Kimberly POV:

The warriors circled me. I recognized them. I had paid for their training. I had signed the checks for their armor. Now, they looked at me like I was a rabid dog.

"Drop the weapon," the lead warrior growled.

"It's a necklace, you idiot," I snapped.

"Get on your knees!" another shouted, his muscles bunching as he prepared to shift. But I saw the hesitation in his eyes. His wolf was whining, pacing inside him. He could smell something-my scent wasn't that of a Beta or a crazy woman. It was ozone and storm clouds.

The injustice of it tasted like copper in my mouth. This was my pack. My bloodline ran through the soil beneath this school. My ancestors had built these walls. And yet, a crowd of sheep was ready to tear me apart because a wolf in a cheap suit told them to.

I looked at Austyn. He was smiling. It was a small, cruel thing. He thought he had won. He thought if he humiliated me enough, if he turned the whole world against me, I would break. I would leave. I would disappear, leaving him with my money and his mistress.

"Please," Evalena sobbed, playing the victim perfectly. "Just make her leave, Austyn. I don't want her hurt. I'm too kind for that."

"You hear that?" Austyn said, projecting his voice. "The Luna shows mercy. Even after this woman attacked her." He looked at me with mock sadness. "Kimberly, apologize to the Luna, and I will let you walk out of here. I will even give you some money for the bus."

The crowd murmured their approval. What a benevolent Alpha. What a kind Luna.

I looked down at Lily. She was silent now, her eyes wide and terrified. She was watching me. She was waiting to see if her mother was a victim or a warrior.

I couldn't protect her by hiding anymore. I couldn't save her by being the quiet, supportive wife.

I closed my eyes. I reached deep inside, past the hurt, past the betrayal, down to the ancient, primal core of my being.

I felt the White Wolf stir. She was huge. She was ancient. And she was furious.

Show them, she whispered. Burn it all down.

I opened my eyes.

A gasp ran through the room.

My eyes were no longer brown. They weren't even the usual Alpha red. They were gold. Molten, swirling gold that glowed with an inner light.

The air in the room grew heavy. Gravity seemed to double. The warriors took a step back, their instincts screaming at them to run. Captain Vance dropped his spear, his knees buckling involuntarily.

"Apologize?" I asked. My voice had changed. It echoed, sounding like two voices speaking at once-human and wolf.

I took a step toward Austyn.

"You want me to apologize to a Rogue whore and a traitor?"

"Watch your mouth!" Ms. Albright shrieked, though she was trembling. "How dare you speak to the Alpha like that!"

"He is not an Alpha," I said.

I took another step. The floor tiles cracked beneath my heel.

"He is a stray I picked up off the street. A weakling I dressed in silk. A coward who needs a woman's money to feel like a man."

Austyn's face turned purple. "Kill her!" he screamed at the warriors. "She's gone rogue! She's a threat to the pack! Kill her now!"

The warriors hesitated. They could feel it. The pressure radiating off me was immense. It was the pressure of a Supreme Alpha. Their wolves had forced them into a submissive crouch; they physically couldn't attack me.

"Daddy!" Jaylin yelled. He picked up a rock from a potted plant decoration near the door. "Stop being mean to my daddy!"

He threw the rock.

It wasn't a big rock. It wouldn't have hurt me. But his aim was bad.

It flew past me and hit Lily squarely on the forehead.

A small cut opened up. A drop of bright red blood trickled down her face.

Lily cried out.

Time stopped.

I looked at the blood on my daughter's face.

Something inside me snapped. The last chain holding back my power shattered.

Kimberly POV:

"ENOUGH."

The word didn't come from my throat. It came from the earth. It came from the sky. It was an Alpha Command of the highest order, amplified by the rage of a mother.

A shockwave of pure energy exploded from my body.

The windows of the classroom shattered outward. The desks slid across the floor.

Jaylin was lifted off his feet and thrown backward, landing in a heap of gym mats three meters away.

"Jaylin!" Austyn screamed. He dropped to his knees, crawling toward the boy. "My son! You hurt my son!"

The silence that followed was absolute.

Austyn froze. He realized what he had said.

He slowly looked up. The entire room was staring at him.

"His son?" a parent whispered. "He said... his son?"

"But he said the boy was his nephew," another murmured.

The lies were unraveling. But I wasn't done.

I walked toward him. The warriors scrambled out of my way, dropping their weapons. They were forced to bow. Their wolves wouldn't let them stand in the presence of a Supreme.

Ms. Albright was on the floor, sobbing, a puddle of urine spreading beneath her. She couldn't even lift her head.

I stopped in front of Austyn. He was clutching Jaylin, who was crying but unharmed.

Austyn looked up at me. He was shaking. The false bravado was gone. He looked small.

"Kim," he stammered. "Kim, please. Let's talk about this at home. We can fix this. For the family. I have documents... the elders... they support me..."

"Family?" I looked at Lily, who was wiping the blood from her forehead, looking at me with awe. Then I looked at the man groveling at my feet. "You have no support, Austyn. You have leverage built on sand."

"This is not a dispute, Austyn," I said, my voice ringing like a bell. "This is an execution."

I raised my right hand toward the ceiling. The air crackled with electricity.

"I, Kimberly Miller, Daughter of the Supreme Alpha, True Heir of the Miller Pack..."

Austyn's eyes widened in horror. "No! Kim, don't! You'll kill me! The shock will kill me!"

Rejection was painful. Rejecting a fated mate was agonizing. Rejecting a mate while he was weak could shatter his mind.

I didn't care.

"...do hereby reject you, Austyn Hester, as my Mate."

The world seemed to tear apart.

A scream ripped from Austyn's throat-a sound of pure, unadulterated agony. He clutched his chest, clawing at his shirt as if trying to rip his own heart out. The bond between us, the golden thread that had tied our souls for five years, snapped.

I felt it too. A sharp pain, like a whip across my soul. I staggered, gasping, but I remained standing. My White Wolf howled in triumph, shaking off the dead weight of a traitor.

Austyn collapsed onto the floor, writhing. Evalena screamed, trying to reach him, but the energy rolling off me kept her pinned to the wall.

"I..." Austyn gasped, blood trickling from his nose. "I... accept... your rejection."

He had no choice. The universe demanded balance.

The connection was gone. He was nothing to me now. Just a stranger on the floor.

He looked up at me, his eyes bloodshot, hatred warring with pain.

"You bitch," he wheezed. "You think you've won? Half. I want half. We are legally married. I want half the pack. I want the money. I signed deals in your name!"

I looked down at him with cold, golden eyes.

"You seem to forget how werewolf law works, Rogue," I said. "In the event of a Rejection due to infidelity, the offending party forfeits all assets, titles, and protections."

I pulled out my phone. I tapped the screen once.

"I have just frozen your accounts. I have locked you out of the estate. And I have revoked your security clearance."

I turned to the trembling warriors.

"Escort this trash off my property," I commanded. "If he resists, break his legs."

"Yes, Alpha!" the warriors shouted in unison, their relief palpable. They were desperate to prove they hadn't truly sided with the usurper. They grabbed Austyn and Evalena, dragging them toward the door.

"This isn't over!" Austyn screamed as he was hauled away. "I made you! You were nothing without me!"

I turned my back on him. I knelt down and picked up Lily. She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder.

"Let's go home, baby," I whispered.

I walked out of the school, stepping over the shattered glass, into the cool night air. I was alone. I was single. But for the first time in five years, I was free.