Chapter 4

I bent down and picked up the ring Holton had slammed onto the table, running my thumb slowly over the moon crest.

This was the token we'd exchanged at the Moon Altar eight years ago.

Back then, Holton held my hand and said that no matter how many wolves joined, no matter how big the territory grew, he would never let me face anything alone.

Now he was telling me this pack was his.

I slid the ring back onto my finger. Then I unclipped the silver wolf badge from my waist, the one that marked me as Luna, and slammed it onto the stone table without a second thought.

CRACK. The silver badge split down the middle, pieces scattering across the surface.

Marlene flinched and ducked behind Holton.

I looked at the two of them and nearly laughed at how absurd it all was.

"Kick me out?"

"You think you get to decide whether I stay or go?"

Holton's face went dark. He seemed ready to pull rank, but I was already done listening.

I turned, shoved open the heavy wooden doors of the council hall, and walked out without looking back.

A woman who'd been thrown out of her own pack by her own mate. Losing her temper on the way out. What was the worst that could happen?

Past the doors, I took one last look at the black wolf banner hanging above the valley entrance.

Eight years ago, this was nothing but a stretch of wasteland no other pack wanted.

Back then, Holton hadn't become Alpha yet, and I was just a young she-wolf with no name and no backing.

No other pack would take us. So I grabbed his hand and we started from zero.

We scouted hunting grounds together. Drew the territory lines together. Wrote the pack's rules together.

I trained the warriors, planned patrol routes, personally visited one potential ally after another. Holton recruited wolves and won over the Elders.

The pack started with a dozen members. We didn't even have proper shelter.

But we survived the hardest years. Built our own territory. Earned the loyalty of wolves who chose to follow.

Back then, Holton stood in the moonlight, held my hand, and said with a smile:

"Irene, one day I'll make every wolf out there know that this is our home."

Now the pack was strong.

And he was telling me this home had nothing to do with me.

I shook the memories out of my head and turned to leave.

Eight years. That's all it was.

If he didn't want me, was I really going to beg to stay?

I hadn't made it far from the territory when my phone lit up.

It was Grace, the pack's administrative manager.

She'd been with us since the very beginning, one of the original dozen. I thought she might have a kind word.

Instead, her voice was ice cold. Pure business.

"Irene, Alpha Holton has confirmed your departure paperwork."

"Per the old charter, you'll need to sign away your share of territorial revenue before you can collect your final compensation."

I was quiet for a moment.

She paused, then her voice shifted. Higher. Condescending.

"Honestly, I've always thought Holton gave you more than enough respect."

"The pack is about to close major alliances with the northern territories, and you're throwing everything away over a rookie wolf. It's beneath you."

"And Marlene happens to be my niece. When it comes down to it, she's practically your junior."

"For my sake, maybe lay off her from now on."

So that's what this was.

No wonder she'd been on Marlene's side from the start.

I thought about the early days. She'd just been promoted to pack manager when her mate ran off with another she-wolf while she was pregnant.

Holton wanted to replace her. He came close more than once.

I was the one who stepped in. I thought a mother alone with a pup deserved a chance. I went to the Elders personally. I even used my own savings to hire a healer to look after her child.

She'd held my hand that day and cried for a long time. Said she'd never forget what I did.

Eight years later, what she remembered was a very different story.

"Irene, as a woman, you're too intense."

"An Alpha needs a Luna who's gentle and knows her place. Not one who's constantly trying to compete with her own mate."

"Look at Marlene. She knows how to behave. She'd never make everything into a battle the way you do."

She was actually lecturing me.

I listened and felt no anger. Just the absurdity of it.

"I saved your position back then. And now you think I'm the one who ruined your family?"

Dead quiet on the other end.

Then her cold, undisguised scoff.

"Who asked you to stick your nose in?"

"My mate and I renewed our bond afterward."

"I have a complete family now. My children. My life. What you did back then only humiliated me in front of the pack."

I completely lost interest in continuing the conversation.

The most ridiculous thing about people is this: you break your back pulling someone up, and all they remember is that your hand was rough.

I cut the line.

Under the old charter, I was entitled to half the territory's revenue.

But I knew that since they'd decided to push me out, they were never going to honor the agreement.

That so-called final compensation was probably the last scrap they were willing to throw.

Fine.

I didn't want the pack's glory. I didn't want Holton's pity.

I just wanted what was mine. Then I'd get as far away from all of them as possible.

From now on, nobody was going to use the words "Luna" or "mate" or "family" to trap me here ever again.