Riley’s POV

+8 Pearls

By the time I returned to the Ebonw Pack manor, the night had fallenpletely. The courtyard was quiet under the cloak of darkness, the scent of roasted meat and pine smoke drifting faintly through the wind.

Mia was already bstanding /boutside the front bgate/b, her wrinkled hands anxiously wringing the hem of her apron. The moment she saw me limping toward her, her tense shoulders sagged in relief and she rushed forward.

“Miss Riley! Thank the Moon Goddess, you’re finally back.” Her voice trembled with a mix of concern and affection.

Before I could answer, her gaze swept over me, catching the gauze on my forehead, the bblood /bcrusted around the edges, and the bruises creeping up my arms. Her eyes filled with pain.

“What happened to you?” she basked/b, reaching out carefully.

“I’m fine,” I said quietly, shaking my bhead/b. My throat was dry, and even that small lie tasted bitter.

Mia wasn’t convinced. “Are you really? You look like-”

“I said I’m fine.”1 cut in gently but firmly, trying to push down the heat rising behind my eyes. I needed to be strong. Not for me–for Carmen. “How’s Carmen? Did anything happen while I was gone?”

Her expression shifted, softening with a smile. “She’s okay now. Thanks to Master Kael, the bschool’s /bdecided not to expel her after all.”

I froze.

So that’s how he wanted to y it..

Mia sighed in deep gratitude,pletely unaware of the poison underneath bit /bball/bb. /b“bYou /bknow, Miss Riley, Master Kael isn’t a bad person. He helped a lot behind the scenes, If the two of you could bjust /btalk things through… he really would make a good brotherb./bb” /b

I didn’t respond. I just stared at her, lips curling into a faint, bitter smile.

A good brother?

Kael Vale had always been two–faced. Charming in public, ruthless in private. And somehow, bhe /bbmade /beven those he hurt feel like they owed him something.

He used Carmen to get to me. This time it was her next time it could be Mia. That’s who he was.

And still, I couldn’t bwalk /baway. Not without leaving the people I cared about behind.

I forced a smile. “I’m d she’s okay.”

Then I walked toward the manor.

Inside, the grand dining hall was lit with golden warmth. I could hearughter before I even stepped in

Kael, Scarlett, Alpha bric/bb, /band Luna Zara were all seated around the table, eating and bchatting /blike the perfect Pack family.

A roast boar, honey–zed root vegetables, and fine wine sat on polished tes. The air was full of warmth, clinking ssware, and carefully crafted lies.

And the moment Lentered, the mood shifted.

Kael’s eyes snapped to me, the smile on his face vanishing like smoke, “Oh. So you remembered where the Pack lives.”

His words dripped with sarcasm, no concern in sight. Just contempt.

Luna Zara frowned slightly and gave him a warning nce. “Kael, don’t speak to your sister like bthat/b.”

Then she turned to me with a forced warmth. “Riley, don’t bmind /bbhim/b. Come, eat with bus/bb./b”

15 PM ?

I shook my bhead/b. “No need. You go ahead.”

She persisted, still trying to wear her mask. “Skipping dinner isn’t good for your health. Just bhave /ba little.”

I nced at the table–empty tters, stripped bones, half–drunk sses.

“I’m not in the mood for leftovers,” I said tly.

Her smile froze.

* +8 Pearls

Tension immediately thickened the room. Alpha bric’s /bface darkened as his gaze cut across the table toward me.

Scarlett, ever the little angel, set down her utensils with practiced gentleness. “bRiley/b, we waited a long time. When youe, we thought you’d already eaten. We just bstarted /ba moment ago, really.”

“bYeah/b,” Luna Zara jumped in, nodding. “Everything here is your favorite.”

That was a lie. I could smell the seafood from across the room.

I took a slow breath, letting the fury simmer just below the surface.

didn’t

“Really? Then tell me something. Out of six dishes and a soup, three of them are things I’m allergic to: crals, shrimp, and pineapple. I thought you said it was all my favorites?”

Zara’s expression faltered. Her eyes darted baway/b..

I didn’t stop.

“You never even asked me bwhat /bI liked. You never remembered. You just bsa /b

said whatever sounded nice.”

Kael mmed his chopsticks onto the btable/b. The noise cracked through the air like thunder. “That’s enough, Riley. Mom and bDad /bwere worried about you. Scarlett too. Don’te bback /bhere acting like the whole world owes you something”

I looked at the faces around me. All so perfectlyposed, so hollow,

They wanted peace? They wanted quiet?

They should’ve left me the hell alone.

I smiled, slowly. Coldly

“You said everything was just prepared, right? Then tell me why are all the tes empty? Want me to lick them clean?”

Scarlett’s expression twitched.

I turned to Zara. “Or maybe you can remind me what exactly are my favorite foods??

She opened her bmouth/b, but nothing came out.

I chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry. I’ll remind you. I don’t have favorite foods, Luna bZara/b. I was raised not to be picky. Anything bthat /bdidn’t make me sick was good enough.”

I btook /ba step closer to the table, eyes locked on Kael now.

“But I do avoid bwhat /bI’m allergic to. bYou /bknew that. You all knew bthat/b. And byou /bstill served it.”

My voice dropped to ba /bnear–growl. “Is bthat /bwhat you call kindness?”

Karl’s face darkened, the fury in his eyes barely restrained.

ric rose slowly bfrom /bhis seat, the weight of the Alpha thick in the air. “bYou /bungrateful brat. We gave you a roof, food, a second chance-”

“I never basked /bfor any of it. I cut in. “Did I beg you to bring me back? Did I ask to be paraded as your long–lost daughter, just to be treated like dirt in my own home?“

b3.35 /bPM

His voice boomed. “We gave you lif

life!”

I stared him down, rage searing through every nerve.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have.”