"A security camera on the northern ridge. The night of your father's death."
Elena pressed play.
What she saw made her blood turn to ice.
It wasn't rogues who attacked her father.
It was someone from inside the pack.
Someone with Sterling markings.
Someone she recognized.
Her voice barely came out.
"That's… Roman."
Elena watched the video a second time, then a third.
No matter how many times she replayed the footage, the truth didn't change.
Roman.
Roman was there the night her father was attacked.
He wasn't just nearby. He was walking with him before the ambush. And when the rogues attacked… he didn't fight. He didn't scream. He didn't even flinch.
He just walked away.
"Why would he do this?" she whispered, barely able to speak.
Damien sat across from her, jaw tight, eyes locked on the paused frame. "That's the part I'm still trying to figure out."
"No. "There has to be a mistake." Her voice cracked. "He's my brother. He loved Dad."
Damien looked at her, his voice measured. "Then why didn't he stop it?"
Elena stood, pacing the floor, her pulse thudding behind her eyes. "We need more than this. A video without sound? It's not enough."
"It's not just the footage," Damien said. "There's more."
He reached into a folder and pulled out a second document.
A communication log.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Encrypted messages were pulled from Roman's private line. They were deleted but not scrubbed. My contact recovered them."
Elena's heart dropped as she read through the lines.
"We move the night of the funeral. The old man won't see it coming."
"She'll be next. Let the rogues do the dirty work. Keep your hands clean."
And the worst one:
"When Elena falls, the pack will finally belong to us."
She sank into the nearest chair.
It was real.
Roman had helped orchestrate the entire thing.
The rogues. Her father's murder. Her attempted assassination.
And worst of all… he had planned to make it look like chaos.
No one would suspect the loyal Beta.
He was playing a long game.
Elena's hands trembled, but her eyes sharpened.
"If this is true," she said slowly, "then Roman's the one who's been feeding information to the rogues."
Damien nodded. "And he's not done." Word is he's making moves to challenge for Alpha."
"But Sebastian's still in charge."
"For now," Damien said. "But with the pack divided, and your father gone, all it takes is one more blow."
Elena stood. "Then I'm going to give him one first."
By nightfall, Elena had arrived at the pack council chambers.
She wasn't alone.
Damien walked beside her. Margot Rivers flanked her other side, a stern-faced elder and one of the few who had always treated her like more than a burden.
The guards at the entrance hesitated when they saw her.
"I have a right to be here," she said firmly. "This concerns the future of the Sterling Pack."
They didn't stop her.
Inside, Roman stood at the head of the long table, mid-sentence.
He paused when he saw her.
The other council members shifted in their seats, whispers rippling.
"Elena," Roman said coolly. "This meeting is closed."
"Not anymore," she replied, stepping forward and placing the video drive on the table.
"What's this?" he asked.
"The truth."
She looked at the council members, then back at her brother.
"You want to lead this pack, Roman?" she said. "Then you can do it with the blood on your hands showing."
He didn't move.
So Damien stepped forward and pressed play.
The room fell silent as the footage rolled.
Gasps followed.
One elder rose to her feet, pale. "Is that…?"
"Yes," Elena answered. "That's Roman." Leaving our father to die. Knowing what was coming."
Roman's calm started to crack. "You don't know the context—"
"I know betrayal when I see it!" she snapped.
He turned to the council. "This is manipulation. She's bitter because she lost her title. She's not even sterling blood. She's a rogue-born."
Gasps again.
Heads turned.
But Elena didn't flinch.
"Yes. "I am rogue-born," she said proudly. "And I still bled for this pack more than most of you ever have. I was Luna. I gave birth to the next Alpha. And I survived your attempt to erase me."
Roman's eyes narrowed. "You don't have a wolf. You don't belong here."
"But I have the truth," she said, holding up the messages. "And I'm not the one who made deals with murderers."
The room erupted into argument.
In court, voices clashed.
Some demanded Roman's arrest.
Others demanded proof of legitimacy for Elena.
And in the chaos, Roman locked eyes with her.
His stare was cold, deadly.
This wasn't over, not even close.
Later that night, Elena returned to the safe house with Leo sleeping in her arms.
Damien followed behind, tense.
"You just made yourself a bigger target," he said.
"I know."
He sighed. "We need to move fast. The council is divided. Half of them want a trial. The other half want this buried."
"I don't care what they want," Elena whispered, stroking Leo's hair. "They're not the future." He is."
Damien looked at her.
"You've changed," he said quietly.
"No," she replied. "I've just stopped asking for permission."
He smiled faintly. "Good. Because things are about to get worse."
She glanced at him. "How?"
"Ivy's missing," he said.
Elena blinked. "What?"
"She didn't return home. Her guards were knocked out. And there was blood."
Elena's blood ran cold.
"Do you think… Roman?"
Damien nodded. "This wasn't a scare tactic. This was a message."
A chill crawled down Elena's spine.
The game had changed.
Roman wasn't hiding anymore.
Now, he was hunting.
Elena didn't sleep that night.
Not even a minute.
She sat by Leo's bed in the safe house, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath, memorizing it like it was the only thing anchoring her to sanity.
Ivy was missing. Possibly dead.
Roman had gone completely rogue.
And the council was paralyzed, too divided, too afraid to act.
She wasn't afraid.
She was furious.
The sound of the door opening made her spin, instantly alert.
It was Damien.
His face was pale, mouth drawn tight.
"Elena," he said quickly, "you need to come with me."
"What happened?" she asked, already standing.
"Just come."
She turned back to Leo. "Stay in your room, okay? No matter what."
He nodded sleepily.
Elena followed Damien out into the hallway.
"Is it Ivy?" she asked as they reached the outer corridor.
"No," he said. "It's worse."
He led her to the outer surveillance room. Two guards were unconscious on the floor.
The security console had been smashed.
Elena's heart dropped.
"Where is he?" she asked.
Damien didn't answer.
She pushed past him, sprinting back to Leo's room.
The bed was empty.
"Leo!" she screamed, ripping open the closet, yanking open the bathroom door.
Nothing.
"Leo!" she shouted again, her voice breaking.
Damien grabbed her shoulders.
"Elena, listen. They didn't take him far. There's no scent trail outside the perimeter."
She shoved his hands off. "That's supposed to comfort me? "My son is gone, Damien!"
"We'll find him."