Chapter 111
Elowen's POV
The pressure was crushing me from all sides.
Through the mate bond, I could feel Casper in my room—broken, shattered, drowning in guilt over his father's death. The bond pulsed with his agony, a raw wound that made my chest ache. Cassian felt it too. I sensed his heartbreak mirroring through our triple connection, though he was trying so damn hard to stay strong for both of us.
Then Cindy's voice slammed into my head through the mind link. "Elowen! Please, hurry! Ethan's getting worse. He's burning up. The doctors don't know what to do. I need you to find out how to fix this!"
Her desperation clawed at me. Ethan was dying because of whatever the fuck Drake and my mother had put in that champagne.
"I'm working on it," I sent back, trying to sound calmer than I felt. "I promise, Cindy. I'll get answers."
But could I? Could I really torture information out of my own mother? Out of Drake?
"You can," Juno growled in my mind, her voice sharp as broken glass. "You will. For Ethan. For Casper. For Cassian. Stop being weak."
I wasn't weak. Not anymore.
I stood in the middle of Alpha Austin's office—no, Cassian's office now—and forced myself to breathe. The room still smelled like authority, like the man who'd just been murdered. My hands trembled, but I clenched them into fists.
Footsteps approached. Heavy boots on marble.
The door opened, and Alaric entered first, dragging my mother by her silver-cuffed wrists. She stumbled, her face pale and drawn. Without her wolf connection, she looked... human. Fragile.
Good.
Ronan followed with Drake, shoving him roughly into a chair across from the desk. Drake's shoulder was still bleeding from where Casper had stabbed him with that champagne glass. His face was a mess of dried blood and bruises.
He looked like shit. He deserved worse.
"Kneel," Alaric said to my mother, his voice cold.
Jessica's eyes widened. "I'm a Beta. You can't—"
"Kneel." Alaric's hand pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her to the ground. She dropped to her knees with a gasp, her expensive dress pooling around her like a puddle of silk and lies.
I watched her fall and felt... nothing. No sympathy. No daughterly concern.
Just cold, burning rage.
"Are you sure about this, Luna?" Ronan asked me, his amber eyes assessing. "We can handle the interrogation if you prefer."
Luna. The title still felt foreign on my skin, but I was learning to wear it.
"I need to do this myself," I said. My voice came out steadier than I expected. "But thank you. All of you."
Kade appeared in the doorway, his massive frame blocking the light from the hallway. "The perimeter is secure. No one gets in or out without our say-so."
"Any visitors will be dealt with appropriately," Ronan added, his smile sharp and dangerous. "If they support you, they're welcome. If they cause trouble..." He let the threat hang.
Jessica lifted her head, her eyes blazing despite the cuffs. "Not everyone will support this circus. The daughter of a Beta, marked by both Alpha sons? People will talk. They'll say—"
"They'll say whatever Luna Elowen tells them to say," Ronan interrupted smoothly. "And anyone who conspires against her will answer to her mates. I wouldn't recommend that path."
A chill ran down my spine. Not from fear—from power. These Alphas, these powerful men, were backing me. Protecting me.
I caught Alaric's eye and nodded. "I need a few minutes alone with them."
"We'll be right outside," Alaric said, his voice gentler now. "If you need anything—"
"I'll scream real loud," I finished, attempting a smile. It felt wrong on my face, like wearing someone else's skin.
The Alphas filed out, Ronan giving me one last encouraging nod before closing the door behind them.
Silence fell like a heavy blanket.
I turned to face my mother and Drake. Two people who'd controlled me, manipulated me, sold me like a fucking piece of property.
Now they were mine to break.
"Start with the boy," Juno suggested, her voice eager. "He's weaker. He'll crack first."
"Take these cuffs off," Jessica demanded, her voice shrill. "You have no right—"
I ignored her. Walked straight to Drake, who was slumped in the chair, one hand pressed against his bleeding shoulder.
"How do you reverse it?" I asked, my voice flat. "Whatever you put in that champagne—how do we fix it?"
Drake looked up at me through swollen eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Wrong answer.
"Liar," Juno snarled.
I grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed his face down onto the desk.
The crack of bone against wood echoed through the room. Blood exploded across the polished surface, dark and wet. Drake screamed, the sound muffled by the desk pressing against his mouth.
"Holy shit!" I heard myself laugh—no, that was Juno laughing through me. "That's going to leave a mark!"
I felt the surge of adrenaline, sharp and intoxicating. Was this what power felt like? This rush of heat and fury?
I yanked Drake's head back up. Blood poured from his nose, running down over his lips and chin. His eyes were wild with pain and shock.
"Let's try this again," I said, surprised by how calm I sounded. "You didn't drug an entire pack without knowing what was in it. So tell me—how do we reverse it?"
"Elowen, please—" he gasped.
WHAM.
I slammed his face into the desk again. Harder this time. More blood. One of his teeth made a clicking sound against the wood.
"Again!" Juno cheered. "Break him!"
"Elowen!" My mother's voice was sharp. "Stop this! You're acting like an animal!"
I turned to look at her. She was still on her knees, her eyes wide with something that might have been fear.
Good.
"An animal?" I repeated softly. "That's rich, coming from you."
"You won't really hurt me," she said, but her voice wavered. "You love me. I'm your mother."
I walked toward her, each step deliberate. She flinched.
"You're wrong, Mother," I said, the word tasting like poison in my mouth. "You lost the right to that title when you sold me to the Reid family. When you chose money over your own daughter."