Chapter 2

The invisible tether between my chest and Silas’s didn’t just fray. It snapped with the violent, physical crack of a breaking bone. A shockwave of raw, lunar energy blasted through the bedroom, shattering the vanity mirror into a spiderweb of cracks. Silas dropped to his knees, clutching his chest as he gasped for air, his golden eyes wide with shock and sudden, blinding agony.

 The mate bond was gone. I could feel the hollow, empty space in my soul where his presence used to be. It didn't hurt. It felt like taking off a pair of shoes that were two sizes too small."Lyra... what did you do?" Silas choked out, his voice stripped of its usual commanding boom. 

He looked up at me, his handsome face pale and slick with sweat. "You served it. You actually severed it!"Elara, who had been standing in the doorway holding a tray of tea, let it crash to the floor. Porcelain shattered, splashing hot liquid across the hardwood. 

"Silas! She rejected you! She’s trying to kill you!""I’m not trying to kill him, Elara," I said, my voice eerily calm. I stepped over the broken teacups. "I’m just taking out the trash.""You stupid, ungrateful bitch!" Silas roared, forcing himself to his feet.

 His fangs elongated, his claws tearing through the fingertips of his expensive suit. "You are my fated mate! You don't have the power to just walk away. I command you to undo this right now, or I will have you locked in the dungeons until you beg for my forgiveness!"In my past life, that tone would have sent me cowering. 

I would have cried, apologized, and begged him to heal the bond. Now, I just laughed. It was a dry, hollow sound. "You can't command me, Silas. I'm not a member of your pack anymore. And since I'm no longer your mate, you have zero authority over me." I grabbed my duffel bag from the closet, tossing in a few changes of clothes.

 "Tell the pack I said hello. Oh, and tell your mother I’m taking my allowance with me."I walked past him. He reached out to grab my arm, but the moment his skin brushed mine, a spark of royal lunar energy shocked him backward. He hissed, cradling his hand. 

I didn't look back as I walked down the grand staircase and out the front doors of the Alpha estate. The cool evening air hit my face as I reached my car. My hands were shaking slightly—not from fear, but from the adrenaline crash of defying an Alpha.

 I gripped the steering wheel, taking a deep, steadying breath. One down, I thought. Now for the rest.Before I could put the key in the ignition, my phone buzzed in the cup holder. 

The caller ID flashed an unknown number, but I recognized the area code. It was the city’s supernatural legal district. I answered on the second ring. "Yes?""Am I speaking to Lyra Vance, formerly of the Crescent Moon Pack?" a crisp, professional male voice asked. "You are.""Excellent. 

This is Arthur Pendelton, senior partner at Pendelton & Hayes. I am the legal representative for the Northern Territory Ancestral Trust. I’m calling to inform you that as of your eighteenth birthday, and following the recent verification of your maternal bloodline, the trust has officially unlocked.

"I leaned back against the leather seat, a slow smile spreading across my face. The Moon Goddess hadn't just given me my memories; she had given me the keys to my grandmother's empire. "Walk me through it, Arthur," I said. "Certainly," he replied, the sound of shuffling papers echoing through the speaker. 

"You are the sole beneficiary. The trust includes the deed to the ten-thousand-acre territory known as the Deadlands, free and clear of any pack taxes. 

Additionally, there is a liquid trust containing forty-five million dollars in offshore accounts, and a physical vault containing unregistered silver and gold bullion."Forty-five million. Plus the land. Silas had kept me on a fifty-dollar-a-week allowance, forcing me to beg for groceries, while my own inheritance sat gathering dust. 

"I want the funds liquidated and transferred to a new, private account by tomorrow morning," I instructed. "And I need the territorial claim documents drawn up. I’m registering the Deadlands as an independent sovereign territory.""Of course, Ms. Vance. 

I will have the paperwork ready for your signature. Will you be coming to the office?""No. Email the documents.

 I have a lot to do today."I hung up and drove straight to the nearest 24-hour print shop. I printed three copies of the territorial claim, the rejection of mate certificate, and the pack renunciation forms. I signed every single line with a steady hand. Instead of mailing them, I drove straight to the Regional Pack Registry downtown.

 The night clerk, a bored-looking beta named Toby, looked up as I slammed the thick envelope onto his counter. "We're closed for new registrations, Lyra. 

Silas said you were just throwing a tantrum—""I’m not registering," I said, tapping the envelope. "I’m severing. Process the rejection of mate, the renunciation of pack citizenship, and the sovereign claim of the Northern Territory."Toby’s eyes widened. He opened the envelope, his eyes scanning the legal seals. "Lyra... you can't claim the Deadlands. 

That’s a cursed wasteland. And Silas will have your head for leaving the pack without his permission.""Silas doesn't own me anymore," I said coldly. "Stamp the papers, Toby. 

Or I’ll call the Regional Director and tell him you’re refusing to process a legal sovereign claim."Swallowing hard, Toby grabbed his heavy ink stamp. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. "Done," he muttered, sliding the copies back to me. "You're on your own.""Good," I said, taking the papers. 

"I prefer it that way."With my pack ties officially severed and my wealth secured, I drove out to the edge of the city. I checked into a cheap, rundown motel off the highway, paying in cash.

 The room smelled like stale cigarettes and cheap pine cleaner, but I didn't care. It was mine. I locked the door, drew the curtains, and sat on the edge of the lumpy mattress. Now for the real test. The golden finger. In my past life, right before I died, the Moon Goddess had awakened my Royal Realm. I closed my eyes and reached inward, searching for that strange, cold well of energy at the base of my spine.

 It took a few minutes of focused breathing, but finally, I felt it. A shimmering, silver void in my mind. I opened my eyes and held out my hand toward the cheap motel lamp on the nightstand. Come, I commanded silently. The air above the lamp warped, bending like heat off asphalt. 

A small, circular rift of silver light opened in the air. The lamp flickered, lifted an inch off the table, and was sucked into the void with a soft pop. The rift snapped shut. I blinked, then reached my hand into the empty air, visualizing the space. 

My fingers brushed against the cold metal of the lamp's base. I pulled, and the lamp slid back out of the invisible rift, landing safely in my hands. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. It was just a storage space. A massive, static warehouse in another dimension. 

There was no time dilation, no automatic farming, no magical healing aura. Just pure, endless storage. But as I looked at the lamp in my hands, a fierce, triumphant grin broke across my face. Who cared if it was just storage? When the Blood Moon rose and the world drowned in blood and ice, a limitless, un-stealable warehouse was worth more than any magical healing aura. I could hoard weapons, food, medicine, and fuel, and no raider, no Alpha, and no beast could ever take it from me.

 I set the lamp back on the table and fell backward onto the bed, staring up at the cracked ceiling. My body ached from the snapped bond, and my mind was racing with the sheer volume of things I needed to buy in the next fifty-nine days. But for the first time in two lifetimes, I felt completely, utterly free. I closed my eyes, letting the exhaustion pull me under. When the sun rises tomorrow, the real work will begin.