CHAPTER SIX

I froze at the voice that certainly didnt belong to my mother.

I turned slowly, my hand instinctively moving to my stomach, and felt the air shift in the room. Heavy. Oppressive. The kind of presence that made even the strongest wolves drop their eyes and bare their throats.

My father stood in the doorway.

He looked older than I remembered—silver threading through his dark hair at the temples, new lines carved around his mouth and eyes. But he was still every inch the Primal Alpha. Still carried himself like he could command armies with a whisper and topple kingdoms with a thought.

His eyes—the same ice blue as mine—locked onto me with an intensity that made my knees weak.

"Father." The word came out smaller than I intended.

He said nothing. Just stared at me like I was a stranger. Like I was something he was trying to decide whether to acknowledge or destroy.

The silence stretched, thick and suffocating. My mother shifted uncomfortably beside me. Even Emrys, who I'd never seen intimidated by anything, went perfectly still.

"So." My father's voice was cold, detached. "You've finally decided to grace us with your presence."

I flinched. "Father, I—"

"After seven years." He stepped into the foyer, "Seven years, Khione. Do you have any concept of what you put this family through? What you put your mother through?"

"I know. I'm sorry, I—"

"Sorry?" He laughed, and the sound was bitter enough to taste. "You're sorry. How remarkably inadequate."

My throat closed around whatever pathetic explanation I'd been about to offer.

He moved closer, and I instinctively straightened my spine despite the pain radiating from my ribs. I wouldn't cower. Not in front of him. Not after everything.

"We gave you everything," he continued, his voice eerily calm. "The finest education, the best trainers, every advantage a future ruler could possibly need. We prepared you to lead continents, to command the respect of every Alpha from here to the Pacific. And what did you do with all of that?"

I couldn't answer. Couldn't look at him.

"You threw it away." His voice dropped to something quieter, and somehow that was worse than if he'd shouted. "For what? For some nobody wolf who saw an opportunity and took it? For a man who didn't even have the decency to treat you like you mattered?"

"Marcus." My mother's voice held a warning.

"No, Isadora." He held up a hand, never taking his eyes off me. "She needs to hear this. She needs to understand what she did."

Hot tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I'd cried enough. I wouldn't cry in front of him too.

"Do you know what it's like," he continued, "to wake up and find your only child gone? No warning, no discussion, just a note saying you'd chosen love over duty? Do you know what that felt like?"

"I'm sorry." My voice cracked. "I'm so sorry, Father. I was young and stupid and—"

"You were selfish." The word hit like a slap. "You were raised to be better than that, to think beyond your own desires. But instead, you ran off with the first man who made you feel special, consequences be damned."

I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood.

"And now you come crawling back, broken and pregnant with his children, expecting what? Forgiveness? Open arms? For us to just pretend the last seven years didn't happen?"

"Marcus, that's enough." My mother moved between us, her hand gentle on his chest. "She's been through hell. She's hurt. She needs—"

"She needs to understand that actions have consequences." But he stepped back, some of the fury bleeding from his expression and leaving only disappointment behind. Somehow that was infinitely worse. "She made her choice seven years ago. She chose him over her family, over her duty, over everything we built for her. She doesn't get to simply walk back through those doors and reclaim her place like nothing happened."

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together. The babies shifted slightly under my hands, as if reminding me they were there. That I had something to fight for beyond my own broken pride.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness," I said quietly. "I know what I did was unforgivable. But I didn't come back expecting anything. I came back because I had nowhere else to go, because I was bleeding out on a street corner, and because despite everything, this is still my home."

"Home?" His eyebrows rose. "You forfeited your right to call this place home the night you left.”

The words landed like a physical blow. My mother gasped. Even Aunt Meredith, who'd been silent until now, made a small sound of protest.

But it was Emrys who moved.

He stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of me—not blocking my father's view, but making his presence known. His voice when he spoke was carefully respectful but firm.

"With all due respect, Primal Alpha, she's injured. She nearly died three days ago. Perhaps this conversation could wait until—"

"I didn't ask for your input, Emrys." My father's gaze slid to him, sharp and assessing. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you're already hovering. You always did follow her around like a lost puppy."

Emrys's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

“You chose a different life, Khione. You chose to be his wife, to play at being an Omega, to hide who you really are. You can't just decide that life didn't work out and expect to slide back into the one you abandoned."

