Chapter 5

Stella’s hands turned ghost-white; skin puckered from being submerged in cold water. The wounds that had begun to heal yesterday split open again.

She fought through fever-born dizziness, scrubbing the fabric of Jade’s dress with trembling force.

“Stella, you’re washing clothes with cold water?” Jade’s voice cut through the room, feigned surprise lacing every word. There wasn’t a shred of concern—only calculation.

Stella glanced back. Jade leaned lazily in the doorway, a steaming kettle in her hand, her eyes glinting like a predator’s.

Before Stella could answer, Jade strode forward and clamped onto her wrist, grip so tight it felt like her bones might snap.

“Dean, I should’ve told you sooner—this dress must be washed in hot water, or it’ll lose its shape.”

Stella tried to pull away, but Jade only squeezed harder. Then, without warning, she tipped the kettle.

Whoosh— boiling water cascaded into the basin, steam curling upward.

“If cold water won’t do, then hot it is! Only this temperature will make it clean. Only this shows you’re truly sorry.”

Instinctively Stella tried to back away, but Jade yanked her arm forward, forcing her hand closer to the scalding water. Wolf-born strength ground her bones with cruel precision, Jade’s voice a venomous hiss in her ear.

“Remember this heat. From now on, every one of my dresses gets washed this way. Try to slack off, and I’ll make sure Dean knows you ruined my clothes on purpose.”

The boiling water lapped over the rim, searing Stella’s skin red.

In a flash, memory struck—her last life, Jade pressing her into scalding water, burning her wrist until she was driven to leap from the cliff of mists.

Not this time.

Stella’s knee snapped upward into Jade’s stomach. At the same time, she wrenched Jade’s wrist and flung her forward with all the strength her wolf could muster.

Caught off guard, Jade stumbled, the kettle slipping from her hand.

Splash!

Boiling water drenched her chest.

“Ahhhh!” Her shriek shattered the stillness of the villa, piercing like claws against glass.

Jade collapsed, clutching her steaming blouse, her skin already reddening.

Stella’s own hand was crimson from the heat, but she stood tall, eyes cold as winter ice.

This wasn’t about a dress. Jade had wanted to recreate the torment of her past life—to reduce her into a crawling, beaten slave.

But reborn, Stella swore she would never bow again.

Moments later, Dean stormed in, gaze snapping to Jade’s crumpled body on the floor. Steam rose from her clothing, the faint scent of scorched fabric in the air. His face hardened instantly.

“Stella!” His voice cracked like a whip. “I told you to wash the dress as penance—and now you’ve hurt her again?”

Stella opened her mouth to defend herself—but Jade’s broken sobs filled the air first.

“Dean… it hurts so much… I don’t even know what I did to upset Luna… she… she threw boiling water at me…” She buried herself against his chest, weeping.

Dean’s brows knotted tight. He scooped Jade into his arms, anguish sharpening his features.

“I’ll take you to the Pack hospital immediately.”

Before leaving, he shot Stella a glare sharp enough to slice. His fangs glimmered with fury.

“Stay here. When I return—we’ll settle this.”

Jade buried her face against his neck, but even as she trembled, her lips curved in a hidden smile.

Jade nestled into his neck, and when she caught the distant chill in Stella’s eyes, the corners of her lips curved into a secret smile.

Midnight. Just as Stella finally closed her eyes, the door slammed open with a violent bang. She jerked upright.

Dean strode in, cold fury radiating off him, Jade trailing behind with fresh bandages wrapped around her chest.

Stella’s fingers tensed instinctively.

“Stella,” Dean’s voice dripped with frost, “you hurt Jade this badly, and yet you sleep in peace? No matter what, you owe her an apology.”

But Jade stepped forward at the perfect moment, clutching his sleeve, her voice syrup-soft.

“Dean, don’t be angry. The Pack hospital’s salve works fast. I hardly feel the pain anymore.” She let her tone tilt just right, then added with a sigh, “It’s only a shame… that the dress was ruined by cold water. It was my favorite—the one you gave me for my birthday last year. Dean, please, don’t blame Stella.”

“Jade, you’re always so forgiving.” Dean brushed a hand over her shoulder, but his gaze cut back to Stella, sharp and merciless. “But Stella did wrong, and she will apologize.”

He snapped his fingers. Two Warriors stepped forward.

“Tear apart her wardrobe. Every piece.”

“No!” Stella shot up, panic lacing her voice. She thought instantly of the silver-fox shawl her mother had woven by hand, the last keepsake left to her.

But the Warriors had already dragged armfuls of her clothes into the room.

Rip. Rip. Rip.

The sound shredded the silence—and Stella’s heart. Fabric tore apart in brutal hands, each split like claws raking her ears raw.

“Give them back!” Her voice cracked.

When one Warrior lifted the silver-fox shawl, Stella lunged forward to seize it.

