CHAPTER 5

The forest was eerily silent, the kind of silence that pressed against my skin, making my thoughts louder than they should be. Leaves crunched beneath my feet as I walked aimlessly, the cool night air biting at my exposed arms. Everything felt surreal, like I had just stepped out of a nightmare only to realize I was still trapped in it.

Christopher’s words echoed in my mind, over and over, like a cruel mantra.

“I don’t know what witchcraft she has done, but she’s not my mate and will never be Luna.”

I clenched my fists. That bastard. Who did he think he was? One moment, he looked at me like I was the only person in the world, and the next, he tossed me aside like I was nothing. Like I was less than nothing.

I pushed forward through the trees, my body moving on instinct, my head too clouded with frustration and confusion to care where I was going. And yet, somehow, my feet carried me back to my uncle’s house—the Beta house.

The lights from the windows cast a warm glow against the night, but as I got closer, I felt the tension in the air, thick and suffocating. My stomach twisted. I didn’t need enhanced senses to know something was wrong.

I hesitated at the door, my hand hovering over the handle when voices drifted through the wood. My uncle’s deep, authoritative tone. My aunt’s sharper, more emotional one.

“This is a mess, Vivian! She was never supposed to come back. And now look—she’s made things worse!”

“She’s just a girl, Cole! What did you expect her to do? Stay away forever? This is her home too!”

“Not anymore! Christopher has made that very clear. He’s rejecting her, and now he wants her gone. If we go against him, we risk everything.”

“Risk what? Our dignity? Our conscience? She is family!”

“She is trouble!”

Something in me snapped at that. I pushed the door open, the sound cutting through their argument like a knife. They both turned to me, my uncle looking exasperated, my aunt looking devastated.

“If I’m such a burden, I’ll leave,” I said flatly, arms crossed. “Problem solved.”

My aunt shook her head immediately. “No, Jessica, you don’t have to—”

“I want to,” I lied, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

“No,” she said firmly, stepping forward and gripping my shoulders. “You are not leaving. Not like this. We will talk to Christopher. We will fix this.”

I scoffed. “Fix this? You really think that pompous asshole is going to listen to you?”

“Language,” my uncle muttered, rubbing his temple.

“You know I’m right,” I shot back. “He’s made up his mind. He doesn’t want me here. You heard him at the funeral. He thinks I’m some kind of mistake.”

Before my aunt could argue, a knock sounded at the door. A sharp, authoritative knock. The kind that carried bad news.

I already knew who it was before my uncle opened the door.

The Alpha’s assistant stood in the doorway, his expression impassive, his posture rigid. He didn’t need to say anything for me to know what message he carried. But he said it anyway, in that cold, emotionless tone that made my blood boil.

“Alpha Beck has given his orders,” the assistant said. “Jessica must leave the pack within twenty-four hours.”

Silence.

My uncle exhaled slowly. My aunt looked heartbroken. And me?

I laughed.

It wasn’t a happy laugh. It wasn’t even a sane one. It was sharp, bitter, dripping with fury and disbelief. I shook my head and took a step forward, locking eyes with the assistant.

“Tell Christopher to go fuck himself.”

The assistant blinked, clearly taken aback. My uncle groaned, rubbing his face, while my aunt gasped.

“You can’t say that,” my uncle hissed.

“I just did.” I smiled sweetly, though I felt anything but sweet. “Now, are we done here?”

The assistant hesitated, looking like he wasn’t sure whether to respond or just turn and leave. Eventually, he settled on the latter, shutting the door behind him.

The second he was gone, my uncle whirled on me. “Are you trying to make things worse?”

I rolled my eyes. “Things are already as bad as they can get.”

“Jessica—”

“I’m not leaving.” I met his gaze, unwavering. “I don’t care what Christopher wants. He can reject me all he wants, but I’m not running away just because he says so.”

My uncle exhaled sharply, shaking his head, but he didn’t argue. My aunt, on the other hand, looked almost proud.

“We’ll figure something out,” she said softly, touching my arm.

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I believed her. Because deep down, I knew one thing:

This wasn’t over. Not even close.