I stormed into Howling Moon, the bass of the music thrumming through my bones like a second heartbeat.

The air was thick with the scent of sweat, whiskey, and wild magic-werewolves, shifters, and thrill-seekers packed the underground bar, their laughter and growls blending into the night.

I wasn't supposed to be in-dark, reckless, alive. It wasn't a world for the Emerson heir-but after tonight, after the way Liam had looked at her, I didn't care about rules anymore.

I slid onto a barstool, the leather creaking under me.

"Something strong," I told the bartender, a broad-shouldered shifter with gold-flecked eyes.

He gave me a once-over-my rumpled blouse, the smudged mascara I hadn't bothered to fix-but didn't ask questions.

Smart man.

The whiskey burned going down, but I welcomed it. Better than the ache in my chest, but it still wasn't enough to quench my pain, my hurt, and the feeling of betrayal Liam had left in me.

I shut my eyes and ordered another shot. I gulped down the whole cup and kept ordering more till my surroundings started to feel lighter.

The dance floor called to me, bodies moving in a haze of sweat and desire. I didn't belong here, not really. But for once, I wanted to be someone who did.

Then a handsome stranger was there-tall, tousled dark hair, a smirk that promised sin. His hands settled on my waist, pulling me flush against him.

"You look like you could use a distraction." He murmured, voice rough over the music.

I should've pushed him away. But the memory of Liam's kiss with Riley made me reckless. So I let him spin me, let his fingers trace the bare skin above my waistband. Let myself forget.

Then-Silence. The music cut off. The air turned thick, heavy, like the moment before a storm breaks. My skin prickled. I didn't need to turn around to know who'd just walked in.

Liam.

The stranger's grip tightened reflexively before he caught himself.

"Alpha." He muttered, the word laced with instinctive fear.

I turned slowly. Liam stood at the entrance, his broad frame blocking the dim light from the street. His jaw was clenched, his golden eyes burning through me.

Every wolf in the room had gone still, heads bowed under the weight of his fury.

"Avery." My name was a growl in his throat. "Come with me."

lifted my chin. "I'm not done."

He paused, his eyes flickering like he had heard something shocking, this was the first time I was defying him, worse in such a open place.

"Avery..." The warning was etched in his voice, as if he were threatening me to defy him again.

I ignored him and turned my attention back to the stranger like Liam's intimidating figure wasn't in the room with us.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. Two strides, and he was on us, wrenching me away with a snarl that sent the stranger stumbling back.

"Mine." Liam snapped, not to me-to him. The man backed off instantly, hands raised.

I scoffed, jerking my arm free. "Yours? You don't get to say that. Not after-"

Liam didn't let me finish. He dragged me outside, his grip unbreakable. The cold air hit my flushed skin, doing nothing to douse the fire between us.

"What the hell were you thinking?" His voice was raw. "That place is-"

"What? Beneath me?" I shoved at his chest. "Or are you just pissed someone else touched what you threw away?"

His eyes flashed. "I never agreed to end things."

"You didn't have to. You chose Riley." Her name tasted like ash on my tongue. "So go ahead. Marry her. I don't want..."

He moved too fast. One second, I was glaring up at him; the next, my back hit the brick wall, his body caging me in. His scent-pine and winter wind-wrapped around me, familiar and infuriating.

"Liar," he murmured, his breath hot against my lips.

I twisted away, but his hands were already sliding under my skirt, calloused fingers finding the place that ached for him. My traitorous body arched into his touch. I shut my eyes and pushed my head back in ecstasy.

"Say it," he demanded, his mouth skimming my throat.

Hell no!! I can't do that!! Not after what he did to me.

"Say you're mine."

I bit my lip to stifle a moan. My head was telling me, listing countless reasons my position with him was so wrong but my body, my body wouldn't listen.

Why? Why is my body reacting this way to his touch? I should hate him? He betrayed me. I should be repelled by his touch, but why do I want him so bad? Why do I wish for him to go further? Why?

I couldn't fight him even though my head was screaming I should. Being so weakened by his touch made me feel disgusted with myself and more angry at him.

"I hate you-" I hummed. He chuckled, low and dark, his thumb circling just there-I came apart with a gasp, my nails digging into his shoulders.

When the stars in my head cleared, he was watching me with smug satisfaction. "Your body knows the truth, sweetheart."

My chest tightened. Damn him. Damn this bond that refused to let me go.

Then, his phone rang. The sound shattered the moment. He hesitated, his thumb stroking my hip like he couldn't bear to let go. But when he saw the screen, his jaw tightened.

