Chapter 2

Ella's POV

In the middle of the night, a call from Linda woke me up.

"Luna Ella..." Linda said cautiously. "Noah... had an allergic reaction. He broke out in a rash all over. It must have been Chloe's cake. The pack doctor just finished treating him..."

Noah was prone to allergies, so I always personally checked his food.

"How is he now?" My fingers tightened around the phone.

"The rash went down, and he just fell asleep. Alpha Damien was asking where the medicine cabinet is..."

"The medicine cabinet is the second door on the right in the nursery. The passcode is Lily and Noah's birthday," I said. "The blue label on the left side of the second shelf is specifically for mild wolfsbane allergies."

I hung up and stared at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. "Damien will handle it."

Then, I forced myself to go back to sleep.

At 7:03 in the morning, the phone rang again. It was Linda.

Lily was still asleep in my arms, her little face rubbing against my chest.

I gently moved her hand away from my collar and answered it.

"Luna Ella..." Linda sounded even more panicked than before. "Alpha Damien wants Scotch eggs. I don't know how to make them. Could you teach me?"

Scotch eggs.

Damien liked the outside golden and crispy, the meat wrapped tightly, and the yolk just set but not completely hard.

He hated runny yolks but thought fully cooked ones were too dry, so I always had to get the oil temperature and timing exactly right. And I had to sneak some crushed rosemary into the meat mix without him knowing.

He thought he hated rosemary, but the one time I didn't add it, he only took one bite.

"I'll text you the steps."

"Okay, okay, thank you, Luna..." Linda hesitated, carefully adding, "Luna Ella, when are you coming back to the packhouse? Noah was crying all night..."

My fingers gripped the blanket. "Linda, I'm not coming back."

The other end of the line went dead silent.

"Don't call me about packhouse stuff anymore. I'll put together a list of Noah's allergies and his medications and send it to you."

"Luna..."

I hung up.

The screen went dark, reflecting my own face. I had dark circles under my eyes. I hadn't slept well at all.

Lily rolled over beside me, mumbling in her sleep, "Mommy... don't answer the phone..."

I flipped my phone face down on the nightstand, lay back down, and pulled her into my arms.

She was warm, like a little heater.

I closed my eyes.

The last thing that flashed through my mind was the dining table at the packhouse.

Every day, I used to get up at five in the morning to make breakfast for everyone and even prep their toiletries.

Seven years. Over 2,500 days.

And no one ever said "thank you."

"Then I'm done doing it."

Lily's little hand reached out and grabbed my collar again.

I soothed her and let her sleep a bit longer.

I got up and emailed all the elders, telling them I had an important matter and inviting them to the council hall at 3 PM to bear witness. I also sent it to the old lady, Margaret.

Margaret replied instantly, "What the hell are you playing at?"

I didn't answer. I just sat in the living room at Cedarhill Residences, putting together the notes for Linda.

A while later, my phone buzzed again.

It was from Damien: "Suit yourself. Don't waste the elders' time."

I stared at those words for a long time.

Yeah. I wasn't worth it. I wasn't worth his time, and I wasn't worth the elders' time either.

My wolf whimpered. I realized that after all the pain, there was nothing left inside but a wasteland.

I put the phone down.

On the desk was a drawing Lily had done last night. It showed two people holding hands next to a crooked house, with a giant sun on the roof.

Noah wasn't in it, and neither was her dad.

Lily had said, "Mommy, this is me, this is you, and this is our new home!"

I picked up the drawing and stuck it to the fridge door with a magnet.

I turned to look at the full-length mirror by the entryway. The face staring back at me was still beautiful, maybe even more mature and poised than seven years ago.

But when did the light in those eyes go out?

I stared at myself for a long time, suddenly realizing that it wasn't gone. It was just buried so deep that even I had almost forgotten about it.

My eyes dropped to the silver band on my wrist.

Seven years ago, the pack doctor said my wolf form was "abnormal and unstable." Margaret was worried that at pack gatherings, with so many alphas around, I wouldn't be able to stop my tail from popping out. She said it would "disgrace the Blackwood name." Damien had stayed completely silent, not saying a word to defend me.

So, I let them seal it.

That silver band had clamped my wrist for seven years, wearing a faint ring into my skin. Engraved on the inside were the words, "Silence is glory." I used to treat that as a virtue, as my duty as a wife.

Keep my mouth shut, keep my head down, endure, and sacrifice. I thought that was glory.

But you can't earn glory on your knees. You have to stand up and earn it the right way.

When I said "I'm not coming back" earlier, I felt more sure of myself than ever before.

My eyes darkened as I gently slipped the band off my wrist.

Instantly, my wrist felt light, like a boulder I'd carried for seven years had finally dropped.

Then, I felt something waking up inside me. It was my wolf.

A she-wolf who had been hiding in the dark for way too long finally opened her golden eyes.

An aura suppressed for seven years seeped from my bones. It was crisp and sharp, like the first frost of winter. The woman in the mirror changed. Not her looks, but the cloudy, submissive vibe around her face was gone, revealing eyes that were calm and resolute.

I took a deep breath and looked at myself again.

This time, I didn't see "the alpha's luna." I didn't see "the lady of the packhouse" or "someone's property."

I just saw me. Ella.

My wolf let out a low rumble in my chest, as if saying, "I'm back."