Chapter 4

I turned to Margaret first and gave her a slight bow.

"Luna, I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm moving to the Silver Moon pack soon, so I came to say goodbye."

Without another glance at Victor and the others, I turned and left.

When I reached the end of the lane, Victor caught up and grabbed my arm.

"Della, are you done throwing your fit?"

I stopped and looked back at him.

"Victor, let's break up."

He clearly hadn't expected that. He froze for a few seconds, then his face darkened.

"Just don't regret it later."

I ignored him, pulled my arm free, and went straight home.

When I opened the door, several people were standing in the living room.

Kyle was directing his men as they carried boxes. My mother stood to one side, smiling.

When she saw me come in, she waved me over.

"There you are. The moment Kyle heard you were moving, he brought his men over to help you pack this morning."

Kyle turned to look at me.

"Almost everything's packed. I've left your personal things for you to go through yourself."

I nodded.

It was time to put an end to everything here.

As I went through the last of my things, Lisa called.

She sounded panicked. "Della! Victor's wolf went out of control while he was fixing your moonstone necklace! Get over here and see him!"

My fingers tightened around the phone.

It was the necklace my grandmother had fastened around my neck before she died.

She'd said the stone was blessed by the Moon Goddess, that it could calm my unstable wolf and keep me safe.

Last month, a rogue I'd run into had snatched the necklace. Victor had stormed the rogue's den alone and risked his life to get it back.

Part of it had broken off, and he'd blamed himself for not protecting it. He'd promised me he would fix it.

I hesitated for a moment, but I still asked for the address.

I wasn't just going to get my necklace back. This would also be the last time I got involved with them before I left.

Kyle heard me on the phone and came over, frowning.

"I'll go with you."

I said, "No need.

"He lost control while fixing my necklace. I'll just check on him. I won't get involved with them again."

I followed Lisa's directions deep into the forest.

Just as I reached the edge of the bushes, the ground suddenly gave way under my feet.

I dropped straight down and slammed hard into the bottom of a pit.

I'd fallen into a trap. Thorns had torn a long gash in my arm, and blood quickly soaked my sleeve.

There were footsteps above, then Victor's cold voice. "This is your punishment.

"You upset Marian so much she cried all day. She just passed out, and she's in the hospital now."

Noah's voice came next. "When she's calmed down and she's willing to forgive you, we'll come back for you."

Lisa gave a scornful laugh. "Della, don't think you can bully Marian just because we used to be nice to you.

"Now she's the one who matters most to us."

The pit was dark and damp, and the walls were sheer. There was no way I could climb out on my own.

I was shaking with fear.

"Victor, Noah, Lisa, get me out of here!

"My wolf's unstable. If I stay trapped in a dark, enclosed place like this, my wolf will lose control!

"If you get me out, I'll go apologize!"

The three of them seemed to find that funny.

Lisa sounded sure. "I told you. I knew she'd use her unstable wolf to make us feel sorry for her."

Noah said impatiently, "You do this every time. Aren't you tired of it? We are. If your wolf is so unstable, how can you go to stand-up shows and argue with us? Save it."

Victor sneered. "You begged me to become your mate just so I would stabilize your wolf, didn't you?

"Now you're scared?

"Once Marian forgives you, I'll think about whether I still want to be your mate."

Just then, all their phones chimed with the custom alert for the five-person group chat.

Victor played the voice message, and Marian's voice rang out. "Victor, Noah, Lisa, where are you? I'm so scared. I'm scared you'll ignore me too..."

All three turned and hurried back at once, comforting Marian as they went.

In that moment, the last ridiculous shred of hope I'd had in them was gone.

I had no idea how much time passed before I heard a low growl above the pit.

I realized the smell of blood had drawn a beast.

A foul, heavy stench drew closer. My wolf thrashed inside me, and my vision dimmed.

I wasn't sure I could hold on much longer.

Then someone leaped down from a tree and took down the beast in a few quick moves.

Kyle threw a rope down into the pit.

"Grab the rope. I'll pull you up."

I held on to the rope, and he pulled me up little by little.

When I saw Kyle's wounds, I felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry. You got hurt because of me."

Kyle ruffled my hair.

"I'm the one who didn't protect you."

On the way back, I took out my phone and deleted all my social media accounts.

Then, one by one, I blocked Victor, Marian, Noah, and Lisa and deleted their contact details.