Seraphina POV
The silence following Jax's command was absolute. Sister-in-law. The title felt like a physical blow, but the Terminal Soul Wither had already hollowed out my chest so thoroughly that there was nothing left to bruise.
Zara seized the dead air, stepping forward with a triumphant, venomous smile. "What right does a wolfless have to stand here?" she sneered, looking me up and down. "A pathetic Omega who can't even keep her own Fated Mate. Where were you when Alpha Damien threw that moonlight fireworks festival for Isabelle Vance? Oh, right. You aren't even fit to warm his bed."
She raised her voice, ensuring the entire room heard. "Isabelle is a fierce warrior, a glory meant to stand beside an Alpha. And you? You are just a stain on our bloodline. A soon-to-be-discarded piece of trash."
I looked at Zara. I looked at Jax, whose face remained an impassive mask of stone. The last flickering ember of hope I held for this 'family' quietly extinguished.
I walked over to the console table beneath my mother's portrait and gently set down the bouquet of white lilies I had brought.
"My last name is Gray," I said, my voice eerily calm, carrying through the grand foyer. "Not Thorne. My future, for better or worse, no longer has anything to do with this usurped manor."
I turned on my heel and walked out.
As I pushed through the heavy oak doors, they didn't latch completely. My father's furious growl bled into the night air. "The useless bitch is finally gone." A pause. "Since she's a dead end, you're up, Zara. Blackwood won't be tied to a wolfless forever. I'll find an opportunity for you to catch his eye."
Through the narrow gap, I saw Zara stiffen. She didn't look thrilled by the prospect of an Alpha; instead, her eyes darted toward Jax with a sickening, resentful longing.
I let the door click shut, severing myself from their twisted games.
By midnight, I was standing in a cramped, clean studio apartment in the neutral human zone. It cost the last of my meager savings, but it was mine. I pulled out my phone, blocking Talia and deleting Damien's number. I left only one encrypted email active for the Alpha Council's legal documents.
My final trip to Crestfall Manor took less than ten minutes. I didn't touch the designer clothes or the jewelry Damien had bought for his 'trophy'. I only took my mother's star chart and the snow-wolf wool scarf my grandmother had knitted for me.
Standing in the foyer, I took one last look at the gilded cage. It was as cold and empty as my marriage. I stepped out and locked the door behind me.
Damien POV
The moment I stepped into Crestfall Manor, the oppressive darkness irritated me. There was no soft light glowing from the living room, no quiet rustle of pages turning.
Worse, the air was stale. Seraphina's unique scent-a delicate blend of rain-washed lilies and winter frost-was fading, barely a ghost in the grand hallway.
I frowned, loosening my tie as I took the stairs two at a time. It was the lunar phase, the scheduled night I was supposed to fulfill my duty and sire an heir. She knew the rules.
I pushed open the master bedroom doors. Empty.
Striding into the walk-in closet, I noticed the small, pathetic corner she occupied was entirely bare. Her few personal items were gone.
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. I remembered her blatant insubordination at the office today. Throwing a tantrum? Running away to play the victim and beg for my attention? What a pathetic trick.
'She left!' Kael, my inner wolf, suddenly slammed against the confines of my mind, his roar vibrating with pure, unadulterated panic. 'Our Mate left, you arrogant fool! Go find her! Now!'
I gritted my teeth, forcefully shoving Kael's frantic instincts down. The Mate-bond was making him irrational. I interpreted the sudden tightness in my chest as mere annoyance at having my authority challenged.
"Let her cool off," I muttered to the empty room. "She'll come crawling back when she realizes she has nowhere else to go."
I turned my back on the fading scent of lilies and walked out, having more important Pack matters to attend to.
