It's Time

Charleza’s p.o.v.

I unlock the front door, and as I walk in, I still expect Grandma Rozena to walk out of the kitchen.

This was home for the first twelve years of my life, and for the past five years. It belonged to my grandparents, and before that to grandpa’s parents, and now it belongs to me.

“How was school?” I can still hear Grandma Rozena ask when I got back from school.

Then she became sick, and within a week we were moved to the Beta floor. I knew it was where my parents and siblings lived, but I had never set foot on the Beta floor before that day.

Grandma Rozena was given a room near the hallway to the living room, while Calyree guided me to the smallest room near the Omega stairwell.

“This is all you deserve.” She snarled as she pushed me inside. “You don’t belong here.”

It took me less than twenty-four hours to understand that I would never be considered a part of the family, not only by Calyree, but also by Aler and Rivanon.

Riog had moved two floors down to a suite he shared with Loha, our future Alpha, and Ewann, our future Gamma, a few months before. I never saw him on the Beta floor and only now and then outside the pack house.

Aler would usually ignore me when he saw me; Calyree would use words to make it clear I didn’t belong; but Rivanon would not only use her words to hurt me.

Grandma Rozena would call Aler into her room every time Calyree or Rivanon did something to upset me, and for a few days they would act like I was invisible.

After a while, I realized nothing would ever change, so I started hiding my feelings. When Rivanon figured out what I was doing, she turned to physically hurting me.

I didn’t have a shifter yet, and healing was slow. Grandma Rozena spoke up after the first few bruises, until she also realized it only got worse.

“They may not have wanted you, but I did, and I would choose you all over again. Promise me that you will walk away when they publicly lie about something you said or did, and I don’t only mean walking away from them.” Grandma Rozena made me promise on my eighteenth birthday.

We had been at a small dinner in Ebonpost, and all I could do was nod. I knew our time together was running out, and I didn’t want to spend it talking about Calyree or Rivanon.

After lunch, we walked down the street to a small office I had seen many times when we visited Ebonpost.

“Hello, Rozena. Come on in; we will go into my office.” Mr. Wisebinder said, gesturing for us to walk ahead of him.

He pulled a binder from the top drawer of his desk and placed it in front of him while Grandma Rozena held my hand.

“Happy eighteenth, Charleza.” Mr. Wisebinder said, and I finally looked up at him.

He discussed the binder's contents with us and explained where he needed my signature. By the time we walked out of that office, my future looked very different from what I had envisioned since we moved to the Beta floor.

I get pulled back to the present when my phone starts ringing, and I smile as I see the caller ID.

“Aldyn, what is the emergency?” I ask because he never calls me at this hour.

“We got an offer on the office building in Midhill. It is damn good, but they need you there for the details.” He answers me.

I put the call on speaker and open the attachment to the email he sent me. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said it was damn good, and it is the perfect reason for me to sever ties with a place where I am not welcome.

“Meet me at the office at nine. I have a few things to settle here, and then I can fully concentrate on business.” I disconnect the call before he can respond, and I slowly walk up the stairs to gather the last of my belongings.

My suitcase doesn’t contain much, because I have been moving everything for the past three weeks.

I walk through every room one last time. I want to make sure I haven’t forgotten a thing.

I pull the last plastic cover over my bed, lock every window and door, and place my suitcase in my SUV. I take one last look over my shoulder at the cottage, then walk back to the pack house.

My steps slow as I reach the back door of the pack house, and I walk toward Alpha Fynlo’s office while keeping an eye out for other pack members.

I listen to the conversation inside Alpha Fynlo’s office and realize I can make an even cleaner getaway.

 “I, Charleza Ironshield, break my bond with the Dark Wind pack and denounce Alpha Fynlo Whiteblade as my Alpha.” I whisper, almost in sync with Ealish.

The roar that escapes him is louder because he is losing two connections at once, but I doubt he realizes someone else also broke their bond with the Dark Wind pack.

The door closes behind me as I walk out of the pack house and walk around the other side, when I see Riog and Ewann on the path I took on my way in.

After starting the engine, I back out of the driveway for the last time. I don’t take another look at my past, but drive down the road to the border.

A spot I have crossed so often that I know each little hole and every bend in the road. A spot that holds no guards, only a small gate that can be unlocked by a key that only three pack members have a copy of, and one of them is in my hand.

“You have given them more than enough chances. It stops today.” Aura, my lycan, says as I unlock the gate.

After driving through, I lock the gate and drop the key through the small opening in the pillar on one side of the gate.

I drive to Ebonpost as a robotic voice reads the contract. The price for the office building is slightly more than expected, but the past has shown me that if someone appreciates the work we did, the price tag shows it.

My company, or at least that is what I call it, doesn’t have a name or an official office. It is something we have been working on, but I never felt ready to take the next step.

Now that I have severed ties with the Dark Wind pack and my family, I am ready to plan the future Grandma Rozena wanted for me.

At nine, Aldyn walks into the office we will be using for the time being.

“How many times did you read the contract?” Aldyn asks as he sits next to me, but before I can answer him, the door opens again.

“Good morning. I assume you will accept the offer, and we will invest the remainder in another project.” Lochlin says, placing coffee in front of us.

I grab the cup and take a sip before I lean back in my chair. I push the folder in front of me toward Lochlin and wait for him to read it.

A spreadsheet filled with numbers is staring back at him, and his eyes slowly move down the page.

“This is impressive. What are your plans for the future?” Lochlin asks, pushing the folder toward Aldyn.

I don’t answer him as I wait for Aldyn to finish reading the entire statement.

“We make everything official. We find ourselves an office space, get a name for the company, and keep doing what we have been doing for years.” I smile as Lochlin leans back, and Aldyn pushes the closed folder in front of me.

The Dark Wind pack is my past, and I have no idea where my future will lead me.