Chapter 4

I still remember the day Penny decided to become the poster child for ridiculous bravery. She stood before the Rogue King, her chin tilted in that defiant way that could only mean one thing—she was about to make a colossal mistake. And boy, did she deliver.

She called him a "barbaric mongrel," publicly scorning him in front of his own rogues. I swear, even the wolves watching from the shadows flinched at her audacity.

The Rogue King’s golden eyes glowed with fury. "If Penny isn’t sent to Rogue Den to answer for her insolence, Midnight Ridge Pack will face my wrath. My wolves will raze your lands until nothing remains but ashes and regrets."

That was the first time I saw Penny lose her composure. Her face went pale, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I don’t afraid going," she whispered, her voice trembling in just the right way to tug at heartstrings. "But… I can’t bear to leave my brother, my father, and my mother."

Cue the dramatic silence as everyone looked at me like I was the answer to all their problems.

Alpha Joe, who had been standing as still as a statue, finally spoke, his tone cold and detached. "Julia, you’ll go in Penny’s place."

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

"Rogue Den is harsh and far away," Joe continued, as though justifying the decision. "Penny’s body is too fragile to endure it. Midnight Ridge Pack raised you for over a decade—isn’t it time you repaid the pack?"

Repay the pack? For what? Being a glorified punching bag and unpaid servant?

My father and mother said nothing, their silence heavier than any words they could have spoken. My mother eventually sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Julia… we can’t bear to send you away, but Penny is our real daughter."

And there it was. The dagger twisted in my chest.

Beta Steve, my former fiancé, chimed in. "Julia, you’ve done too much wrong. You’ve hurt Penny time and time again. It’s only right that you go to Rogue Den and make amends."

I wanted to cry, but my throat was too tight. Penny cast me a triumphant look from behind her delicate mask of tears. She didn’t have to say a word—her victory was written all over her face.

And so, I was shipped off to Rogue Den, a desolate wasteland where even the wolves looked more feral than civilized.

The rogue overseers wasted no time reminding me of my new reality. "You think they sent you here to teach you a lesson? Nah, sweetheart. This isn’t punishment—it’s exile. They never wanted you to begin with."

He wasn’t wrong.

For five years, I labored under the harshest conditions imaginable. My hands, once soft, became rough and calloused, every scar a testament to the endless work. Feeding livestock, shoveling waste, mining for ore—each task more grueling than the last.

The winters in Rogue Den were unforgiving, the cold biting through even the thickest layers. My wolf, was my only companion in the long, silent nights.

But now, after five years, they had the audacity to send word that it was all a mistake. That the almond tea incident had been an error. That I was innocent.

They wanted me to come home.

Home.

The word felt foreign, like a language I no longer understood. What home did I have left?