Chapter 5

An hour later, I stood in front of my parents' estate in the heart of Silver Moon territory, suitcase in hand.

The moment I pushed the door open, I froze.

My father was sitting in a plush armchair in the study, wearing a silk robe, calmly reading an old book.

A fire crackled in the hearth.

This was not a man about to be tried for treason.

"Dad?" I asked, my voice cautious. "The news said…"

"The news," my father scoffed, closing the book. He looked at me, his eyes sharp. "Tessa, did you think I'd spent thirty years on the Council just to be some pushover?"

He pulled a file from a hidden compartment and tossed it on the table in front of me.

The seal of the High Werewolf Council was stamped on top, blood-red and stark.

"Application for political protection and countersuit," my father said, his voice cold, almost cruel. "It was approved three days ago. The Tribunal has already secretly acquired the true communication logs from the Red Maple front line."

My head snapped up. "You knew?"

"I saw Callum's pathetic little plan before he even made his move," my father said, standing up. He looked down at the file, his voice full of scorn. "He thought he could throw an elder under the bus to cover up his and Freya's mess? I cut off Red Maple's medical funding and revoked Silver Moon's political protection for them on the Council the moment I got the file."

My heart stopped.

"Without Silver Moon's legal cover," my father sneered, "Callum's violent expansion, his forced absorption of rogue packs… all of it is a death sentence in the eyes of the Council. He thought he was saving his precious front line. In reality, he just signed his own execution warrant."

At dinner, my mother pushed a plane ticket across the table to me.

"Sunpeak," she said softly. "It's in the southern neutral zone. The weather is beautiful. No one knows you there. Go open your own medical center, Tessa. This time, live for yourself. The Silver Moon pack will always have your back."

I looked at the ticket, my eyes burning.

That night, as I was packing, my phone vibrated nonstop.

Callum: Where are you? Come back. Now.

Callum: You think you can hide? I'm your Alpha. I can track your mate-scent.

Callum: Don't make me come get you, Tessa.

I stared at the screen, my fingers cold.

Not a single word of concern. Just commands. And the rage of a king who had been defied.

Suddenly, I heard a commotion downstairs.

My door was pushed open.

Freya walked in carrying an expensive bottle of wine as a peace offering, two grim-faced Silver Moon guards behind her.

She had somehow used Red Maple's last shred of diplomatic privilege to force her way into the estate.

Her eyes were red and swollen. She was trying to put on her old, pathetic act.

"Tessa, I know you're angry," she said, her voice trembling. "But Callum said it was your father who took the blame voluntarily. He didn't force anyone. Please, come back with me. His feral side is getting out of control…"

"Voluntarily?"

I shot up from my seat and slapped the bottle out of her hand. It shattered onto the carpet, spilling dark red wine.

Freya flinched back.

"You have the nerve to say that?" I stared at her, my voice like ice. "Without my family's medical backing, without Silver Moon's political shield, your Red Maple warriors are nothing but walking corpses to the vampires."

"Tessa, you—"

"You think you're the sharpest claw?" I stalked toward her. "You're just a reckless fool who only survived this long because I was there to clean up your messes. Now, the person who cleaned up your messes is gone."

Freya's face went white. Her lips trembled, unable to form words.

A surge of Luna power exploded from me. The pressure slammed into her, making her stumble backward.

"Get out."

She scrambled out of the room like a beaten dog.

I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, panting.

From my drawer, I took out a small packet of herbs—the kind used to numb the physical backlash of sensory connections. I stirred it into a glass of water and drank it down.

Then, I closed my eyes. I pricked my finger, drawing a single drop of blood. And I whispered the ancient words.

"I, Tessa of the Silver Moon pack, reject you, Callum of the Red Maple pack, as my mate and my Alpha."

A searing pain shot through me as the thin, spiritual tether of our bond snapped.

Then, silence.

I picked up my phone, found Callum's number, and held down the block button.

Outside, the moonlight fell on the plane ticket to Sunpeak.

Tomorrow, the southern sun would be mine alone.