Riley.

"I have to take this." He muttered. Of course he did. I turned my face away as he answered, her name on his lips like a prayer.

"Riley? What's wrong?" A pause. Then-"I'll be there." He hung up, his expression torn. "She's not well. I have to go."

The words shouldn't have hurt. Not anymore.

"Then go." I said, my voice hollow.

He cupped my face, his thumb brushing my cheek. "Wait for me. This isn't over."

But as he walked away, I knew the truth. I was always the one left waiting. And I was sick of all this.

The pen hovered over the document for a full three seconds before I pressed down hard enough to leave an indent in the desk beneath.

Avery Emerson signed with a sharp flourish across the dissolution of engagement papers. The ink bled slightly where my hand had trembled.

I was sliding the document into an envelope when the phone shattered the silence of my apartment.

"Miss Emerson," Charles' voice trembled. "You're needed at Mercy General immediately."

My blood turned to ice. The last time I'd been summoned like this, I'd woken up in a hospital bed with no memory of how I'd nearly bled to death in the snow. I hope this time it wouldn't be my family.

The hospital corridors blurred as I ran. Machines beeped behind half-open doors, the scent of antiseptic burning my nose. I rounded the corner to room 412-And froze. The entire Frostveil Pack leadership stood vigil around the hospital bed. My parents. The elders. Liam.

And in the center of it all, swaddled in white linens like some tragic heroine-Riley.

"Avery." Father's voice carried the weight of a disappointed alpha. "You kept us waiting."

My chest heaved. "I thought-"

"Obviously not thinking clearly, as usual," Mother cut in, her fingers stroking Riley's hair. The way she used to stroke mine, before.

Riley lifted her face-pale, perfect, with those crystal tears glistening just so. "Avery...I know I don't deserve your forgiveness after...after what I did."

The monitors beeped steadily. Too steady for someone supposedly sick.

Five years. Five years since I'd found the hunting knife hidden in her room, the one matching the wound that had nearly severed my femoral artery.

Five years since the tribunal had seen through her pretty lies and banished her. And now here she was, back in my mother's arms like no time had passed.

"Look at her, Avery," Mother whispered. "She's been living in some roach-infested apartment in the human district. Malnourished. Sick."

Her grip tightened on Riley's hand. "This is what your vengeance has wrought."

I nearly laughed. My vengeance? I was almost dying in my hospital bed when she was exiled.

It was Cain, Liam's wolf, who dominated it all, frantically trying to get back at the people who had hurt his mate. Liam stood stiffly by the window, his golden eyes tracking my every movement.

His jaw worked as Riley let out a delicate cough. He still cares for her, even after all these years. I know they were once together before I came into the picture, but isn't our mate bond and her betrayal enough for him to see me let go of his affection for her finally?

"And you? Do you also think I should let go of my 'vengeance'?" I decided to ask first. His answer would determine the next step to take.

I stared at him silently, hopefully. I hoped he would stand for me this time, at least his wolf should, but...

"Your mother is right..."

And that was my answer.

I let out a wry smile.

"If you want her welcomed back.." I said slowly. "Then I want the engagement dissolved."

The heart monitor skipped. Riley's eyes flashed with triumph before she buried her face in mother's shoulder.

"Don't be absurd," Father snapped.

"After everything she's suffered?" Mother clutched Riley closer. "You'd really deny her this?"

I met Liam's gaze. "You know what she is."

He stepped forward, his alpha energy making the air hum. "The engagement stands."

Riley made a wounded noise. "I never meant...that night in the snow...it was an accident-"

"Enough!" Father's command shook the walls. "Avery, this ends now. Riley has paid for her mistakes. Your childish grudges won't destroy this alliance."

Childish?

The scar on my thigh burned.

Mother reached for me with her free hand-the first time she'd voluntarily touched me since my return. "Please, Avery. For me."

The words lodged in my throat like shards of ice. Five years of searching, and she'd never once looked at me with half the tenderness she showed the girl who'd left me for dead.

Riley chose that moment to convulse into violent coughs. Mother gasped, cradling her as the machines erupted in alarm. Nurses rushed in-and in the chaos, as Riley was "stabilized," our eyes met.

Her lips curved, just for me.

Game on, sister.

I turned on my heel and walked out, the unsigned dissolution papers crumpled in my fist. Let them bring the viper back into their nest.

This time, I won't come back.

The hospital doors swung shut behind me with a satisfying click, cutting off my father's booming voice mid-threat. I didn't need to hear the rest - I knew the script by heart.

