Hayley's Perspective:

The air at forty thousand feet was clean and crisp.

I sat in the leather seat of my charter-not my Gulfstream, but a smaller, faster Learjet.

I swirled the champagne in my glass. It tasted like victory.

The phone on the table buzzed. It had been buzzing for an hour.

I finally picked it up. Forty-seven missed calls from Jackson. Twelve from Cornelia. Five from "Pack Attorney."

Ignoring them all, I dialed another number.

"Council of Wolves, Legal Division. Which pack, please?"

"This is Dr. Hayley Hogan. I'm filing a Clause Seven revocation against Alpha Jackson Dorsey."

Silence on the line for a moment. Clause Seven was rare. It was the "bad faith" clause.

Normally, the male filed against the female for infidelity. A female filing against a male for financial or emotional incompetence was almost unheard of.

"Dr. Hogan... are you sure? This will freeze all assets associated with the mating bond immediately."

"I know," I said. "I want the divorce papers served to him electronically. Serve them now."

"Very well. We'll need a reason to file."

"Adultery," I said. "Embezzlement of pack funds. And..." I paused, looking out the window at the clouds. "Stupidity."

"I'll... I'll mark it as 'irreconcilable differences,' ma'am."

"Do it."

I hung up.

Almost instantly, a searing pain lanced through my chest.

The Bond.

The filing of the legal document had triggered the magical severance.

The golden thread that connected my soul to Jackson's pulled taut.

I gritted my teeth. The pain was visceral, like a hook being yanked from my heart.

But beneath the pain, there was relief.

My phone lit up again. A text from Jackson.

Jackson: Cards aren't working. Hotel canceled our reservations. They said the card we registered was reported stolen. Hayley, fix this NOW! We're stranded!

I smiled and didn't reply.

Instead, I opened the mind-link for the last time.

The connection was fuzzy. He was still trying to block me, but his panic leaked through.

"Hayley! Answer me! Where are you?" His voice echoed in my head.

I took a sip of champagne.

"I'm flying to St. Barts," I projected clearly, cutting through the noise in his mind. "The weather is lovely there this time of year."

"St. Barts? You were supposed to be on a cargo flight! Listen to me, send money. Amber is crying. She's stressed. It's bad for the baby!"

"Jackson, there is no baby," I said. "And even if there were, not my problem."

"You're my mate! You're the Luna! You have responsibilities!"

"My responsibilities ended when you gave my seat to your mistress," I replied. "I've instructed the bank to flag any transactions from your location as fraud. You have no access to the trust or the contingency fund."

"How are we supposed to get home?!" The fear in his voice was delicious.

"Run!" I said. "You're a wolf, right? Use your legs!"

"Hayley, please. Mom's sick. She needs her medication."

"Tell Amber to heal her. Oh, wait. Amber's a thief. She can't heal anything."

"I command you to-"

How cute. He still thought he could command me.

When I loved him, he was an Alpha.

When I took my love back, with interest.

"Goodbye, Jackson."

I closed my eyes and visualized the golden thread in my mind.

Ragged. Ugly. Tainted by his betrayal.

I pictured a silver pair of scissors.

Snip.

The crack was audible in the physical plane. A shockwave rippled through the cabin, rattling the glasses.

The link was gone. The lingering shadow of Jackson in my mind-his moods, his wants, his selfishness-vanished.

Silence. Beautiful, absolute silence.

I let out a long breath, realizing I'd been holding it.

I looked down at my left hand. The diamond that symbolized my oppression glittered.

I walked to the garbage chute and dropped the ring in.

Trash to trash, I whispered mentally.

I went back to my seat. The pilot's voice came over the speaker.

"Dr. Hogan, we're beginning our descent into St. Barts. A car from the Sanctuary will be waiting for you."

"Thank you," I said.

I picked up my phone one last time and opened the banking app.

Dorsey Pack Operating Account: $0.00

Hayley Hogan Personal Trust: $550,000,000.00

I locked the screen.

I didn't need to do anything else to Jackson. When he realized the accounts were zeroed out, he'd implode on his own.

He didn't know yet that he wasn't coming back to a den. He didn't know the deed was in my name.

