Riley’s POV

I woke up not to the antiseptic scent of a hospital bward/bb… /bbut to the cloying sweetness of bartificial /broses band /bpastel–coloredb. /b

curtainsb. /b

Myshes fluttered. The bed was too soft, the pillow too scented. Everything around me was pink. Frills, Lace. A chandelier dripping fake crystal tears above my head.

What the hell…?

I sat up btoo /bfast.

bPain /bseared through my shoulder like lightning, I hissed under my breath, clutching at the bandage. The white gauze was clean, but not fresh–blood was already beginning to soak through..

I pushed back the nket and climbed out of bed.

Barefoot.

Weak.

But awake.

I crossed the room and opened the door–and then it bhit /bme.

Ebonw Pack estate.

I was back.

Not in the dungeon. Not in the hospital. Not alone.

Back here

In Kael’s old bedroom–though someone had turned it into a frilly nightmare. Pink satin on every bwall/b. Princess wallpaper. Stuffed wolves on the shelves. Like some designer had tried to cover up history with pastel lies.

My grip on the doorknob tightened.

I looked down over the stairwell.

The living room was full.

Father–Alpha ric–sat at the head of the pack like always, arms crossed and jaw–tight. Luna Zara by his side, back straight, expression unreadable, Scarlett practically glued herself to Mother’s side, and Kael sat stiffly on the armrest, watching something with barely restrained btension/b.

And then–Ronan.

Of course he was here. Ronan is Scarlett’s fiancé, serving as a bridge between the two pack alliances, so he will appear here

The ckmaw Pack’s bAlpha /bheir, looking every inch the polished predator–tailored suit, emotionless expression, golden eyes that missed nothing.

Scarlett was the first to notice me.

Her voice pitched high, sugarcoated as always. “Riley! You’re finally awake.”

bAwake/b!

I stared down at them, heart still bsluggish /bin my chest, blood like ice in my veins.

I hadn’t been sleepingb. /b

I had been bunconscious/b. I’d shifted. For the first time in my life, I’d felt my wolf–really felt her–and now she was gone.

I called to her, mentally, desperately.

Nothing answered.

Scarlett’s words twisted that truth into something soft band /bstupid.

Like I’d just taken a long nap.

I said nothing-

I simply looked at her. Cold and bstill/b.

bShe /bshrank beneath my stare, her voice trembling. “D–did I say something wrong?

Of course not. Not in their eyes.

Zara instantly reached to soothe her adopted daughter, stroking her back like I was the bully. She didn’t say a word to me, but her look said enough: You’re scaring your sister again.

Then bFather /bspoke.

bAnd /blike always, he didn’t bother softening the blow,

“You’re really standing there ring at your sister?” he snapped. “You’re over twenty already. You sleep like the dead, and when you’re bawake/b, you’re either stuffing your face or sulking. We brought you home yesterday and you were out cold. One full day and night passed, and still–nothing but sleep. You tell me, Riley, bwhat /bexactly are you good for?”

His voice rose with each word.

“You’ve got no mate. No job. No wolf. Nothing. Just bdead /bweight on this Pack.”

There it was.

The truth under the venom.

No wolf. No bvalue/b.

They still believed it.

Didn’t matter that I’d shifted. They didn’t see it. Didn’t feel it. And now, neither could L.

My father thinks thest time I bared my ws in front of him was just for show.

He still believes I’m weak and powerless.

Also bit /bseems my dear former mate Maddox hasn’t told them that I’ve shifted into a white bwolf/b.

That’s fine.

It’s only fair they witness it with their own eyes.

So I stared down at him, my voice cool. “Are you done, Alpha ric?”

The room tensed.

He blinked, caught off guard. Probably expected me to cryb, /bbor /bat least look ashamed.

Instead, I turned to go back to the room.

“Don’t byou /bbwalk /baway from me!” he roared. “Come down here. We have something to discuss.”

I didn’t want to.

Every instinct in me screamed to stay away from them. From this whole polished performance of a family.

bBut /bthen I remembered.

The million–dor deal.

My ticket out.

So I descended the bstairs/b, each step measured. I took a seat in the middle of them all, like I was on btrial/b.

I guess bI /bbwas/b.

Father sipped his tea, voice casual. “You’re not a child anymore. It’s time you stop leeching off the Pack and do something useful. Your mother and I have arranged a match.”

My stomach tightened.

“Northridge. The Stormridge bheir/b. You’ll marry into their family. It’s a bgood /bmatch for someone like you.”

Someone like bme/b.

Meaning: a daughter without ba /bbwolf/b. A daughter they couldn’t parade. A daughter too troublesome to keep.

He kept talking.

-Your manners are poor. Your temper is worse. But you are still technically our bblood/b. We’ll prepare a decent dowry. The rest

up to you.”

bis /b

Ronan’s knuckles went white on the teacup. I saw it–the moment he realized exactly what kind of trade had been made.

His eyes didn’t flicker.

But his energy bchanged/b.

Luna Zara reached across the table,ying ba /bhand on mine like we were close. “We’ll miss youb, /bsweetheart. But girls your age don’t stay single forever. It’s time. You don’t want to be left behind, do you?”

I slid bmy /bhand baway /bslowly, letting my silence speak for itself.

If this match were so desirable. why hadn’t they given it to Scarlett?

Because I was expendable.

And she was the precious, sweet–mannered she–wolf with perfect lineage and a sob story the Elders adored.

They knew I wouldn’t refuse.

Because I couldn’t afford to.

I said nothing.

But Kael exploded.

“Wait–what? You’re marrying her off to himb? /bWithout even talking to me?”

ric’s face bdarkened/b.

Zara quickly cut in. “Kael, this isn’t your concern-”

“The hell it isn’t!” he snapped. “Riley doesn’t even know him. She’s not–she’s not like Scarlett. She hasn’t even fully shifted. She’s not ready-

“Enough!” ric thundered.

Kael’s bjaw /bclenched. His fists curled.

And then–everyone looked at me.

Waiting for my answer.

1 lifted my bchin /bband /bmet Kael’s gaze. My voice rang clear.

“I ept.”

The room froze.

bZara’s /blips parted in joy. ric bgave /bba /bsatisfied grunt. Scarlett blinked like she didn’t expect me bto /bsay yes, kael’s bface /bcrumpled with something dangerously close bto /bheartbreak.

And Ronan?

His cup shattered.

ss sliced into his palm, blood blooming bright and fast.

Scarlett gasped. “bRonan/b! You’re bleeding–Mia! Get the med kit!”

But he didn’t flinch.

He didn’t moveb. /b

He just stared at me

Like he bwas /btrying to see something through the bfog/b.

His blood dripped steadily onto the white carpet, spreading like a rose in bloom.

And I…

I didn’t look away.

Didn’t bmove /bba /bmuscle,

Didn’t feel a thing.

He stared at me like I was a stranger.

And maybe bnow /bI was.

Because the girl who once skipped her only national academicpetition to care for him during a 39–degree feverb? /b

She was gone.

That Riley–the one who cried when he was sick, who dragged him to a clinic on her back, who held his hand while he slept? Buried. In the same grave where they’d put her future.

All that was left now… was this.

A girl who would marry bfor /bsurvival band /bnever look bback/b.

bSend /bGifts