Disobedient daughter. Ungrateful heir. The Emerson family mantra.

Behind me, the door creaked open. I didn't need to turn to know it was Liam. His presence was like a storm at my back, electric and suffocating.

"Avery-" His voice was rough, conflicted. I kept walking.

Then, like clockwork, Riley's breathy whimper cut through the hallway. "Liam... my chest... it hurts..."

I didn't stop to watch him choose. Again. He chose Riley.

After the ward's door snapped closed, I turned and stared blankly at the closed door.

"He chose her over us." Lydia whimpered in both shock and pain. His tenderness with Riley must have been too much for her to bear.

"It was expected." I replied, trying to hide my disappointment.

"But still..."

"It's for the best. We weren't meant to be." I cut off Lydia's haunting whines.

"... It's high time we let go." I added in a whisper, taking a sharp breath. I swallowed hard when I heard Lydia's mournful howls.

I'm sorry.

I walked to my car and contacted my best friend Savannah.

"You're actually doing it?" Savannah's voice crackled through my phone, equal parts shocked and thrilled. "Finally ditching that gilded cage?"

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my wolf Lydia restless beneath my skin.

"If I stay, I'll either kill Riley or become her."

"Meet me at Platinum Heights in twenty."

The luxury apartment complex gleamed under the afternoon sun, all floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek modern lines. Savannah was already waiting outside, her dark curls bouncing as she waved me over.

"Took you long enough." She teased, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Now let's go find you a penthouse worthy of a runaway alpha heiress."

We'd barely stepped into the lobby when we heard a familiar saccharine voice dripped with false surprise. "Oh my god. Avery Emerson?"

Rachel. Riley's favorite sycophant-a social climber with more plastic in her face than the agency's furniture. She leaned against the reception desk, her designer dress probably costing more than the security guard's annual salary.

Her lip curled in a smirk. "Slumming it without Daddy's credit cards, Avery?"

Savannah's grip on my arm tightened. "Ignore the rabid chihuahua."

But Rachel slithered closer, her perfume choking the air. "Riley told me all about your little tantrum. Honestly, it's pathetic. She's sick, and you're still jealous because-"

"Because Liam actually prefers his mate over the psycho who tried to gut her?" Savannah finished sweetly.

"Shocking." Rachel mocked with a fake gasp.

I tuned out their bickering and slid my bank card across the marble counter. The receptionist swiped it, frowned, then swiped again.

"I'm sorry, Miss Emerson. This card has been... declined."

Rachel's loud laugh could shatter glass. "Oops. Guess Daddy finally cut you off!" She twirled a curl around her finger. "Want me to call Riley? Maybe she'll lend you some cash because it seems like you really need it at the moment."

Savannah looked ready to shift and rip her throat out. I caught her wrist-then pulled the matte black card from my wallet's hidden slot.

The receptionist's eyes bulged. The embossed silver crest-a wolf's head crowned with thorns-glinted under the lights.

The manager materialized out of thin air, bowing slightly. "Miss Emerson, our apologies. We have the Skyview Penthouse reserved for VIP clients. Allow me to show you immediately."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "What-what is that?"

Savannah snatched the card before I could stop her, squinting at the embossed silver wolf insignia. "Holy shit. Is this-"

"None of your business," I said in a playful tone, grabbing it back.

Rachel lunged forward. "Let me see that-"

The manager stepped between us, his polite smile frozen. "I'm afraid unauthorized persons aren't permitted beyond this point."

"Unauthorized?" Rachel shrieked. "Do you know who my boyfriend is?"

The manager didn't blink. "Precisely. And I'd say the same thing even if he showed up in person."

Rachel's jaw dropped as shame hit her.

Savannah's cackle echoed through the lobby as the elevator doors closed on Rachel's furious face.

As the door closed, Savannah hissed, "Since when do you have that?"

I stared at the ascending floor numbers, my pulse steady for the first time in days. "Since I stopped playing by my father's rules."

The doors opened to a sprawling penthouse, all glass and gleaming surfaces, and the city stretched out beneath us like a kingdom.

Savannah whistled. "Damn. Remind me never to bet against you."

I walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the sunset paint the sky in hues of fire. Somewhere out there, my father was freezing my accounts. Liam was probably comforting Riley.

My heart still ached, but not that much. What I couldn't see was-somewhere across the city, in a penthouse even taller than mine, a phone lit up with a notification.

Black Card #0721 activated.

A shadowed figure smiled.

"Finally."