One by one, I set the portraits on fire, the smoke curling up and turning the glass house’s spring air into ash. I threw them all onto the bed, watching the flames roar and consume everything.
‘Drake, your love is twisted. Your alpha’s protection is tainted. I don’t want it. I don’t want you. I won’t be caged in your lies anymore.’
The fire alarm blared, shrill and unrelenting, echoing through the halls like my heartbeat.
Why did I ever let him own me? Why did I let myself believe in an alpha who could lie like this?
After that, I ran out into the chaos, coughing, my chest tight, and found a battered phone booth at the roadside. My hands shook when I dialed the number I’d been holding onto for years.
“Alaric… do you still mean it?” I whispered, my voice trembling. “That I can come back to the pack anytime within five years?”
There was a pause, and then that deep, low, cello-like voice rolled through the receiver. “Of course, my beloved Arianne. Every northern wolf in the pack has been waiting for you. They’re all asking when their favorite she-wolf is coming home.”