Audrey lowered her eyes and let out a quiet, humorless breath.
To them, all her years of sacrifice—all the pain she had taken for their sake—were nothing more than her "torturing" them.
She shifted in the hospital bed, turning her back to the male and the pup who had once been her whole world. She didn't want to see their faces anymore. She 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 Audrey could respond, Rowan's phone chimed.
He glanced at the screen. His face instantly softened in a way it never did for her. Then he answered.
The hospital room was quiet enough that even with her dulled senses, Audrey heard the soft sobbing on the other end.
Lisa. Calling for him. Begging.
Rowan's eyes flashed at Audrey once—hard, cold—before he clicked his tongue and turned away.
"Fen. Come."
And just like that, he walked out with their—no, his son.
The silence they left behind felt like an entire forest had gone still, the air heavy and stale.
Audrey almost laughed.
Her mate. Her pup.
Neither had ever truly been hers.
She pressed the heel of her palm to her chest, forcing the ache back down before it could choke her. Then she grabbed her phone and dialed a number she had sworn she'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!"
Audrey's throat tightened.
Maybe she had lost her mind.
Years ago, she had thrown herself between Rowan and a blade meant to kill him. The strike had severed her shifting locus, leaving her virtually wolfless. In addition, it had damaged her hands—the ones meant to express her healing skills.
Even after all the healing and witchcraft, she could never shift again. Never race. Never run the way she used to. Never hold medical instruments, either. Everything she loved had slipped from her grasp.
That version of her—wild, unstoppable, untouchable—felt like some stranger from a past life.
"Riley," Audrey said quietly, "I want to file for divorce."
There was a beat of silence. Then Riley exhaled sharply.
"Finally."
Audrey swallowed the bitterness on her tongue. "How long?"
"For regular wolves? A week. For the Blackthornes?" Riley scoffed. "Minimum a month."
A month.
"Do it."
Audrey ended the call and stared at the ceiling.
If it wasn't hers, she no longer wanted it.
One month.
Then Rowan Blackthorne and Audrey would be finished.
Outside the hospital, Audrey knew Rowan and Fen were speaking. Even separated by walls of concrete, her 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 Audrey's 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.
Audrey's den—their home—had been completely destroyed by the mysterious explosion. Nothing remained but blackened stone and ashes.
It felt like fate itself was cutting her last tie to Rowan.
No belongings to salvage.
No memories left to haunt her.
Her leg was in a heavy cast, the bone shattered, but Audrey refused to stay another night. She signed the release papers herself.
Riley, one of her former assistants, pulled up ten minutes later in the SUV. Audrey waited inside the hospital's main entrance.
That was when a young girl collapsed right in front of her, clutching her chest. Her face twisted with pain, breaths sharp and shallow.
Instinct overtook everything else.
Even limping, even wounded, Audrey moved.
She braced herself on her crutch, knelt painfully beside the girl, and assessed her condition with practiced speed.
The girl's features were delicate—high cheekbones, silver-flecked eyes squeezed shut. Even in agony, she looked like she'd grow into a stunning young wolf.
The symptoms were unmistakable.
A rare allergy. The same one Fen had struggled with as a pup.
Audrey reached into her coat and pulled out the bronze needles she always kept. Her hands moved on their own, muscle memory guiding every placement.
Within seconds, the girl's breathing eased. Her pulse steadied. Color returned to her cheeks.
Audrey released a slow breath.
Just then, strong hands reached in, ready to lift the girl.
Audrey looked up.
A tall, broad-shouldered male stood over them, his shadow falling across her face. Moon-touched eyes. Razor-cut jaw. A 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.
Audrey knew him from the few gatherings Rowan had forced her to attend. She had also heard rumors of a secret daughter he protected fiercely—though her mother was never spoken of.
And here she was.
She raised a hand to stop him. "Wait."
She 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 Audrey again—sharp, assessing.
"Thank you… Mrs. Blackthorne."
Audrey's stomach twisted at the title.
Soon, that name would no longer be hers.
Nurses swarmed around Bonnie. In the chaos, Dorian looked around, as if to find Audrey—but she was already gone.
Outside, Audrey climbed into the SUV. Riley glanced her over and nearly choked.
"Moon above, Ms. Audrey. Did you get into a brawl with a bear? You look wrecked."
Audrey smiled faintly.
Yes. She had let herself become wreckage.
"How's our task?" she 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."
Audrey nodded. The money meant nothing to her.
She was simply tired. Tired of playing the obedient Luna her father had wanted her to be.
In one month, she would be free.
"Let's go."
The SUV glided into traffic, taking Audrey away from the ruins of her 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 Rowan 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.