the hospital.]

My heart stopped. “No…” My knees weakened. “No—no—NO—”

I grabbed her arm desperately. “Who took him?! Who—”

The maid shook her head, crying silently.

I didn’t wait. I ran to Adrian’s office and slammed the door open.

“Alpha!” I screamed. “Where is my son? WHERE IS Ezra?!”

Adrian was already furious, pacing, slamming his fists on the desk. A warrior ran inside, breathless.

“Alpha! Mira—she was kidnapped too!”

Adrian’s face twisted. “What?! What the fuck are you all doing?! How did you let her out of your sight?!”

I froze. Mira… kidnapped? At the same time as my son? Something was wrong. Something didn’t make sense.

“Alpha!” I shouted, stepping forward. “Ezra is missing! He’s your son, your flesh and blood. FIND HIM. Please! Just find him—”

He lifted his hands and signed calmly, [I will find him, Elira. Don’t worry. We will rescue him.]

Relief washed over me, but then he turned to his warriors and yelled, “Find Mira first! I don’t care what it takes!”

My eyes widened. Mira first. Not Ezra. Not the sick three-year-old boy who might be terrified and freezing somewhere out there.

I felt something inside me break. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

He used sign language to deceive me into thinking he was looking for our son. I couldn’t even imagine the horror if I still hadn’t regained my hearing at that moment. I would have believed that monster!

I stormed out. But halfway down the hall, I stopped. Ezra’s nanny, Leni, was standing there, shaking.

I rushed to her. “Leni! What happened? You were with him! How did he get taken?”

She hesitated and started using sign language out of habit.

I grabbed her wrists gently. “No. Speak. I can hear for a week now. Talk to me.”

Her eyes widened. “L-Luna… you regained…?”

“That doesn’t matter!” I snapped, breath shaking. “Tell me what happened to my son.”

Leni swallowed hard, tears falling. “I—I was with him at the hospital. He was asleep. Feverish. I didn’t leave his side. But then… Mira came.”

My stomach twisted.

Leni continued, voice trembling. “Mira told me to buy something to eat. She said she would watch him… only for a few minutes.”

“And you believed her?” I whispered, voice breaking.

Leni sobbed. “She’s close to the Alpha. I couldn’t say no… I thought it was fine. I thought… I thought she would help.”

I closed my eyes tightly.

“When I returned,” Leni cried, “Ezra was gone. And Mira was nowhere to be seen.”

My chest burned. “It was a setup.”

Leni nodded, shaking. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…”

I placed a hand over my heart, trying to breathe through the panic. “No… no… I have to find him. I have to.”

I turned around, grabbed my phone, and called Jace with shaking hands.

“Jace…” I whispered when he answered. “Send your elite wolf warriors. All of them. Ezra is missing.”

“We’re coming,” he said. “We won’t stop until we find him.”

I ended the call and stepped outside, staring at the storm clouds gathering over the Winterfell Pack.

And this time, I wasn’t waiting for Adrian.

I would search every mountain, every forest, every river until I found my child. Even if I had to tear this entire territory apart with my bare hands.