Chapter 2

I was angry, confused, and frustrated. I did not know what else to do. The air was cold, and it was biting into my skin. My lungs were burning, and I could hear the pounding of my wolf's rage echoing in my chest. I wasn't thinking, I just kept walking.

I walked past the bus stop, past the roads I wanted to be far away from the place and person I hoped to call home someday. I walked a little further until I reached my destination.

Lily’s door.

I knocked once, then again, my knuckles hard.

When the door opened, Lily's sleepy eyes welcomed me. In a moment it was replaced with concern.

"Elena?" she looked at me closely.

My face was stained with tears, and my sobs were increasing, my hands trembling. Lily wasted no time and yanked me inside.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice sharp with panic.

The words tumbled out of my mouth, broken.

“Marcus. Gina.”

“What happened? Talk to me.” she gave me a slight push

“I saw them. Together. In….”

I couldn't hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall. I was almost choking with tears.

I could barely make a full sentence but Lily got my point. She pulled me in for a hug and she rubbed my back.

"That bastard." I heard her mutter

Just like my wolf Lily never hid the despise she had for Marcus.

After a while, I collapsed onto her sofa, the sobs breaking free now that I was safe. I cried until my chest ached, until my throat was raw, until there were no tears left. Lily sat beside me, holding my hand, brushing hair from my damp face.

When fatigue finally pulled me down, I curled up against the armrest. Lily covered me with a duvet, whispering,

"Sleep, Lena. You need to rest. I am here if you need me.”

And for the first time that night, I let go.

The morning sunlight was too bright. It pressed against my closed eyes until I groaned and sat up. My head pounded from crying, my body heavy with sadness. I was clueless about what to do next.

The sound of voices floated from the door. Strong, hushed. Lily's voice, was raised in anger. I heard another voice deep, commanding, and I knew who it belonged to.

Marcus.

My stomach twisted.

I quickly pushed the duvet away from my body and rushed to the door. Lily stood there, blocking the door with her small frame, but Marcus was way bigger than she was.

“You have no business being here. You are not welcome," Lily spat. "Get out."

"I am not leaving until I talk to Elena," Marcus roared, his tone low but dangerous.

I froze. A part of me wanted to run back to the sofa, hide under the duvet, pretend none of this was happening. But another part, the part that was still burning from the sight of him with Gina refused.

"It is okay, Lily, I'll take it up from here," I whispered.

Her head whipped toward me.

“No, it is not….”

"I need to hear him." My voice broke, but I forced it steady.

Lily looked at me for an extended moment, then stepped back reluctantly. "Fine. But I will be right here."

Marcus's eyes landed on me, dark and unreadable. For a heartbeat, I saw the boy I had loved for five years, the one I thought was my future. But then he opened his mouth.

"Elena," he said, his voice smooth, rehearsed, the same tone he used when he wanted to bend me back under his control.

“This... this is not what it looked like."

A bitter laugh slipped from my throat.

“I saw you with her, Marcus. Do not insult me."

His jaw tightened, but he did not look ashamed. He looked like he was offended.

"You do not understand. You have been holding out on me for years. Five years, Elena. Do you know how humiliating it is to have a girlfriend who won’t let...”

My stomach dipped. Was he serious? He was blaming me.

“Are you blaming me?"

His eyes hardened.”

“What did you expect? I'm an Alpha heir. Do you think people do not notice? Do you think they do not talk? You cling to me, refuse to give me what I need, and then act shocked when I”

"When you betray me?” My voice shook with anger.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice

“Do you know what people say about you already? That you are just the rogue's daughter. A parasite. I protected you from that. I gave you a place, a future. And this is how you repay me? By running?”

The words cut deep, reopening every wound I thought I had buried. My father in prison. My mother abandoning me. The whispers at the Academy, the laughter behind my back. Marcus knew all of it, and he was also using it against me.

"You cannot survive without me," he pressed, his tone manipulative.

“You work yourself to death for scraps, Elena. Look at you. Miserable. Do you think anyone else would want you? I am your only chance.”

Something inside me cracked. I was not the quiet, helpless girl of the night before, but something sharper, hotter.

For five years, I gave him loyalty. Patience. Trust. And he gave me betrayal and blame.

"You are so wrong," I whispered, my voice trembling, then growing stronger. “You are not my only chance and would never be.”

His eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, I pushed past him. My wolf roared inside me, not with grief now, but with rage.

If he wants to blame me for my virginity, that was okay. He was never going to have it in this life and in the next.

If Marcus wanted to destroy me, he wouldn't get to use my body as the final weapon. I would rather give it to anyone else.

When I returned to the sofa, Lily followed, her arms crossed, her glare fixed on Marcus until he finally left, banging the door hard enough to bang the frame.

Silence filled the room. My breath came fast, my hands shaking.

Then Lily sat beside me, her eyes softening.

“He is poison, Lena. He always has been. You do not need him around you. You deserve better than him, better than the whole damn Blackthorn name.”

A laugh escaped me, bitter and hollow. "Better does not exist for people like me."

"It does, and there are a lot of reasons why it does" she insisted.

"But right now? You need to forget him. Just for one night."

I frowned. "Forget him?"

She leaned closer, lowering her voice.

“There is a bar downtown. Not the fancy kind he drags you to, the real kind. Strong drinks. Loud music. People who do not care about Marcus Blackthorn or the Academy. Genuine people who just want to have fun. Maybe that is what you need.”

A bar.

The idea terrified me. I, disciplined Elena Hayes, who spent every free moment working, studying, clawing for survival. But the thought of staying here, curled in the duvet while Marcus's words poisoned my mind, was worse.

“Lena,” Lily said gently, “you need to take something back for yourself. He does not own you. He does not get to shame you for the choices you made with your body. Or for what your parents did. So why not make a new choice? Your choice.”

I swallowed hard, my heart racing at the implication. My wolf prowled, intrigued.

"Anybody but Marcus," I whispered.

"Exactly." Lily's smile was intense. "Anybody but Marcus."

And in that moment, something dangerous sparked inside me. Because for the first time in years, I realized I didn't want to be careful. I didn't want to be patient. I wanted to be on fire.

And maybe, just maybe, the fire would set me free.