Author’s POV

Kael mmed his bpalm /bagainst the bar, his voice hoarse with fury. “That’s bullshit! Thew already gave Riley five years- she’s paid her dues!”

Ronan’s icy expression didn’t waver, “bPaid/b? She served her time and walked out alive. My sister will spend the rest of her life in a hospital bed, barely breathing. bAnd /byou want to call it even?”

His voice dropped, low and venomous. “As long as Tessa remains trapped in that shell, Riley’s debt is far from paid?

“bShin /bup!” Karl growled. His eyes were bloodshot, his bvoice /brasped from the strain. “Riley was beaten in prison. She was mocked, stabbed, forced to kneel until her knees bled. Her leg was shattered. You ever seen someone go from a bright–eyed.

girl to.., to that? Cold. Quiet. Hollow. She was sunshine. Now she’s shadow. How is that not enough?!”

He staggered backward, knocking over a stool behind him. His bnce was gone, but he didn’t notice. His chest heaved with every breath. “She’s a cripple now. Is that what you wanted?! Are you happy?!”

Something flickered in bRonan’s /bgaze–guilt? No. Not guilt. But something like a flinch passed behind bhis /bbeyes/b.

He shouldn’t feel banything /bfor her.

bShe /bhurt Tessa. She ruined everything. She was the reason for the endless nights spent by ba /bmotionless body in the Frosthelm. medical ward.

He had no right to pity her.

He swallowed it down. “She deserved every second of that sentence. Don’tpare a few bruises to my sister’s ruined future. Tessa was brilliant. She was meant to lead, to innovate, to serve the Pack Council with honor–and Riley stole bthat/b.”

Ronan’s voice turned cruel. “And don’t forges, Karl–it was you who testified against her. You backed Scarlett. You helped bury her. bYou /bthink bshe’s /bforgotten that? You think bshe /bdoesn’t hate you for it?”

Kael bflinched /blike he’d bbeen /bpped.

He had hoped Riley woulde out of prison with new perspective. Stronger. Wiser.

He bhadn’t /bknown bshe’d /be out broken.

The anger erupted again–white hot. He bswung /bat Ronan.

bRonan /bdodged beasily/b, stepping aside like a breeze. Kael mmed into the bbar/bb, /bpanting, dizzy.

“bMore/bb,” /bhe gasped at the bartender. “Give me something stronger.”

The man poured silently. Kael grabbed the bss /band downed it, liquor spilling from the corners of his mouth.

Ronan sat beside him, knuckles white around his own drink. He looked calm, but his thoughts were chaos.

Riley… why couldn’t you have just stayed the perfect little bprodigy /byou were meant to bbe/b?

The bmusic /bthrobbed around them. bLights /bspun, peopleughed, bodies danced–but the world outside was crumbling.

bBack /bat the Vale manor, things weren’t much better.

Scarlett sobbed tito bLuna /bZara’s arms. Her delicate frame trembled with each breathless hup.

bZara /bstroked her bhair /bgently, but her beyes /bglinted with bdisapproval/b.

bAlpha /bric’s face was carved from stone. He pointed at Riley, voice thunderous. “You pushed her. You wanted to paralyze her like you did Tessa That’s what you’ve be. A savage. A threat. Kneel and beg for forgiveness.”

Riley stared at him, numb,

She didn’t even flinch when he called her savage.

Pears

She’d stopped expecting kindness from him long ago.

But still something twisted inside her. Something old and sharp and buried deep.

“You watched Scarlett shove Tessa five years bago/b. You did nothing. You watched me get sentenced for it. Again, you did nothing. bAnd /bbnow/b, you let her throw herself down a flight of stairs just to frame me again, and still–you. Do. Nothing.”

Her voice was calm. Too calm.

bric’s /bface darkened with rage. “How dare you-

“Am I really your daughter? Or was I just some mistake you never wanted to im? You protect Scarlett like she’s your blood. Maybe she is.”

The words hit like a p.

ric’sposure shattered. He roared, snatching his belt from around his waist.

Zara gasped. Scarlett clung tighter to her.

He raised the leather and brought it down hard.

The crack of impact echoed through the room.

Riley didn’t scream, She didn’t cry. She only staggered back, her shoulder aze with bpain/b.

The second strike came. Then the third.

She dropped to her knees, arms bracing her weight, body trembling.

Mia burst into the room. “Alpha, please! She’s already injured-

“bMove/b,” ric snarled.

Mia didn’t move. She knelt beside Riley, shielding her with her own back. The next blownded on her.

Riley gasped. “Mia, don’t-

“You’re the Alpha’s daughter, Mia whispered. “You don’t deserve this.”

bThat’s /bwhen it happened.

Riley’s eyes widened,

Something inside her cracked–bno/bb, /bawakened.

Her blood bran /bhot, her vision doubled. The lights blurred. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. The pain vanished, reced by something primal.

The scent of anger. The tang of iron. The feeling of her bones pulling, reshaping.

Her woll

For the first time in five years, the creature inside stirred.

And it bwas /bfurious.

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