Return To Silver Moon

Chapter 4

The drive back to Silver Moon Pack felt like a lifetime.

My black car moved slowly through the forest road I had run through three years ago, barefoot and crying, with a torn dress and bleeding feet. Now I was sitting in the back seat, in a designer dress, with a driver, with money in my account, with power.

But my heart was still beating fast. My hands were shaking a little, even though I tried to hide it.

Calm down, Nyx whispered in my mind, her voice warm and strong. You are not that girl anymore. Remember who you are.

"I know," I whispered back, looking out of the window at the trees rushing past. "I am Zara. I am the Moon Wolf. I am not afraid."

But the truth was, I was afraid. Not of Kaden. Not of Mia. I was afraid of what I would feel when I saw them again. Would my heart still break? Would the mate bond still hurt? Would I still be that weak girl who wanted Kaden to love her?

Three years in the city had changed me. I had built a business from nothing. I had learned how to fight, how to negotiate, how to look powerful men in the eye and not blink. I had learned how to survive without a pack, without a mate, without anyone.

But Silver Moon was still home. The place where I was born. The place where my parents died. The place where I was humiliated.

When we reached the pack border, two guards stopped the car. They did not recognize me. How could they? The Zara they knew was thin, dirty, with old clothes and sad eyes. This Zara was glowing, with long hair, clean skin, and eyes that shone violet in the sunlight.

"Who are you? This is Silver Moon Pack territory. No outsiders allowed," one guard said, holding his gun tightly. His voice was rough, but his hands were shaking.

I stepped out of the car slowly, took off my sunglasses, and looked at him directly.

"I am Zara," I said, my voice calm but powerful. "Daughter of the late Beta. I grew up here. I was born in this pack."

His eyes went wide. His mouth opened. The gun almost fell from his hands. "Z-Zara? The wolfless girl? But... you... you look..."

"Different?" I smiled coldly. "Yes. I am different now. Open the gate."

He quickly opened the gate, his hands shaking. He bowed his head a little, as if he was afraid to look at me. News travels fast in a pack. Within minutes, everyone knew Zara had returned.

As my car drove into the pack, people came out of their houses to stare. Women who used to laugh at me when I washed their clothes. Men who used to ignore me when I served them food. Children who used to throw stones at me and call me wolfless.

They all stared like they had seen a ghost.

I kept my head high. I did not look down. I did not smile. I wanted them to see that the girl they threw away was now a woman they could never touch.

And then I saw him.

Kaden Blackwood.

He was standing in front of the pack house, talking to some warriors. He looked older, more tired, with a scar on his jaw that was not there before. His clothes were dusty, his eyes were dark. His pack was at war, and it showed. He looked like a King who was losing his kingdom.

Then he looked up and saw my car. Then he saw me.

His whole body froze. The papers in his hand fell to the ground. His warriors stopped talking.

Our eyes met. And just like three years ago, that mate bond slammed into my chest like lightning. It was still there. The rejection had not killed it. It had only made it hurt more, like a wound that never healed.

"Zara..." he whispered, his voice breaking. Everyone heard it because the whole pack had gone silent.

I stepped out of the car, stood tall, and looked at him without smiling. I let my heels click on the stone ground. I let my dress move in the wind. I wanted him to see everything he lost.

"Hello, Alpha Kaden," I said, my voice calm and cold, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Did you miss me?"

Behind him, I saw Mia. Her face was white. Her perfect hair was messy. Her makeup was smudged. She was still trying to be Luna, still wearing Luna's clothes, but everyone knew Kaden had never accepted her. Not really. Not in his heart.

Mia stepped forward, her voice shaking with jealousy and fear. "What are you doing here, servant? You don't belong here anymore! You ran away like a coward! Go back to where you came from!"

I turned to her slowly. My violet eyes flashed. Nyx pushed forward, letting a little of our power show. The air around me changed. It became heavy, electric. Every wolf in the clearing felt it and stepped back, including Mia. Some of them even lowered their heads without knowing why. That is what a Moon Wolf does. We are born to be obeyed.

"I don't belong here?" I asked, smiling slowly. "Mia, I am the daughter of this pack. I was born here. My father died protecting this pack. You are the one who should be worried. You have been pretending to be Luna for three years, but we both know you are not his mate. I am."

Mia's face turned red. She looked at Kaden, expecting him to defend her. But Kaden was not looking at her. He was only looking at me.

Kaden took a step toward me, his hand reaching out like he wanted to touch me, like he wanted to make sure I was real and not a dream. "Zara, I... I have been looking for you for three years. Every night. Every day. I sent warriors to find you. I am sorry. I was wrong. I was a fool. Please..."

I held up my hand to stop him. My heart was screaming to forgive him. My wolf was screaming to run to him and hug him. The mate bond was pulling me to him so hard it hurt.

But my mind remembered the pain. The night I ran barefoot. The years I suffered alone. The nights I cried under the bridge in the city with no food. The days I worked like a slave to build my business while he was here with Mia.

"No," I said, my voice steady even though my heart was breaking again. "Not yet, Kaden. If you want me back, you will have to earn me. And I am not cheap anymore. You cannot reject me in front of everyone and then expect me to run back into your arms because you said sorry."

Tears filled his eyes. The mighty Alpha, crying in front of his pack. No one had ever seen that before. His warriors looked away, embarrassed for him. But he did not care. He only cared about me.

"I was a fool," he said, his voice cracking. "Give me a second chance. Please. I will do anything. I will kneel. I will beg. Just don't leave me again."

I looked at him for a long time. The whole pack was watching. Mia was shaking with anger. The guards were holding their breath.

Part of me wanted to say yes. Part of me wanted to forgive him and go home.

But Nyx whispered, Don't give in so easily. He needs to learn. If you forgive him now, he will never understand what he did to you.

So I lifted my chin and walked past him, into the pack house, my heels clicking on the floor like a Queen entering her palace.

Behind me, I heard Nyx laughing in my mind.

Good girl. Let him beg. Let him suffer a little. He made you cry for three years. Now it's his turn.

And for the first time, I truly believed it.

The rejected girl had returned. And this time, she was the one with the power. This time, Kaden Blackwood was the one who needed me. And I was the one who would decide if he deserved a second chance.

I was no longer the weak girl he threw away.

I was Zara, the Moon Wolf. And I had come home to take back everything that was mine.

.