I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped my lips. My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest. Leave, they said. Go somewhere else, they demanded.
So, I left.
I didn’t say a word. I didn’t try to explain. There was no point. Not when my own parents, the very people who were supposed to love me, had turned their backs on me. Not when Eros, the man I had given everything to, had slapped me and humiliated me in front of everyone. There was nothing left here for me.
As I stepped out into the cold night air, my wolf roared inside me. The fury was burning—my body was trembling with it. The anger, the rage, the betrayal—everything was clawing at me, urging me to tear down this world that had rejected me—urging me to use the power of the moonstone that made me stronger.
But then, my hand instinctively pressed to my abdomen. I was pregnant. I can’t, I thought, swallowing back the fire. Not yet. My wolf growled in protest, but I knew this wasn’t the time. I couldn’t risk my baby. I couldn’t let my rage destroy the fragile life I was carrying. So, I walked. Slowly, deliberately, I walked away from everything I had ever known.