Chapter 3

Ember POV:

I didn't take the shuttle. I refused to sit in anything owned by the Copelands.

I walked.

Five miles to the territory edge. My suitcase wheels clattered loudly on the asphalt.

Snap.

Two figures emerged from the tree line. Eyes glowing with shifted vision.

I recognized them. Low-level enforcers. Thugs Estelle had been whispering to.

"Going somewhere, Scarface?" the bald one sneered.

"Let me pass," I said. "I'm leaving the Pack."

"Oh, we know," the second one circled behind me. "But the future Luna is... anxious. She wants a message delivered."

"A message?"

"That broken things should stay broken."

He lunged.

I dropped the suitcase and rolled. I wasn't a warrior, but pain teaches you to be quick.

I reached into my pocket. Not for a weapon, but for my voice recorder. I clicked the button.

"Estelle sent you?" I shouted. "To attack a defenseless Pack member?"

"Estelle pays better than the Alpha," the thug laughed. "And she promised us rank upgrades."

Got you.

The second wolf tackled me. Gravel tore into my shoulder. He raised a boot to stomp on my hand.

"Get off her!"

Headlights blinded us. Julian's SUV screeched to a halt.

The thugs froze. The scent of angry Alpha hit us like a wave.

"Alpha!" They scrambled back, exposing their necks.

Julian stormed out. He looked at me on the ground, bleeding. For a second, I saw horror in his eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"She... she attacked us!" the bald thug lied. "We thought she was a spy!"

I pulled myself up, spitting blood. "Liar!"

I held up the recorder.

"I have it here, Julian. They admitted it. Estelle sent them. She paid them to hurt me."

Julian stared at the device. He looked at the sweating thugs. Then at me.

"Give it to me," he said quietly.

I handed it to him. Finally. Finally, he will see.

Julian looked at the device. "Voice AI is getting very advanced these days, Ember. You think I'm stupid?"

Crunch.

He crushed the recorder in his fist. Plastic shattered.

I stared at the debris. "What? No. That was real!"

"Estelle is fragile right now," Julian said, voice devoid of emotion. "If she hears you're fabricating evidence to frame her, it could hurt the bond. It could hurt the Pack's stability."

"She hired hitmen!" I screamed. "You just destroyed the proof!"

"I will deal with these two for brawling," Julian dismissed the thugs with a wave. They scrambled away.

He turned back to me. "And you... you are causing chaos just by existing. Jeanette is already being sent to the border farms. Do you need to drag Estelle down too?"

"I didn't drag-"

"Stop." He held up a hand. "Just... go. If you are leaving, leave. I will not have my Pack's name dragged through the mud because of your jealousy."

My phone buzzed. A Mind-Link message from Estelle to Julian. I caught the bleed-over.

Julian, baby? I'm scared. The wind is howling... I need you.

Julian's face softened instantly. The hard Alpha vanished.

"I have to go."

He turned his back on me.

"Julian!" I called out. "If you drive away now... there is no coming back."

He paused at the car door.

"You're being dramatic, Ember. Go fix yourself up."

He slammed the door. Taillights faded into the dark.

I touched the scars on my back.

My inner wolf stood up, shook her fur, and turned her back on the direction he went.

Let him rot, she growled.

I picked up my suitcase. I didn't look back.