Chapter 4

I had just opened my mouth to explain when Kitty's high-pitched voice interrupted, demanding to go upstairs to watch her cartoons.

Sam immediately set down his fork and knife. "I'll take her up," he said, already rising from his seat.

As soon as the sound of their footsteps faded and the door clicked shut behind them, Lily's tears vanished like smoke in the wind. She turned to me, a smirk curling on her lips, her tone sharp with mockery.

"Five years playing the part of a fake mate, Echo. How does it feel? Oh, that's right. You didn't know, did you?" Her eyes gleamed. "Kitty's my daughter."

The next instant, she was gone from her seat and standing inches from me, her presence sudden and oppressive.

"The mate certificate Sam and I have? That one's real," she hissed. "If you have even a shred of shame left, you should leave—now. Stop clinging to something that was never yours."

Before I could move, she grabbed a piece of bread from the table and shoved it against my lips.

"This is what a filthy little parasite like you deserves. Enjoy the wolfsbane."

The bitterness hit my tongue like ash and acid. I gasped—my throat already swelling. Breath clawed at my chest but wouldn't come. I dropped to the floor, body heaving in desperate search for air.

Lily's ears twitched—she'd heard something.

With a swift, practiced motion, her right hand transformed into a claw and she slashed her own chest. Crimson welled instantly, staining her pristine white blouse. She collapsed to her knees with a shriek that echoed through the house.

"Echo! Don't kill me! I'm sorry—I shouldn't have moved in—I'll leave, please, just let me go!"

"Lily!" Sam's voice thundered from upstairs.

He hit the ground floor in a blur, eyes wide with shock as he rushed to cradle Lily's bleeding form in his arms.

"What the hell, Echo? Have you lost your mind?" His voice trembled with fury. "Lily made you breakfast, she stayed to help with our daughter—and this is how you repay her?"

He didn't wait for an answer. "When I get back, I want you to apologize. Properly."

Lily sagged weakly against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Just before he turned to leave, she looked at me—eyes glistening with tears, mouth curved in a quiet, triumphant smile.

Not once did Sam glance my way.

I lay crumpled on the floor, my body burning from the inside out, lungs refusing to pull in air as the wolfsbane worked its way through me. Pain twisted through my stomach. Inside, my wolf howled.

Somehow, I forced myself to my feet, staggered step by step to the bedroom. I fumbled for the antidote on the nightstand, downed the vial in a single gulp. Slowly, the tightness in my throat began to ease.

But relief never came.

Not to my heart.

Not to the place that had once believed in forever.

I looked at Sam and I's wedding photo on the nightstand. I took down the frame. Then opened the drawers.

Every photo. Every keepsake. The mate ring, the wolf fang necklace, the fox-hide satchel, the moonstone, the hand-carved tokens.

All the memories he'd given me.

I gathered them one by one, and destroyed them all.

Even the rose garden in the backyard—planted by Sam's own hands—I ripped it out, roots and all, and burned it.

I didn't want any of it.

Not even him.

Starting tomorrow, Sam would no longer exist in my life.

The werewolves from my birth pack worked fast. That afternoon, my father's people arrived. I signed the withdrawal papers and packed what was left of me.

I left the White Moon Pack without looking back.

In the hospital, Sam sat beside Lily's bed.

He hadn't slept all night. His eyes were shadowed, his hands restless. Lily called his name over and over, but he didn't hear her.

"Sam," she said weakly. "My chest still hurts. But don't blame Echo… she was just jealous of me being with you and Kitty."

Before she could finish, a sharp knock rattled the door.

His Beta stood outside, breathless and panicked, and mind-linked with him immediately.

"Alpha—Echo's gone. She officially withdrew from White Moon this afternoon. She's disappeared."