Chapter 5- Elena -

The Iron Mountain Pack house was nothing like Shadow Creek. Where Raven's home had been all glass and modern lines, this was ancient stone and wood, built into the mountain itself. It felt like a fortress.

I'd been here three days, and my body was still healing. Damien's blood had saved my life, but the trauma of the crash left me weak. Every morning, he came to check on me himself.

"How are you feeling?" Damien asked, entering my room with a tray of breakfast. His red eyes were less frightening now, though his presence still made my heart race.

"Better," I said, sitting up slowly. My hand went to my stomach automatically. "The baby?"

"Still strong." He set the tray on my bedside table. "My pack doctor wants to examine you today."

"I don't want anyone to know about-"

"No one will know whose child it is," he said firmly. "I've told everyone you're under my protection as a refugee from pack violence. That's all they need to know."

He helped me sit up, his hands gentle despite their obvious strength. For such a dangerous-looking man, he could be surprisingly soft.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked for the hundredth time.

"Someone tried to murder a pregnant woman in my territory. That's reason enough." But something in his eyes suggested there was more.

The door burst open, and a beautiful woman walked in. She had long auburn hair, bright green eyes, and the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly how pretty she was.

"Damien!" she said warmly. "I heard you were here. Mother wants to know if you're coming to dinner tonight..." She stopped when she saw me. "Oh. This must be the refugee."

"Sophia," Damien's voice held warning. "This is Elena. Elena, this is Sophia, my Beta's daughter."

"And Damien's oldest friend," Sophia added, moving to stand close to him. Very close. "We've known each other since we were pups."

"Nice to meet you," I said quietly.

Sophia's smile was perfect. Too perfect. "Oh, you poor thing. You look terrible. That accident must have been awful."

"Sophia," Damien growled under his breath but she did not stop.

"What? I'm just concerned!" She touched his arm. "You're so good, Damien, taking in strays. Your mother would be proud."

Strays. The word stung.

"Elena is a guest," Damien said coldly. "She'll be treated with respect."

"Of course!" Sophia's green eyes sparkled. "I wouldn't dream of being disrespectful."

Damien's phone rang. He frowned at the screen. "Border patrol. I need to take this." He looked at me. "Eat your breakfast. The doctor will be here in an hour."

He left, and the moment the door closed, Sophia's sweet smile vanished.

"Let's get something clear," she said, moving closer to my bed. "I don't know what sob story you told Damien, but I know what you really are."

"I don't understand..."

"You're Raven Nightshade's discarded wife. The wolfless girl he kept hidden for three years." Her pretty face twisted with disgust. "Did you really think you could come here and sink your claws into another Alpha?"

"I'm not trying to..."

"Damien feels sorry for you. That's all this is. He has a weakness for broken things." She examined her perfect nails. "But when he realizes what a burden you are, he'll send you away. Just like Raven did."

My eyes burned with tears I refused to shed.

"Oh, are you going to cry?" Sophia laughed. "How pathetic. No wonder Raven threw you away for his real mate."

"I didn't ask to come here," I said quietly. "Someone tried to kill me. Alpha Damien saved me."

"And I'm sure you're so grateful," she said sarcastically. "Let me guess, you'll repay his kindness by following him around like a lost puppy? Cooking his meals? Waiting up for him at night? All the desperate things you did for Raven?"

How did she know about that?

"Everyone knows," she said, reading my face. "Word travels fast between packs. The Shadow Creek wolves laugh about it. Raven's pathetic human wife who thought she could make him love her."

Each word was a knife to my heart.

"Here's what's going to happen," Sophia continued. "You're going to heal up, then leave. Find some human town where you belong. Because you don't belong here, and you certainly don't belong near Damien."

"I never said I wanted to be near him."

"Good. Because he's mine." Her eyes flashed gold. "We've been promised to each other since birth. Our families have an understanding. So whatever fantasy you're building in that wolfless head of yours, forget it."

She walked to the door, then turned back with that perfect smile.

"Oh, and Elena? That baby you're carrying? A rejected Alpha's bastard. How shameful." She tilted her head. "I wonder what would happen if that information got out? If Raven's new mate found out his halfling spawn survived?"

"You wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't I? I protect what's mine, Elena. And Damien is mine." She opened the door. "Heal fast and leave faster. That's my advice."

She left, and I finally let the tears fall.

Even here, hundreds of miles from Shadow Creek, I was still nothing. Still unwanted. Still a burden.

My hand went to my stomach. "I'm sorry, little one," I whispered. "I'm sorry I can't give you a better life."

A knock on the door made me quickly wipe my eyes. An elderly woman entered with a medical bag.

"Hello, dear. I'm Dr. Sarah. Alpha Damien asked me to check on you."

She was kind and gentle, her weathered hands careful as she examined me.

"The baby is strong," she said after running her tests. "Stronger than most at this stage. That's unusual for a wolfless mother."

"Maybe the father's genes..." I started.

"Perhaps." She studied me with knowing eyes. "Or perhaps you're not as wolfless as you think."

"That's impossible. I've never shifted. I can't hear wolves or sense them like others do."

"There are different kinds of wolves, child. Some are locked so deep they never surface. But they're still there." She patted my hand. "Rest now. You're safe here."

Safe. I wanted to laugh. I wasn't safe anywhere.

After she left, I forced myself to eat the breakfast Damien had brought. The food was good, but everything tasted like ash.

Outside my window, I could see the Iron Mountain pack going about their day. Children playing. Wolves running. Families together.

Everything I'd never have.

Damien returned that afternoon, bringing lunch.

"I appreciate everything you have done for me," I said. "But I don't want to cause problems."

"You're not." He moved closer. "Elena, whoever tried to kill you is still out there. Until I find them, you're under my protection. That's not negotiable."

"What if they come here? What if I put your pack in danger?"

"Let them come." His eyes flashed dangerously. "I haven't had a good fight in years."

Despite everything, I almost smiled. "You're very different from Raven."

"Good." He stood to leave. "Rest. Tomorrow, if you're feeling better, I'll show you around the pack."

"Would Sophia like that?" I asked before I could stop myself.

He paused at the door and was quiet for a moment. Then: "Sophia doesn't speak for me or my pack. You're welcome here as long as you need. Sophia doesn't control what I do. No one does."

After he left, I lay back and stared at the ceiling. I was trapped between two worlds, the past that had tried to kill me and a future I couldn't see.

But one thing was clear: I needed to leave as soon as possible.

Before Sophia made good on her threats.

Before I started to hope for things I couldn't have.

Before I forgot that I was Elena Winters, nobody, nothing, and never enough.