"Kill you?" His voice was like ice. "No. Death is too easy. You’ll suffer for what you’ve done. I won’t let a Gorman get away with murder—not even if she’s my own flesh and blood. As Alpha of Night Owl, I will make sure justice is done."

I pushed myself up slowly, my limbs weak, but my voice firm.

"You talk so much about justice," I said, pain laced in my words. "But you’ve never given me fairness. You didn’t even try to hear me out. You didn’t ask for the truth. You just threw me away—like a criminal—without a shred of proof."

A sharp slap rang through the room.

My face exploded in pain. I tasted blood on my lips.

"You will not speak to the Alpha that way!" my mother hissed.

Despite it all—despite how they had hurt me so deeply—I still cared.

I still loved them.

"I’ve respected you all my life," I said quietly, my voice turning cold. "But now I finally understand… I’ve had enough."

Another slap. This one from my father.

"Say another word and you’ll get more than that," he growled through gritted teeth.