Chapter3

The first one was crystal clear: whatever happened after Julian and I mated had nothing to do with the Shaws. They owed me nothing, and I owed them nothing.

The second was a declaration of pack severance.

Once I signed it, I would no longer belong to Silver Creek. I’d be a Rogue. No pack. No protection.

Three names were already signed at the bottom: Dad, Mom, Bella. Below them were the signature and seal of Silver Creek’s Alpha.

They had planned this all along.

I looked at Bella in the doorway. She was leaning into Ethan, a smile tugging at her lips.

I finally understood.

What I’d mistaken for love was just them finding me useful. As a kid, I took care of Bella and did all the chores. As an adult, I earned money and saved their lumber mill.

Now I’d chosen a worthless Rogue, and I was no use to them anymore.

My parents told me to hurry up. I picked up the pen.

A box of garbage and two signatures, in exchange for finally seeing the truth. A bargain.

The moment I finished the last letter, something in my chest dropped away.

The pack link.

The thread that had tied me to every wolf in Silver Creek since the day I was born had snapped. Deep inside me, my wolf threw back her head and let out a long howl only I could hear.

They must have felt it too. Not one of them looked at me.

My phone rang. Julian. He said he’d sent a car to bring the whole family to Crown Lake.

“They have other plans,” I said. “They can’t make it.”

He was quiet for a moment, but he didn’t push. “We’ll talk when you get here.”

I packed a few clothes and dragged my suitcase toward the door.

“Take the trash from the kitchen and the bathroom on your way out,” Mom said. “Do I really have to remind you of something that simple?”

“Sure.”

In the front hall, Grandma’s cedar chest sat among a pile of gift bags printed with Bella and Ethan’s names. A label reading BELLA had been stuck on the lid, right over the five letters carved underneath.

I looked at it once and kept walking.

Bella hooked her arm through Ethan’s and insisted on walking me out. The second we stepped outside, she froze.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom idled at the curb, with four towering men standing beside it. Their presence was as heavy as a mountain. Ethan’s eight warriors took half a step back without meaning to.

Bella stared for two full seconds, then laughed.

“Oh my God, Hazel. You and Julian are really going all out to save face! Renting that car and hiring four guys? That has to be six months of your combined income.”

One of the men frowned and started to speak. I gave a slight shake of my head and handed him my suitcase.

Before I got in, I glanced back at Bella. She was draped over Ethan, laughing so hard she was crying.

“See you at the ceremony.”

My days at Crown Lake were the most peaceful of my life.

Julian had started preparing months earlier. At an underground auction, he’d won an antique gown: the one the very first Luna Queen wore at her mating, three hundred years ago.

The day it arrived, I ran my hands over the fabric and stood there for a long time.

It was moonsilk, woven exactly the way Grandma wove it.

The day before the ceremony, Julian flew out on the royal jet to bring back his father, the retired Alpha King. I went with the staff to give the ballroom a final check.

That was when Bella and the others arrived.

Bella was on Ethan’s arm, my parents gasped loudly at every chandelier, and Ethan’s warriors trailed behind. The four of them were so loud that other guests kept turning to stare.

Then they saw me, and all four of them froze.

Bella recovered first. “Hazel? Oh, I get it. You work here! I told you that Rogue was useless. You’re about to be mated and he still has you working!”

A staff member nearby opened her mouth to correct her. I signaled her to let it go.

Bella’s friend looked me up and down. “You know her? Dressed like that, how did she even get into the King’s venue?”

Mom jumped in before Bella could answer. “Oh, she used to clean our packhouse. An Omega. We let her go after a few days. We barely know her.”

She wouldn’t even admit I was her daughter.

Once, that would have broken my heart. Now I almost laughed.

For years I’d mistaken obedience for love and convinced myself that if I gave enough, they would love me someday. I couldn’t believe I’d ever been that blind.