Lilian’s POV

Brian had barely left when my parents arrived.

The iron-barred corridor seemed to shrink the moment they stepped into view,their Alpha and Luna pressure filling the space like suffocating fog.They didn’t rush to me.They didn’t ask how I was.They stood a few steps away,looking at me as if I were a stain that had finally refused to scrub out.

My mother spoke first,her tone clipped and cold,stripped of any maternal warmth.

“Lilian,admit your mistakes.As long as you confess properly,Brian will let you go.”

My father nodded beside her,eyes sharp,voice edged like a blade forged by Pack law.

“You’ve embarrassed the Wyatt Pack enough.Stop resisting.”

I couldn’t help it.A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Ever since the day they brought me back into the Pack,I had been trained to lower my head.If I scored higher than Adeline in Pack academy exams,that was my fault.If I outperformed her in combat drills or strategy trials,that was my fault too.If I didn’t smile sweetly,didn’t act spoiled,didn’t play the obedient adopted sister she wanted me to be—every difference became another sin.

I had admitted fault for years.Until the words themselves had lost all meaning.

This time,I didn’t bow.

Swallowing the bitterness clawing at my throat,I asked calmly,“What’s the point of admitting anything now?”

I lifted my eyes to meet theirs,my voice steady despite the ache spreading through my chest.

“Should I admit that I didn’t push Adeline hard enough?”

The slap came before the echo of my words faded.

My father’s hand struck my face with a sharp crack,the force snapping my head to the side.Pain flared hot across my cheek,bright enough to blur my vision for a second.I tasted blood.

But I didn’t cry.

I straightened slowly,lifting my chin in stubborn defiance,and let out a cold,humorless snort.

“I was kidnapped,”I said hoarsely.“Locked up.Beaten.Nearly broken.And all you cared about was whether Adeline caught a cold.”

My wolf growled low in my chest,furious and wounded.

“Now she stages a fake fall,”I continued,voice shaking but unbroken,“and you force me to confess again.Tell me—am I just some stray you dragged off the street?Something disposable you can blame whenever she cries?”

Neither of them flinched.

They looked at me the way one looks at an enemy,not a daughter.A threat to the fragile balance they’d built around Adeline.

My mother’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“Ungrateful,”she snapped.“If you refuse to admit fault,then stay here.”

My father turned away first.

They left without another glance,their footsteps echoing down the corridor like a verdict already passed.

Before I could protest,the guards seized me.Their hands were rough,impatient,suppressing my wolf with iron collars laced faintly with silver runes.I was shoved forward,stumbling,dragged into a narrow holding cell deep within the Pack station.

The door slammed shut.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

Only a thin blade of light slipped through a narrow window near the ceiling,barely enough to remind me the world still existed outside these walls.The air was stale,heavy,pressing against my lungs.

My body began to tremble.

The walls felt too close.The ceiling too low.My chest tightened as if invisible hands were squeezing my ribs inward.Claustrophobia surged,violent and merciless,dragging memories of that dark room back to the surface.

“Brian…”I whispered instinctively,my voice cracking.“Brian…”

No answer came.

Only silence.Only darkness.

Time lost all meaning.

When the cell door finally creaked open,I flinched so hard my back slammed against the wall.Shapes filled the doorway—tall,broad-shouldered women with hardened expressions and the unmistakable scent of Pack enforcers who no longer cared about rules.

One of them smirked.

“Is that her?Miss Wyatt said to teach her a lesson.”

My heart dropped.

A short-haired woman stepped forward,cracking her knuckles with deliberate slowness.Panic surged through me.I backed away,but another fist tangled in my hair and yanked me down.

The floor rushed up to meet me.

Fists and boots followed.

Each blow exploded through my body,sharp and unforgiving.Pain radiated through my ribs,my back,my legs.Old injuries screamed as they were torn open again.I tried to fight back,but my wolf was weak,suppressed,my body still healing from the last beating.

I was no match for them.

