Chapter 76
ELENA
The rain had finally stopped, but the sky was still bruised, heavy with the kind of gray that never really lifted. Damp air clung to the stone paths of Moonstone like a second skin, the scent of wet pine and distant smoke threading through the quiet.
I stood near the edge of the terrace, the estate stretching behind me, its windows reflecting a fractured morning. Storms had come and gone–political and otherwise—but the ache in my chest remained.
We’d survived the summit, barely. But something in the air told me the real storm hadn’t
even started.
There was a brief knock behind me and I turned to find my father’s Gamma standing there expectantly, his ever–present tablet held tightly in his hand.
“Your father said you had some instruction for me?” he said.
I took one more look out at our lands and sighed, coming back inside while Chad fell into
step behind me.
“Yes,” I said, heading down toward the front of the house where I’d seen Aiden earlier in the day. “New security measures.”
His eyebrows raised, but he brought the tablet up, ready to execute whatever order I might give him.
“We need to triple the patrols,” I finally said. “Rotate shifts tighter. No blind spots at the perimeter, I don’t care how quiet it’s been.”
Gamma Chad typed quickly, his jaw working behind a tight frown. “Any reason for the increase?” he asked, scribbling notes on the tablet he carried. “Did we have a threat?”
“We had a warning.”
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His eyes flicked up from the screen. “Do I want to know more?”
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“No,” I said flatly, then softened. “Not yet. Just… keep everyone on alert. Quietly. I don’t
want panic. But I won’t be caught off guard.”
That damn note. Six words, scrawled in jagged handwriting and slid beneath my door like a
ghost had done it: Moonstone is next. I hadn’t slept since.
Chad gave a low grunt. “You think it’s credible?”
“I think we’d be idiots not to treat it like it is.”
We were near the main entrance to the house when I heard the buzz of the gate intercom.
Chad moved over to take a look. I saw Chad’s brows lift.
“Elena,” he said, lifting his chin toward the monitor near the door. “It’s Derek. He’s at the
gate.”
I blinked. “Did he give a reason why?”
“No. Just that he needs to speak with you.”
My instinct was to say no. Slap the red button and send him back the way he came.
But we weren’t living on instinct anymore. We were building alliances now-
w–fragile ones held together by press conferences, handshake treaties, and too many people watching.
And whether or not I wanted to see him… I’d rather face him as a potential ally than fuel the fire of whatever division our enemies were hoping to exploit.
“Let him through.”
Chad nodded once and gave instruction to the gate guards.
I was halfway across the foyer when I heard voices. Two of them. One deeper, amused. The other-
“You’re seriously gonna wear dress shoes to play basketball?” Aiden’s voice, casual,
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teasing.
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“I wore a suit to a rogue attack,” Derek answered dryly. “I think I can manage a jump shot
‘ in loafers.”
Aiden snorted as they came around the corner, already laughing. My son was in his worn gray hoodie, the sleeves pushed to his elbows, his wild curls bouncing as he moved. Derek
had a hand in his pocket, the other gesturing as he mimicked some kind of ridiculous basketball maneuver.
The moment they saw me, Aiden lit up.
“Mom,” he said. “Guess who’s going to get dunked on after this important grown–up chat?”
I arched a brow. “He knows that if you play like you clean your room, he’s got no chance, right?”
Derek smirked. “I’ve been warned.”
Aiden held out a fist for Derek to bump. “HORSE. You’re going down.”
“Done,” Derek said, knocking knuckles. “And if I can’t find you on this palatial estate—”
“You got a card or something?” Aiden asked, all bravado.
Derek chuckled, reached into his jacket, and handed him a simple black business card. “Cell number’s on the bottom.”
Aiden gave a mock salute and stuffed it into the pocket of his hoodie. “You better stretch first, old man.” He gave me a quick side–hug on his way out, then disappeared around the corner, humming something off–key.
And then, the silence stretched. The warmth Derek had carried in with him cooled, like someone had opened a window neither of us could see.
