Chapter 7

Ella's POV

"You!"

She glared at me, but remembering Damien was sitting right next to her, she quickly slapped on a fake smile.

Damien lowered his voice. He sounded like he was trying to compromise, acting like he was doing me a huge favor.

"Ella, if you've been tired lately, take my credit card and go to Europe to clear your head. The pack alphas over there are good friends of mine. I'll have them take good care of you. When you've had your fun, come back."

For seven years, this was how he forced me to cave every single time. But this time, I was done.

I looked down.

"Damien, do you still not get it? My wolf doesn't love you anymore. After you broke my heart time and time again, our mating bond is practically hanging by a thread."

Damien laughed. It was the biggest smile he'd given me in our seven years of being mated.

"Fine." He grabbed a pen, scribbled his name on the agreement, and tossed it to me. "As you wish."

But paperwork wasn't enough.

A werewolf's rejection was never something a piece of paper could finish.

You had to say the ancient vows out loud, face-to-face, with the elders as witnesses. Only then would the bond in our blood actually break.

He glared at me with pure contempt.

"I can't wait to see how you survive without me. As for the formal rejection, I'll let the pack elders know and set up a time for it."

I picked up the signed agreement, folded it carefully, and tucked it into my bag.

"Thank you," I said.

Then I grabbed Lily's hand, picked up my suitcase, and walked out of the packhouse without looking back.

The second we stepped out the front doors, the night wind hit my face, carrying a crisp, early winter chill.

"Mommy," Lily looked up. "Where are we going now?"

"Home," I said. "Our own home."

She thought about it for a second and then smiled, her little golden curls bouncing in the wind.

"The home at Cedarhill? The one with the sun I drew on the fridge?"

"Yep." I crouched down to fix her collar, which the wind had blown into a mess.

"That's our home from now on. No Noah to steal your toys, and nobody to tell you that you can't have pumpkin soup."

"And no silver-flake candy," Lily added, completely serious.

"That's right. No silver-flake candy." I laughed and gave her cheek a gentle pinch. "Let's get in the car."

Once we got back to Cedarhill Residences, I pushed my suitcase inside but didn't bother unpacking right away.

Instead, I made Lily a bowl of creamy pumpkin soup.

She held the bowl with both hands, taking happy little sips as her eyes crinkled into crescents.

"Mommy," she said, licking her spoon. "I have an arts and crafts project due tomorrow."

"What do you have to make?"

"The teacher said we have to use straws to build our favorite thing." She tilted her head in thought, her eyes slowly lighting up. "I want to make a moon lighthouse."

"A lighthouse?"

"One that really lights up!" Lily put down her bowl and gestured with her little hands.

"When it's super dark at night, boats get lost on the ocean. But when the lighthouse turns on, they know which way home is. I want to put a tiny light at the very top. That way..."

She leaned in like she was sharing a top-secret mission.

"...That way, no matter how far away Mommy goes, you'll always be able to see home."

My nose stung with fresh tears.

"Okay," I said, pulling her into a tight hug and kissing her golden curls. "We'll build the brightest lighthouse ever."

We sprawled out on the living room rug and started piecing together the frame of the lighthouse.

I used to stay up all night doing Noah's school projects. He never lifted a finger to help, but he always demanded that I make them good enough to win a prize from the teacher.

I wondered who in the pack was making his project for him tonight.

Right then, my phone buzzed. It was Linda.

"Luna Ella..." I could hear the faint sound of things smashing in the background.

"I... I just wanted to let you know that Noah threw a massive tantrum tonight."

I stayed quiet, waiting for her to go on.

"Chloe tried to help Noah with his project. It was supposed to be a space fortress made of straws, but she... she couldn't figure it out. Noah got so anxious he started crying. Chloe told him to just make a simple cake model to get it over with, but Noah refused and threw a huge fit..."

I almost laughed out loud.

"And then she accidentally crushed the base of the fortress you'd already started for him."

"Is she still working on it?"

"No." Linda paused. "She said she was going to pay some outside werewolf to build it. She promised him he'd have the fanciest space fortress to take to school tomorrow. And then... she got a phone call and took Noah out. They were being super secretive about it, and she specifically told me not to tell the alpha."

My grip on the phone tightened.

I knew Chloe's habits way too well. If she was taking him out this late, she was definitely taking him drag racing.

I closed my eyes. I wanted to call and stop her, but then I realized it wasn't my place anymore.

"Linda, keep an ear out. If Noah isn't back soon, let Damien know."

First thing the next morning, I dropped Lily off at the school gates.

She marched inside, practically glowing with pride as she carried the bag holding her moon lighthouse. Right by the entrance, she bumped into Noah, who was standing there totally empty-handed.

His little face was tense, and his eyes kept darting toward the traffic rolling past the school gates, like he was waiting for something.

"Noah," Lily walked up to him. "Why are you standing out here?"

Noah bunched up the hem of his shirt, stubbornly tilting his chin up.

"I'm waiting for my project. Chloe is going to bring my space fortress any minute!"

He rolled his eyes and shot a disdainful glance at Lily's large bag.

"Chloe paid a real, professional engineer to make it. It's going to be a hundred times better than anything Mommy could make."