I curled in on myself,arms shielding my head,biting down on my screams as they vented their cruelty without restraint.The world narrowed to pain and breath and the metallic taste of blood.

“Enough!”a guard shouted from outside the bars.“Stop it!”

Reluctantly,they stepped back.

I lay sprawled on the cold floor,barely conscious,blood soaking into the stone beneath me.My vision dimmed.My back burned where old wounds split anew,each movement sending agony through my bones.

Laughter echoed faintly as the door opened again.

Hands grabbed me.I was dragged out,my body scraping against the ground.Their mocking voices followed me like ghosts,but I didn’t have the strength to respond.

A full day and night passed.

Then,without ceremony,I was thrown out of the station.

Sunlight hit my eyes like a blade.I raised a trembling hand to shield my face,swaying as I forced myself upright.Step by step,limping and dizzy,I made my way to the hospital.

After my wounds were cleaned and hastily bandaged,I turned to leave.

That was when I saw them.

Brian froze the moment his eyes landed on me.Shock flickered across his face,genuine this time.He stared as if seeing me for the first time.

“How…”His brow furrowed.“How did you end up like this?”

For a heartbeat,something like heartache crossed his eyes.His hand lifted,as if he meant to help me.

I stepped back.

Before I could speak,Adeline rushed to his side,clinging to his arm like she belonged there.She looked at me with wide,worried eyes,perfectly rehearsed.

“Lilian,”she said softly,“Brian released you yesterday.Why didn’t you come home last night?And how did you hurt yourself so badly?”

She turned to Brian,voice gentle as venom.

“Don’t blame her.She probably just wants attention.Look at her—she’s really hurt.Let’s treat her first,okay?”

Her words worked instantly.

The concern vanished from Brian’s eyes,replaced by cold fury.He glared at me as if I were something repulsive.

“You’re doing this again,”he snapped.“Lilian,your lies are obvious now.No one believes you anymore.”

This time,I didn’t argue.

I simply looked at him,memorizing the face I had once loved with everything I had.His eyes were still beautiful—but empty of me.

He turned to Adeline,gently taking her hand.Without looking back,he ordered,“If she has the strength to hurt herself,she has the strength to walk home.”

Then,colder still,“Watch her.Don’t let her take a single shortcut.”

They walked away together.

I stood there alone for a long moment before forcing my legs to move.Each step burned.Each breath hurt.

And with every painful stride,one thought carved itself deeper into my mind,sharper than any blade.

I will make them pay.

All of them.

Lilian’s POV

When I finally reached home and pushed the front door open,Adeline’s sobs poured out of the living room like a blade dragged across my nerves.

She was curled up on the sofa,trembling,her face buried against Brian’s chest.His arms wrapped around her instinctively,protectively,as if she were something fragile that might shatter if he loosened his grip even slightly.The air was thick with her scent—sweet,pitiful,carefully controlled—so different from the sharp bitterness clinging to my own clothes.

“Brian…”Adeline cried hoarsely.“I don’t want to go through with the arranged mating.I don’t want to marry that mad Alpha.He’s cruel.Brutal.The females from his previous pack alliances…they all died.”Her fingers clenched in his shirt.“Why does it have to be me?Why can’t it be Lilian instead?”

Her words landed with surgical precision.

Brian’s hand moved slowly,soothing her back in steady circles,the way one calmed a frightened wolf.His voice dropped into that gentle register he only ever used for her.

“Don’t be afraid.With me here,no one will force you.”He paused,then added with quiet certainty,“No matter who has to go through with the arranged mating,it won’t be you.”

My parents immediately echoed him,their Alpha and Luna authority wrapping around Adeline like armor.

“Don’t worry,sweetheart,”my mother said softly.“We would never let you go to that pack.”

“We’ll protect you,”my father added.“No matter what.”

I stood in the doorway,half in shadow.

No one looked at me.

Not Brian.Not my parents.Not even Adeline,who cried so convincingly in his arms.It was as if I were already invisible—already chosen as the unspoken alternative.

Without saying a word,I walked past them and went straight to my room.

