로그인Jolie POV"No." I crouch down to her level. "You don't get the easy way out. You're going to live with this. You're going to feel every moment of pain you caused, and you're going to use it.""Use it?" She stares at me."To be better." I hold her gaze. "You said you'd spend your life making amends. So do it. Find the bonds you broke and try to fix them. Help the wolves you hurt, use this empathy you never had before to actually understand the damage you caused and work to repair it.""That's not mercy." Her voice is hollow. "That's a life sentence of suffering.""That's justice." Phoenix moves to stand beside me. "My cousin's name is cleared because everyone knows you stole it. But the people you actually hurt—they deserve more than just knowing you failed once. They deserve to see you try to fix what you broke.""I can't fix all of it." She's shaking now. "Some of those bonds are permanently destroyed. Some of those wolves died broken.""Then you carry that too." Luna's voice is firm
Jolie pov "No." I step around Ryder to face her directly. "I'll know that you were a professional liar who tried to exploit my trauma and failed. That's all you'll ever be in my memory—a failed attack that made us stronger."She walks past me toward the door, then pauses. "For what it's worth, little Luna, you're tougher than I expected. Under different circumstances, I might have actually liked you.""I'll never know." I hold her gaze. "Because you chose to be someone who destroys things instead of building them. That's on you, not the circumstances."She leaves without another word. We watch from the doorway as she crosses to where a motorcycle waits—not one of ours, something she must have arranged earlier."Think she'll actually leave?" Phoenix asks quietly."Knox put trackers on that bike." Luna taps her tablet. "If she tries to come back, we'll know immediately.""She won't come back." I lean against Ryder. "She's a professional. She failed here, and now everyone knows how she
Jolie POVThe woman who stole Phoenix's cousin's name has exactly forty-seven minutes left in Iron Fang's territory.I watch from the compound steps as Cass and Knox head toward the guest cabin where she's packing. Ryder stands beside me, his hand warm against the small of my back."You sure you don't want to go with them?" He asks quietly."No." I lean into his touch. "She doesn't get any more of my energy. She had her chance to leave quietly but she chose to stay and keep trying.""She's probably expecting a dramatic confrontation." Luna joins us, her tablet tucked under her arm. "One last scene where she can play victim or try to twist the knife.""Then she'll be disappointed." I square my shoulders. "I'm done being manipulated."Phoenix appears from the direction of the common room, his face still pale but determined. "I want to say goodbye. To tell her what she did—using Seraphina's name—was unforgivable.""You don't owe her anything." Ryder's voice is firm."I know." Phoenix me
Jolie pov "One hour is generous." She moves toward the door, pausing beside me. Her voice drops so only I can hear. "You think you won, little Luna. But I showed you exactly who your mate is—someone who keeps secrets, who hides uncomfortable truths, who thinks protection and control are the same thing. You'll remember that when he does it again.""No." I meet her eyes steadily. "I'll remember you were a professional liar who got paid to destroy something beautiful and failed completely. That's your legacy here—total failure."Something flickers in her expression. Genuine anger, maybe even wounded pride."We'll see." She walks toward the door, then pauses and looks back at Ryder. "For what it's worth, the six months we had? That was the closest I ever came to being real with someone. You almost made me forget I was playing a role.""That's the saddest thing you've said all week." Ryder's voice is quiet. "That you don't even remember who you really are anymore."She leaves without anot
Jolie pov "No." Ryder's voice is flat. "She told me she was Seraphina Cross. I believed her completely. Never questioned it, never verified. She played me just like she played you.""So we're both idiots." Phoenix's laugh is bitter."No." Luna's voice is firm. "You're both people who trusted someone who turned out to be a professional liar. There's a difference.""We have enough evidence now." Knox closes his laptop. "Bank records, identity theft, pattern of destroyed mate bonds across multiple packs. We can confront her publicly and force her out.""What's her real name?" I need to know. "If she's not Seraphina Cross, who is she actually?""That's the thing." Knox pulls up search results. "I can't find it. Whatever her real identity is, it's buried deep. She might have been using stolen identities for so long that even she doesn't remember who she was originally."The thought is chilling. A woman so committed to being someone else that her real self has been completely erased."It d
Jolie POVSeraphina's smile makes my skin crawl.She knows what she did. Knows the pain she caused. And she's standing there looking pleased with herself like this is all some game she's winning.Ryder's wolf growls low beside me, but I press against his side. Not here, not like this.We shift back to human form behind the tree line where we stashed emergency clothes earlier. By the time we're dressed and walking toward the compound, Seraphina is gone."She's going to be a problem." Ryder's voice is tight. "We need to handle this now.""After the pack meeting." I take his hand. "Let's talk to Luna first, see what she found. We need solid evidence before we tell Phoenix the truth."We find Luna in the security room with Knox, both of them hunched over a laptop. They look up when we enter, relief crossing Luna's face."Are you two okay?" She asks."We will be." I squeeze Ryder's hand. "Tell me what you found on Seraphina."Luna spins the laptop around. The screen shows a detailed report







