Chapter 5
The days passed in a haze of warmth I didn't trust. Ashton—he'd told me his name on the second day—kept his distance but never left. He slept on the floor. Brought me food. Spoke in that low, careful voice that made something in my chest ache.
The wolfsbane was leaving my system. I could feel it. The constant burn in my veins was fading, replaced by something else. Something that felt like life.
Then the storm came.
Thunder cracked across the sky, so loud the windows rattled. Rain hammered against the glass. I was back in the Asylum before I could stop it. Back in that cell with water flooding in, silver chains cutting into my wrists, guards laughing as I screamed.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't see. My body shook so hard my teeth rattled.
"Lorelei."
Ashton's voice cut through the panic. He was there, kneeling in front of me, his hands hovering near mine. Not touching. Never touching without permission.
"You're safe," he said. "You're here. With me. You're safe."
Another crack of thunder. I flinched, curling into myself.
"Can I touch you?" His voice was steady. Calm. "Just your hand. That's all."
I nodded. Couldn't speak.
His fingers wrapped around mine. Warm. Solid. Real.
The panic didn't disappear, but it shifted. His touch anchored me, pulled me back from the edge. Heat spread from his palm into mine, not burning like wolfsbane, but soothing. Like sunlight after years of darkness.
Then I heard it.
A voice. Faint and weak, like an echo from far away.
*Lorelei.*
I gasped. My free hand flew to my chest.
"What is it?" Ashton's grip tightened. "What's wrong?"
"My wolf," I whispered. "I can hear her."
His eyes went wide. Gold flared in their depths. "Say that again."
"Luna." The name came out broken. "Her name is Luna. She's—she's still there."
Ashton pulled me against his chest. I should have fought. Should have pulled away. But I didn't. I let him hold me while the storm raged outside and my wolf whispered my name over and over, like a prayer.
The next morning, Ashton spread files across the desk in his office. Old papers, yellowed with age. I stood beside him, my legs still shaky but stronger than they'd been in years.
"Thorne gave us everything," Ashton said. His jaw was tight. "Letters. Transaction records. Witness statements."
I picked up the first letter. The handwriting was elegant, controlled. Alpha Montgomery—Greyson's father.
*The Moonshadow Luna must be eliminated. The moonstone mines are too valuable to leave in weak hands. Make it look like a rogue attack. I'll pay triple your usual rate.*
The paper crumpled in my fist.
"There's more," Ashton said quietly. He handed me another document. "Greyson found these three years ago. He knew, Lorelei. He knew what his father did, and he buried it."
I read the note in Greyson's handwriting. *Burn these. The pack's wealth depends on the mines. No one can know.*
My mother's face flashed through my mind. Her smile. Her laugh. The way she'd braided my hair and told me stories about the Moon Goddess.
Greyson had known. He'd known his father murdered her, and he'd chosen money over justice. Over me.
Something inside me snapped.
Heat flooded my body. Not the burn of wolfsbane, but something else. Something wild and fierce and alive.
"Lorelei?" Ashton's hand touched my shoulder. "Your eyes—"
I didn't let him finish. I ran.
Out of the office. Down the stairs. Through the pack house and into the forest. My body moved on instinct, faster than it should have been able to. The trees blurred past me.
I heard Ashton behind me, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
The clearing opened up ahead. Moonlight broke through the clouds, silver and bright.
I fell to my knees. My body convulsed. Bones shifted. Skin rippled.
It hurt. Moon Goddess, it hurt. But it was different from the Asylum. This was transformation, not torture.
I threw my head back and let it happen.
Fur erupted across my skin. My spine lengthened. My hands became paws. The world sharpened—colors brighter, scents stronger, sounds clearer.
When it was done, I stood on four legs.
I looked down at myself. My fur wasn't the dull gray of an omega. It was silver-white, gleaming like moonlight on water. Massive. Powerful.
*We are whole,* Luna whispered in my mind. *We are strong.*
I lifted my head and howled.
The sound tore from my throat, raw and primal. A declaration. A promise. A war cry.
The Silver Lake pack answered. Howls rose from every direction, surrounding me, supporting me.
Ashton shifted beside me. His black wolf was huge, but I matched him in size. He dipped his head, a gesture of respect.
Then he howled with me.
The forest echoed with our voices. With our rage. With our promise of justice.
Greyson had taken everything from me. My mother. My mate bond. My dignity. My sight.
But he hadn't broken me.
I was still here. Still standing. Still fighting.
And I was coming for him.
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