ISLA POV
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything except stare at the frozen image on Damien's phone screen.
Riley Blackwood. His sister. The mask had slipped just enough to reveal her face twisted with hatred as she swung that silver net at me.
"Your sister tried to kill me," I whispered again, because saying it out loud made it real. Made it impossible to pretend this was all some horrible nightmare.
Damien looked like someone had ripped his heart out. "There has to be an explanation. Riley wouldn't—she's not—"
"She beat me unconscious!" My voice cracked. "She brought silver weapons to hurt me. She left me to die in that fire!"
He flinched like I'd slapped him. Good. He should feel this pain too.
My phone buzzed. Another text from the academy. Another reminder that in less than twelve hours, they'd strip away my scholarship, my degree, everything I'd fought for. And now I knew who was really behind it all.
The Blackwood family wanted me gone. Not just gone—dead.
"I need to leave." I tried to stand, but my legs shook. The burns from the silver net screamed with every movement. "I need to get out of this house before—"
"Before what?" Damien moved closer. "Before my family finishes what Riley started?"
"Yes!" I shouted. "Exactly that! Your father wants me gone. Your sister tried to murder me. How long before someone succeeds?"
"I won't let anyone hurt you again." His voice was fierce, but I heard the crack underneath. "I swear on my life—"
"Your promises mean nothing!" Tears burned my eyes. "You can't even control your own family. Your father banned you from seeing me. Your sister tried to kill me. What's next? Will your mother poison my food? Will your friends push me off a building?"
Damien's hands clenched into fists. "Riley will answer for this. I'll make sure—"
"You'll make sure of what?" I laughed, but it came out broken and bitter. "You'll have a stern conversation with her? Ground her? She tried to MURDER me, Damien! This isn't some family drama you can fix with an apology!"
My wolf whimpered inside me, confused and hurt. She wanted our mate. Wanted to trust him. But my human brain knew better. The Blackwood family was poison, and I was already dying from their venom.
"I'm calling the police." I reached for my phone with shaking hands. "I'm pressing charges. I don't care if she's your sister or if your father owns half the city—"
Damien's phone rang. He stared at the screen, his face going pale. "It's Riley."
Everything stopped. The air felt thick and heavy.
"Answer it," I said coldly. "Let's hear what excuse she has for attempted murder."
He hit speaker phone. Riley's voice filled the room, and it wasn't what I expected. She wasn't crying or apologizing. She sounded... triumphant.
"Did you see the video yet, big brother?" Her laugh made my skin crawl. "Surprised?"
"Riley, what did you do?" Damien's voice was barely controlled rage. "Why would you—"
"Because she doesn't belong with you!" Riley's words came out in a rush. "She's nothing! An omega trash who thinks she can climb into our family through a fake mate bond!"
"Fake?" I couldn't help myself. "The Moon Goddess—"
"The Moon Goddess makes mistakes," Riley interrupted. "And you're the biggest one. You think you can waltz into our world and steal my brother? Make our family look weak by forcing them to accept some scholarship charity case?"
Each word was a knife. But I'd heard worse. Survived worse.
"So you tried to kill me?" My voice was ice. "That was your solution?"
"I tried to scare you away. The silver net wasn't supposed to—" She stopped. "It doesn't matter. You're still here, still infecting my brother with your pathetic omega pheromones, making him think he loves you—"
"I never asked for this!" I screamed. "I rejected the bond! I ran away! Your brother is the one who won't let me go!"
Silence. Then Riley's voice came back quieter, deadlier. "Then run faster. Because tomorrow morning, you'll lose your scholarship. Tomorrow afternoon, the Lunar Council will declare you unworthy. And tomorrow night, well... accidents happen to omegas who don't know their place."
"Are you threatening her?" Damien's Alpha power leaked through his words, making the room vibrate. "Riley, I swear to the Moon Goddess—"
"You'll do nothing," Riley cut him off. "Because I'm family. And family protects family. Even from gold-digging omegas who seduce their way into our lives."
The call ended. The silence afterward was worse than her words.
I felt something break inside me. Not my heart—that was already shattered. Something deeper. The last piece of hope that maybe, somehow, this could work out.
"I'm leaving." I stood, ignoring the pain shooting through my body. "I'll go to the police station tonight, press charges, then disappear. Mexico, maybe. Or Canada. Somewhere your family can't reach me."
"Isla, please—" Damien reached for my arm.
I jerked away. "Don't touch me! Every time you touch me, the bond gets stronger and I get weaker. I can't think straight around you. Can't remember why this is all wrong."
"Because it's not wrong!" He looked desperate now. "We're mates. That's not fake or forced—it's real. What my sister did was monstrous, but that doesn't change what we are to each other."
