The defector

The defector
"That's rude," Elena said from the bed.
"So is ignoring your allies," Morgana countered. She looked exhausted, the silver runes on her skin dim. "Elena, we have a problem. Actually, we have seventeen problems, but one is urgent."
"What now?"
"Harrison is negotiating with the Council to dissolve your Luna status," Morgana said. "He's trying to frame it as a leave of absence, but we both know once you're removed, you're not getting it back. The vote is scheduled for tonight."
Elena felt numb. "Let him do it."
"You don't mean that," Morgana said.
"Don't I?" Elena challenged. "Maybe everyone's right. Maybe I'm too unstable to lead. Maybe the kindest thing I can do for this pack is walk away before the First Luna uses me to destroy them all."
"That's the depression talking," Morgana said firmly. "Elena, snap out of it. You've been hiding in here feeling sorry for yourself while your enemies are making moves. Isabella has been consolidating power, turning pack members against you. Thomas, Sarah, and David are working together on something, meeting in secret. And Katherine's been trying to see you for three days, but you've refused her."
"Katherine wants me to kill myself," Elena said flatly.
"Katherine wants to help," Morgana corrected. "But she can't if you won't talk to her. Elena, you're not the only one struggling. Lucas has been crying himself to sleep every night. Marcus is trying to hold the pack together through sheer force of will. And Harrison is making terrible decisions because he's terrified of losing you and has no idea how to fix this."
"I don't know how to fix it either," Elena admitted.
"Then stop trying to fix it alone," Morgana said. She sat on the edge of the bed. "Elena, you know what your problem is? You think you have to have all the answers. You think a good Luna should be strong and certain and unshakeable. But sometimes strength is admitting you're scared and asking for help."
"I don't want help," Elena said. "I want this to be over."
"Well, it won't be over for eighteen more days," Morgana said. "So you can either spend that time cowering in a guest room, or you can get up and fight for what's yours."
"What if I don't know what's mine anymore?" Elena asked quietly.
Before Morgana could answer, an explosion rocked the building. Both women were thrown from the bed as windows shattered and alarms blared.
"Not again," Elena groaned, struggling to her feet.
They ran into the hallway and found chaos. Smoke was pouring from the lower floors, and pack members were screaming about fire and attack.
"Where's Lucas?" Elena shouted to the first person she saw.
"Safe room with Marcus!" someone yelled back.
Elena took off running. She had to get to her son, had to make sure he was protected. She was halfway to the safe room when Isabella appeared, blocking her path.
"Move," Elena commanded.
"I can't let you get to Lucas," Isabella said. Her enhanced magic crackled around her, more powerful than Elena remembered. "I'm sorry, Elena. But this ends now."
"You're the traitor," Elena realized. "David was right."
"David is dead," Isabella said calmly. "Killed in the explosion. Very tragic. He'll be remembered as a hero who tried to warn everyone about the unstable Luna."
Elena felt ice in her veins. "You killed him."
"I did what was necessary," Isabella replied. "David was getting too close to the truth. He'd figured out that the conspiracy wasn't about freeing wolves from mate bonds. It was about freeing the First Luna from her prison. He was going to expose us all."
"Us?" Elena repeated. "Who else is working with you?"
Isabella smiled. "Why don't you come find out?"
She raised her hands, and magic slammed into Elena like a tidal wave. Elena flew backward, crashing into a wall. She tried to stand, tried to summon her own power, but Isabella's enhanced magic was overwhelming.
"Stop fighting," Isabella advised. "The First Luna needs you intact. But she didn't say you had to be conscious."
Elena felt darkness closing in. The last thing she saw before unconsciousness claimed her was Isabella's triumphant smile and the golden glow of Original Pack magic responding to the attack by surging through Elena's veins.
When Elena woke, she was bound in silver chains in a room she didn't recognize. Her magic was suppressed, unable to break through the metal's supernatural properties.
Isabella stood across from her, along with Thomas and Sarah. The three senior pack members Elena had suspected of disloyalty were revealed as full conspirators.
"Where am I?" Elena demanded.
"The old chapel," Thomas said. "The one on the eastern border of pack lands. No one comes here anymore."
"Where's Lucas?" Elena asked, terror overwhelming everything else.
"Safe with Marcus," Sarah assured her. "We're not monsters, Elena. We don't harm children."
"You just murder adults?" Elena shot back.
"Only those who get in our way," Thomas said. "David made his choice. So did the three prisoners who knew too much. So did Victoria Lane. We've done what was necessary to protect the mission."
"What mission?" Elena demanded. "Freeing a homicidal ancient wolf?"
"Freeing the rightful ruler of all wolves," Isabella corrected. "The First Luna was imprisoned unjustly. The Moon Goddess killed her mate and then punished her for grieving. For a thousand years, she's suffered in isolation while the Moon Goddess plays puppet master with our lives. It's time to restore balance."
