“Elena,” Harrison said firmly.

Jennifer laughed nervously. “You’re joking… right? She’s just a maid. You can have anyone in the pack. Why her?”

“She’s beneath you,” she added coldly.

Harrison’s voice turned sharp. “Watch your mouth. You don’t speak about her like that.”

Mathew sat up slowly, trying to keep his tone light. “Come on, brother. We’re at my engagement party. Ask for anything, anything at all. But Elena… you know I can’t do that.”

“I’m not asking,” Harrison said, staring hard at him. “I’m telling you.”

He grabbed the whiskey glass Mathew gave him, dropped it on the table, then took Mathew’s from his hand and drank it instead.

Jennifer blinked in shock.

“Okay,” she said softly. “You can have her. After the party.”

“Jennifer,” Mathew snapped.

She rolled her eyes. “What? That woman has a bastard son. You’re really okay with that?”

Harrison smirked. “A child is exactly what I need.”

He stood up and walked away, leaving them frozen.

Elena was back in the kitchen washing dishes. Her hands shook a little from everything that had happened earlier.

Lucas was helping, drying spoons.

“Mommy,” he said, “why can’t we go to the party with Daddy?”

She sighed. “Sweetie, Alpha Harrison isn’t your daddy.”

“But I can smell him, Mommy,” Lucas said. “I can smell your wolf.”

Her breath caught.

“That’s not possible,” she whispered. “I lost my wolf seven years ago.”

He looked confused.

She turned away. “Honey, please go play with Tyler. Mommy needs to finish this.”

He frowned but nodded. “Okay.”

As soon as he walked out, she heard a soft, calm voice behind her.

“Your son is right… I’m here, Elena.”

She turned sharply, and gasped.

“Zoey?” she whispered.

It was her wolf. Glowing faintly, like a spirit, standing near the back door.

“I missed you,” Zoey said. “The Moon Goddess gave me a second chance. I’ve come back for you. And I have something to tell you… about our mate.”

“Alpha Mathew is our mate…”

“What?” Elena whispered.

Before Zoey could answer, Jennifer walked into the kitchen.

Jennifer said, “Yeah, Mathew is your mate. In seven years I’ve kept that secret.”

Elena asked, “How did you know? He told you that?”

Jennifer said, “No. I found out by accident, and then I had to make sure you’d fall in bed with the sleazy rogue. All it took was a little something in your drink.”

She stepped closer and shoved Elena. “You want to know why Mathew never told you, you were his mate? Because you’re nothing. You’re a maid with a bastard child.”

“Then why are you so scared of me?” Elena snapped.

Jennifer slapped her hard across the face.

“You bitch!” she hissed. “I should’ve killed you that night instead of just drugging you.”

“What did you just say?” a deep voice growled behind her.

Jennifer froze.

Mathew stood at the doorway, eyes wide, face pale.

“You told me… that Elena went to seduce that asshole rogue.”

Jennifer panicked. “Mathew, listen.”

“Get out.” His voice was ice.

“But—”

“NOW!”

Jennifer stormed out, furious.

Mathew turned to Elena slowly. There was a bottle in his hand. He stepped closer.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

He didn’t answer. He placed the bottle down behind her and whispered, “You know you’re my mate. And I still want you.”

She stared at him, disgusted. “You never told me. You let me suffer. And now you’re here… what, lusting after me?”

“I can’t help it,” he said. “You’re a maid. An orphan. But damn it… I can’t get you out of my system.”

He stepped closer.

“I can make you my mistress,” he whispered.

Her hand flew up and slapped him across the face.

He staggered back, touching his cheek. “You slapped your Alpha?”

“You disgust me, Mathew. I’d rather be a rogue than your mate.”

“Don’t push me, Elena,” he growled. “Don’t make me reject you.”

“Do it,” she whispered. “I accept your rejection, Mathew Wilson.”

A searing pain hit her chest as the bond snapped. Her knees buckled, but she stayed standing.

Mathew’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Then I guess I’ll leave you… to my brother.”

“What?”

“Harrison,” he said coldly. “And I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors. How cruel. How dangerous he can be.”

She stared at him.

He leaned close. “Beg me now, Elena… or go serve a man who might just destroy you.”

She looked him dead in the eyes and said, “I’ll take my chances… with Alpha Harrison.”

He froze.

JENNIFER’S POV

Jennifer paced back and forth in her room, biting her nails.

“Damn it,” she muttered. “Now Mathew knows.”

He knew everything.

He knew she was the one who drugged Elena seven years ago. He knew she lied, ruined her life… and still, the way he looked at her?

That look in his eyes—God, he still loved her!

She stopped pacing and grabbed a pillow from the bed, throwing it across the room.

“No, no, no! He’s going to do something stupid. I know him. He’ll chase after her, try to ‘fix’ everything like some hero.” She laughed bitterly. “As if he didn’t throw her away the first chance he got.”

Her fingers curled tightly.

“I can’t let him.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her phone.

“I have to do something... before it’s too late.”

Her hands shook as she dialed a number.

It rang twice before a low voice answered.

“It’s Jennifer. I need your help.”

“I’ll send you a location,” she said. “Be there in an hour.”

ELENA’S POV

Elena opened the door to Lucas’s room and smiled at first.

His toys were scattered everywhere—his little wooden wolf, the soft red blanket he always used, the robot he never went to bed without.

But then she looked closer.

The bed was empty.

“Lucas?” she called out, stepping inside quickly.

Silence.

She felt a chill. Then her phone buzzed.

She picked it up with shaking fingers and read the message:

“If you want to see your son, come to the woods. Come alone.”

Her whole body froze.

“No…”

She didn’t even think. She grabbed the old lantern from the hallway and ran out of the house, her heart thudding wildly.

The cold night air bit at her skin. Her bare feet slapped against the ground as she ran into the darkness of the forest.

The woods were quiet.

Too quiet.

“Lucas!” she shouted, holding up the lantern. “Sweetie, where are you?!”

Her voice echoed back at her.

Twigs cracked under her feet. The wind howled through the trees. Shadows danced around her.

“Lucas! Please! It’s Mommy!”

Suddenly, the light flickered—and there he was.

A huge man stood in the middle of the path, blocking her way.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and his eyes were glowing faintly yellow. He didn’t say a word.

Elena took a step back. “Where’s my son?”

He didn’t answer. He just pointed deeper into the woods.

She tried to move around him—but he stepped in her way again.

“Where is he?!” she screamed.

He grabbed her arm roughly. She fought him, slapping, kicking, but he was too strong.

Then, she heard a sound behind her.