Janette POV:
The next morning, the sun was brutal.
"Dig here," Keyla commanded, pointing to the hard earth.
She sipped iced tea while a camera crew filmed.
"Garrison thought it would be beautiful," she said loudly, "for you to plant a memorial garden with your own hands. Penance."
The plants were Aconitum Lycoctonum. Decorative Wolfsbane. Toxic to the touch.
They gave me no gloves.
I knelt, digging. But under the Wolfsbane, I buried the seeds from my mother's stash. Moon-Eater Vines. They strangle everything and release pollen that kills a wolf's sense of smell.
Grow, I thought. Choke this place.
"Smile, Janette!" Keyla chirped.
My hands were red and swollen by the time they finished.
"Finally," Keyla huffed. "Garrison is taking me to the spa." She kicked dirt onto my leg. "Missed a spot."
Once they left, I checked the pack's social feed. A photo of them in the limo: Building a future together. caption.
I felt a strange calm.
I went to the master bathroom and flushed my wedding ring down the toilet.
Goodbye, Silver Moon.
Then, I went to Garrison's greenhouse.
His sanctuary. Rare orchids.
I locked the door and destroyed everything. I smashed pots, ripped blooms, crushed his prize-winning Ghost Orchid.
Then, I reached out with my mind. Not to the pack link, but to a forbidden, static frequency.
Alex?
I'm here, Little Wolf, a deep voice answered. Like smoke and gravel.
It's time. The yacht party.
We'll be in the water. Don't miss.
I cut the link just as I heard Garrison roar.
"JANETTE!"
He stormed into the kitchen where I was calmly chopping carrots.
"You destroyed them!"
"I've been here for an hour," I said flatly.
"I smell you on them!" He threw the knife across the room.
"You smell the Wolfsbane Keyla made me plant. It's all over me."
He stared, chest heaving. Then he paused. A look of confusion crossed his face. He sniffed the air.
He was smelling the absence of the bond. The resignation.
"Go get dressed," he whispered, rubbing his chest. "Wear the blue dress. We're leaving."
He had no idea the pain in his chest was just the warmup.
