I ran through the forest, my breath ragged, until I reached the Alpha house. I wiped the blood and rogue filth from my face with a shaky hand, straightening my clothes as much as I could. The phone was still warm in my fist, its screen cracked but the message scrawled on it clear: *She's heading to the North Border. Make it look like an accident. Payment sent. - D.*
The dinner was in full swing when I burst through the doors. Laughter died instantly. Daphne’s painted face drained of color. Maddox’s eyes narrowed into slits of irritation. The Elders stopped mid-bite, their antlers casting jagged shadows across the long banquet table.
I stormed down the aisle between the ranks of pack members, my knife held high. They parted like a divided sea, some with pity, others with disdain. It didn’t matter. I crashed to a halt in front of the table, slamming the phone onto the polished wood. The room erupted in whispers.
“She did this,” I shouted, my voice raw with fury and pain. “Daphne, you sent those rogues! You’ve been poisoning me, manipulating everyone! I was your sister, your *family*—”
Daphne’s eyes went wide with faux innocence. She placed a delicate hand over her heart, her lips trembling. A single tear traced her perfectly made-up cheek.
“Mentally unstable,” she sobbed, shaking her head. “You were in a coma for three years, Maya! Of course, you’re crazy now. I’ve tried to be your friend, to help you, and this is how you repay me? You’re *mentally unstable*!”
Maddox stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. His aura flared, a hot, searing wall that pushed against my chest and nearly made me double over. I gritted my teeth, holding his gaze despite the pressure.
“Enough,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. He stepped around the table, his eyes never leaving mine. “You are a disruption, Maya. A liability. You will return to your room and stay there until the Luna Ceremony. There, you will kneel and submit to Daphne in front of the entire pack. This charade ends now.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “You can’t do this! I have proof—”
“I am the Alpha,” he interrupted, his voice rising. “And I say you are the one who needs to be contained. You will do as you’re told, or I will have no choice but to imprison you until the Ceremony. Choose wisely.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but his aura surged, a physical force that knocked the air out of my lungs. I staggered back, my vision blurring at the edges. The room seemed to tilt. I swallowed hard, forcing my legs to hold me up. There was no way I could fight him now, not with his Alpha Voice roaring in my skull.
With a defeated nod, I turned on my heel. I could feel Daphne’s smug eyes on my back, the weight of the pack’s judgment like a shroud. I slipped out of the dining hall and down the corridor to my room, my broken arm hanging uselessly at my side.
Slamming the door behind me, I locked it and slid down to the floor, my back against the heavy wood. My chest heaved with ragged breaths. I couldn’t believe it. Maddox, my mate, the father of my child, had chosen Daphne over me. Again. And again. And again.
A soft click made me look up. Seven stood in the doorway, his small face lit by the dim light of the hallway. He hesitated, his eyes flicking to the door, then back to me.
“M-Mom?” he said, his voice tentative.
I opened my mouth to speak, to explain, to beg him to understand. But the words died in my throat as he took a hesitant step forward.
“Stay back, Seven,” I rasped, my voice breaking. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He stopped, his brow furrowing. “Why would you—”
“I’m a bad person, Seven,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But I can’t... I can’t do what they want. I won’t. I love you, baby. But I can’t do it.”
His face crumpled, and he turned and ran, his small feet pounding against the hallway floor. I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face, as the sound of his retreating footsteps echoed in the silence.
The final piece of my heart broke off, and with it came a resolve as hard and unyielding as the Severing Ceremony itself. I would not submit. I would not vanish. But I would disappear, and I would do it on my own terms.
