Audrey's POV
I lowered my eyes and let out a quiet, humorless breath.
To them, all my years of sacrifice… all the pain I took for their sake… was nothing more than me "torturing" them.
I shifted in the hospital bed, turning my back to the male and the pup who had once been my whole world. I didn't want to see their faces anymore. I didn't even want to smell their scents — bitter with judgment, laced with that other woman's stench.
Rowan growled under his breath, the sound low and irritated.
"Audrey. Stop this. Who are you performing for? Fen's right — you're taking this too far."
Fen crossed his skinny arms and huffed. "Mom, you're going to regret treating Dad like this!"
Before I could respond, Rowan's phone chimed.
He glanced at the screen. His face instantly softened in a way it never did for me. Then he answered.
The hospital room was quiet enough that even with my dulled senses, I heard the soft sobbing on the other end.
Lisa. Calling for him. Begging.
Rowan's eyes flashed at me once — hard, cold — before he clicked his tongue and turned away.
"Fen. Come."
And just like that, he walked out with our— no, his son.
The silence they left behind felt like an entire forest had gone still, the air heavy and stale.
I almost laughed.
My mate. My pup.
Neither had ever truly been mine.
I pressed the heel of my palm to my chest, forcing the ache back down before it could choke me. Then I grabbed my phone and dialed a number I had sworn I'd never use again.
When the line picked up, a familiar, impatient voice burst to life.
"Miss Willow?! Holy hell — it's actually you! We thought the moon had already claimed you. You vanished for eight years! We thought you'd lost your mind, playing house and hiding your real identity!"
My throat tightened.
Maybe I had lost my mind.
Years ago, I had thrown myself between Rowan and a blade meant to kill him. The strike severed my shifti locus, leaving me virtually wolfless. Even after all the healing and witchcraft, I could never shift again. Never race. Never run the way I used to. Everything I loved had slipped from my grasp.
That version of me — wild, unstoppable, untouchable — felt like some stranger from a past life.
"Riley," I said quietly, "I want to file for divorce."
There was a beat of silence. Then Riley exhaled sharply.
"Finally."
I swallowed the bitterness on my tongue. "How long?"
"For regular wolves? A week. For the Blackthornes?" Riley scoffed. "Minimum a month."
A month.
"Do it."
I ended the call and stared at the ceiling.
If it wasn't mine… I no longer wanted it.
One month.
Then Rowan Blackcthorne and I would be finished.
Outside the hospital, I knew Rowan and Fen were speaking. Even separated by walls of concrete, my hearing could make out hints of their conversation.
"Dad… is she really that mad? Are you two going to split?" Fen whispered.
"No," Rowan replied with a short laugh that scraped along my nerves. "She will never divorce me."
He said it with absolute confidence — the confidence of a wolf who believed his mate was powerless.
"Audrey has been a house-bound Luna for eight years," he went on. "No pack. No family. Without me, she can't survive."
Fen kicked at the ground. "But… if you did split, it wouldn't be so bad. Lisa could be my mom. And maybe then I wouldn't have to get shots anymore…"
Rowan's irritated growl cut him off. "Enough. Let's go."
Their footsteps faded.
A news bulletin flashed onto the hospital lobby screen.
My den — our home — had been completely destroyed by the mysterious explosion. Nothing remained but blackened stone and ashes.
It felt like fate itself was cutting my last tie to Rowan.
No belongings to salvage.
No memories left to haunt me.
My leg was in a heavy cast, the bone shattered, but I refused to stay another night. I signed the release papers myself.
Riley, one of my former assistants, pulled up ten minutes later in the SUV. I waited inside the hospital's main entrance.
That was when a young girl collapsed right in front of me, clutching her chest. Her face twisted with pain, breaths sharp and shallow.
Instinct overtook everything else.
Even limping, even wounded, I moved.
I braced myself on my crutch, knelt painfully beside her, and assessed her condition with practiced speed.
Her features were delicate — high cheekbones, silver-flecked eyes squeezed shut. Even in agony, the girl looked like she'd grow into a stunning young wolf.
Her symptoms were unmistakable.
A rare allergy. The same one Fen had struggled with as a pup.
I reached into my coat and pulled out the bronze needles I always kept. My hands moved on their own, muscle memory guiding every placement.
Within seconds, her breathing eased. Her pulse steadied. Color returned to her cheeks.
I released a slow breath.
Just then, strong hands reached in — ready to lift her.
I looked up.
A tall, broad-shouldered male stood over us, shadow falling across my face. Moon-touched eyes. Razor-cut jaw. Cold, commanding presence.
Dorian Wayne.
Rowan's old acquaintance. The alpha of the Black Storm Pack. Wealthy. Dangerous. With a reputation for never bowing his head to anyone.
I knew him from the few gatherings Rowan had forced me to attend. I had also heard rumors of a secret daughter he protected fiercely — though her mother was never spoken of.
And here she was.
I raised a hand to stop him. "Wait."
I removed each needle with care before nodding. "Now."
Dorian lifted his daughter as though she were made of spun glass. The little girl blinked open her eyes.
"Daddy…" she whispered.
His voice softened instantly. "I'm here, Bonnie. You're safe."
Then his gaze found me again — sharp, assessing.
"Thank you… Mrs. Blackthorne."
My stomach twisted at the title.
Soon, that name would no longer be mine.
Nurses swarmed around Bonnie. In the chaos, Dorian looked around — as if to find me — but I was already gone.
Outside, I climbed into the SUV. Riley glanced me over and nearly choked.
"Moon above, Ms. Audrey. Did you get into a brawl with a bear? You look wrecked."
I smiled faintly.
Yes. I had let myself become wreckage.
"How's our task?" I asked.
Riley's grin widened. "Already rolling. The law favors the Blackthornes, but we'll pin him another way. I'm collecting evidence as we speak."
I nodded. The money meant nothing to me.
I was simply tired. Tired of playing the obedient Luna my father had wanted me to be.
In one month, I would be free.
"Let's go."
The SUV glided into traffic, taking me away from the ruins of my life.
***
Not long after, Rowan's car left the hospital as well.
Lisa sat beside him.
Fen nestled between them.
They looked… exactly like the little family he had always truly wanted.
"Rowan, our home burned down," Lisa whispered. "What should we do?"
"We'll move into one of my villas," he answered.
Excitement flickered in her eyes, quickly smothered by worry. "But… what if the elder finds out?"
"No one will know," Rowan said smoothly, "unless someone talks."
His gaze cut toward the driver. Ned stiffened immediately.
"I won't say a word, Alpha," he stammered.
Lisa bit her lip. "And Audrey?"
Rowan huffed out a quiet laugh.
"She wouldn't dare."
Unless she wanted a divorce, she would keep quiet. And Rowan believed — with absolute certainty — that divorce was impossible.
In his mind, Audrey was a wolf with no future without him.
He knew her too well.
Or so he thought.