Ava POV:
I didn't go far. I physically couldn't. My leg was a mess of torn muscle and the searing, blackened tracks of silver burns.
Maya found me shivering in an old hunter’s shack near the border. She didn't ask questions. She just brought me blankets, food, and salve for the burns.
"You need to heal," she whispered, her voice tight with a fear she tried to hide. "Before you go anywhere."
For three days, I lay in the dark, learning to breathe again. I meditated, trying to build a wall around my heart. I visualized bricks of ice, stacking them one by one, sealing the cracks with frost until the screaming of my Inner Wolf was just a muffled echo buried beneath a frozen lake.
On the fourth day, Maya told me about the banquet. It was a mandatory gathering to honor the victims of the rogue attack.
"You don't have to go," she said, wringing her hands.
"If I don't go, they'll think I'm hiding," I said, sitting up. The pain in my leg had subsided to a dull, throbbing ache. "And I'm not hiding."
I wore a simple black dress. No jewelry. No makeup. I walked into the Pack Hall with my head high.
The music died the moment I crossed the threshold. Whispers slithered through the room.
*She's still here?*
*I heard she attacked Chloe.*
*Poor Alpha Ethan.*
I walked to the drinks table, ignoring the parting crowd. A few Betas I had known since childhood approached me, their expressions guarded.
"Ava," one said awkwardly. "How... how are you?"
"I'm well," I said. My voice was steady, void of any tremor. "Everything is fine."
"We were so sorry to hear about... you know," another said, glancing nervously toward the head table.
Ethan was there. Chloe was practically in his lap. She was feeding him grapes, giggling loudly enough to carry over the somber mood. It was a grotesque display—a carnival show at a funeral.
"It's in the past," I said, taking a sip of water. "People change. Oaths break. It happens."
They looked shocked by my calmness. They wanted tears. They wanted a scene. I gave them nothing but cold indifference.
I felt a gaze burning into the side of my head. I turned.
Ethan was watching me. He looked... confused. He was waiting for the glare, the jealousy, the broken woman he expected me to be. But I just looked through him, as if he were a piece of furniture.
He started to stand up, taking a step toward me. Chloe immediately grabbed his arm, whispering something urgent, pulling him back down like a possessive child claiming a toy.
"And now!" the announcer boomed, shattering the tension. "The Compatibility Game! Alpha and Luna, please take the stage!"
Chloe squealed in delight and dragged Ethan to the center of the room. They answered questions about each other. Favorite color. Favorite food. It was banal. It was cruel.
"Who is the most important person to the Alpha?" the announcer asked.
"Me, obviously," Chloe chirped into the microphone. "Unlike some people, I know how to keep a man happy."
She looked directly at me. The room went silent.
The spotlight swung, illuminating me standing in the shadows. The humiliation burned my cheeks, but I didn't flinch. I imagined the ice wall. Thick. Impenetrable. Absolute.
Ethan took the microphone. He looked at me, a challenge in his eyes. He wanted a reaction. He needed to know he still controlled me.
"Ava," he said, his voice amplified by the speakers, echoing off the high beams. "Do you have anything to say to the happy couple?"
It was a cruel test. A trap.
I set my glass down on the table with a soft *clink*. I met his gaze.
"I have nothing to say," I said, my voice clear in the silence. "Ethan and I have no connection. There is no compatibility to test, and no bond to mourn."
Ethan’s face went pale, then flushed with rage. His ego couldn't handle the indifference. He expected anger. He expected love. He didn't know how to handle nothing.
He grabbed Chloe by the waist. "You're right," he sneered. "I have everything I need right here."
He kissed her. It wasn't a romantic kiss. It was aggressive, possessive, a performance meant to act as a weapon. He kissed her hard, his eyes open, staring right at me.
*Look,* his eyes screamed. *Look at what you lost.*
I watched. I felt my stomach turn, not with jealousy, but with disgust.
He pulled away, breathless. He looked at me, waiting for me to break.
"You," he spat into the microphone, pointing a shaking finger at me. "You couldn't protect your Alpha. You couldn't satisfy your Alpha. You don't deserve to breathe the same air as my Luna."
The cruelty of it took my breath away. He was rewriting history in front of everyone, painting me as the failure.
I stood my ground. "I protected you with my life for ten years, Ethan. But you are right about one thing. I don't belong here."
I turned to leave.
Maya stepped up beside me, slipping her hand into mine. *I've got you,* she linked. *Don't let them see you shake.*
*I'm not shaking, Maya,* I replied, staring straight ahead into the winter night. *I'm freezing.*
