Emma's POV
I drive for thirty minutes before I realize I have nowhere to go.
My hands shake on the steering wheel. The road blurs through my tears. Every few seconds, I see it again—Declan and Josie in my bed, Liam calling her Mommy, that positive pregnancy test.
The dark magic wrapped around my mate bond pulses like a living thing. It hurts. Actually physically hurts.
I pull into a gas station parking lot and just sit there, engine running, staring at nothing.
My phone won't stop buzzing. Texts flooding in.
SARAH (Pack Friend): Is it true? Did you really attack Josie?
What?
MELISSA (Liam's Teacher): I always knew something was off about you. Poor Declan.
RACHEL (My Cousin): Mom says you're not welcome at family events anymore. You embarrassed us.
I scroll through message after message. All of them believing lies I didn't even know existed yet. All of them turning on me like I'm the villain.
How is this possible? I left the house twenty minutes ago. How do they all know already?
Another text. This one from an unknown number: Check the pack forum.
My stomach drops, but I open the Silverpine Pack app anyway.
The first post makes my blood run cold.
ALPHA DECLAN BLACKTHORN: Official Statement
It is with deep regret that I announce the dissolution of my mating bond with Emma Thorne. After six years of trying to maintain our relationship despite her increasingly unstable behavior, I can no longer put our son at risk.
Emma has struggled with mental health issues, jealousy, and paranoia. Tonight, she physically attacked my Beta Female Josie Chen, who has graciously helped care for our son during Emma's episodes.
For Liam's safety, Emma has been removed from pack territory and declared rogue. She is no longer welcome in Silverpine lands.
I ask for privacy during this difficult time as we protect our family.
I read it three times before my brain can process the words.
Unstable. Mental health issues. Physically attacked Josie.
All lies.
But there are already hundreds of comments supporting him. Calling me crazy. Saying they always knew. Thanking Josie for "stepping up."
My phone rings. Mom.
I answer, desperate for someone to believe me. "Mom, it's not true—"
"How could you, Emma?" Her voice is ice-cold. "I'm in the hospital fighting cancer, and you're out there causing scandals? Attacking innocent women?"
"I didn't attack anyone! Declan was cheating—"
"Declan showed me the evidence. The texts you sent threatening Josie. The photos of bruises you gave her."
"What evidence? I never—"
"Stop lying!" Mom's shout makes me flinch. "I raised you better than this. Fix yourself. Apologize to that poor girl. Maybe Declan will take pity on you."
She hangs up.
My own mother doesn't believe me.
I sit there in shock, phone still pressed to my ear, until another call comes through.
Josie.
My finger hovers over the decline button, but something makes me answer.
"What do you want?" My voice is dead.
"Just checking that you saw the post." Josie sounds cheerful. Happy. "I think Declan worded it perfectly, don't you? Sympathetic but firm."
"You lied. About all of it."
"Did I though?" She laughs. "Here's the thing, Emma. I've been planning this for three years. Three. Years. Do you know how hard it was pretending to be your friend? Listening to you whine about Declan not loving you enough? God, you were pathetic."
Each word is a knife.
"But it was worth it," Josie continues. "Because while you were busy being the 'perfect Luna,' I was busy being perfect for Declan. In bed. In his office. In your guest room while you slept down the hall."
I'm going to be sick again.
"Why?" I whisper. "Why did you do this?"
"Because I wanted what you had. Simple as that." She pauses. "Well, I wanted what you THOUGHT you had. Turns out, Declan never loved you. He told me on our third date—yes, we dated while you were pregnant with Liam—that the Moon Goddess made a mistake with you."
The mate bond throbs with pain.
"He said you were too soft. Too weak. Not Luna material. He only stayed because of pack politics and because you were already carrying his heir." Josie's voice drops to a whisper. "But I'm everything he actually wants. Strong. Ambitious. Willing to do what it takes."
"Even magic?" The words slip out before I can stop them.
Silence.
Then Josie laughs, but it sounds forced. "What are you talking about?"
"The bond. There's dark magic on it. I felt it." My voice gets stronger. "You didn't just seduce my husband. You put a spell on him."
"You're insane," Josie snaps. But I hear the panic underneath. "That's exactly the kind of crazy talk that got you declared rogue."
"I'm not crazy—"
"You will be by the time I'm done." Her voice turns vicious. "Here's how this works, Emma. You're going to disappear. You're going to sign away your rights to Liam. You're going to let us be a family. Because if you don't..."
