Rhea’s POV

“Don’t think that if you play the victim, I will let you stay and be my stepmother!” Marc’s voice cracked with adolescent rage. “If you have the strength to leave, then go and never crawl back!”

The silver-tipped arrow, heavy with the boy's hate, hissed through the air. I tried to twist away, but the bolt grazed my shoulder, tearing through my skin and embedding itself in the muscle. A pained scream ripped from my throat as I collapsed onto the cold stone.

Malachi was at my side in a heartbeat. He gathered me into his arms, his face pale as I gritted my teeth against the searing fire in my shoulder.

“I am so sorry, Rhea,” he choked out, his voice trembling.

Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced the air. Casey let out a wail, and Marc screamed right after her.

“Father! Come quickly! Lady Casey twisted her ankle trying to help that witch!” Marc cried out, pointing at the grass.

Malachi’s eyes darted between my bleeding wound and Casey’s pitiful sobbing. He looked torn for a single second, then he let out a heavy sigh and released his hold on me.

“It is a clean wound, Rhea. Go to the pack’s healers; I will meet you there. I must carry Casey inside—she cannot walk,” he stated, his voice regaining its Alpha coldness.

If my heart broke further, I didn't let it show. I stayed on the dirt, watching as the man I had loved for eight years walked away from me again. He lifted Casey in a bridal carry. Over his shoulder, I saw the smug, viper-like look she gave me as they disappeared toward the carriage, Marc following close behind.

I was left in a pool of my own blood, shot by the very hand I had guided in the hunt. Fate was a cruel goddess.

I struggled to find my footing when a shadow fell over me.

“You wretched girl! Why are you still on our lands? Did you not howl to the whole city that you were leaving?”

I knew that bitter scent. It was Hestia, Malachi’s mother. She had never seen me as anything more than a stain on her family’s name. I managed to stand, facing her with a trembling jaw. She gasped, but not with pity—only with disgust at the blood on my clothes.

“Do you wish to bring shame to my son? Why must you choose to die here? Go and breathe your last outside our borders!” she hissed.

“I was leaving... but your grandson shot me,” I whispered.

She scoffed, her eyes cold as Moonstone. “You probably hurt yourself just to look pitiful. You want Malachi to take pity on you and beg you to stay. You know you have no rank here the moment you turned your back on the Pack.”

“I want nothing from your bloodline, Hestia! It was the boy who did this!” I snapped, the pain making my wolf growl.

“Then you should have no trouble leaving,” she sneered. Before I could move, she grabbed my travel boxes and tossed them out past the iron gates into the dirt.

“Get out!” she snarled, shoving me toward the boundary line. “Go and die in the wild. Leave my son in peace!”

I staggered and fell, my hand clutching my shredded shoulder. The iron gates slammed shut behind me.

“You will all regret this!” I swore into the wind, my heart burning with a new, dark rage.

I managed to drag my boxes to the road just as the carriage I had summoned arrived. The driver, a beta from a neutral territory, hopped out. “Apologies for the delay, Lady.”

“It is fine,” I muttered, pulling myself into the seat.

He stared at the blood soaking my dress. “Are you still heading for the Great Border?”

I shook my head, feeling lightheaded. “Take me to a healer first.”

I leaned my head against the glass, and the world went black.

---

The next thing I knew, the steady thump-thump of a heart-monitor filled my ears. I was in a clean, white room. I tried to sit up, but a sharp spike of pain shot through my arm. My boxes were stacked by the bed.

The door creaked open, and a healer in a white coat walked in. “Lady Rhea, how are you feeling?”

“What happened?” I groaned. “The last thing I remember was the carriage.”

The healer nodded. “You lost consciousness. The driver brought you straight to us.”

I sighed and reached for my phone. No missed calls. No messages from Malachi. His son had nearly killed me, and he hadn't even bothered to check if I was breathing. I quickly typed a message to the contact I had reached out to before.

Something happened. Reschedule my departure ASAP.

“Lady Rhea?” the healer called. “You lost a great deal of blood, but the herbs have done their work. You will be discharged shortly.”

“Thank you,” I said, my voice steady.

I stood up and reached for my bags. I was ready to vanish. But the door swung open again, and Casey sauntered in. She wasn't limping. In fact, she looked perfectly fine.

“What do you want? I thought your ankle was broken,” I said coldly.

She giggled, a sound that made my skin crawl. “Oh, that? I just wanted to see who Malachi would choose if we were both in pain. And he chose me! Isn't it wonderful?”

I scoffed, turning away. “Have your victory, Casey. I am leaving.”

Casey stepped into my path, a slow, poisonous smile curling her lips. “There is one more thing you should know,” she whispered, her voice dripping with triumph. “I am carrying Malachi’s pup. I am pregnant.”

The world seemed to stop. My heart shattered, but I kept my face like stone. I would not give her the satisfaction of seeing me bleed.

