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I didn't want to be there. The barn was cold, dimly lit, and smelled of blood and sweat. Liana's wolves had turned it into a makeshift holding space—nothing permanent, just enough to keep Nick alive until we figured out what to do with him.

He was tied to a chair in the center of the room, wrists bound, ankles lashed to the floorboards. His face was bruised, his lip split, but he still had that same look in his eyes. Smug. Like he knew something the rest of us didn't.

Dominic stood against the wall, arms crossed, silent. Watching me. Because this was my choice.

"Tell me who helped you," I said, voice calm, colder than I'd expected.

Nick smirked. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

He leaned forward as far as the restraints would allow. "You were always so trusting. Sweet Elaine. Little good girl, always doing what she was told."

"Nick—"

"It wasn't hard," he continued. "A few pills slipped into your tea. Creamer laced with silver powder. The necklace your mother gave you for your birthday—the one you only wore for a few weeks before getting that rash."

My blood ran cold. No. No.

"I never told you about the necklace," I whispered.

He grinned wider. "You didn't have to."

Liana stepped closer, voice sharp. "Who gave it to you? Who supplied the silver?"

Nick didn't answer right away. His jaw tensed, and for the first time, he looked a little less smug.

"I'm not the monster here," he said. "She wanted it done. I just... made sure it worked."

"Who wanted it done?" I pressed, heart hammering.

He looked at me then, really looked. And in that moment, I knew. Before he even said it.

"Your mother," he said. "She thought she was protecting you. Thought if she weakened you enough, you'd never shift. Never leave her. Never become... this."

Silence fell. My hands were shaking.

"No," I said, but even I didn't believe it.

"She paid me to watch you," he went on. "Said you were getting too close to things you didn't understand. That you were losing control. But what she really meant... was that she was losing you."

I couldn't breathe. The air in the barn felt thick, choking. Dominic was at my side in an instant, his hand resting gently on my arm, grounding me.

"Elaine," he said softly, "you don't have to—"

"No." I swallowed hard. "I do."

I stepped closer to Nick, my voice steady despite the storm inside me.

"You don't get to break me again. And neither does she."

He smiled faintly. "She already has."

"No," I said. "She tried. But I'm still standing."

Nick looked away, for once, without a retort.

As we left the barn, Liana turned to Dominic. "What do we do now?"

He didn't answer. Because we all knew. We'd won the battle. But the war? It had just come home.