The door clicked shut behind me,and the silence cracked something open inside my chest.

Memories flooded in without mercy.

I remembered the night I had casually mentioned wanting to see the sunrise from above the clouds.That very evening,Brian had ordered a private jet prepared.By dawn,we were standing on a remote island cliff,an observation platform built overnight just so I wouldn’t have to stand in the cold sea wind.

He had once spent hundreds of millions without blinking just to make me smile.

He took me skiing through the Alps,held my hand while we chased the aurora across frozen plains,cooked for me when I was too tired to eat,traveled with me to places even wandering wolves rarely reached.He documented every journey,every laugh,every quiet moment,as if he were afraid time would steal them away.

Back then,I truly believed he was my mate.

Now I understood the truth.

I wasn’t irreplaceable.I was just new.

A novelty.A distraction that had lasted longer than expected.

I wiped my tears away quickly,not allowing myself the luxury of breaking down.My hands moved with practiced calm as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small recorder.I removed the memory card,then slid it into an envelope along with a copy of the detention center’s CCTV footage.

I sent everything to my friend with a single tap.

As the progress bar filled,a bitter taste rose in my throat.

At first,I had only meant to record Adeline’s pitiful performance in front of Brian and my parents.Evidence,just in case.But fate had been cruelly efficient—I had also captured her ordering the inmates to“teach me a lesson.”

When the files finally sent,my screen dimmed.

Footsteps sounded outside my door.

My heart tightened.

The door opened quietly,and Brian stepped inside.His tall frame filled the doorway,his presence as familiar as it was unbearable.Before I could react,he crossed the room in long strides and pulled me into his arms.

The scent of cedar and night air clung to him—the same scent that once made me feel safe.Now,it only made me feel trapped.

He rested his chin against the top of my head,his grip firm,almost desperate.

“Forgive me,Lilian,”he whispered weakly.

I froze in his embrace.

My lips pressed together,every word lodged painfully in my throat.I didn’t respond—but he didn’t seem to need me to.

“Don’t be so hard on Adeline,”he continued softly,as if soothing a child.“She’s different from you.You’re the Wyatt Pack’s biological daughter.You already have everything.”

He hesitated,then added,“I’ll marry you one day.”

My fingers curled slowly.

“But Adeline…”His voice gentled further.“She has nothing.It’s normal for her to be sensitive.You should try to understand her.Be patient with her.”

“I have everything…”

The words slipped out of me in a whisper so bitter it made my stomach churn.

So this was his apology.

He hadn’t come to admit fault.He hadn’t come to acknowledge what had been done to me.He had come to excuse Adeline—and to remind me of my place.

Brian truly believed that a hug and a few soft words could erase everything.That no matter how deeply he hurt me,I would forgive him as I always had.Even if just yesterday,he had sent me home bruised,broken,and bleeding.

In his eyes,he could strike me ninety-nine times—

and then toss me a single bone and expect me to crawl back,tail wagging.

I lifted my head and looked at his face.

My heart ached so fiercely it felt like it might splinter apart.

Slowly,I realized something crucial.

Brian was wrong.

And this time,I would not come back.

Lilian’s POV

The next morning,I was dragged out of sleep by a burst of noise from the courtyard below.

Laughter.Drums.Shouts layered with excitement.

My head was still heavy when I forced myself upright.Before I could fully wake,a servant knocked sharply on my door,her voice carefully neutral.

“Miss Lilian,Sir Brian has invited a troupe to perform in the courtyard.He asked that you come downstairs to watch.”

A troupe.

I let out a breath that tasted faintly of irony.

In the Wyatt Pack,performances were never just entertainment.They were displays.Declarations.Proof of status meant to be witnessed by the entire pack.Brian knew this better than anyone.

And he also knew I hated crowds.Hated noise.Hated spectacle.

Those things had always belonged to Adeline.

I pushed myself out of bed,my injuries protesting beneath my skin.The faint ache along my ribs reminded me that I was still healing,that my wolf had not yet recovered from confinement,fear,and betrayal.

