Chapter 4

Ember POV

The heavy oak doors of the study remained wide open, the suffocating scent of Damien's cedar and storm slowly bleeding out into the sterile air of the penthouse. I stood up from the Persian rug, carefully folding the discarded *Pack Alliance Contract*. He had given me the perfect window.

Before I did anything else, I walked past the study's threshold, down the short marble corridor, and into the grand foyer. The penthouse doors were still wide open, exactly as Damien had left them, a gaping wound onto the silent hallway. I took a steadying breath, pushed the heavy oak slab until the electronic strike plate clicked, and then pressed the manual deadbolt. The bolt slid home with a satisfying, final clunk. Let him come back. He would find the doors he had abandoned sealed against him, just as I had been sealed out of his heart for seven years.

Then I walked briskly into the master suite, bypassing the sprawling, cold bedroom to enter the cavernous master closet. Hidden behind a row of velvet hangers holding haute couture I despised, there was a small, lead-lined compartment I had installed myself. I pulled out the encrypted satellite phone and dialed the only number saved.

Jade answered on the first ring.

"It's time," I said, my voice dropping to a dead, clinical calm.

A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the speaker. Jade Munoz, the former Gamma of the Redstone Pack, didn't bother hiding her disgust. "That arrogant bastard. I swear, Ember, if that monster laid a hand on you..."

"He didn't. He's too distracted playing the hero for his mistress," I replied, the rigid line of my shoulders finally relaxing. My tone softened. "How is our little cub?"

Jade's voice instantly melted into a fierce, protective warmth. "Kaia is perfect. She's drawing pictures of the moon in the living room. Thank the Goddess we kept her hidden from him all these years. The safe house is prepped and secure. Just get here."

"I'm on my way."

I ended the call and turned to the endless racks of designer clothes-the costumes of Damien's perfect, submissive Luna. I grabbed the crimson silk gown he had forced me to wear at the last Full Moon Gala. Taking a pair of heavy fabric scissors from a vanity drawer, I slashed through the delicate material, letting the ruined red silk bleed onto the expensive carpet.

From a battered duffel bag hidden in the back, I pulled out three faded t-shirts and two pairs of worn jeans. But my most valuable possession wasn't clothing. It was a sleek, military-grade encrypted solid-state drive. *Project Chiron*. Five years of my life's blood, the core of the secret tech empire I had built under the alias 'Faye'. It was the weapon that would eventually dismantle Damien's legacy. I slipped it into my backpack.

Carrying the scissors, I walked into the master bathroom.

The harsh vanity lights reflected off the pristine white marble countertops. I stared at my reflection. The long, waist-length hair Damien demanded I keep made me look like a fragile porcelain doll. A *wolfless* Omega meant to be seen, controlled, and never heard.

I grabbed a thick handful of dark hair and squeezed the shears.

The heavy metal blades crunched through the strands. I didn't stop until the long locks littered the white marble like fallen shadows. What remained was a jagged, uneven bob that barely brushed my jawline. It was messy. It was rebellious. It was finally *me*.

Looking down at my left hand, the massive diamond ring felt like a lead weight, a shackle binding me to a seven-year lie. I slid it off my finger.

I let it drop. The diamond hit the cold porcelain tiles with a sharp, final *clink*, rolling away into a dark corner.

I gripped the edges of the marble sink, my knuckles turning white. I stared into the eyes of the stranger in the mirror, the jagged ends of my hair framing a face that suddenly remembered the ghost of a terrified girl from five years ago.