Beneath the city of her penthouse office,was vibrant and full of energy, another late night where her people pushed through numbers, contracts, and whispers in the dark to keep the machine alive. But tonight, Vespera’s gaze wasn’t on the city. The photograph was laid out on her desk. The same one that had bypassed all her security protocols without a trace. herself, Eitan, and a much younger her in the background of a candid shot. Smiling, unguarded, in love. Someone was digging. And someone inside her ranks had helped them. Her jaw tightened as her fingers brushed the frame of the photo, as the fire within her was igniting. She had set a trap for the mole, and now it was tightening—but not fast enough. The soft click of the door opening broke her thoughts. Eitan leaned against the threshold, shadows playing across his features. "You’re working too late. Again." Her heart skipped, without her face betraying how she felt. "Says the man who spent the last week lurking my corridors like a ghost" He smiled faintly. "Maybe I’m making sure the empire queen doesn’t collapse from exhaustion." "Or maybe," she fired back, sliding the photo beneath a folder, "you’re here to watch me. To pry open secrets you think I’m still keeping from you." For a moment—he lost his composure, then walked across the room, close enough that she could smell the familiar mix of cedar and smoke that used to cling to her skin after nights they made love. “And are you?” Vespera’s lips parted, but she bit down on the truth. She had never told him why she chose the crown over him. Or how every night she replayed the moment she’d let him walk out—with their daughter in his arms. But bit it back, as she always did, and slid her armor back into place. “You don’t get to ask that anymore, Eitan.” Her words struck sharper than any blade. You don’t get to ask that anymore. And yet, he had to. He’d lived with Luna’s laughter echoing in safehouses, her tiny hands reaching for him in the dark when nightmares came. He had raised her to believe her mother had chosen duty over her. He had convinced himself it was mercy. But watching Vespera now, her shoulders rigid with exhaustion and secrets, he wondered if the lie was slowly destroying her. He wanted to tell her, he needed to tell her that Luna was safe, bright and fierce like her mother, stubborn like him. But he couldn’t. Because the moment Vespera knew, she would come for their daughter. She would drag Luna into the storm of politics, into the war between wolves and humans. He couldn’t let that happen. "Be careful," he said softly. “Even queens bleed.” She looked up at him, her eyes a flash of burning desire. And in that brief moment, he saw the reflection of the girl he once loved above everything. The one he’d thought he’d build a future with. But she looked away. “Go home, Eitan.” And like always, he obeyed. The following day, the Senate building loomed like a marble predator. Inside, the Senator waited, her smile sharp as a blade. “Miss Stark,” she greeted, using her public name. “Or should I say… Alpha Stark?” Vespera’s spine stiffened, though her face betrayed nothing. “Careful, Senator. Titles like that can get a man laughed out of human circles.” Her smile widened. “And yet I’ve heard whispers. You’re lobbying hard for land acquisitions upstate. Quiet, out-of-the-way properties. Perfect for… privacy.” Her pulse quickened. She knew too much. “My company invests in sustainable development,” she said coolly. “Privacy sells.” They danced their verbal duel, Marlowe circling closer to the truth, Vespera parrying with corporate jargon and the kind of polished charm that won headlines. But every word scraped against her nerves. Somewhere in her empire, someone was leaking pieces of her strategy. Someone was feeding Marlowe information. And then Marlowe leaned in, her voice dropping low. “We all have things we’d rather the public didn’t know. Imagine if yours came to light. A photograph, perhaps. A relationship history. A… child.” The world seemed to tilt beneath her. For a second, her breath caught, though she forced her expression blank. “Empty threats, Senator.” But her grin told her she’d seen the flicker in her eyes. That evening, Eitan roamed the corridors of Vespera’s empire like a restless wolf. He had watched her face pale at Marlowe’s words. He had smelled the fear she’d tried to bury under layers of steel. A child. She thought it was still a secret. He clenched his fists, torn between rage at Marlowe’s intrusion and the gnawing ache of guilt. Luna should have been here with her mother. With them. But Vespera had chosen the crown, and he had chosen to protect their daughter from the fallout. And yet… maybe he had been wrong. Maybe. The memory of the night he rejected her burned behind his eyelids. Vespera, standing in their loft, eyes shining with tears as she said, “I can’t turn my back on them, Eitan. They need me.” “And what about us?” he had asked, voice breaking. Her silence had been answer enough. He had taken Luna that night, swaddled her against his chest, and disappeared before dawn. Now, seeing Vespera haunted and hunted, he wondered if his choice had saved them—or shattered them beyond repair. Her trap finally snapped two nights later. The mole had taken the bait, accessing a decoy file. The data had been routed, tracked, and narrowed down to someone close—too close. But instead of triumph, dread settled in her chest. Because if this mole knew enough to dig through her files, then they might already know the truth she had buried so deep. "The truth about Luna." Her heart raced as she sat in her office, moonlight shining across the glass walls. She didn’t hear Eitan enter until he spoke. "You’re trembling." She turned sharply. He was standing there, watching her with the same unreadable expression that had always penerated. “I’m fine.” “No,” he said softly, stepping closer. “You’re not.” For a moment, the years fell away. His hand brushed hers, warm, familiar, dangerous. She wanted to pull back. She wanted to lean in. But, she whispered, "If I let you close again, you’ll only run." His jaw tightened. "Or maybe I’ll stay. If you’ll tell me what you're terribly afraid of." Her breath caught, her lips parting with words she almost spoke. That I already lost you. That I lost her too. But before she could, her phone chimed with a secure alert. She looked down. A new message glowed on the screen. “Even blood can betray you.” Vespera’s hand went cold. The mole wasn’t after her empire anymore. They were after her family. Vespera’s face went pale as she read the message. He stepped forward intuitively, ready to shield her from whatever storm was coming. But in her he saw fear and guilt. In that moment, he knew: her secret was unraveling. It was only a matter of time before the truth about Luna came crashing into the open.