Riley’s POV

My fingers trembled as I shielded Mia with my body, her cries echoing in my ears as Alpha ric–my father–raised the belt again. The painshed across my back, fire blooming along my spine, but I barely felt it.

Something inside me had cracked open.

A voice growled in my mind, low and vicious.

“Let me out.”

I froze.

bThe /bvoice wasn’t mine.

“Nyra,” I whispered without thinking. The name came to me like a memory from another life.

“They hurt us. Again. Again. bAnd /bbagain/b. You won’t stop them. But I will

My vision blurred. Heat rushed through my veins, pulsing in time with my heart. My nails ckened, lengthening into curved ws. My teeth ached–no, grew. My spine stretched, bones shifting, cracking, I could feel my ears sharpening, hear every heartbeat in the room. My pupils split and narrowed, golden and gleaming like molten metal.

“Kill them.” Nyra hissed. “Make them pay?

“bI /bbam /bstill trapped and unable to shift, but I will give you the power.”

I shoved Mia aside, ignoring her gasp, and staggered to my feet. Blood dripped from my arm where the belt had torn skin, but I barely noticed.

I limped binto /bthe kitchenb. /b

The moment my hand closed around the hilt of the knife. I knew it wasn’t me anymore.

We were one.

When I stepped back into the living room; the entire Vale family went still.

“Riley, put that down!” Luna Zara cried.

I didn’t answer. My grip tightened on the de. My gaze locked onto Alpha ric.

“You touch Mia againb, /bI snarled, my voice deeperb, /byered with Nyra’s resonance, and I’ll tear out your throat.

As I lifted my head and met bAlpha /bric’s eyes, bthe /bfull force of his Alpha aura mmed into me.

The air thickened like a storm front crashing through the room. My lungs refused to expand. My limbs trembled–not from fear, but from the sheer weight of his dominance. Even Scarlett, cowering behind the couch, whimpered and bowed her

head.

“You dare raise a de bin /bmy house?” ric roared. His voice cracked through the air like a thunderp, resonating with years of unquestioned authority.

He took a step forward, and the power of his wolf surged, pressing down on everyone in the room. Luna Zara stumbled back. Mia whimpered. The chandelier trembled overbead

But I didn’t flinch.

Nyra surged within me like a wildfire refusing to be snuffed out.

“Let him roar. He’s not our bAlpha /banymore,” she growled. “We are

A low snarl escaped my throat–feral, unrecognizable, mine and bnot /bmine.

I took a step forward, cutting through the weight of his bdominance /blike a de through fog. My body trembled, but I kept bwalking/b. Nyra’s power pushed back against his baura/b. The pressure on my chest lessened. The fear in my limbs evaporated.

He tried again.

“Put the de down, Riley, ric ordered, voice thick with bAlpha /bpulsion.

My ears rang. My knees almost buckled–but I didn’t obey,

Instead, I smiled.

“No.”

A flicker of uncertainty crossed his face.

“I’m not that girl anymore.” I said. “The one you locked away. The one you silenced. The one who bowed bher /bhead.”

My ws gleamed under the chandelier. I held them up for all of them to see.

“This bloodline you’re so proud of? It runs through me too. But I’m done letting it bchain /bi

ric’s lips curled into ba /bsneer.

me-

“You expect me to believe this show? You’re clearly performing for attention, but it’s pathetic.

He took ba /bstep closer, nostrils ring.

“I don’t smell a wolf on you, Riley. Not ba /bsingle trace.

He tilted his head mockingly.

“Or maybe there’s something. Faint. Sickly. Like she’s dying. I’d wager you bhaven’t /bevenpleted your shift, bhave /bbyou/b?”

His voice dropped into a cruel whisper.

“Keep defying me, and you might just kill your wolf before she ever gets free.”

Nyra snarled. My chest constricted–not from fear, but fury.

11ook another step.

“You bwere/b,” bI /bsaid softly, “but I don’t feel your power anymore.”

Everyone froze.

I was panting. My eyes burned. My fingers ached from gripping the knife too hard.

But Nyra bwas /bughing-

“He’s scared now. They all are. Good.”

“Riley, please–Luna Zara tried to step between us.

I bshoved /bbpast /bher.

“I’m done asking nicely. I’m done surviving. I want justice

“You’re going to kill someone!” Zara screamed.

Maybe that’s bwhat /bit takes!”

Scarlett whimpered behind the couch.

*She deserves it, Nyra bhissed/b. “She ruined us. Let me end her.”

My body shook. I raised the knife again.

+8 Pearls

“No,” Luna bZam /bcried, wrapping her arms baround /bme. “Riley, please. Please don’t. I know I failed you. bBut /bI’m still n

mother.

I froze.

“You’re not,” I bsaid /btly. “You’re just the one who bgave /bbirth to me.”

Her eyes widened in horror.

I held up my free hand. My ws gleamed under the chandelier.

“You want repayment for giving me life? Fine. I’ll give it back.”

I mmed bmy /bbhand /bonto the table, bspreading /bmy fingers bwide/b.

“A child owes nothing to a parent who only gave her bpain/b.”

Send Gifts

€19