Chapter 5

Elena's POV

When I woke up, what I smelled wasn't smoke, nor the cold, metallic stench left behind by silver liquid searing through flesh.

It was cedar, herbs, clean cotton—and a scent so long absent it made my nose sting.

The scent of the Bloodclaw Pack.

I opened my eyes to a dark gray ceiling. The Bloodclaw Pack's emblem hung on the wall—a black-and-red wolf's claw, like a mark torn from the flames.

I stared blankly for a long time.

Until I heard heavy footsteps outside the door.

The door swung open, and a tall man stood in the doorway.

Alpha Asher.

The leader of the Bloodclaw Pack.

And my father.

He was a bit thinner than I remembered, with a few strands of silver at his temples, but those eyes were still sharp, as if they could see through every lie. The Bloodclaw Pack is one of the oldest and most formidable wolf packs in the North; even at the height of the Blade Pack's power, they dared not go to war with the Bloodclaws lightly.

And I am his only daughter.

A fool who concealed her identity, left the Bloodclaw Pack, and set out alone to find her destined mate.

Father stood in the doorway, not approaching immediately.

I didn't speak either.

Three years ago, when I left the Bloodclaw Pack, everyone warned me not to believe in so-called destined mates. Father had even personally arranged a marriage for me.

The suitor was Smith.

The youngest and most outstanding Alpha werewolf in the Academy.

But back then, I was too proud and too naive.

I said I would go out and find the mate destiny had chosen for me myself.

I thought my destined mate would surely love me.

I thought that as long as I concealed my identity—as long as I stood before him as just an ordinary Omega—he would fall in love with the real me, not the daughter of the Bloodclaw Alpha.

And what was the result?

Zack didn't fall in love with me.

He merely enjoyed the fact that fate had brought me to him, but he never truly cherished me.

"Does it hurt?" Father finally spoke.

His voice was hoarse.

My throat felt as if something were blocking it.

I wanted to say it didn't hurt.

But when I saw the suppressed pain in his eyes, all my bravado shattered.

I nodded slightly.

"It hurts."

Father walked to the bedside.

He reached out as if to touch me, but paused when he saw the scars from the silver shackles on my wrist.

In that moment, the Alpha feared by countless werewolves had tears welling in his eyes.

"I should have brought you back sooner."

I shook my head.

"I went of my own accord."

I was the one who hid my identity.

I was the one who believed in the mate bond.

And I was the one who planned this escape.

No one rescued me.

From the moment I lay in that basement—or perhaps even earlier—I knew the Blade Pack was no longer my home.

Shari bribed the driver, intending for me to die on the road to exile.

She thought she'd orchestrated a car accident.

What she didn't know was that I knew the car would crash even before she did.

I contacted Bloodclaw's secret guards, replaced the driver, and staged the explosion in advance—leaving behind bloodstains, traces of silver, and a charred Omega uniform.

I wanted Zack to witness that fire with his own eyes.

I wanted him to believe that Elena, the woman who loved him, had died in the exile vehicle he'd personally arranged.

Father sat down beside the bed, his voice terrifyingly low.

"Zack will pay the price."

I closed my eyes briefly.

"Father, don't touch him yet."

His gaze turned icy in an instant.

I knew he'd misunderstood.

He thought I still couldn't bring myself to do it.

I tugged at the corners of my mouth, a weary smile spreading across my face.

"I'm not trying to protect him."

I looked out the window.

Winters in Bloodclaw territory were bitterly cold, with snow blanketing the distant mountains. There were none of the opulent roses or crystal chandeliers found at the Blade Pack estate here—only hard stone walls, heavy wooden doors, and the Pack's heavily guarded borders.

But this place gave me peace.

I whispered, "I want him to figure it out for himself, bit by bit."

I want him to discover that Shari bribed the driver.

To discover that she never intended for me to leave alive from the very beginning.

To discover that the woman he thought he was protecting has been using him, deceiving him, and even trying to kill me through his own hands.

I want him to know that he isn't a victim kept in the dark.

He is the one holding the knife.

Father looked at me for a long time.

Finally, he said, "All right."

As he stood up, his back remained stiff and resolute.

But I heard him pause at the door, his voice much softer.

"Elena, welcome home."

My tears finally fell.

Not because of Zack, but because I finally didn't have to pretend to be an Omega with nowhere to go anymore.

I was home.