"What we are?" I laughed through my tears. "We're a disaster. A cosmic joke. The Moon Goddess paired me with someone whose family wants me dead. That's not fate—that's a curse."
My phone buzzed again. Unknown number. I almost didn't answer, but something made me hit accept.
"Miss Monroe?" A woman's voice, professional and cold. "This is Detective Sarah Chen with Silvercrest PD. We need you to come to the station immediately."
My stomach dropped. "Why? What's wrong?"
"We have evidence linking you to the fire at the Blackwood estate tonight. Evidence of arson. You need to come in for questioning, or we'll issue a warrant for your arrest."
The phone fell from my hands.
They were framing me. Riley hadn't just attacked me—she'd set me up to take the blame for burning down her own house.
Damien picked up my phone, his face murderous. "This is Damien Blackwood. That's impossible. Isla was attacked tonight. She couldn't have—"
"Mr. Blackwood, please don't obstruct our investigation. We have video footage of Miss Monroe near the fire's origin point before it started. We have chemical residue on clothing recovered from her apartment. The evidence is substantial."
"What clothing?" I whispered. "I haven't been to my apartment since this morning—"
"We executed a search warrant an hour ago. The items were found in your bedroom closet."
Planted. All of it planted.
"I need a lawyer," I said, my voice distant and strange. "I'm not saying anything without a lawyer."
"That's your right. But Miss Monroe? Don't leave town. If you try to run, it will look very bad for you."
The call ended. I stood there, watching my entire life collapse around me.
In less than twenty-four hours, I would lose my scholarship, face murder charges for arson, and stand trial before a council of wolves who already hated me.
Riley hadn't just tried to kill me tonight. She'd destroyed my entire future.
"We'll fight this," Damien said, but his voice sounded hollow. "We'll hire the best lawyers, prove you're innocent—"
"With what proof?" I felt numb now. "They have video. They have evidence. Your sister made sure I'd look guilty of everything."
"Then we'll prove she planted it. We have the security footage of her attacking you—"
"Which shows me at the estate right before the fire!" I realized the trap too late. "Riley set it up perfectly. I was there. I had motive—public humiliation, hatred of your family. I ran away covered in blood. It all looks like I attacked myself to create an alibi, then burned down your house in revenge."
Damien's face showed he understood. His sister had played this perfectly.
My wolf howled inside me, terrified and lost. But my human mind was clear for the first time in hours.
"I can't win this," I said quietly. "Your family has too much power. Too much money. Too much influence. They'll destroy me piece by piece until there's nothing left."
"No." Damien grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "I won't let them—"
The bedroom door crashed open. Victor Blackwood stood there with four pack enforcers, his face cold as winter death.
"Step away from her, Damien." Victor's Alpha command hit like a physical blow. "She's under arrest for arson, attempted murder, and conspiracy against the Blackwood pack."
"Father, you can't—"
"I can and I will." Victor's eyes met mine, and I saw the truth there. He'd known. Maybe even helped plan it. "Isla Monroe, you're hereby stripped of all pack protections and declared rogue. Any wolf has the right to challenge or kill you without consequence."
Rogue. The word was a death sentence.
"You can't do this!" Damien moved between us. "She's my mate! Pack law protects fated mates!"
"Not when one mate is a criminal." Victor smiled, and it was the cruelest thing I'd ever seen. "The Lunar Council will convene at dawn to formally sever your bond. Until then, she's pack property, and I'm placing her under arrest."
The enforcers moved forward. Damien's wolf surged, ready to fight his own father to protect me.
"Don't." I put my hand on his arm, feeling the mate bond flare one last time. "Don't throw away your life for me. I'm not worth it."
"You're worth everything—"
"I'm already dead." I said it calmly, accepting the truth. "Your family made sure of that the moment your wolf recognized me as mate. This was always going to end this way."
The enforcers grabbed my arms. Silver handcuffs burned against my wrists, making me gasp in pain.
Damien roared, his Alpha power exploding through the room. "Let her go! I'll challenge you for Alpha position right now if you don't—"
"You'll do nothing," Victor said coldly, "or I'll have her executed tonight for resisting arrest. Your choice, son. Let her go peacefully to face justice, or watch her die in front of you."
Damien froze. Our eyes met, and I saw his heart breaking.
"I love you," he whispered. "I'll fix this. I swear—"
The enforcers dragged me out before I could respond. I looked back once, seeing Damien on his knees as his father stood over him in triumph.
The last thing I heard before they threw me in a cell was Victor's voice: "She'll be dead by morning. One way or another, your omega problem is solved."
And as I sat alone in the darkness, silver burning my wrists, I felt something I'd never felt before.
My mate bond... breaking.