Chapter 1

Three years into my paralysis, Ethan came home from the border — and he didn’t come back alone.

He’d brought a woman with him.

I was mid-swing, hand raised to strike Ash again, when the words flickered across my vision like a broadcast only I could see.

[Look at the villainess go. Still throwing tantrums from a wheelchair. Didn’t learn a thing.]

[The General and his mate already bonded on the battlefield. Once he rejects her completely, she’s done.]

[And her own son will watch without blinking as she’s driven out of the Pack House to rot in the Outcast Woods. Serves her right.]

[Our girl Seraphine gets everything she deserves after this. She’ll make the perfect mate for the General~]

My hand froze mid-air.

I glanced at the father and son across the room — identical expressions of cold indifference, waiting for my next outburst.

When I lowered my arm without striking, both of them frowned.

I let out a dry, hollow laugh.

“Ethan. You want to bring her into the pack. Fine. I consent.”

Silence.

Ethan lifted his head and looked at me, a flicker of something like disbelief in his eyes.

I caught myself.

A man like him — he’d never make someone he actually wanted settle for a lesser rank.

I waved a hand. “If you want to name her your official mate, I don’t care. Whatever you need.”

Ethan’s frown deepened.

He was kneeling on the floor, spine perfectly straight, wearing the particular look of impatience he reserved only for me.

“Lara. What are you playing at now?”

“Is this another scheme to get the Council to strip my rank? Take my border commendations?”

I opened my mouth — but Ash spoke first.

Eight years old, crouched on the floor, the welts from my cane still visible across his back. His voice was flat, as though narrating someone else’s problem.

“Mom. Are you finished?”

“If so, I’ll take my leave. I have assignments to finish.”

The feed scrolled past again.

[See? Even her son can’t stand being in the same room with her for one more second. She earned that.]

[She burned through every ounce of his love, one screaming fit at a time. What did she expect?]

[She’s probably scheming to cry to the Alpha once Ethan accepts Seraphine. Save your breath — after three years of this, even the General is done with her.]

I pressed my lips together.

My brother was sick of me. I knew that.

Ever since the fall three years ago — the ravine, the shattered spine, the wheelchair — my wolf had grown more and more volatile. And I’d grown with her.

I hated that I couldn’t walk to the bathroom without help. I hated watching other women draw close to Ethan and being able to do nothing. I hated that raising a cane took everything I had left.

So I snapped. I raged. I made sure everyone kept looking at me.

I had forgotten that no one’s patience is infinite.

Not my brother’s. Certainly not Ethan’s. And not Ash’s either.

I looked at the boy in front of me — eight years old, spine straight, welts across his back, face utterly blank.

I pushed my wheelchair forward. Tried to reach for him.

Ash shifted back on his knees before I could touch him, putting distance between us.

His knuckles were white where they pressed the floor.

Then he rose, unhurried, and didn’t look at me once.

“It seems you have nothing else. I’ll go find my tutor.”

He turned and walked out.

At the doorway, I caught a flash of pink fabric disappearing around the corner.

The feed lit up again.

[How long is the villainess going to keep hogging the General? Seraphine’s been standing outside this whole time!]

[They shared a saddle on the whole ride back from the border. They already did anything they can do. And last night — they held each other for warmth.]

[Our girl deserves everything~]

My chest felt as though a fist had closed around it.

That flash of pink — that was Seraphine. The woman Ethan had brought back from the border.

She was a medic embedded with his unit. She’d saved his life three times. The third time, he had carried her out of the massacre with his own hands, and after that, he’d never looked at anyone else the same way.

I drew a slow breath.

I’d been too reckless, too long. My brother had grown tired of me. My legs were broken and I depended on everyone. The feed said my ending was the Outcast Woods.

Even so, I raised my head and looked at Ethan.

“She’s been waiting outside. Go to her.”

Ethan’s expression stilled.

He held my gaze for a long moment, said nothing, stood, and left.

The door clicked shut.

Through the wood, I heard Seraphine’s soft voice: “Are you alright, Ethan?”

And his low reply: “Fine.”

I looked down at my legs — useless, unfeeling — and found myself smiling.

But tears hit the backs of my hands without warning.