Chapter 4

Ella's POV

The council hall was dim.

Only a single beam of light spilled through the skylight, landing right on the round stone altar in the center. The edge of the altar was carved with the full cycle of the moon phases, from a crescent to a full moon, and back to a crescent.

Seven years ago, Damien and I stood on this exact altar and formed our mating bond in front of the elders.

Today, I was going to sever it here.

I arrived early. My right hand was still wrapped in the gauze from last night, though the cut had already scabbed over.

But the weird thing was, ever since I took off that silver band, a strange sense of groundedness had settled into my body. It felt like something had finally returned to where it belonged.

My wolf lay quietly in my chest, her golden eyes half-open.

She had finally stopped whimpering.

I didn't know how much time had passed when the heavy doors behind me opened. It was the two oldest elders in the pack. One of them walked up to me holding a phone on speaker. I heard Damien's voice coming through.

"...Ella's just throwing a fit. You guys don't need to take her seriously. Just head back to the pack. If she doesn't want to come back, let her cool off on her own."

Then a beep, and the call ended.

"Luna Ella," the elder started, carefully choosing his words.

"Since Alpha Damien put it that way... let's just leave it at this for today. If you're fighting with your alpha, there's no need to use a rejection to blackmail him. You know Alpha Damien hates being threatened."

Before leaving, the other elder looked at me like I was some clueless pup throwing a tantrum.

The doors closed behind them, and dead silence filled the hall once again.

Damien didn't even want to tell me he wasn't coming himself. To him, I didn't even deserve a formal conversation. He could just dismiss me over the phone like I was an invisible omega.

I took out my phone and dialed his number. It felt like a century before he picked up.

"You know I don't take personal calls during work—"

I cut him off. "I waited for you for an hour."

The line was quiet for a second.

"Did you really expect me to show up and actually accept your rejection? Come on, stop making a scene. If you leave the pack and leave me, where would an omega like you go? Wander the black market with Lily?"

I chuckled.

"Damien, thank you."

"For what?"

"For killing the last bit of hope I had."

I hung up, walked out of the council hall, and sped out of the city. Before long, I pulled up to a hidden forest on the outskirts of town.

My wolf stood up in my chest, her golden eyes wide open. This time, she wasn't a cub with a boot on her throat.

I told her, "Come on. Be who you really are."

The shift hit me fast and hard. Bones snapped and rearranged themselves beneath my skin. My spine arched, and my fingertips split open into sharp claws. For the first time in seven years, I felt like my body was mine, not just the shell of a servant.

The moment the pain faded, all four of my paws hit the ground.

I looked down and saw my reflection in a puddle. Staring back was an adult she-wolf with golden eyes and a coat that gleamed with a pale gold tint in the sunlight.

I took off running. The pine trees blurred past me, and dry leaves shattered into gold and brown fragments beneath my paws.

The wind rushed through my fur and into my bones. I ran faster and faster, so fast that the wind ripped the tears from my eyes, leaving them trailing behind me.

Accompanied by the roaring wind, I threw my head back and let out a long howl, pouring out seven years of grievance.

A long time later, I lay down by the lake, panting, and rested my head on my front paws.

My wolf slowly retreated deep inside me. I shifted back to my human form and walked slowly to my car.

My clothes and phone were still at the edge of the woods where I had parked.

The second I picked up my phone, the screen lit up. It was a call from Moonridge Academy.

"Is this Noah's mother? Noah brought silver-flake candies to school today and shared them with his classmates. Three kids choked on them, and their throats got scratched and are bleeding! The parents are at the school right now, and you need to come over immediately to apologize!"

I stared out at the lake, my voice completely calm.

"Sir, I'm not Noah's mother anymore. If anything happens with him at school, please contact his father, Alpha Damien."

"What?! But Noah said you gave him the candies!"

"Sir, I didn't give him that candy," I said. "Could you please put Lily on the phone?"

I heard some rustling over the line, followed by Lily's sweet little voice. "Mommy!"

"Lily, did you eat Noah's candy?"

"No." Lily sounded a bit down. "Noah said I was a rogue with no pack. He gave it to everyone in the class except me."

I let out a breath of relief.

"Do you know who gave Noah the candy?"

"It was Chloe."

I figured as much.

Suddenly, Noah's shriek exploded through the phone.

"Mommy gave me the candy! Not Chloe!"

Right after that came Lily's crystal-clear response, "Liar!"

Then came the sound of Noah crying out in pain. Hearing that Lily was unhurt, I dropped all my worries and just hung up.

I quickly texted Linda about what happened, telling her to have Chloe head to the school to sort it out.

"You look much better when you smile than when you cry."

A voice came from behind me.

I turned around.

Nathan was standing under a pine tree a few steps away. I didn't know how long he'd been there. The setting sun filtered through the pine branches and fell on him, making his amber eyes strikingly bright in the darkening woods.

I frowned.

"Are you following me?"