LOGINCourtney's eyes went wide. "Not—not prison? Not exile?" "The Council recognizes your age, your cooperation, your genuine remorse, and the manipulative environment you were raised in," Madeline continued. "We also recognize the testimony of your victim, Grace Trent, advocating for rehabilitative co
The Council members conferred quietly. Then Madeline spoke again. "Grace Trent. Please approach to provide testimony." I stood on shaking legs. Connor squeezed my hand once before releasing it. I walked to the center position—standing a few feet from where Courtney sat. "Miss Trent," Madeline
"Did you know about the planned assault?" Christopher asked. "No. Not until after." She shook her head. "The Preservation Front contacted me three days before the attack. My father—" Her voice broke. "Thomas Vex was my father. I didn't know he was high-level Preservation Front leadership until Lor
My Cheating Mate Grace pov The Council chamber was imposing—ancient stone walls, high ceilings, formal seating arranged in a semicircle that put the accused directly in the center under scrutiny from every angle. Courtney sat in that center seat. Small. Broken. Nothing like the confident, crue
I wanted to believe that. Wanted to separate my father's choices from my intelligence. But the guilt was crushing—heavy and inescapable and deserved. "I miss him," I whispered. "I know I shouldn't. I know he was wrong. But Alpha Jeremy, he was my dad. He raised me and taught me and loved me even i
He was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss. Even though Thomas tried to kidnap my daughter. Even though he led extremists against my pack. He was still your father. I'm sorry you lost him." The apology broke something in me. Tears came—hot and unexpected and impossible to stop. "You're
My Cheating Mate Emma pov The coffee shop was warm and familiar, a place I'd come to dozens of times before everything fell apart. Jeremy sat across from me at a corner table, his hands wrapped around a glass of water instead of the coffee he used to drink black with two sugars. He looked terr
My Cheating Mate Emma pov The words on the page blurred together for the third time in as many minutes. I wasn't really reading anymore—just staring at the same paragraph, my mind replaying the same circular thoughts I'd been having for weeks. I love him. He hurt me. I love him. He betra
*Dr. Chen asked me today if I'm stuck in self-punishment. If I'm using guilt as a way to avoid moving forward. I didn't have an answer. But sitting here now, alone in this house that should have been ours, I think maybe she's right.* *I'm stuck. Stuck in the guilt. Stuck in the self-loathing. Stuc
"You can't keep punishing yourself," Emma said softly. "That doesn't help me heal. It doesn't undo what happened. It just creates more trauma." "I'm starting to see that." I looked down at our joined hands. "Emma, I want to fix us. Want to fix me. But I don't know how. Don't know where to start."







