I stood frozen, staring at the small box in my hands.
Inside lay the last thing in this mansion that had ever truly belonged to me—my moonstone pendant, the one my late mother had given me before she died.
The chain was snapped clean in half, the delicate stone crushed into glittering shards.
It used to shine faintly under moonlight, a charm said to carry a mother’s blessing. Now it was nothing but fragments—cold, broken, lifeless.
My breath hitched.
That pendant was the only piece of my mother I still had, the only thing that had ever felt like home.
And now, it was gone.
“Don’t mess with me, and don’t make my father angry with me again!”
Aiden’s voice was sharp, hateful—too sharp for a child.
He stood there watching me, his small chin lifted defiantly. “You should have stayed quiet. Maybe then you wouldn’t have lost your precious little trinket.”
He turned and stormed off down the corridor, his boots slapping against the marble floor, leaving only silence and the faint scent of wolfsbane lingering in the air.
I sank slowly to my knees, the box trembling in my hands.
Fate was mocking me again. The pendant had once been my mother’s, then mine. I had guarded it through exile, rejection, and humiliation. And now, the boy I’d raised, the one I’d taught to walk, to read, to fight, had destroyed it—just because he could.
Because he knew it would hurt me.
A quiet sob escaped before I could stop it. My tears fell onto the broken shards, making them glisten under the cold moonlight like tiny pieces of my heart.
“Why are you out in the cold, Clara? You’ll catch your death like this.”
Liam’s deep voice came from behind me.
He stepped outside, his expression soft with concern—or perhaps irritation at the sight of my tears. He draped his jacket over my shoulders, but I pushed it away instantly. The scent of him suffocated me.
“What happened?” he asked, though his tone already carried the fatigue of someone who didn’t really want to know.
His gaze landed on the crushed pendant, and a look of mild disgust flickered across his face. “What’s that?”
“Your son came to apologize,” I said flatly.
Liam frowned. “He’s your son too.”
I let out a brittle laugh. “He hates me, Liam. He just destroyed the only thing I had left of my mother.”
He sighed, rubbing his temple. “Clara, don’t be dramatic. He’s a child. I’m sure it was just a prank. Come inside—it’s freezing. I’ll talk to him in the morning.”
I turned away. “I don’t want your talks or your excuses. I’m done listening to them.”
Ignoring his words, I picked up the pieces of the pendant and walked toward the garden. Liam followed, muttering about how stubborn I was, but I didn’t care.
At the small patch of moonflowers I’d planted years ago, I knelt down and dug into the soil with my bare hands. My fingers burned from the cold, but I didn’t stop until I had a small hollow in the earth.
Gently, I placed the shattered pendant inside. “Sleep, Mother,” I whispered. “You’ve suffered enough.”
When I looked up, Liam was watching me silently. For a moment, something almost like regret crossed his face. Then it was gone.
We walked back into the mansion without a word. The party had ended hours ago; only the faint smell of wine and smoke lingered. The candles had burned down to wax pools, and silence had claimed the hallways.
I sneezed softly, and before I could steady myself, Liam caught my arm. “Come,” he said, guiding me upstairs. I didn’t resist. I didn’t have the energy to.
He sat down and pulled me into his lap like he used to years ago. I stiffened immediately, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“What do you want, Liam?” I asked quietly.
He brushed a stray lock of hair from my cheek. “What’s wrong with you tonight? You’re overreacting. I’ll get you a new pendant.”
“I don’t want another,” I whispered. “I want to leave. Tomorrow.”
His arm around me tightened. “You can’t leave. Aiden needs you. You’re the only one I trust with him.”
“He doesn’t need me,” I said softly. “He never did. He hates me, and I don’t blame him. You’ve made sure of that.”
Liam’s jaw clenched. “You’re being unfair. You know I can’t marry you now—the pack would never accept it. Seraphina’s death is still—”
“I’m not asking to be your mate,” I interrupted, my voice trembling despite myself. “I just don’t want to be trapped here anymore.”
He sighed, frustration bleeding through his calm. “Then stay for your own sake. If you had a child for me, everything would change. No one would dare speak against you. You’d have a place—protection.”
I laughed softly, bitterly. “So after eight years, you still think the solution is another chain?”
He stood, running a hand through his hair. “You’re emotional. Sleep on it. We’ll talk in the morning.”
But I didn’t sleep.
I spent the night packing my things, one piece at a time. My old dresses, the few trinkets I’d been allowed to keep, my mother’s letters—everything that reminded me of who I had been before Silvermoon had taken it away.
When dawn came, I was ready.
Dragging my suitcases through the quiet halls, I paused only once—by the window overlooking the garden. The fresh mound of dirt where my pendant rested shimmered faintly in the morning frost. For the first time in years, I felt something that almost resembled peace.
Then came the sound—soft, slow clapping.
“Well, well,” a voice purred behind me.
I turned to find Selene,
I sighed, Selene was Liam’s mistress and Aiden’s favorite.
Her red lips curved in a mocking smile. Draped in black silk, she leaned lazily against a pillar, amusement glittering in her dark eyes.
“So, the rumor was true,” she drawled. “You’re finally leaving. Took you long enough.”
I said nothing and kept walking, but she blocked my path, tilting her head. “Eight years, Clara. Eight years of pretending to be something you’re not. Eight years of chasing a man who was never yours. Did you really think he’d ever love you?”
I looked her squarely in the eye. “I don’t care anymore. You can have him. Have the house. Have the pack. None of this belongs to me.”
Her smirk deepened. “Oh, I intend to,” she whispered. “And when the next full moon rises, I’ll stand beside him as Luna—something you never were.”
Before I could respond, the front doors swung open.
Liam stepped out, followed by Aiden.
In a heartbeat, Selene’s expression shifted. She gasped dramatically, dropping to her knees and clutching the hem of my dress.
“Clara, please!” she cried. “Don’t go! Aiden needs you! You’ve been his mother for so long—how could you abandon him now?”
I stared down at her coldly.
“He loves you,” she continued, tears spilling artfully down her cheeks. “He’s just a child. Please… don’t leave him.”
Liam exhaled sharply, irritation flickering in his eyes. “Enough, Selene. Stop this nonsense. Clara, you’re making a scene. If it’s about that pendant, I’ll buy you another one.”
I almost laughed. Of course. He thought everything could be replaced. Even love.
Before I could speak, Aiden ran forward and threw his arms around Selene. “Stand up, Selene,” he said softly, wiping her fake tears. Then he turned to me, his young face hard, eyes burning.
“You killed my mother with your cursed heart,” he spat. “And now you want to hurt Selene too.”
I said nothing. There was nothing left to say.
“Let her go, Father,” Aiden continued, his small voice cold. “I don’t want her here. I want Selene to stay. She should be my mother. She deserves it.”
He looked up at me one last time, his words slicing deep.
“You’re wicked. That’s why Father could never love you. I’m glad you’re leaving.”
The world seemed to fall silent.
After a long moment, I managed a small, weary smile. “After eight years… if that’s truly what you believe, then I have nothing more to give.”
I turned away, lifting my suitcase. The courtyard wind bit at my skin, carrying the faint scent of pine and ash. Freedom was only a few steps away.
Then—click.
The unmistakable sound of a crossbow being drawn.
I turned, heart pounding.
Aiden stood at the steps, his small hands steady, the weapon aimed straight at my head. His golden eyes glowed faintly under the rising sun—cold, feral, unmistakably his father’s.
And in the breath of silence that followed, he smiled.
Then he pulled the trigger.
