chapter 3

The pen hovered over the document for a full three seconds before I pressed down hard enough to leave an indent in the desk beneath.

Avery Emerson signed with a sharp flourish across the dissolution of engagement papers. The ink bled slightly where my hand had trembled.

I was sliding the document into an envelope when the phone shattered the silence of my apartment.

"Miss Emerson," Charles' voice trembled. "You're needed at Mercy General immediately."

My blood turned to ice. The last time I'd been summoned like this, I'd woken up in a hospital bed with no memory of how I'd nearly bled to death in the snow. I hope this time it wouldn’t be my family.

The hospital corridors blurred as I ran. Machines beeped behind half-open doors, the scent of antiseptic burning my nose. I rounded the corner to room 412—And froze. The entire Frostveil Pack leadership stood vigil around the hospital bed. My parents. The elders. Liam.

And in the center of it all, swaddled in white linens like some tragic heroine—Riley.

"Avery." Father's voice carried the weight of a disappointed alpha. "You kept us waiting."

My chest heaved. "I thought—"

"Obviously not thinking clearly, as usual," Mother cut in, her fingers stroking Riley's hair. The way she used to stroke mine, before.

Riley lifted her face—pale, perfect, with those crystal tears glistening just so. "Avery...I know I don't deserve your forgiveness after...after what I did."

The monitors beeped steadily. Too steady for someone supposedly sick.

Five years. Five years since I'd found the hunting knife hidden in her room, the one matching the wound that had nearly severed my femoral artery.

Five years since the tribunal had seen through her pretty lies and banished her. And now here she was, back in my mother's arms like no time had passed.

"Look at her, Avery," Mother whispered. "She's been living in some roach-infested apartment in the human district. Malnourished. Sick."

Her grip tightened on Riley's hand. "This is what your vengeance has wrought."

I nearly laughed. My vengeance? I was almost dying in my hospital bed when she was exiled.

It was Cain, Liam's wolf, who dominated it all, frantically trying to get back at the people who had hurt his mate. Liam stood stiffly by the window, his golden eyes tracking my every movement.

His jaw worked as Riley let out a delicate cough. He still cares for her, even after all these years. I know they were once together before I came into the picture, but isn't our mate bond and her betrayal enough for him to see me let go of his affection for her finally?

"And you? Do you also think I should let go of my 'vengeance'?" I decided to ask first. His answer would determine the next step to take.

I stared at him silently, hopefully. I hoped he would stand for me this time, at least his wolf should, but...

"Your mother is right..."

And that was my answer.

I let out a wry smile.

"If you want her welcomed back.." I said slowly. "Then I want the engagement dissolved."

The heart monitor skipped. Riley's eyes flashed with triumph before she buried her face in mother's shoulder.

"Don't be absurd," Father snapped.

"After everything she's suffered?" Mother clutched Riley closer. "You'd really deny her this?"

I met Liam's gaze. "You know what she is."

He stepped forward, his alpha energy making the air hum. "The engagement stands."

Riley made a wounded noise. "I never meant...that night in the snow...it was an accident—"

"Enough!" Father's command shook the walls. "Avery, this ends now. Riley has paid for her mistakes. Your childish grudges won't destroy this alliance."

Childish?

The scar on my thigh burned.

Mother reached for me with her free hand—the first time she'd voluntarily touched me since my return. "Please, Avery. For me."

The words lodged in my throat like shards of ice. Five years of searching, and she'd never once looked at me with half the tenderness she showed the girl who'd left me for dead.

Riley chose that moment to convulse into violent coughs. Mother gasped, cradling her as the machines erupted in alarm. Nurses rushed in—and in the chaos, as Riley was "stabilized," our eyes met.

Her lips curved, just for me.

Game on, sister.

I turned on my heel and walked out, the unsigned dissolution papers crumpled in my fist. Let them bring the viper back into their nest.

This time, I won't come back.