Chapter 4

The day before the Recognition Ceremony, the Blackthorn pack house was rather busy.

Father spent most of the morning confirming which Alphas and Pack representatives had arrived.

Mother checked Sienna’s gowns, jewelry, and ceremonial gifts over and over, as though one missing detail might ruin the most important day of her daughter’s life.

Rowan barely left Sienna’s side.

He picked up two of her friends from the airport, met with Pack security, then went to the Council Hall himself to make sure everything had been arranged exactly the way she wanted.

No one asked if I was ready.

On the table beside the front entrance sat a thick envelope from Moonridge University.

I had left it there on purpose.

The university crest was printed across the front, with ADMISSIONS OFFICE beneath it.

It had been sitting there for days.

No one had opened it.

They were so focused on arranging Sienna’s next chapter that they never noticed mine had already begun without them.

I changed my shoes and slipped out without telling anyone where I was going.

There was one thing I wanted before I left Blackthorn.

The black-opal armlet Grandmother had left me.

The armlets were a matched pair, passed down through the women of the Blackthorn Alpha line for generations.

When Grandmother died, her will left one to each of her twin granddaughters.

Sienna had been given hers years ago, mine had been kept in the Pack vault.

I wanted to take it with me to Moonridge.

Not because I needed Blackthorn to follow me there.

I wanted one piece of grandmother with me when I started my new life.

The vault keeper gave me an uneasy look.

“I’m sorry, Miss Blackthorn. Your armlet was checked out yesterday.”

I stared at him.

“Who took it?”

He hesitated before turning the vault ledger toward me.

Mother’s signature was at the bottom.

Next to it, beneath PURPOSE, she had written:

Sienna Blackthorn — Recognition attire.

I looked up.

“That can’t be right. Sienna already has hers.”

The vault keeper replied uncomfortably.

“Your mother said Miss Sienna would wear both for the ceremony.”

Of course she would.

One heirloom wasn’t enough for Sienna when there were two available.

Just like one moonstone hadn’t been enough for her ceremonial collar.

I went straight back to the pack house.

When I entered the sitting room, Sienna was standing in front of the mirror in her Recognition gown.

Both black-opal armlets circled her wrist.

Mine sat directly above hers, the matching stones forming a perfect pair.

“You took my armlet?”

Sienna met my eyes through the mirror.

Then she smiled.

“Don’t they look prettier together?”

“You didn’t even ask me.”

Mother was smoothing the sleeve of her gown.

“They’re a matched set, Aria. They were always meant to be worn together. There was no reason for yours to sit in the vault.”

“I wasn’t going to leave it in the vault. I was planning to wear it.”

Mother barely paused.

“With your gown? Aria, you chose something simple. An armlet like this would look completely out of place. Sienna’s gown has much more detail. The pair works better on her.”

“Grandmother left one to each of us.”

Mother finally turned toward me.

“Sienna is borrowing it for one day. Do you really have to turn this into an argument?”

She sighed.

“You already agreed to support your sister. I didn’t realize lending her one family heirloom required your permission.”

My eyes moved from the two armlets on Sienna’s wrist to the two moonstones at her throat.

I should have understood the rule by now.

Whenever there were two of something, somehow Sienna ended up with both.

Even when one had been mine from the beginning.

Rowan let out an impatient breath.

“You’re seriously doing this over an armlet the day before Recognition?”

“She already has thirty million dollars, the lakeside residence, a future Council seat, and half a million dollars of my money.”

I kept my voice steady, even as my hands began to tremble.

“And somehow she still needs my armlet too?”

Mother’s expression hardened.

“Your wolf is strong, Aria. You’ll always have a place in Blackthorn. You can earn whatever you want here.”

“And Sienna?”

“Sienna’s wolf has never been as strong as yours. Of course we have to think ahead for her and give her as much support as we can.”

A bitter laugh slipped out.

“So you made sure she had something that belonged to me.”

I crossed the room and reached for the armlet.

Father caught my wrist before I could touch it.

“Leave it.”

I looked at him.

“Grandmother left it to me.”

His fingers tightened around my wrist.

“I said leave it, Aria.”

Sienna turned away from the mirror.

“Aria can have it back. I don’t want everyone fighting over me.”

But she didn’t take it off.

Rowan grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

My heel slipped then my hip slammed into the edge of the stone table.

Pain shot through my side.

Recognition gift boxes tumbled from the table and scattered across the floor.

Sienna gasped.

Mother rushed forward. Not to me.

She caught Sienna’s wrist in both hands and examined the armlets.

“Do you have any idea how precious these are?”

I stared at her.

And something inside me went still.

It didn’t break. There was nothing left to break.

It was simply over.

“I just want what Grandmother left me.”

Rowan stared at me.

“You’re tearing this family apart over a piece of jewelry.”

“Enough,” Father said.

The room went silent.

“The armlet stays with Sienna. We’re done discussing it.”

And that was it.

Another thing that had belonged to me was no longer mine because they had decided Sienna needed it more.

I looked at Father, then Mother and Rowan.

And finally Sienna, still wearing both armlets.

I didn’t say another word and went upstairs.

I packed my passport, my laptop, and one suitcase.

Then I walked out of the pack house.

No one stopped me.

I spent the night at a hotel near the airport.

No one called.

No one asked if I planned to come home.

The first message arrived the next morning from Mother.

Where are you? We’re already at the Council Hall.

Today was the Recognition Day.

My phone kept vibrating as I handed my passport to the gate agent.

I looked down at my phone one last time.

Another call from Mother.

I turned it off.

Then I walked down the jet bridge without looking back.

By the time Father understood that I wasn’t coming to Recognition, my flight to Moonridge would already be in the air.

From that moment on, the Blackthorns were no longer my family.