Chapter 7: Chapter 7

No matter what Mara said, Elena refused to respond, her focus fixed on knitting the little coat.

Finally, Mara lost her patience. She snatched the garment from Elena’s hands and threw it into the pool.

“I’m talking to you.”

Elena watched the small coat float on the water’s surface, then slowly stood.

“Pick it up.”

“And what if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll have you removed from this house. The dissolution doesn’t take effect until tomorrow. Today, I am still the Luna of the Blackwood Pack, and this house is under my authority.”

Elena stepped forward. She didn’t release any Alpha pressure, but her presence alone forced Mara back toward the edge of the pool.

Mara was about to shove her when she suddenly spotted Atlas walking over from the training grounds.

Her expression shifted instantly.

She pulled something from beneath the baby’s blanket and tossed it into the pool.

“No!” she screamed.

“That was the pup’s white oak naming token! The elders carved it by hand, with his first drop of blood and birth scent sealed in the grain.

“After he fell last time, the doctor said this token was the only way to prove his identity at the ceremony, to prove he’s under the pack’s protection. Why would you throw it in the water?”

Elena frowned. “You threw that in yourself.”

She knew nothing good would come from being anywhere near Mara.

“Elena!”

Atlas strode over and grabbed her wrist.

“What did you do?”

“I can’t stay here anymore,” Mara cried, clutching the baby. “I only came to say hello, to tell her you’d prepared a naming token for our son.

“She threw it in the water and said he wasn’t worthy of entering the Vale bloodline. She said even after you dissolved your bond, he would always be a bastard.”

Atlas glared at Elena. “Did you really say that? I thought you signed the papers because you were willing to let him have his legal status.”

“I never said that.”

His grip was bruising her wrist. Elena met his gaze without flinching.

“And Mara threw it in herself. This has nothing to do with me.”

“The white oak token can’t get wet,” Atlas said, his voice tight. “Water will wash away the blood and scent seals used to verify the pup’s identity. Tomorrow’s naming ceremony can’t happen without it. Why would Mara risk her own son’s legal status to frame you?”

Disgust filled his eyes.

“You’re carrying a pup yourself. How could you deprive another child of the chance to be recognized by the pack?”

The taste of blood rose in Elena’s throat.

“You’d condemn me like this for her son? This is the woman who deliberately dropped a baby from her own arms. Of course she’d throw away a naming token.”

“Enough.”

Atlas raised his hand and slapped her.

The blow came so suddenly that Elena lost her balance. Her body tipped over the edge of the pool, and she plunged into the icy water.

It closed over her mouth and nose.

Her instincts screamed at her to shift, but the profound weakness of late pregnancy left her inner wolf unresponsive.

Forcing a transformation now would mean the pup in her belly would bear the brunt of the impact. She could only fight the urge, struggling to break the surface.

Atlas stood on the bank, his voice as cold as the water.

“Don’t pretend you can’t get out. You know how to swim, and you can shift.”

“You threw the token in. You can be the one to find it.”

He summoned several guards.

“Watch her. She is not to leave this pool until she finds that naming token.”

The most senior guard immediately objected. “Alpha, punishing the Luna requires a hearing with the elders. She is near her term. Our duty is to protect her and the pup.”

“She is suspected of sabotaging an inheritance ceremony,” Atlas cut him off coldly. “As Alpha, I am issuing a temporary preservation order.

“Anyone who lets her out will have their guard status suspended and face expulsion.”

The other guards froze. Atlas held power over their ranks, their homes, their very place in the pack. They didn’t dare disobey.

Mara feigned a plea. “Let it go. Maybe she didn’t mean it. If something happens to her pup, I’ll feel guilty.”