6

LEAH’S POV 

The memory cuts off sharply, drowned out by another searing pain behind my eyes.

I press my hands flat against my skull, waiting out the pounding migraine until it slowly recedes into the background, leaving behind a dull but manageable throbbing at the base of my head.

I stand up from the bed, my fingers tightening around the edge of my wooden desk until my knuckles turn white.

Not this time. I won’t fail this time. 

I look at the open luggage on the floor, then at the small paper calendar hanging on the wall.

Tonight is the formal dinner at Alpha Lockwood’s estate, a gathering meant to solidify Willow's place among the pack's high nobility. And in three days, the pack will host the grand send-off ball for the twenty-five young wolves selected to attend Eclipse Academy.

“Of course I couldn’t go back before she arrived, but I had to come back before this d*mn dinner…” 

Out of those twenty-five wolves, I personally tutored twenty-two of them. I spent my late evenings writing out detailed study guides, breaking down complex herbological formulas, and explaining squad tactics, that I don’t even know much about, so that they could pass the rigorous entry exams. 

And yet, in my past life, every single one of those twenty-two turned their backs on me the moment Willow shed a few quiet, practiced tears in their presence.

I let out a low, slow breath, feeling the cool air fill my lungs.

“Maybe coming back at this time wasn’t really so bad. I can still save myself at the ball, can’t I?” 

I walk over to my open trunk and begin packing my things with methodical, calculated precision. No lingering tears. No frantic pleatings for love. No desperate attempts to regain the affection of a family that discarded me like trash the moment a dead woman's diary told them to.

The air in this dark, drafty alcove doesn't feel heavy anymore. It feels sharp and sweet.

I reach down, picking up a heavy leather-bound notebook from my desk, my personal journal of rare medicinal formulas and herb combinations. 

I tuck it securely into the center of my trunk, latching the bronze clasps shut with a firm, decisive click.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Bea’s voice echoes up the stairwell from the ground floor, light and expectant.

I stand tall, smoothing down the front of my tunic, staring at my reflection in the dark glass of the windowpane.

Oh, Bea. I am more than ready.

I was reborn ready.

No matter what happens tonight, no matter what venom they spit my way, I am going to Eclipse Academy. 

I have to go back to that den of wolves. I must. 

It was the place where my life collapsed, but it is also the only place where I can gather the strength, the knowledge, and the allies to tear all of them down.

“I just have to tear them down…I have to ruin them…so I too, can live.”

I take one last look around the tiny attic alcove they dragged my belongings into after stripping me of my old bedroom. I don't feel a trace of sadness for this room. I only feel a cold, settling focus. 

I glance down at the wooden desk, at the faint indentations in the grain from all the nights I stayed up late writing notes for the squad, and I marvel at how blind I used to be. I thought hard work and docility would earn me a place in their hearts. I thought being useful would make them love me.

Now I know better. Utility only makes you a convenient tool until a shinier trophy comes along.

I turn away from the desk and make my way toward the doorway. Opening the thin wooden door, I step out into the narrow hall and begin my descent down the stairs to answer Bea’s call. 

Each step feels deliberate, like a soldier walking onto a battlefield where the enemy doesn't even realize the war has already begun.

The scent of roasting chicken, fine wine, and fresh pine needles greets me as I near the ground floor. It is the signature smell of a grand celebration, a feast prepared for the high-ranking members of our pack.

The entire Rosante household has been invited to dinner at Alpha Everest Lockwood’s estate tonight. Asher Lockwood himself delivered the word. But calling it an invitation to the whole family is a cruel joke.

In truth, Asher invited only one person. He invited Willow.

He asked her to come to his home to celebrate her admission into the prestigious Eclipse Academy. Just her admission. No one else was meant to be included in his original request.

“Especially not me.” 

I remember how it went down back then. Willow had returned to the house with a flushed, glowing face, making sure to announce Asher’s invitation loudly in the main hall so that even I, tucked away in my drafty attic, could hear every single word.

"Asher was so sweet," she had sung out, smoothing down her skirt while my former family hovered around her like worshippers. "He said he wanted to toast to my success at the Alpha's table with his family. He said the whole territory is talking about how brilliant I am."

Then, with a gentle and innocent smile, Willow had asked Asher if she could bring her entire family along. She had specifically insisted that Leah should come too. 

She did it knowing full well that before the truth came out, I was the one who used to be invited to the Alpha’s manor. I was the one who Asher always asked out to walk through the gardens. 

I was the one the entire Harvest Moon pack assumed would eventually wear the title of Luna alongside Asher when he took over the pack.

“What a b*tch.” 

She wanted me there to watch her occupy my old space. She wanted me to stand in the corner of the room while the servants poured wine into her glass and ignored mine.

She wanted me to know my place.