Eight years. Eight years at his side, and every time we were together, he made sure I took the mountain-root herbs to prevent a pregnancy. He had always told me he wasn't ready for more children.

He had always wanted another heir. Just... never with me.

Rhea’s POV

“Goodbye, Casey,” I said, my voice as cold as a winter moon.

Casey refused to move. I felt my wolf pacing inside me, restless and angry. My mindlink had already buzzed with a message that my flight was ready; I couldn't afford to be late again. I desperately needed to put miles between myself and this pack.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

Casey smirked, her eyes gleaming with malice. “I want to see you break. I want to see you howl in pain.”

I scoffed. “Too bad. You aren't worth the tears.”

As I moved to drag my boxes past her, Casey reached into her furs and tossed a few silver coins at my feet. They clattered against the stone floor.

“Use this for your fare, beggar,” she giggled.

I lost it. Before I could think, my hand moved—not with claws, but with a stinging, resounding slap that echoed through the room.

“How dare you?” I hissed.

Casey let out a piercing shriek, the sound of a wounded pup. In an instant, the door burst open. Malachi and Marc rushed in, their scents thick with alarm.

“What have you done, Rhea?” Malachi yelled, seeing Casey’s reddened cheek.

I didn't flinch. “What have I done? You hear her cry and you come running. Where were you when your son’s arrow was in my shoulder? Where were you when I collapsed in the dirt?”

“Evil woman!” Marc cried, shielding Casey. “She hurt her! She’s trying to kill Casey!”

“It is not her fault, Marc,” Casey sobbed, playing her part perfectly. “I came to beg her to stay for the sake of the pack... I offered her travel money, and she struck me.”

“Stop this madness, Casey! Stop playing the victim!” I snapped.

“No, you stop this, Rhea!” Malachi roared, his Alpha command vibrating in the small room. “I have been patient enough. I will take you back to the manor, but only if you kneel and apologize to Casey.”

I stared at him for a moment, then burst into a dark, mocking laughter. “Even if the Moon Goddess made you the last male on earth, Malachi, I would never run in your pack again.”

“What is that supposed to mean? You are mine!” Malachi thundered.

“For eight years you claimed you didn't want another heir. Yet the same day your son tries to kill me, I find out Casey is carrying your pup,” I stated.

Malachi cast a sharp, sideways look at Casey—a silent snarl asking why she had revealed the secret.

“We can speak of the pup later,” Malachi said, his voice dropping. “Just come home. We can resolve this within the pack.”

I scoffed. “In your dreams, Alpha.”

I turned my back and walked away. He kept yelling, his voice echoing down the hospital halls, commanding me to stop, but I ignored him until the doors swung shut behind me.

---

I made it to the airport just in time. As I boarded the plane and prepared to switch off my phone, it began to vibrate. It was Malachi. I picked up, one last time.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

“I know you are angry about the pregnancy,” Malachi’s voice was lower now, trying to be persuasive. “Come home. Carry a pup for me, and I will put your name in the pack's lineage. You and your child will want for nothing.”

I let out a dry, cold laugh. “Go to hell, Malachi.”

I hung up and blocked his number before he could utter another word. The flight was long, spanning across territories I had never seen. I slept fitfully, dreaming of silver arrows and dead friends, but a sense of relief washed over me when the wheels finally touched the ground.

I stepped into the arrivals hall, and my eyes immediately found a tall man in a dark suit holding a sign: Rhea BLAKE.

I walked toward him. He bowed his head slightly, recognizing me instantly. “Miss Blake. I am Tony, your personal guard.”

“Thank you, Tony,” I said.

He took my luggage and led me to a sleek, black SUV. I sank into the plush leather seats, feeling the weight of the last eight years slowly lifting. We drove for a long time before pulling up to a massive, gated estate.

This was the ancestral home of the Blake family. My grandparents, John and Linda Blake, ran the most powerful empire in the West, and I was their only living heir.

Three years ago, they had found me. They told me my mother was their daughter—an heiress who had eloped with my father for love, abandoning her title. Before she died of her illness, she had sent them a letter telling them about me. Back then, I was so blinded by my love for Malachi that I had rejected their crown. I thought I could make a life in his pack.

“Rhea! Welcome home!”

My grandmother’s voice was warm. She and my grandfather stepped out of the mansion and wrapped me in a fierce hug.

“We are so glad you finally came to us,” they whispered.

I smiled, a real smile for the first time in years. “Thank you for taking me back.”

My grandmother wiped a stray tear from my face. “Nonsense, Rhea. Everything you see—the land, the wealth, the power—it all belongs to you.”

My grandfather nodded, his eyes sharp and proud. “Yes. You are now the Heiress of the Blake Empire.”

I looked back toward the horizon, thinking of the Zander pack and the people who treated me like a shadow.

The time for mourning was over. Now, it was time for payback.