Chapter 41: The Letter's Secret

The silver chains had left raw welts on Elena's wrists, but she barely felt them now. She sat on the edge of the bed in Damon's penthouse, the torn envelope trembling in her hands. The letter had been hidden inside the lining of her mother's old coat—the one Lydia had thrown at her feet before the execution. Elena had snatched it from the flames just as Marcus ordered the pyre lit. Now, alone in the silence of the high-rise, she unfolded the yellowed paper. Her mother's handwriting slanted across the page, elegant and urgent. "My dearest Elena, If you are reading this, Marcus has either killed me or made the world believe he has. And you have survived. I know Marcus has told you I was weak, a disappointment to the Vance line. He lied. I was never his mate. Your father was Alexander Thorn, alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack. He was murdered when you were six months old. Marcus took us in—took over. He sold our pack's lands to the Crimson Fang for his own rise. If he ever shows you a body with my face, test the blood and look for the scar on my wrist. I have hidden this truth for eighteen years, waiting for you to be strong enough to bear it. There is one who can help you uncover the full truth: Aldric, former elder of the Shadowmoon. He lives in the old territory, beyond the Ironwood Forest. He knows what Marcus did. He knows who your father truly was. Find him, Elena. But trust no one. Not even the man who holds you now. Your mother, Seraphina Thorn" Elena's palms shook. Alexander Thorn. The name echoed in her memory like a ghost she'd never known. She had spent her entire life believing she was Marcus Vance's daughter—a pawn in his games, a commodity to be sold. But this letter shattered that identity. She was not Vance. She was Thorn. And her father had been an alpha, murdered for his power. The revelation burned through her like wildfire. For years, she had dreamed of escaping Marcus's shadow, of proving she was more than his bargaining chip. Now she knew why she had never fit in, why her wolf had always felt stronger, wilder than the Vance pack's. She was never meant to be one of them. A knock on the door pulled her from the storm of thoughts. Damon's voice, low and guarded: "Elena. We need to talk." She folded the letter quickly, pressing it against her chest. "Not now." "The door's opening whether you like it or not." The lock clicked, and Damon stepped inside, his dark eyes scanning the room before settling on her. He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the corded muscles of his forearms. His gaze dropped to the paper in her hands. "What's that?" "Nothing." She tucked it into her pocket. "Liar." He crossed the room in three strides, but stopped a foot away, his jaw tight. "I just got word from Kael. Lydia escaped." Elena's blood went cold. "What?" "She had help. Someone inside the holding facility. She left a message for you." Damon pulled a folded note from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed. "Says she knows more about your real father. Wants to make a deal." Elena stared at the note, her heart hammering. Lydia had always been the favorite daughter, the one who basked in Marcus's approval. But she had also been the one to orchestrate Elena's sale, driven by jealousy. Now she was offering information? It had to be a trap. "Don't take it," Damon said, reading her hesitation. "She's desperate. She'll say anything to get back in your good graces." "Or she knows something I need." Elena's voice was steady, but her she sorted the danger fast. The letter from her mother. Aldric. The Shadowmoon Pack. Lydia might have overheard Marcus's secrets. If she knew about Alexander Thorn, she could be a valuable source—or a deadly one. "Elena." Damon's palm caught her chin, tilting her face up to meet his. His touch was firm but not rough, his thumb brushing over her lower lip. "Whatever that paper says, whatever Lydia offers—don't go after it alone. You're not just a pawn anymore. You're mine to protect." She pulled away, anger flaring. "I'm not yours. I'm not anyone's. And I'm done being kept in the dark." Damon's eyes darkened, but he said nothing. He turned and walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the frame. "Aldric disappeared three years ago. Marcus's men claimed he was dead. If he is reaching out now, either he survived, or someone is using his name." Elena's lungs stalled. A dead lead had become a dangerous one. "He was Shadowmoon's last elder," Damon continued, his voice dropping. "If anyone knows what Marcus did to Alexander Thorn and Seraphina, it is him." He left without another word, the door clicking shut behind him. Elena stood frozen, the letter burning against her chest. Her mother's warning echoed in her mind: Trust no one. Not even the man who holds you now. But Damon had just given her a new path. Was it truth or another cage? She grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. She would find Aldric. She would uncover the full story of her father's murder. And she would make Marcus pay for every lie. But as she stepped into the hallway, the lights flickered. A shadow moved at the end of the corridor. Before she could react, three masked wolves emerged from the darkness, their eyes glowing amber. The leader held up a hand, and a low growl rumbled from his throat. "Give us the letter, Elena Vance. Or we'll take it from your corpse." She reached for the knife hidden in her boot, but they were faster. One lunged, and she dodged, but the other two flanked her. The letter slipped from her pocket as she twisted away, and the leader snatched it from the floor. "Burn it," he ordered. The third wolf produced a lighter, and the paper caught flame, curling into ash before Elena's eyes. "No!" She screamed, but it was too late. Her mother's words, her only proof, were gone. The masked wolves vanished into the stairwell, leaving her alone in the flickering light, the ash settling on the floor like snow.