Chapter 3
I woke to thunder. My body curled inward before I was fully conscious.
I had been afraid of storms my whole life. As a child, Dominic had held me through them. After the mating, Ethan had.
Tonight —
The door opened.
Ethan walked in fast, still dressed from the day, his expression tight with something urgent.
He found me folded into the corner of the bed, crossed to me immediately, and sat.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
He drew me against his chest.
My cheek pressed to him. I heard his heartbeat — quick, steady.
I breathed him in and held on.
I wanted to ask him to stay longer.
But before I could speak, he pulled back.
“You’re alright. Good.”
“Seraphine needs me. I should check on her.”
The feed lit up instantly.
[Oh, she actually thought he came for her. Hilarious.]
[He came out of duty. Nothing more. Whatever he felt for her is long gone.]
[Did you see his eyes? Not a flicker of real tenderness.]
[Back to our girl now. Bye.]
The door closed.
Thunder still rolling outside.
I sat up slowly and watched the lightning cut through the window, one strike after another.
I thought about what the feed had said my ending would be.
Driven out of the Pack House. Left to rot in the Outcast Woods.
I gripped the edge of my blanket.
And felt, quite suddenly, a very clear want.
The next morning, I asked my attendant to contact a neutral escort service — human couriers who operated outside pack territory.
Not to move cargo. To move a person.
My whole life I’d been confined — first in the Alpha’s compound where I grew up, then in the General’s Pack House.
When I could still walk, I was never allowed far. Now that I couldn’t, I was allowed nowhere at all.
But I wanted to go out. I wanted to see something wider than these four walls.
Even if I died on the road. Better than rotting in here.
The escort liaison had barely left when Ethan appeared.
He spotted the business card on the table and frowned.
“What do you need an escort service for?”
I slipped the card into my lap, calm.
“Nothing important. Sending something to Dominic’s.”
Ethan looked at me once, didn’t press, and left.
Same as always.
I swallowed something bitter and went back to packing my things.
That evening I sent another message to Dominic — I wanted him there for my birthday. Just once more, before I left.
He declined before the message had even settled.
“The Alpha has a full schedule. A birthday celebration happens every year. Skip it this once.”
I had been talking myself through it from the moment I sent the message: it’s not practical, it’s fine to skip it.
Then the formal announcement came through.
An official pack decree: Seraphine, for distinguished service during the border campaign, was hereby granted the title of Pack-Honored and a celebration in her name.
When I raised my head, Seraphine was framed in the doorway — pale rose dress, face like something in bloom.
Ethan stood beside her. His eyes were soft in a way I hadn’t seen in years.
The feed came alive.
[Your own brother would rather throw a party for a stranger than see you. That’s how done with you he is.]
[No Alpha’s protection, no General’s love, no family — you’re just a paralyzed woman with no place in this pack anymore.]
[Look at the way he looks at her though~ so sweet~]
My fists tightened until my fingers went white.
He hadn’t been busy. He just didn’t want to see me.
Ash stepped out from the inner courtyard and bowed to Seraphine, perfectly formal.
“Congratulations, Seraphine.”
He didn’t look at me once.
I wheeled myself back to my room and sat looking at the emptiness.
The attendants had begun moving things — not my things. Seraphine’s. She was being given rooms. Ethan was escorting her.
The entire Pack House, and I was the only one left in it.
No — not quite. There were the crutches propped against the wall. And my own shadow.
I looked down at my legs, and found myself smiling.
Fine.
Quiet, at least.
I pushed slowly back to my room and curled my fingers around the small carved pendant.
Dominic didn’t want me.
Ash didn’t want me.
Ethan didn’t want me.
That was alright.
I still had myself.