Dean caught her wrist with ease, his grip bruising.

“Stella, behave. This is the price you pay to Jade. I’ll buy you new clothes later. These are hers now.”

“That’s my mother’s!” Stella choked, tears spilling hot down her cheeks. “Give it back—”

Dean leaned down, lips grazing her ear, words a low, threatening growl.

“Stop fighting me. Don’t forget—most of your mother’s relics are still in my keeping. If you don’t want them to vanish next, then you’ll apologize to Jade like a good Luna.”

Her body went rigid. In the Warrior’s hands, the shawl tore into tatters, the fabric fluttering to the floor like ash.

And with it, the last flicker of light in Stella’s eyes went out.

Once—before their Mate Bond—she had handed Dean her mother’s jewels, swearing that the most precious things belonged with the one she loved most. Proof their bond was unbreakable.

Now he wielded those relics as a weapon, threatening her—for Jade’s sake.

“Stella,” Dean barked, turning away, “pick up every shred of fabric on this floor. Clean it well. Let that be your apology. And next time, think twice before you cross Jade again.”

He released her wrist and left with Jade tucked protectively in his arms.

Stella collapsed onto the floor, numb, listening to his voice soften as it carried down the hall.

“Don’t be sad, Jade. I’ll buy you the newest dresses. Stella doesn’t understand half as much as you do—today was just an accident.”

The sound faded.

Alone, Stella gave a hollow laugh. Then she bent, piece by piece, to gather the ruined fragments of her wardrobe.

But as she cleaned, her gaze darted toward the corridor. Dean’s study. Perhaps… perhaps the box was still there. The little wooden chest holding her mother’s starlight-stone necklace.

When the hall fell silent, Stella slipped to the door and eased it open.

Her fever blurred her vision, but desperation kept her steady. She rifled through drawers, shelves, cabinets—nothing.

Frustration and dizziness tangled until her knees nearly buckled.

“What are you doing here?”

Jade’s voice knifed from the doorway.

Stella’s heart lurched. She forced her face blank. “Cleaning.” She moved to leave.

But Jade blocked her path, eyes shining with false sorrow.

“My moonstone bracelet was right here on Dean’s desk. Now it’s gone. Did you take it?”

Her voice quavered, sweetly accusing.

“If you wanted it, you could’ve just told me. Why steal?”

Dean’s footsteps approached. He glanced between them, frown deepening.

“Dean,” Jade rushed to explain, tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes, “the bracelet you gave me last week—the one I loved so much—it’s missing. I left it right here. Stella was the only one in the room. I had to ask her.”

“I didn’t—”

But Dean cut her off with a snarl.

“Stella, can you not act like a child for once? Why do you always target Jade? Return the bracelet. Now.”

“Apologize to Jade.”

“I didn’t take it.”

Stella stared at Dean’s biased face, her wolf already numb with cold, her voice flat as she tried to defend herself.

But then Jade suddenly stepped forward and pulled a broken bracelet straight from Stella’s pocket.

“Stella, if you liked it, you could’ve just told me. I would’ve given it to you. Why break it? Is this payback for the clothes? If so, I’ll apologize to you instead.”

Stella froze.

She had felt something slip into her pocket earlier when Jade brushed close—but now, with the evidence dangling in Jade’s hand, she couldn’t prove a thing.

Dean’s rage erupted.

“Jade, you don’t need to apologize! Stella—what have you become? Thieving, lying, destroying. Why can’t you learn from Jade’s kindness? Today, you will apologize to her!”

He dragged Stella into the bathroom, turned the faucet wide open, and ice-cold water thundered into the tub. In the next breath, his Alpha strength clamped onto the back of her neck and shoved her under.

Water swallowed her whole. Stella thrashed, her limbs flailing desperately, but Dean’s grip was an iron vice, merciless and unyielding.

Freezing water choked her nose and mouth. The burn in her lungs was so sharp she convulsed.

Inside her chest, her wolf quivered violently, its faint pulse fracturing, ready to extinguish altogether.

In the darkness, through the blur of suffocation, she saw her mother’s face—gentle, unreachable.

When Dean yanked her back up, her consciousness was slipping away, breath ragged, barely clinging to life.

“Apologize to Jade!” His voice snapped like a whip.

But she refused. Even half-drowned, she wouldn’t bow to this insult.

Dean released her, and she crumpled to the ice-cold tiles.

“Since you won’t apologize,” he said flatly, “then stay here and reflect. This is what you owe Jade.”

The door slammed shut and locked.

She curled on the floor. Fever burned her body hot, yet cold seeped into her bones like knives, twisting her until she nearly lost her mind.

Her wounded hands, soaked too long, turned white and raw, blood seeping with water across the tiles.

Her wolf grew silent, no longer stirring. Her eyelids sank heavier and heavier until at last, exhaustion and agony dragged her under.