Elena’s hands trembled on the steering wheel the entire drive back to the Voss estate. The rain had eased into a gentle drizzle, but her emerald gown was still plastered to her body, heavy and cold. Every breath hurt. Not from physical exhaustion alone—though her healing gift had drained her dangerously low—but from the overwhelming awareness of what she now carried in her lap.

The Moonshadow Medallion.

It rested against her thigh, warm and alive, pulsing faintly in time with her heartbeat. Or perhaps with *his*.

She kept glancing at it, afraid it might vanish if she looked away too long. The ancient silver and gold caught the dashboard lights, the crescent moon carving seeming to glow with inner fire. Nikolai Volkov’s delirious words echoed in her mind on an endless loop.

*“Mine… You’re mine.”*

A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran down her spine. For years she had wondered about the Alpha she had been betrothed to as a child. The stories painted him as ruthless, cold, and terrifyingly powerful. But the man she had pulled back from death tonight… he had looked at her like she was his salvation. Like she was *home*.

By the time she pulled through the wrought-iron gates of the Voss estate, the sky was beginning to lighten toward dawn. The grand colonial mansion loomed ahead, lights still burning softly in the windows. Her father would be furious if he knew what she had done. Healing a Volkov Alpha in the middle of nowhere, alone, without backup—it broke every safety protocol their family lived by.

But she didn’t regret it. Not for a second.

Elena parked in the private garage, killed the engine, and simply sat there for a long moment. She lifted the medallion with reverent fingers, tracing the intricate runes with her thumb. Warmth spread through her chest, soothing the lingering echoes of Nikolai’s pain.

“I saved you,” she whispered into the quiet. A small, hopeful smile curved her lips. “And maybe… maybe you’ll finally see me.”

She pressed the medallion to her heart, closing her eyes. For the first time in her carefully controlled life, the future didn’t feel like a cage. It felt like destiny finally reaching out to embrace her.

After a few more precious minutes, Elena forced herself to move. She was bone-tired, covered in blood and rain, and desperately needed a hot shower and sleep. She slipped the medallion into the hidden inner pocket of her ruined gown, right over her heart, and headed inside.

She never noticed the shadow watching from the trees near the garage.

---

Lana Reed crouched low behind the perfectly trimmed hedges, her heart hammering so hard she was sure it would wake the entire estate.

*Just one job. One score. Then I can disappear.*

Her clothes were soaked through, cheap denim jacket doing nothing against the lingering chill. At twenty-four, Lana had long ago stopped believing in fairytales. Life had taught her that the only person who would save her was herself.

She’d been tailing the rich girl’s car for two nights, hoping for an easy mark. Tonight’s storm had been perfect—visibility low, security cameras glitchy from the rain. When the Voss heiress had stopped on that deserted road, Lana had watched from a distance, hidden in the trees.

She had seen everything.

The glowing hands. The blood. The way the massive man had given the rich bitch something shiny.

Something *valuable*.

Lana had waited until Elena drove away, then crept closer. The broken glass and blood on the asphalt told her the item would be worth serious money. Enough to pay off her debts. Enough to get her far away from the loan sharks and the men who thought her body was collateral.

She moved like a ghost through the estate grounds—years of surviving on the streets had made her quiet, fast, and desperate. The garage door had been left unlocked in Elena’s exhaustion. Amateur mistake.

Lana slipped inside, keeping low. The black Mercedes still ticked as the engine cooled. She tried the passenger door. Unlocked.

*Jackpot.*

Her hands shook as she searched the interior. Under the seat. In the glove compartment. Nothing. Then she checked the driver’s side and found a small blood smear on the seat.

Her pulse spiked.

There, tucked into the side pocket of the door, wrapped in a silk scarf, was the medallion.

Lana snatched it up, eyes widening as she turned it over in her dirty hands. It was heavier than it looked. Beautiful. Expensive. The kind of antique that could change her entire fucking life.

She didn’t feel guilt. Not really. Rich girls like Elena Voss had everything handed to them. What was one shiny trinket?

Lana shoved the medallion deep into her jacket pocket, closed the car door silently, and melted back into the night.

As she ran through the rain toward the distant road where she’d hidden her beat-up motorcycle, a wild, desperate smile broke across her face.

This was it.

Her ticket out.

She had no idea she had just stolen more than a family heirloom.

She had stolen an Alpha’s claim.

And fate was about to make her pay for it.

---

Back inside the Voss mansion, Elena stepped out of a scalding shower, wrapped in a silk robe, her chestnut hair damp and curling down her back. She reached for the medallion on her nightstand—only to find empty space.

Her heart stopped.

Frantic, she tore through her ruined gown, checked the bathroom, the hallway. Nothing.

The Moonshadow Medallion was gone.