Chapter 4

By the day before my ceremony, Mom had checked Selena’s dress, makeup schedule, hair appointment, gifts, and household supplies again and again. Noah had become her personal driver, messenger, and event coordinator.

No one asked whether my dress fit, whether my guests had confirmed, or who would walk beside me into the ceremony hall.

I wasn't another bride in this house. I was background scenery designed to make Selena's happiness look brighter.

I changed my shoes and went to the mall alone.

Adrian had said he didn't need a gift.

Still, I had ordered custom wolf-head cuff links, engraved on the back with the date we first met.

The sales associate boxed them, and I handed over my card.

A few seconds later, she returned it with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. The account doesn't have enough funds."

The card was connected to the savings account that held three years of my salary. Mom had insisted on joint emergency authorization, swearing she would never touch it unless the family faced a genuine crisis.

I opened my banking app.

Ninety-six thousand dollars had been transferred out the previous day.

I drove home so fast my hands shook around the wheel. When I pushed through the front door, Mom was placing a diamond tiara into a protective case.

I put my phone in front of her. "Did you take the ninety-six thousand dollars from my account?"

Mom didn't even pause. "Selena wanted this tiara, and it matches the moonstones in her bracelets. We didn't have enough cash, so I borrowed from you."

"That was every dollar I've saved for three years."

She frowned. "We're family. Stop separating yours and mine. Besides, you promised Selena fifty thousand. Consider the extra forty-six compensation for the income she's lost because of her health."

I stared at her until my throat burned. "Compensation? She has a villa, an SUV, my moonstones, and every ounce of love in this house. What exactly is she still missing?"

Noah stepped between us. "Why are you losing your mind over ninety-six grand? You earn good money. You'll make it back. Selena gets one ceremony in her life, and it shouldn't be ruined by cutting corners."

Something inside me finally snapped. "What about mine?"

My voice rose despite every habit that had taught me to stay quiet. "I get one mate ceremony too. You put my moonstones in her bracelets, ignored every part of my wedding, and now you've emptied my account. Am I supposed to leave this house with nothing but the dress on my back?"

Selena opened the tiara box with trembling fingers. "Eve, don't be angry. You can have it. I don't need it."

Mom rushed to comfort her. "Look what you've done. Her heart can't take this kind of stress. Are you trying to put her in the hospital before her ceremony?"

I reached for the box. "Fine. We'll return it. Once the money is back in my account, this is over."

Dad's hand closed around my wrist hard enough to hurt. "What do you think you're doing?"

I tried to pull free. Twenty-five years of swallowed anger surged into my chest. "Taking back my own money."

Noah grabbed my shoulder. "Enough, Eve. Do you have to tear this family apart two days before Selena’s ceremony?"

The slap came so fast I didn't see Mom move.

My head snapped sideways. Heat exploded across my cheek, and my ears rang.

Mom stood in front of me, breathing hard. There was no regret in her eyes. Only disgust.

"I raised you, and this is how you repay us? You'd turn against your own family over money and jewelry? When did you become so selfish?"

They had taken my moonstones, my car, my milestones, and every dollar in my account. But the moment I asked for one thing back, I became greedy, ungrateful, and cruel.

Dad released my wrist and delivered his verdict in the same cold tone he had used my entire life.

"Enough. The money stays where it is. No one will mention it again."

I lowered my hand from the tiara box. Not because I forgave them. Not because I no longer wanted what was mine.

I walked out without taking a thing.

That night, I checked into the hotel Northlake had reserved for my ceremony preparations and sent the pack coordinator my room number. I didn’t tell Adrian about the stolen money or the slap. I knew he would confront my family the moment he found out, and I needed to finish leaving them on my own terms.

They kept circling Selena, too busy polishing her perfect day to notice their other daughter had disappeared.

Tomorrow, they would wake up believing they still had two daughters preparing for a joint ceremony.

By noon, while they were still polishing Selena’s perfect day, I would already be bonded to Adrian and registered as Northlake’s Luna.

The next morning, a line of black cars pulled up outside the hotel, each marked with Northlake’s white-wolf crest. Adrian stepped from the first car in a dark charcoal suit. Behind him came his Beta, members of his guard, my coworkers, and our friends, all wearing white laurel pins for the bride’s side.

Adrian stopped in front of me and lowered himself to one knee. In his hand was a platinum ring engraved with the Northlake wolf.

"Evelyn Grey, my mate, will you leave Moonstone territory and come home with me to the Northlake Pack?"

The courtyard went silent.

I knew what my answer meant. Once I placed my hand in his, my name would be entered into another pack's registry. The Greys would no longer be able to summon me, use me, or demand another sacrifice simply because we shared blood.

I gave him my hand.

"I will."

From this moment on, the family I once belonged to no longer had anything to do with me.