The three days in the detention block were like nightmare of my life. I was thrown into the dirtiest cell, and my cellmates, clearly acting on orders from above, made it their mission to torture me.

The first day, they held me down, stripped me naked for a search, and doused me with buckets of ice-cold water while laughing at my shivering form.

The second day, I found shards of glass mixed into my meal, leaving me with a painful hunger.

On the final day, the worst came. Several women dragged me into a toilet stall, pinning me against the wall as their fists rained down on my ribs and back.

“Heard you pissed off the wrong person,” the leader sneered, gripping my chin with fingers. “Word is from the top—the Alpha wants you to ‘learn your lesson’.”

I curled into a ball on the wet floor. I refused to believe Kade would order this, but every new bruise, every cut, was a reminder that he could be this cruel, that he would go this far to punish me.

When the guards finally came to release me after seventy-two hours, I could barely stand. I dragged my body out of the cell. I managed only a few stumbling steps before my legs gave way and everything went black.

I woke up in a hospital room. “Did you learn your lesson this time?” Kade’s cold voice came from beside the bed.

I didn’t look at him. I just stared at the ceiling.

My lack of response seemed to irritate him. “Lila, I asked you a—” A nurse hurried in, cutting him off. “Alpha, Miss Sara is asking for you again. She says the pain is unbearable…”

Kade’s attention instantly shifted. “You need to reflect on your actions,” he said to me, already turning to leave. “Stay out of trouble.”

The following hours, Sara took great pleasure in sending me photos of Kade spoon-feeding her, tending to her every need. I ignored them totally.

In the evening, Sara herself paid me a visit. “You’re out in just three days,” she said sweetly, gesturing to her heavily bandaged shoulder. “Do you know how long I have to stay because of your little stunt? If Kade hadn’t spent a fortune flying in specialists, I might have lost the use of my arm.”

“You earned it,” I stated.

Sara’s smile didn’t disappear. “Lila, what are you still acting so proud for? How did it feel to be so desperately in love with him, only to be thrown in a cell by his command?”

I finally turned to look at her. “What is your point?”

“Oh, nothing. I just thought I’d tell you a story,” she said, settling herself on the edge of my bed. “You see, Kade and I go way back. University. Every girl on campus was after him, but he never looked at any of them.” She touched her bandage, her eyes shining with triumph. “Except for me.”

“He remembered I take my coffee black. At student council events, he’d only accept water if I handed it to him. During his big championship speech, his eyes only ever found mine in the crowd. It drove the other girls insane with jealousy, but he only ever smiled for me.”

My fists clenched under the sheets. She leaned in closer. “We were just about to make it official when I got hurt saving him. I had to leave to recover. But we never lost touch all these years.”

She leaned back, a mocking pity on her face. “So you see, you were just a distraction. A plaything. He crooked his finger, and you jumped into his bed. Did you really think it meant anything? I am the one who will be his Luna.” With a final laugh, she stood and left the room.

It was true. It had all been in my head. My love, my hope, my sacrifices—all a pathetic delusion. But from this moment on, the Kade I loved was dead to me. He and Sara could have their perfect fairy tale. It had nothing to do with me anymore.

I had real work to do. I closed my eyes, running through the plan. Tomorrow was the day. Everything was in place.

At first light, I discharged myself and returned to the Frostfang compound. The grounds were still and quiet, the guards at the gate minimal and drowsy. I slipped straight to my room and grabbed the woven bag I’d prepared.

Moving with quiet pace, I used the knowledge of the guard patrol routes I’d observed. I slipped through shadows and melted into the forest surrounding the territory.

I reached the designated spot as the sun began to rise. And there it was a dark private jet, its engines humming. A figure dressed in the deep crimson and black of the Shadowclaw Pack stood at the foot of the steps. He bowed deeply as I approached.

“Your highness,” he said, his voice respectful. “The Alpha awaits your arrival.”

"Don't call me that yet," I said. I didn’t look back at the world I was leaving behind. The jet began to move, carrying me south to a future I had seized for myself.