Alexander’s glare cut through the parlor like winter wind.“Enough.Natalie is my mate,”he snapped,stepping between his mother and Elena.“You will not treat her this way.”

Evelyn Greyson blinked,incredulous.“Alexander,you defend an outsider over your own mother?Three years married and no pups—she’s less than a hen!Worthless.”Her voice dripped with the old breeding-house contempt of pack aristocracy.

Alexander opened his mouth,then closed it.Elena already knew the truth he could not say aloud:the child she had lost,the sickness in that night—Daniel’s complicity.She felt the old wound flare.

“Regardless,”Alexander said finally,voice hard,“you will not humiliate her.”

He reached for Elena’s hand.She yanked it away.“If you wanted a wolf who could give you pups,you should have taken one already.”

Her words landed like stones.Without meeting his mother’s eyes,Elena turned and went upstairs.

Alarm flickered in Alexander’s features;he hesitated,then started after her.A sudden cry from Rhiannon halted him.Jessica scooped the child up with an expertly performed gasp of alarm.“Rhiannon!Are you hurt?Is your heart—”

“Alexander,she startled Rhiannon.Will you come see?”Jessica’s voice trembled with practiced concern.

Alexander spun toward them,worry written across his face.He called for the family pack medic and knelt beside Rhiannon,searching the child’s small features for any sign of distress.He looked back once at the stairwell,torn;Elena had already seen too much.

What Elena could not know in the moment was the small,cruel pinch Jessica had delivered to Rhiannon’s arm as Alexander turned—an instant that would never register in his eyes as anything but genuine concern.Even if Elena had tried to tell him,he would have refused to believe it.

On the landing,Elena watched his concern for Rhiannon and felt the last thread of something like faith splinter.Back in their bedchamber she pulled every remnant of their life apart.Photographs,letters—three years of coiled promises—were swept into piles and tossed.Where he had once filled the world with vows,there was now only the echo of their old life.

She had barely begun to sit when Alexander’s hand forced the door.He stepped in and froze at the sight of the emptied shelves.“Natalie,what have you done?”

“Nothing,”she said,steady when her voice could have rattled.“Just taking away what isn’t mine.”

His expression was flat.“Bring tea to my mother.I made it.Go down.”

He shepherded her downstairs and shoved a steaming cup into her hands.Elena moved through the motion as if under water.Just as she reached for the tray,Jessica slid forward with the grace of a wolf who knows how to use attention as a knife.

“Allow me,”Jessica murmured,all sugar and predatory ease.“I’ll fetch it for her.”

Her smile was a blade.Elena stepped to intercept;their hands collided over the cup.The ceramic tipped.Tea sloshed and struck the floor.Jessica shrieked,clutching her arm as if struck,as if the silvered porcelain had left wounds.Instantly the room filled with a chorus that sided with the show:Evelyn gasped;attendants clustered;Alexander’s jaw tightened.

“Natalie,you’ve gone too far,”he said,voice rising.“Jessica was trying to help and you attacked her.”

Before Elena could explain,his hand flashed and struck her—quick,brutal judgment from the pack’s leader where mercy should have been.The sting sent her backward;her back hit the stair rail and she tasted copper.Evelyn’s thin smile widened into triumph.

“I warned you,”the matriarch intoned.“Lock her away before she disgraces us further.”

Two attendants seized Elena again,their grips trained and cold.They hauled her toward the basement storeroom as if moving a trapped cur.Alexander watched,the lines in his face closing like a snarl.He said nothing.

“Alexander,”Elena called,voice small under the weight of the cellar door,“you know I fear the dark.Will you truly let them lock me away?”

He paused at the threshold,conflict visible only for a breath,then turned his face away.“You hurt Jessica,”he said,voice clipped.“This is for order.A small punishment.”

The door thudded shut.Cold swallowed the storage room.Elena pounded until the hollowness around her took on the rhythm of a heartbeat.She curled in a corner,the world narrowing to the smell of old cedar and the distant murmur of the hearth above.Memories rose—how Alexander,once gentle in storms,had promised never to leave her in darkness.He had known.He had still let them do this.

With each sob that shook her,something inside Elena unlatched and fell away.

When Natalie woke,she found herself lying in her own bed.

She turned her head and saw Daniel beside her.Noticing her gaze,he opened his eyes and pulled her into his arms,his voice soft with a guilty timbre.“Natalie,you’re awake.Do you want to sleep a little longer?”

Feeling the warmth of his chest—the steady,familiar heat of a mate and pack-bond—a sharp ache cut through her and she pushed him away.

“Daniel,what are you pretending for?”

He froze,then answered,“I’m sorry.I thought Mother was only trying to scare you.I didn’t think those two retainers would actually lock you in the cellar.”

“Mother went too far this time,but you were the one who hurt Jennifer.”

Even now he made excuses.Natalie let out a cold,humorless laugh.“If you hadn’t said what you did,would they have dared to lock me up?”

She paused,then added,“Since your mother already treats Jennifer like her real daughter-in-law,why don’t I just leave?Then you and Jennifer can be together and your mother won’t be upset every time she sees me.”

With that,she rose and started to walk away.

Daniel moved quickly and pulled her into a hug,his voice shaking.“Natalie,after three years together,I won’t let you go.”

“Are you still upset about Jennifer?Then I’ll ask her to move out.I won’t see her again.”