“I won’t—”I began.

But before the words left my mouth,the door opened again.

Adeline walked in first.

She was dressed in a pale dress that flowed like mist,her hair loose over her shoulders.Brian stood beside her,his arm wrapped around her waist with unconscious familiarity.They looked…harmonious.Like a pair meant to be seen together.

Adeline’s smile bloomed the moment she spotted me.

“Lilian,”she said brightly,crossing the room in quick,light steps.She grabbed my hand,her grip warm and intimate,as though we had never been enemies.“Come on,don’t sulk.Brian prepared all of this just for you.”

Her fingers tightened slightly,nails pressing into my skin.

“If you don’t go,”she added softly,“he’ll be disappointed.”

Brian stood behind her,his gaze fixed on my face.There was something in his eyes—expectation,perhaps even hope—as if he truly believed this display could erase everything that had happened.

“Just take a look,”he said.“Alright?”

They were perfectly aligned.

I felt like prey cornered by two wolves who had already decided the outcome.

With Adeline pulling me forward and Brian watching closely,I had no room to refuse.I was escorted downstairs,step by step,my feet heavy,my chest tight.

The courtyard had been transformed.

A circular stage stood at its center,pack members gathered around it in excited clusters.A fire-breather stood atop the platform,flames bursting from his mouth in violent arcs that lit the morning air in blazing orange and red.

The heat washed over me in suffocating waves.

My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin.

Adeline clung to Brian’s arm as though frightened,whispering into his ear.Brian leaned down,listening,brushing a stray lock of hair from her face,wiping sweat from her brow with practiced tenderness.

They looked like mates.

I stood off to the side.

Invisible.

Unnecessary.

Brian’s phone rang suddenly.He murmured something to Adeline and stepped away to answer it,his back turning to the stage.

That was when the unease sharpened into something lethal.

I stared at the flames,my instincts screaming.Fire was sacred to werewolves—symbol of purification,of judgment,of destruction.No pack ritual involved flame without meaning.

Then I felt it.

Adeline’s gaze.

I turned.

The sweet smile she had worn moments ago was gone.In its place was a twisted,chilling expression that made my blood run cold.

Before I could step back,she lunged.

Her hand clamped around my arm with shocking strength—far stronger than she ever pretended to be.She shoved me forward,straight toward the safety line that separated spectators from the roaring fire.

“Ah—!”

I screamed as the heat slammed into my face,my skin burning instantly.I struggled,claws threatening to break free,but her grip was merciless.

Then,in a single smooth motion,she released me.

And threw herself even closer to the flames.

“Brian!”she screamed,voice tearing through the courtyard.“Help me!”

Chaos erupted.

Brian spun around,his phone hitting the ground as he charged forward without hesitation.He broke through the cordon,scooped Adeline into his arms,and staggered back,shielding her body with his own.

Gasps rippled through the pack.

The moment Brian steadied himself,his expression hardened.He turned toward me,eyes blazing with fury.

Before I could speak,pain exploded across my face.

His palm struck my cheek with brutal force.

“Why did you push her?”he roared.“Are you trying to kill her?!”

My ears rang.The world tilted.

“I didn’t—”I tried to say.

He didn’t listen.

Brian shoved me hard.

I stumbled backward and fell,my shoulder grazing the edge of the spreading flames.Searing pain tore through me,ripping a cry from my throat.

That sound made him freeze.

For a fraction of a second,something like hesitation flickered in his eyes.

But then Adeline clutched his chest weakly.

“Brian…Lilian looks worse than I do,”she whispered.“Take her to the hospital first…”

The hesitation vanished.

Brian looked at me with open disgust,then turned back to Adeline as if I were nothing more than an inconvenience.

“Take her too,”he ordered the guards coldly.“We’re going to the hospital.”

He carried Adeline away like she was made of glass.

I lay on the ground,firelight flickering above me.The pain in my shoulder deepened,spreading through my body.My vision blurred as the guards rushed toward me.

The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me—

Was the flames still burning.