Chapter 4
When Stella woke, pain wrapped her body. Two guards hauled her across the rain-soaked wastelands beyond Night Wing borders—rogue territory.
A savage kick struck her side. She coughed blood.
One guard hesitated.
“She’s still Luna. If she comes back for revenge—”
“Don’t be stupid. Jade is Dean’s true Luna. We follow her orders. Dean won’t care.”
“That’s true. He ignored her all night for Jade. She’s not worth a finger of Jade’s.”
Their words pierced her soul like ice.
Her eyes grew heavy, her wolf curling in despair.
She shivered violently, soaked in rain, abandoned and humiliated. Fever scorched her forehead, yet her heart froze colder with each word.
Through the haze, one thought anchored her: her mother’s relics were still at the Alpha’s villa. She had to return.
Shaking, she fumbled her phone, mis-dialing until at last Dean’s voice came through:
“Stella? What now? Can’t you learn from Jade and stop causing me trouble? I just finished coaxing Jade, and now you—”
She lay sprawled in the mud, voice shredded to a rasp as she begged for mercy.
“Dean… please, come get me… I’ve been thrown out, left on the wastelands beyond the territory…”
But on the other end of the line, there was no concern—only mockery.
“How long are you going to keep up this act? I’m disgusted with you, Stella. Even when Jade is hurt, she never stoops to whining like this. You’re the Luna—who would dare throw you out?”
Then Sky’s childish voice piped in from the background.
“Daddy, don’t bother with Mom. Let her stay out in the rain and think about what she’s done. We’re going to play games with Aunt Jade!”
Inside her chest, Stella’s wolf soul tore apart, pain like claws ripping her from the inside out. Once, her wolf had burned with Dean’s rare tenderness. Now, under his cold suspicion and Jade’s poison, that fire froze, cracked, and shattered—leaving only a broken cry before sinking into silence.
She collapsed into the muck, her body seizing with convulsions. As her vision dimmed, one name blazed in her mind—Gamma Kai.
With the last scraps of her strength, guided by muscle memory, she fumbled at her phone and hit his number.
His voice had barely come through before everything went black.
When Gamma Kai reached her, rogues had just been driven off by his men. They hadn’t had time to sink their fangs into her. But the sight that greeted him—Stella, drenched in blood, unconscious in the mud—stabbed his heart like a spear. He lifted her without hesitation and raced her to the Pack hospital.
When her eyes fluttered open again, she saw two faces leaning over her: the Pack Doctor, and Gamma Kai.
“Luna Stella,” the doctor said flatly, “you’ve got multiple injuries, exposure from the rain, and infections setting in. You need to take better care of yourself.”
Gamma Kai cut in immediately, his tone thick with fear and relief.
“Thank the Moon Goddess I got the call and rushed here! If I’d been any later, forget infection—those rogues could’ve circled back. By then, it might’ve been too late!”
Stella parted her lips, ready to thank them both—when the door slammed open.
Dean entered, Alpha presence filling every corner of the ward, Jade and Sky trailing close behind him. His gaze swept over Stella in the bed, voice cold as stone.
“How bad is it? Is she seriously hurt?”
The Pack Doctor flicked a glance at Jade—and in an instant, the indifference on his face melted into fawning servility. His words turned on a dime.
“Alpha Dean, don’t worry. Luna Stella is fine. Just a little cold. A few pills and she’ll be right as rain.”
“See, Daddy?” Sky’s voice was sharp with disdain, his young face twisted in contempt. “I told you she was faking. I hate her. Aunt Jade never acts like this.”
Dean’s eyes iced over, his tone dropping to a lethal growl.
“Stella, my patience has limits. Since you love pretending to be sick so much, I’ll indulge you. Go kneel outside. Now.”
“It’s not like that!” Gamma Kai burst out, frantic. “The Pack Doctor is lying—Luna Stella really was thrown out—”
“Enough!” Dean’s roar cracked through the air. His Alpha aura blasted outward, slamming into Kai until his lungs locked tight. “Do not forget your place. You are Gamma. You are not Stella’s servant. Defend her one more time, and what are you saying—that I’m blind? That I can’t tell when she’s lying?”
Sweat poured down Kai’s back. The sheer force of Dean’s rage pressed him to silence. He looked at Stella, and realization struck like lightning—Dean’s hatred was carved too deep. No truth, no evidence could ever break it.
His mouth opened, then shut again. Powerless, he bowed his head and said nothing, forced to watch as despair drained the last color from Stella’s face.
She gazed back at Dean, her chest clamped tight with disappointment so heavy it dragged her wolf soul into the abyss. For the first time, she no longer wished to argue.
Dean sneered, eyes cutting her down.
“Why can’t you learn from Jade’s kindness? I asked the pack servants—they said you snuck out on your own, cursing Jade as you ran. Do you not see how disgraceful that is?”
Jade stepped forward, soft and sweet, her voice dripping with gentle reason.
“Dean, don’t be angry. Stella doesn’t mean it. Being cooped up in the Alpha’s villa all day, of course her mind drifts. Don’t make her kneel—why not let her work more? If she stays busy, she won’t have time for such thoughts.”
At her words, Dean’s fury ebbed, replaced with approval. His gaze softened as he looked at Jade.
“You’re right. I’ve indulged her too much. If kneeling won’t cure her games, then we’ll do it your way. From now on, all the villa’s work falls on her shoulders.”
“Jade’s right. I’ve spoiled you too much, Stella. Since kneeling doesn’t cure your ‘illness,’ we’ll do it her way—from now on, every chore in the Alpha’s villa falls on you.”
Before Stella could speak, Dean ordered the villa servants a week’s paid leave. Then he yanked her up from the bed.
“Enough. Stella, this is for your own good. Jade’s dress from yesterday still hasn’t been washed. You cursed her, so you’ll wash it—as an apology, to show your sincerity.”
Jade’s voice came soft and pitiful.
“Dean, don’t. Even if Stella made mistakes, she’s still your Luna. How can you force her to do servant’s work? I’m not angry about yesterday. Don’t make things harder for her. I’ll wash it myself.”
She turned as if to leave, but Dean caught her wrist instantly.
“Jade, you’re always so kind. Not like Stella, who only ever brings me trouble. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure she apologizes. Even if she’s my Luna, if she’s wrong, she pays for it.”
Sky piped up eagerly, siding with Jade.
“That’s right! Aunt Jade’s hands are for teaching me pack magic, not washing clothes. Mom should do it for her.”
Stella watched the three of them—Dean, Jade, Sky—huddled together like a happy little family. Inside her chest, her wolf soul curled tighter into the ice, her blood freezing in her veins until all that was left was a biting cold.
But she couldn’t cut ties yet. Most of her mother’s relics were still locked away in Dean’s keeping. She had to endure—for now—until she could reclaim them and walk away for good.
So, she lowered her gaze and submitted.