His words might have fooled a naive girl;Natalie would not fall for them again.She shoved him away.Just as she opened her mouth to speak,the bedroom door burst open and Jennifer stood in the doorway,frozen,eyes wide,tears welling.

“No need to kick me out.I’ll take Rihanna and leave right now.”

With that,she turned and hurried away.Daniel sprang from the bed in a panic and chased after her,not even glancing at Natalie.

Natalie followed him down the hall.

Jennifer waited on the second-floor balcony,staring down at the two-meter-deep swimming pool below.Her eyes were rimmed red as she faced Daniel,voice trembling.“Daniel,if even you don’t want me anymore,then I’ll just jump.I know you and Natalie are the real couple,but I can’t stop feeling jealous.”

“Please take care of Rihanna after I’m gone.Don’t try to stop me.”

She stepped toward the railing.

Daniel lunged and wrapped his arms tightly around Jennifer,eyes full of anguish.“I’m sorry.It was my fault.I shouldn’t have said those things.The one I truly love is you.We still have Rihanna.If you really jump,what will happen to her?What about me?”

He looked at Jennifer with an affection that made Natalie’s skin crawl.Watching their little spectacle unfold,Natalie stepped from the shadows and slowly began to clap.

When Daniel saw her,his face went numb.He opened his mouth,then finally said with difficulty,“Natalie,I’ll explain everything tonight,okay?”

She shook her head and met him coolly.“No need.I’ll leave on my own soon.I won’t get in the way of your love.”

She turned to go,but Daniel reached out as if to stop her.Before he could touch her,Jennifer stepped between them.

“Natalie,please don’t leave Daniel because of me.This is my fault.I shouldn’t have brought Rihanna here and I shouldn’t have gotten so close to Daniel.I should be the one to leave.”

Jennifer’s false contrition made Natalie sick.

“Are you done?If so,move aside.”

Instead of stepping back,Jennifer grabbed Natalie’s arm.“Natalie,you and Daniel have to stay well.That way I’ll feel better even if I leave…”

Natalie gave a mocking smile and wrenched her arm free.

The next instant Jennifer screamed,flung up an arm and stumbled backward.Daniel,panic-stricken,shoved Natalie aside and lunged to catch her.He held Jennifer at the waist,voice trembling with relief.“Thank goodness you’re okay.I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

He did not see Natalie slip from the balcony;she fell into the pool below.

The pool water rushed into her nose,choking Natalie instantly.

She flailed her arms and shouted up toward the second-floor balcony,“Daniel!Help me!”

She saw Daniel rush down in a panic,but he stopped at the edge of the pool.Then he pulled Jennifer into his arms.“You’ve suffered because of Natalie.Now it’s her turn to learn a lesson.”

He looked down at Natalie as she struggled,eyes full of something that might once have been concern but now read as cold calculation,and he did not move.Natalie stared at him in stunned disbelief;the world narrowed to the sharp,desperate rhythm of her breath.Everything went black as she weakened from lack of air.

Right before she lost consciousness,Daniel shrugged off his jacket,dove in and hauled her out.His touch was efficient,his face hard.“Natalie,this is just a warning.If you hurt Jennifer again,I don’t know what I’ll do.”

When she woke,raised voices downstairs pulled her back.She opened the bedroom door and saw Daniel and Jennifer arguing.Jennifer clutched a suitcase in one hand and kept hold of Rihanna with the other,making a show of trembling tears.

“Daniel,let go.Instead of waiting for Natalie to force us out,I’d rather take Rihanna and leave now.”

With that she shook off Daniel’s hand and moved to go.Daniel’s eyes were full of pity and pain;he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jennifer’s waist.“No.As long as I’m here,no one will chase you away.You and Rihanna can stay.What happened yesterday was Natalie’s fault.I already punished her.She won’t touch you again.”

Natalie walked down the stairs slowly,blade-cold smile aimed at Jennifer.“If you truly wanted to leave,you would’ve left last night while Daniel slept.”

Jennifer hesitated,bit her lip,and then dropped to her knees.“Natalie,it’s my fault.I shouldn’t have come between you and Daniel.If you two are okay,I’ll go.”

She stood,opened the villa door and began to walk out.Daniel grabbed her arm and shouted,“Enough!”

He whirled to Natalie,anger burning in his eyes.“Natalie,don’t you think this house has had enough chaos?Jennifer never tried to hurt you.Why do you keep going after her?”His voice carried the disappointment of a packmate who expected loyalty.“We’ve been bound three years.When did you become so jealous?I barely recognize you.”

Natalie lowered her head and stepped closer,the words cutting.“You don’t recognize me because your heart was never with me.All you care about is Jennifer.”

“If you’ve chosen to let her stay,then I’ll go.”

The villa reeked of Daniel’s scent,a constant reminder of a bond twisted into betrayal.Natalie did not want any of it;she left everything behind.

As she stepped out the door,Daniel’s voice followed her,angry and final.“Natalie,there’s a limit to jealousy.If you walk out today,don’t bother coming back!”

She did not turn.In her mind she repeated it like a vow:fine,I won’t return.

Outside,she took out her phone and sent a message.

[When will the heart-source be found?]

The reply came quickly:[We’ve got news.Just wait two more days.]

In two days,she would be able to leave this place for good.