"She'll kill everyone," Elena said. "Lucas saw it in his visions. The First Luna wants to destroy all wolves to punish the Moon Goddess."
"Lucas is a child having bad dreams," Sarah dismissed. "The First Luna has promised us freedom. Real freedom. No more mate bonds. No more divine interference. We'll be able to choose our own paths, love who we want, build lives based on free will."
"You're delusional," Elena said. "She's lying to you."
"Is she?" Isabella challenged. She moved closer to Elena. "Tell me, have you heard her voice? Has she spoken to you?"
Elena didn't answer.
"She has," Isabella said with satisfaction. "And I bet she told you exactly what you needed to hear. That's her gift, Elena. She understands pain. She understands suffering. She'll reshape this world into something better."
"She'll reshape it into ashes," Elena countered.
"Maybe," Thomas acknowledged. "But we're willing to take that risk. Because the alternative is continuing to live under the Moon Goddess's tyranny."
"So what now?" Elena asked. "You're going to use me to break the seal?"
"Not yet," Isabella said. "We still have eighteen days. We'll wait until the test concludes. If you and Harrison fail to restore the bond, the energy release will shatter the seal and give the First Luna a clear path through you. But if you succeed, if the bond somehow restores despite everything..." She shrugged. "Then we'll kill you both and use Lucas instead. The boy carries enough Original Pack magic to crack the seal from the inside."
Elena lunged against her chains, rage overwhelming reason. "I'll kill you. All of you. If you touch my son, I'll—"
"You'll what?" Isabella interrupted. "You're powerless, Elena. Chained. Broken. The mighty Luna brought low by her own doubts and weaknesses."
"Harrison will come for me," Elena said.
"Harrison is busy," Thomas said. "We've staged another attack on the pack house. Multiple fires, coordinated assaults from remaining conspiracy members. He's fighting a war on three fronts and has no idea his mate is missing."
"Someone will notice," Elena insisted.
"They'll notice eventually," Sarah agreed. "But by then, it'll be too late. We've spread rumors that you fled. That you couldn't handle the pressure and abandoned your mate and son. With your recent erratic behavior, most of the pack will believe it."
Elena felt despair creeping in. They'd planned this perfectly. Every move choreographed to isolate her, to make her disappearance seem voluntary.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Elena asked. "Why not just kill me now and be done with it?"
"Because the First Luna wants you to understand," Isabella said. "She wants you to know that this was inevitable. That your bloodline has been calling to her across the centuries. Your mother tried to free her and failed. Your grandmother tried and failed. Your great-grandmother tried and failed. But you, Elena, you're going to succeed. Whether you want to or not."
The door opened, and Elena's heart stopped.
Marcus walked in, carrying a unconscious Lucas.
"No," Elena whispered. "Marcus, no. Please tell me you're not part of this."
Marcus looked at her with something like regret. "I'm sorry, Elena. But they're right. The Moon Goddess took too much from our family. She manufactured my bond with Sarah, robbed me of real choice, real love. She's done it to countless wolves. It has to stop."
"Not this way," Elena pleaded. "Marcus, you're Harrison's father. You raised him. Loved him. Are you really willing to sacrifice your own son for this?"
"I'm willing to sacrifice myself if necessary," Marcus said. He laid Lucas on a stone altar in the center of the room. "But it won't come to that. If we time this right, neither Harrison nor Lucas will be harmed. Just you, as a vessel for the First Luna's return."
"And you think she'll spare everyone else?" Elena asked desperately. "Marcus, she's insane with grief and rage. She's been locked away for a thousand years with nothing but her hatred to keep her company. The moment she's free, she'll destroy everything."
"Then we'll find a way to control her," Marcus said, but he didn't sound certain.
"You can't control a force of nature," Elena said. "And that's what she is. A hurricane of vengeance that will sweep across the supernatural world until nothing remains."
"Enough," Isabella commanded. She moved to the altar where Lucas lay unconscious. "Sarah, prepare the ritual. Thomas, seal the room. Marcus, guard the door. I don't want any interruptions."
Elena watched in horror as Sarah began drawing symbols on the floor around the altar. They glowed with sickly green light, responding to the First Luna's presence pressing against the thinning seal.
"Please," Elena begged, struggling against the silver chains. "Not Lucas. He's just a child. Use me. I'll cooperate. Just leave my son alone."
"We'll use you both," Isabella said. "The boy's power combined with your bloodline connection will create an unstoppable breach. The First Luna will flow through you like water through a broken dam."
The symbols completed, and Sarah stepped back. Isabella placed her hands on Lucas's chest, and the boy's eyes snapped open. But they weren't his normal brown eyes. They were glowing gold with the First Luna's presence.
"Hello, granddaughter," the First Luna said through Lucas's mouth. "Thank you for bringing me such a perfect vessel."
Elena screamed.