She trails off.
"If I don't, what?"
"Accidents happen to rogues all the time. Especially ones with no pack protection. No family. No friends." Josie's threat is crystal clear. "It would be so tragic if you just... vanished. Liam would forget you in six months. He's already calling me Mommy anyway."
My hands clench into fists.
"Oh, and Emma? That magic you felt?" Josie's smile is audible. "You can't prove it. I made sure of that. Even if you found a witch to check the bond, all they'd see is a natural deterioration. Like your bond was always weak."
"Because you poisoned it—"
"Prove it," Josie challenges. "Go ahead. Find one witch, one pack elder, one person who'll believe the crazy rogue over the Alpha's new mate. I'll wait."
She won't find anyone. Josie's right. She's been planning this too long.
"Sign the papers, Emma. Let go. It's over." Josie's voice turns almost kind. "I'm not a monster. I'll let you see Liam once a year. Supervised, of course. If you behave."
Once a year. For the son I almost died bringing into this world.
"Go to hell," I spit.
"Already there, sweetie. But at least I have everything I wanted." Josie laughs. "Enjoy being homeless!"
She hangs up.
I scream. Actually scream in my car, hitting the steering wheel over and over until my hands hurt.
Three years. She planned this for three years. The magic, the lies, turning my own son against me, building a case that I'm unstable.
And I never saw it coming.
I was so busy trying to be a good wife, a good mother, a good Luna, that I didn't notice my best friend stealing my entire life.
My phone buzzes again. This time it's a video message from an unknown number.
I almost don't open it. But something makes me click.
It's security footage. From my house. Dated three months ago.
The video shows Josie in Liam's room at night. My son is sleeping. She leans over him, whispering something I can't hear. Then she pulls out a small bottle and puts drops of something in his mouth.
Liam stirs but doesn't wake up.
Josie does this every night for a week in the fast-forwarded footage.
Then the next video shows Liam at breakfast, refusing to sit near me. Asking for Josie instead. Calling her Mommy for the first time.
The message below the video reads: She's been drugging your son. Witch potions to make him forget you. Delete this immediately. They'll kill me if they know I sent it. Trust no one in Silverpine. - M
Marcus. Declan's Beta.
The man who helped pack my bag. Who apologized.
He knows the truth.
But if he sent this secretly, that means he's scared too. That means Declan and Josie are more dangerous than I thought.
I save the video to three different cloud accounts and delete it from my phone like the message said.
At least now I have proof Josie's using magic. Proof she drugged my son.
But who would believe me? A rogue with no pack has no legal standing. No rights. No voice.
I'm pulling out of the gas station when headlights flood my rearview mirror.
A black truck. Following close. Too close.
My wolf surges up, sensing danger.
The truck speeds up, rams my bumper. My car lurches forward.
They're trying to run me off the road.
I press the gas pedal, flying down the empty highway at midnight. The truck keeps pace, hitting me again.
Through the window, I see the driver. A Silverpine warrior. One of Declan's enforcers.
He's not trying to scare me.
He's trying to kill me.
Josie's threat echoes: Accidents happen to rogues all the time.
I swerve as he rams me a third time. My car skids, tires screaming. I'm losing control.
The truck pulls alongside me. The driver grins and turns his wheel sharp.
Metal crunches. Glass shatters.
My car flips.
The world spins—sky, ground, sky, ground.
Everything goes black.
Somewhere far away, I hear voices.
"Is she dead?"
"Check her pulse."
Footsteps. Hands on my neck.
"Still breathing. Finish it."
A gun cocks.
This is it. This is how I die. Murdered on a roadside because I wasn't good enough for an Alpha who never loved me anyway.
I wait for the gunshot.
Instead, I hear growling.
Deep, inhuman growling that makes the earth shake.
"What the hell is that?" the warrior shouts.
"RUN!"
Footsteps. Running. Screaming. Then... silence.
Something lifts me from the wreckage. Something big and strong and warm.
I try to open my eyes, but everything hurts.
A voice rumbles above me. Deep. Commanding. Furious.
"Who did this to you?"
I can't answer. Can't move. Can't do anything except feel the darkness pulling me under.
The last thing I hear before I pass out completely:
"You're safe now. I've got you."
But I don't recognize the voice.
And I don't know if safe exists anymore.