Rhea’s POV
“Goodbye, Casey,” I said, my voice as cold as a winter moon.
Casey refused to move. I felt my wolf pacing inside me, restless and angry. My mindlink had already buzzed with a message that my flight was ready; I couldn't afford to be late again. I desperately needed to put miles between myself and this pack.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
Casey smirked, her eyes gleaming with malice. “I want to see you break. I want to see you howl in pain.”
I scoffed. “Too bad. You aren't worth the tears.”
As I moved to drag my boxes past her, Casey reached into her furs and tossed a few silver coins at my feet. They clattered against the stone floor.
“Use this for your fare, beggar,” she giggled.
I lost it. Before I could think, my hand moved—not with claws, but with a stinging, resounding slap that echoed through the room.
“How dare you?” I hissed.
Casey let out a piercing shriek, the sound of a wounded pup. In an instant, the door burst open. Malachi and Marc rushed in, their scents thick with alarm.
“What have you done, Rhea?” Malachi yelled, seeing Casey’s reddened cheek.
I didn't flinch. “What have I done? You hear her cry and you come running. Where were you when your son’s arrow was in my shoulder? Where were you when I collapsed in the dirt?”
“Evil woman!” Marc cried, shielding Casey. “She hurt her! She’s trying to kill Casey!”
“It is not her fault, Marc,” Casey sobbed, playing her part perfectly. “I came to beg her to stay for the sake of the pack... I offered her travel money, and she struck me.”
“Stop this madness, Casey! Stop playing the victim!” I snapped.
“No, you stop this, Rhea!” Malachi roared, his Alpha command vibrating in the small room. “I have been patient enough. I will take you back to the manor, but only if you kneel and apologize to Casey.”
I stared at him for a moment, then burst into a dark, mocking laughter. “Even if the Moon Goddess made you the last male on earth, Malachi, I would never run in your pack again.”
“What is that supposed to mean? You are mine!” Malachi thundered.
“For eight years you claimed you didn't want another heir. Yet the same day your son tries to kill me, I find out Casey is carrying your pup,” I stated.
Malachi cast a sharp, sideways look at Casey—a silent snarl asking why she had revealed the secret.
“We can speak of the pup later,” Malachi said, his voice dropping. “Just come home. We can resolve this within the pack.”
I scoffed. “In your dreams, Alpha.”
I turned my back and walked away. He kept yelling, his voice echoing down the hospital halls, commanding me to stop, but I ignored him until the doors swung shut behind me.
---
I made it to the airport just in time. As I boarded the plane and prepared to switch off my phone, it began to vibrate. It was Malachi. I picked up, one last time.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“I know you are angry about the pregnancy,” Malachi’s voice was lower now, trying to be persuasive. “Come home. Carry a pup for me, and I will put your name in the pack's lineage. You and your child will want for nothing.”
I let out a dry, cold laugh. “Go to hell, Malachi.”
I hung up and blocked his number before he could utter another word. The flight was long, spanning across territories I had never seen. I slept fitfully, dreaming of silver arrows and dead friends, but a sense of relief washed over me when the wheels finally touched the ground.
I stepped into the arrivals hall, and my eyes immediately found a tall man in a dark suit holding a sign: Rhea BLAKE.
I walked toward him. He bowed his head slightly, recognizing me instantly. “Miss Blake. I am Tony, your personal guard.”
“Thank you, Tony,” I said.
He took my luggage and led me to a sleek, black SUV. I sank into the plush leather seats, feeling the weight of the last eight years slowly lifting. We drove for a long time before pulling up to a massive, gated estate.
This was the ancestral home of the Blake family. My grandparents, John and Linda Blake, ran the most powerful empire in the West, and I was their only living heir.
Three years ago, they had found me. They told me my mother was their daughter—an heiress who had eloped with my father for love, abandoning her title. Before she died of her illness, she had sent them a letter telling them about me. Back then, I was so blinded by my love for Malachi that I had rejected their crown. I thought I could make a life in his pack.
“Rhea! Welcome home!”
My grandmother’s voice was warm. She and my grandfather stepped out of the mansion and wrapped me in a fierce hug.
“We are so glad you finally came to us,” they whispered.
I smiled, a real smile for the first time in years. “Thank you for taking me back.”
My grandmother wiped a stray tear from my face. “Nonsense, Rhea. Everything you see—the land, the wealth, the power—it all belongs to you.”
My grandfather nodded, his eyes sharp and proud. “Yes. You are now the Heiress of the Blake Empire.”
I looked back toward the horizon, thinking of the Zander pack and the people who treated me like a shadow.
The time for mourning was over. Now, it was time for payback.
