Chapter 113
Elowen's POV
Blood dripped from Drake's palm where the silver bookmark remained embedded. His breathing came in ragged gasps, each exhale a whimper of pain.
"Still won't talk?" I asked softly.
Drake's head jerked up. His deep green eyes widened as he caught the flash of gold in mine, then dropped back to his mutilated hand. The silver was burning through his flesh, leaving blackened edges around the wound.
"Elowen—" His voice cracked. "Please—I told you everything I know—"
"No." I reached out and pressed my fingers against his shoulder, feeling the muscle tense beneath my touch. "You haven't."
A sharp cry tore from Drake's throat as I applied pressure, even though I hadn't broken skin yet.
"Drake." My voice came out lower than normal. Not quite mine. "This is your last chance. Tell me everything about that champagne."
He lifted his blood-streaked face. For the first time, I saw real doubt in his eyes. Like he was seeing someone else instead of the girl he'd controlled for so long.
"I don't—I don't know what you—"
I gripped his shoulder harder, my fingers finding the junction where neck met collarbone. A vulnerable spot.
"STOP!" Jessica shrieked from where she knelt in her silver cuffs. "Elowen, for God's sake—"
"Help me, Juno," I said clearly.
"With pleasure."
Heat rushed through my hands. My fingernails began to elongate. I watched them grow from neat, trimmed nails into sharp, black claws. Two inches long. Curved. Deadly.
Drake's eyes went huge.
"Can't say I didn't warn you, Drake."
Juno's wild grin stretched across my face. I could feel her joy, her rage, her hunger for justice mixing with my own determination.
Drake pinned to the chair, bookmark still jutting from his palm. Blood everywhere. Jessica on her knees. Me standing in the center, claws emerging from my fingertips.
Standing near the window as I was, I could see their reflections in the glass—Alaric shifted his weight in the doorway, brow furrowed. But he didn't stop me.
Good.
"No, no, no—" Drake's voice rose to a whine. "You're not—Elowen wouldn't—"
"Elowen would," I corrected. "For the people she loves."
I slid one claw into his shoulder.
An unholy shriek tore from his throat. High-pitched. Desperate. The kind of sound that made windows rattle.
"Fucking hell!" Jessica lurched forward in her silver cuffs. "Stop it! He doesn't know anything!"
I turned my head slowly. Met my mother's terrified gaze.
"Then you tell me."
"I—I can't—"
I twisted the claw deeper into Drake's shoulder. His body convulsed. Cold sweat soaked through his expensive shirt, mixing with the blood from his palm wound.
"Jesus Christ," Ronan muttered from the doorway. "She's got more Alpha in her than half the pack."
"I support you, Elowen!" Juno's voice sang in my mind. "Make them pay!"
I caught my reflection in the decorative mirror on the wall. Gold eyes stared back. My hair looked wilder. My face sharper. More dangerous.
This is what I've become.
I pulled out the first claw. Raised my other hand.
"Wait—wait—" Drake gasped. "I'll tell you whatever you—"
The second claw drove into his other shoulder.
Deeper this time.
A wail erupted from him—broken, animalistic. His body shook so hard the chair rattled against the floor, making the bookmark in his palm jiggle obscenely.
The three Alphas stepped fully into the room now, their presence filling the space with raw power. Their boots echoed against the hardwood as they moved closer to observe.
"See?" Ronan grinned at Alaric and Kade. "Told you she could handle herself."
But Alaric and Kade weren't smiling. Their expressions were carefully neutral. Disapproving.
"A Luna shouldn't dirty her hands with this kind of work," Alaric said softly. His tiger fangs showed when he spoke.
I met his pale blue eyes. "A Luna does what needs to be done."
"You know I could've done this for you," Alaric continued, walking closer. His movements were graceful despite his size. "You only had to ask."
Drake's gaze shot past me. Searching for Jessica. Looking for some kind of signal or command.
Through the tattered remains of our old bond—the one I'd never fully severed—I caught a flicker of his thoughts. He was waiting. Hoping. Desperate for Jessica to save him.
"Last chance, Drake," I sent through the bond connection.
His lips trembled. His eyes bounced between my golden ones and Jessica's terrified face.
Then Jessica exploded.
"She's nothing without her precious twins!" Her voice cracked with hysteria. "Just some used-up slut who destroyed this pack!"
The words hit like physical blows.
My anger flared white-hot. I shoved my claw deeper into Drake's shoulder. It scraped against bone.
His cry of agony was inhuman—raw and primal.
"Your Beta should learn when to shut her mouth," Kade said coldly. His amber eyes fixed on Jessica with predatory focus.
"She's not a Beta anymore," I said. My voice was ice. "She lost that privilege when she betrayed her pack."
Alaric's pleasant smile vanished. His face went cold as stone.
"Luna Elowen is no slut," he said, each word precise and cutting. "And I've met plenty of prostitutes more honest than you, Beta. Oh wait—" His tiger fangs lengthened. "I forgot. You're not Beta anymore, are you? You don't have the qualifications."
He moved faster than my eyes could track.
One second he was across the room. The next he had Jessica by her throat, hauling her up from the floor.
He threw her into the filing cabinet.
The impact was brutal. Papers exploded into the air. The heavy oak doors cracked. Jessica's back hit with a sickening thud.
Alaric grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"She is the fucking Luna," he snarled. "You pathetic traitor."
Ronan whistled low. "Damn. Alaric angry is a rare sight."
Something twisted in my chest. Gratitude mixed with discomfort. Violence for my sake. Protection I never asked for but desperately needed.
Drake chose that moment to open his mouth again.
"We could all take down that beast if we had our wolves!" He was half-sobbing, half-shouting. Jealousy poured off him in waves. "She only fought him off because she didn't drink that stuff! Because she still has Juno!"
The words hung in the air.
Everyone froze.
But I was already moving.
"He's not a beast," I said, my voice shaking with rage. My claws dug deeper into Drake's shoulders. "He's my mate."
A howl of pure anguish burst from Drake's lips.
"Oh, sorry," I cooed with Juno's vicious sweetness. "Does it hurt?"
I twisted slowly. Methodically. Watching his face contort in agony. The bookmark in his palm trembled with each convulsion of his body.
"Remind me never to piss her off," Ronan muttered to Kade.
But I barely heard him. All my focus was on Drake's breaking will. On the truth he was about to spill.
"One more time," I said softly. Dangerously. "And I want everyone to hear this."
I pulled my claws out. Drake gasped for air.
"What drink?" I heard the Alphas ask in unison.