My chest tighrtened more with each word, and I let out a shaky breathy.

"Then what do you want from me?" My voice broke despite my best efforts. "You want me to leave? Fine. I'll leave. I'll figure something out, I'll—"

"Don't be dramatic." He waved a dismissive hand. "You're injured and pregnant. I'm not throwing you out on the street. But you need to understand something very clearly." He moved closer, his presence overwhelming. "If you want to be welcomed here as my daughter—as the heir to this family—then you're going to have to earn it. You're going to have to prove that you're no longer that childish, silly girl who threw away her entire future for a fantasy."

"How?" The question came out desperate. "How do I prove that to you?"

"That's not for me to tell you." His expression remained hard, unyielding. "You're supposed to be smart enough to figure it out yourself. You're supposed to be capable of leading nations one day. So start by showing me you can lead yourself."

He turned to leave, then paused. "Your mother has prepared a room for you. You're welcome to stay here while you recover and figure out your next steps. But don't mistake hospitality for forgiveness. Don't mistake shelter for acceptance. You want your place back in this family? You want me to look at you and see my daughter instead of a stranger? Then prove you deserve it."

His footsteps echoed down the hall, each one feeling like another door closing between us.

My mother immediately pulled me into her arms. "He'll come around, baby. He's just hurt. He missed you so much, he—"

"He's right." I pulled back, wiping at my eyes even though I hadn't let the tears fall. "Everything he said is right. I was selfish. I did abandon my responsibilities. I did choose a fantasy over reality." I laughed bitterly. "And look how well that turned out."

"Khione…" Emrys's voice was soft.

"I'm fine." I stepped away from my mother, suddenly needing space, needing air. "I'm going to my room. I need to think."

I made it halfway up the grand staircase before my phone rang.

Kieran. Again.

I'd ignored seventeen calls from him since leaving the hospital. Seventeen increasingly desperate, increasingly angry voicemails that I'd deleted without listening to more than a few seconds.

But something in me snapped. Maybe it was my father's disappointment. Maybe it was the crushing weight of everything I'd lost. Maybe I was just tired of running.

I answered.

"Where the fuck are you, Khione?" He yelled through the speaker so loud I had to hold the phone slightly away from my ear.

"I've been calling you for three goddamn days. Three days! Do you have any idea what you've put me through? The embarrassment? The speculation? People are asking questions, Khione. Questions I can't answer because my wife decided to disappear without a word."

I said nothing, just kept climbing the stairs while he ranted.

"You better get your ass back home right now. Right fucking now, or I swear to God, I'll make your life a living hell. I'll drag you through court, I'll destroy whatever pathetic reputation you think you have left, I'll—"

"Are you finished?" I saked calmly.

For a few seconds he said nothing, bvefiore he responded.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I asked if you were finished. Because I have things to do, Kieran, and listening to you threaten me isn't high on my priority list."

"You fucking bitch—"

"I'm not coming back." I snapped, "Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. You kicked me out, remember? You told me to get out of your house unless that 'bastard child' was gone. Well, my children are very much alive and growing, so I guess that means I'm not welcome."

"Those aren't children, they're mistakes. And you're my wife, which means you'll do exactly what I tell you to do."

I stopped on the landing, staring at my reflection in the massive window. I looked pale, bruised, exhausted. But I also looked like my mother. Like my grandmother. Like generations of women who'd ruled with iron wills and refused to be broken.

"Then you can fuvking file for divorce," I said simply. "Since you want me gone so badly, make it official. I'll have my lawyers contact yours."

"You don't have lawyers. You don't have anything, Khione. Everything you have is mine—your car, your credit cards, your whole fucking life. Without me, you're nothing."

"Then I guess I'm nothing." I smiled even though he couldn't see it. "Send me the papers, Kieran. I'll sign them."

"You'll regret this. I'll make sure you get nothing. Not a penny, not a single possession. I'll leave you destitute and alone with those bastards you're carrying, and then maybe you'll understand what you threw away."

"I already know what I threw away." My voice softened, becoming almost pitiful. "Seven years, Kieran. Seven years of my life that I'll never get back. That's what I threw away. And you're right—I can never get that back. But at least I'm free of you now."

I hung up before he could respond.