Chapter 5

Ava's POV

Nora’s fingers closed around mine, warm and steady.

“Leave this to me,” she said softly. “I’ve run with the law for years. I have friends in the grand council prosecutor’s offfice who still owe me favors. I’ll dig up your old case files, track whoever handled it back then. We will definitely find something that will help clear your name.”

Her confidence wrapped around me like fur against winter cold. I let out a sigh.

She reached over and pinched my cheek, the playful gesture so familiar it made my throat tighten.

“Hey,” she murmured, her amber eyes glinting, “there is no need rushing into the past. Tonight’s about you being free. The chains are off. We should celebrate your freedom.”

I wasn't particularly in the right frame of mind to celebrate, especially after hearing that one of my pups was dead. I stared at Nora for a few seconds, not wanting to weigh down her spirit, I decided to play along.

“So you’re buying me dinner?” I asked, forcing a small smile.

“You bet.” Nora started the car, engine rumbling like a contented wolf. “Got us a table at that place you used to love. Wait till you see it.”

We soon arrived at the restaurant. It glowed with warm light and scent of roasted meat and herbs.

Nora talked, teased, ordered my favorite dishes without asking. She tried—gods, she tried—to pull me back into the world of the living.

But every so often, like claws scraping bone, two names surfaced in my mind.

June and Jasper…My pups.

My heart tightened until it hurt to breathe.

After dinner, Nora drove me to the Grand Council. In less than an hour, I had drafted and submitted a formal petition, outlining my reasons for seeking a divorce from the Alpha of my pack.

Once the elders reviewed and approved my petition, I was handed official divorce documents to present to Victor. Nora explained that if Victor refused to sign, the Grand Council could intervene directly—summoning both of us, hearing our sides, and formally dissolving the union.

In our world, all Alphas were subject to the authority of the Grand Council, the highest power that existed. Its rulings were absolute, and no pack could defy them without consequence.

I looked down at the document. My name was printed beside Victor’s. The bond that had once been sacred was now reduced to ink, clauses, and signatures.

Memories crashed over me, memories of our mating ceremony, the bliss that had filled it, the promises he made even while I was locked away in the werewolf prison. He had sworn he would care for our pups, that he would be there when I was released.

But what did I get in return? Betrayal. My daughter died under his watch. He was busy having an affair with Laura, my sister.

I picked up the pen and signed the papers quickly.

“He never wanted to marry me in the first place,” I whispered. “There was no point staying tied to him now.”

Nora’s fingers threaded through my hair, slow and soothing, the way a physician calms an injured packmate. I could feel her heart aching through the gentle touch.

“Okay,” she murmured. “Let me drive you back home.”

I nodded in response. The sooner I got Victor to sign the papers, the better.

By the time we reached the Smith's villa, it was already 9 p.m. Nora was a bit reluctant to leave me. I assured her I would be fine on my own. She squeezed my shoulder before leaving.

I was let through the gate by the security. They recognized me, afterall this was my home. I was their Luna.

I got to the front door. The keypad glowed under my fingers. I punched in the code I’d used for years. It was our mating anniversary.

I got an error message. My chest tightened. I tried it again but got the same thing.

I tried it a third time. The error message popped up again.

On the fourth try, the system flashed a warning: one attempt remaining before lockout. My wolf went very still inside me.

Then, with a cold, almost detached clarity, I entered another date.

Laura’s birthday.

Click. The door slid open.

For a moment I just stood there, the night wind brushing my face, carrying scents from the garden.

A bitter laugh slipped out. How perfectly ironic.

If they were such a perfect pair, if they were really true-hearted and inseparable, why had he married me at all?

If Victor had refused our union back then… I would never have forced myself into his life.

But he hadn’t refused. He’d taken my hand before the moon and sworn eternity. And now, the access code to what used to be our home was his lover’s birthday.

As soon as I got inside, footsteps hurried down the hall.

“Who’s there?” A familiar female voice rang out.

As soon as she saw me, she skidded to a stop and her eyes widened in shock.