The best was yet to come.

Haley's POV:

The Sanctuary was a paradise built for the elite of the werewolf world.

Located on a private island, it was neutral ground. No pack politics, no wars. Just luxury, healing, and obscenely expensive cocktails.

I was lying on a massage table on a balcony overlooking the turquoise sea. The air smelled of sea salt and hibiscus.

"Dr. Hogan?"

I opened one eye. A young cabana attendant stood there, holding a silver tray with a phone on it.

"I told you, no calls," I murmured.

"It's the High Council, ma'am. And... the police."

I sat up and pulled my silk robe tight around me. "The police?"

I took the phone. "This is Dr. Hogan."

"Dr. Hogan, this is Detective Miller from the Financial Crimes Unit. We received an automated fraud alert from your accounts."

"Yes," I said, swinging my legs off the table. "I authorized the freeze."

"We apprehended a suspect in Kansas, a Mr. Jackson Dorsey. He attempted to forcefully access an electronic vault using old passcodes. When he failed, he tried to physically intimidate a teller at a local bank branch."

I laughed. A short, sharp bark of laughter. Jackson, trying to pull rank as an Alpha on a human bank teller. He really was an idiot.

"Is he under arrest?"

"He's in custody. He claims this is a misunderstanding. He says he's your husband and has rights to the money."

"He became my ex-husband four hours ago," I corrected. "And the money is in a pre-marital trust fund. His name isn't on it. It's attempted grand larceny."

"Understood, ma'am. We will hold him. Do you wish to press charges?"

I looked out at the ocean. I thought about five years of disrespect. I thought about that economy ticket.

"Yes," I said. "Press charges. And Detective? He might try to claim diplomatic immunity as a 'Pack Alpha.' Please inform him that the Dorsey Pack is a registered corporation, and he is merely a terminated CEO."

"Will do."

I hung up.

The attendant handed me another folder. "This arrived from your lawyer."

I opened it. It was a status report on the Dorsey Pack.

Subject: Dorsey Pack Status.

Location: Motel 6 off Interstate 70, Kansas.

Status: Destitute.

There were photos attached. One showed Cornelia sitting on a curb, eating a plastic-wrapped sandwich. She looked traumatized.

Another photo showed Amber. She was screaming at the motel receptionist.

The report noted: "Ms. Compton attempted to sell a 'family heirloom' at a local pawn shop to cover room and board. The item was identified as a fake. She fled the premises when the owner threatened to call the police."

I scoffed. "My pearl necklace." Jackson had stolen it from my jewelry box to give to her. "Of course they were real, but Amber looked so trashy the pawnbroker probably assumed she stole a fake."

Cutting the funding brings instant karma.

My phone rang again. This time it was a video call from an unknown number.

I answered.

It was the Alpha of the Blood River Pack-one of the most powerful packs in the North.

"Dr. Hogan," Alpha Kane's deep voice rumbled. He was ruggedly handsome, bearing scars that told stories of real battles, not Jackson's fake posturing.

"Alpha Kane. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I heard you are... newly available," he said, a glint in his eye. "And that you're in St. Barts. My Beta took a heavy hit from a rogue bear. His leg is shattered. The local docs say he'll walk with a limp for the rest of his life."

"And you want me to come fix him?"

"I'll pay," Kane said. "Double your usual rate. Plus... I'd like to take you to dinner. To discuss business, of course."

I felt a flutter in my chest. Not a mate bond-that was gone. Just pure, primal attraction.

"I'm expensive, Alpha Kane," I said, leaning back.

"Quality always is," he replied. "My private jet can be there in two hours."

"Make it three," I said. "I have a massage to finish."

I hung up.

I looked at the attendant. "Bring me another mimosa. And tell the spa I want the 'Rebirth' package."

I lay back down.

My white wolf, my inner beast, stretched luxuriously. She felt powerful. She felt seen.

For five years, I had been the shadow behind a weak man. I had dimmed my own light so he could shine.

Not anymore.

The Dorsey Pack was crumbling in a cheap motel in Kansas.

And Dr. Luna's empire was just getting started.