Chapter 5

"Faye…" His voice trembled. "You've… you've changed…"

"You forced me to." I turned and walked back the way I came, each step crushing the fallen leaves. "As of today, we are done."

Behind me, I heard Valerie's weak cries and Rory's terrified sobs.

I didn't look back.

When the car started, the sound of the engine was jarring in the quiet forest. I took one last look at Aiden's tombstone, still dusted with debris from the explosion.

"Mommy is going to a new place, sweetheart," I whispered, my hand stroking the steering wheel. "Mommy is going to be fine, and no one will ever be able to hurt you again. You can rest easy."

The SUV roared out of the birch forest, its tires crunching over the leaves. I slammed my foot on the accelerator, heading straight for the pack border.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and its golden light glared off the windshield, making my eyes ache.

But just before the border, a familiar figure jumped into the middle of the road.

It was Rory.

He clung to the car, blocking my path, his eyes red and swollen from crying, but his face was a mask of fury, as if he were the one who had been wronged.

I slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the dirt. The car stopped less than a foot from him. His small face was twisted in fear, but he stood his ground stubbornly.

I rolled down the window, and a cold, blood-tinged wind rushed in.

"You vicious bitch!" he screamed, his voice shredded by tears and rage. "You put Aunt Valerie in the infirmary! Eighteen stitches! She's still unconscious! The doctors say there might be permanent damage!"

"You ruined the future of this pack, you destroyed our best Beta warrior, all over nothing! How can you be so cruel?"

I studied the pup I had raised with my own hands. My heart was completely frozen. His half-shifted form radiated hostility, his claws glinting in the fading light.

"Go back there right now! Get on your knees and apologize to Aunt Valerie and her family!"

For a moment, I didn't know how the child born from my own body had become this. He used to cry over injured birds. He used to tuck me in when I was sick.

Now he was demanding I kneel before the family of his own brother's murderer.

"Do you even know who that 'new ally' is?" I asked calmly, suppressing all emotion.

"What?" Rory froze, his anger momentarily replaced by confusion.

"Kael Bloodclaw," I said, enunciating each syllable, "was the one who murdered your brother, Aiden."

"The silver blade that pierced my stomach and killed your brother… it was his."

"How else did you think your brother died?"

In an instant, the blood drained from Rory's face. His lips began to tremble. "No… that's impossible…"

"Your father, to please another woman, forced your dead brother to face his killer every single night."

"A seven-month-old child, who never even had the chance to open his eyes to this world, was murdered by that monster."

"And you, my son, want me to kneel to his family?"

Rory stumbled backward with every word I spoke. Panic and fear flooded his eyes. "No… it can't be… Father said it was for the good of the pack…"

"Peace?" I laughed, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's the poison your father and Valerie have been feeding you."

"She doesn't want peace. She wants my position. She needs to prove she's more valuable than me so she can replace me as Luna."

"And your father, looking for a thrill, played right along with her."

"Clearly, they got what they wanted."

Rory collapsed to the ground. I knew he was just a pup, too young to understand the complexities of it all.

But I no longer wanted him as my son.

"Now, get out of my way." I started the engine again. "If you say one more word, I'll go to the infirmary and personally end that murderer's bloodline."

He must have never seen this side of me before. Rory's eyes widened, finally realizing I wasn't bluffing. He scrambled back, clearing a path for my car, still muttering, "Impossible… this is impossible…"

I floored the accelerator, the SUV's engine roaring to life. The tires spun over the gravel, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Just as I was about to cross the border, Wyatt's voice exploded in my mind like thunder.

The mind-link.

Faye! Come back here! I command you as your Alpha!

The full force of his Alpha command crashed against my will, trying to break me.

But I merely smiled.

My years of love and loyalty had been met with betrayal and desecration. And now he thought he could control me with his power?

Your Beta warrior needs healing, doesn't she? You should go take care of her.

Remember to find her a good healer.

Oh, that's right, I sent back, my thoughts dripping with venom. And I'm the best healer on the continent. Good luck finding another. Goodbye, Wyatt.

Without another moment's hesitation, I severed all connections to them.

The snap of the bond was a physical agony, blacking out my vision for a second. But it was followed by a wave of relief so profound, it was like taking my first breath.

As my wheels crossed the border, the sun finally sank below the horizon. The last golden rays washed over my face, warm and bright.

I was free.