Eliana POV:

The next morning, the sun felt intrusive. It glared through my window, demanding I wake up and face a reality I didn't want.

My room was bare. The walls, once covered in photos of us, were now blank. Four garbage bags sat by the door.

I had one last thing to do.

I drove to the Alpha's house. It was a massive estate in the center of the pack lands, screaming wealth and power. My hands gripped the steering wheel of my old sedan until my knuckles turned white.

I had a small box in the passenger seat. Inside was the silver promise ring he gave me when we were sixteen. It wasn't a mating mark, but in our world, it meant *intent*.

I parked and walked up the steps. Luna Maria, Jax's mother, opened the door.

"Ellie, dear!" She smiled warmly, pulling me into a hug. She didn't know. "Jax is upstairs. Go on up."

"Thank you, Luna Maria," I said, my voice hollow.

I walked up the grand staircase. The hallway usually smelled like lemon polish and old wood. Today, it smelled like something else.

Nauseatingly sweet. Artificial vanilla.

*Catalina.*

My stomach churned. The scent was coming from Jax's bedroom.

The door was ajar. I pushed it open.

Jax was sitting on his bed, shirtless. Catalina was sitting on the floor between his legs, and he was braiding her wet hair.

The intimacy of it hit me harder than a punch. Braiding hair was something wolves did for their mates. It was a grooming ritual. A sign of care.

He had never braided my hair.

"Jax," I said.

His head snapped up. Catalina turned, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Eliana," Jax sighed, dropping a strand of Catalina's hair. "What are you doing here? Did you come to apologize for yesterday?"

Apologize?

I walked forward and placed the velvet box on his dresser. "I came to return this."

Jax stared at the box. He knew what was inside. His jaw tightened. "Stop being dramatic. You're overreacting."

"Am I?" I gestured to the room, thick with Catalina's scent. "Your room smells like her, Jax. You haven't even marked her, and you're letting her scent-mark your territory. It's disrespectful to the bond."

"The bond?" Catalina laughed. It was a tinkling, cruel sound. "What bond? You can't even shift, Ellie. You're practically a human pet. Jax needs a real wolf. A strong wolf."

"Catalina," Jax warned, but there was no heat in it.

"She's right," I said, looking Jax dead in the eye. "I might not have my wolf yet, but I know what a mate is supposed to be. And it's not you."

I turned to leave.

"Wait!" Jax stood up. "You don't get to walk away from me!"

I kept walking. I reached the top of the stairs.

"Hey!" Catalina rushed past me, cutting me off. "He's talking to you!"

"Get out of my way," I said quietly.

"Make me," she sneered. She stepped closer, invading my personal space. Then, she did something I didn't expect.

She didn't just stumble. She launched herself backward.

It was theatrical and ridiculous. She let out a scream and tumbled down the first three steps, landing on the landing with a thud.

"Ah! My ankle!" she wailed.

"Catalina!" Jax roared. He shoved past me, his shoulder checking me hard into the wall.

The impact was brutal. I stumbled, losing my footing on the slick hardwood. I didn't have wolf reflexes to catch myself.

I fell.

I tumbled down the entire flight of stairs, my body slamming against the sharp edges of the wood. I hit the bottom floor with a sickening crunch. My head cracked against the floorboards.

Pain exploded in my ribs and my skull. Warm blood trickled down my forehead, blinding my left eye.

"Ellie!" Luna Maria's voice came from the kitchen.

I groaned, trying to push myself up. My vision swam.

Jax was at the top of the stairs, kneeling beside Catalina. She was clutching her ankle, squeezing out fake tears.

"She pushed me, Jax!" Catalina sobbed. "She tried to kill me!"

Jax looked down at me. I was bleeding on his floor. I was broken at the bottom of his stairs.

His eyes were wild, fueled by adrenaline and Catalina's lies. "You are vicious," Jax spat at me, his voice dripping with disgust. "And weak. If you touch her again, Eliana, I will banish you myself. I don't care what our parents say."

He picked Catalina up—again—and carried her toward his room.

"Mom, get the pack doctor for Cat," he yelled over his shoulder. "Ellie can see herself out."

I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. The chandelier above me was blurry.

Luna Maria was rushing toward me, horror on her face. "Oh, goddess, Ellie..."

"Don't," I whispered, pushing her hand away.

I dragged myself up. Every inch of my body screamed in protest. My healing was slow, human-speed. This would bruise. This would scar.

But the physical pain was a distraction. It was a relief, actually. It was easier to focus on a bleeding head than a bleeding soul.

I limped out the front door, leaving a trail of red droplets on the pristine porch.

I got into my car. I didn't go to the pack hospital. I went to the pharmacy, bought rubbing alcohol and bandages, and drove to a secluded overlook.

I cleaned the cut on my head myself, hissing as the alcohol burned.

*I reject this,* I thought, looking out over the town lights. I wasn't strong enough to say the ritual words yet—the bond was too old, too deep—but I could build a wall.

I closed my eyes and imagined a brick wall in my mind. Brick by brick, I sealed off the place where Jax lived in my head.

The connection dimmed. It didn't break, but it went quiet.

I was alone. And for the first time, I preferred it that way.

*

Eliana POV:

A week later, I stood in front of the mirror. The bruise on my temple had faded to a sickly yellow, easily hidden by makeup. The ribs were still tender, wrapped tight in bandages beneath my dress.

Tonight was the graduation party. The Pack's Coming of Age ceremony.

"You don't have to go, sweetie," my mom said, leaning against my doorframe. Her eyes were sad. She and Dad had been furious when I came home bloody. They were already talking about transferring to the East Coast branch of the family business.

"I have to go," I said, applying a coat of red lipstick. "If I don't, they win. They'll think I'm hiding."

I wasn't hiding. I was saying goodbye.

The party was at the pack house. Bonfires roared in the backyard, sending sparks up into the night sky. The air smelled of roasted meat, beer, and shifting hormones.

When I walked in, the conversation died. Whispers followed me like smoke.

*That's her.*

*The reject.*

*Did she really push Catalina?*

I kept my head high. I grabbed a soda and stood by a tree, watching the wolves dance.

Jax was there, of course. He was sitting on a makeshift throne of hay bales, holding a beer. Catalina was in his lap. She was wearing a dress that looked suspiciously like the one I had pointed out to Jax in a magazine months ago.

He saw me. His eyes narrowed. He whispered something to Catalina, and she laughed.

Then, the games began.

"Truth or Dare!" someone shouted.

It was a pack tradition. But with an Alpha Heir involved, it was never just a game. It was a power play.

Catalina spun the bottle. It landed on her.

"Dare," she purred.

"I dare you..." a Gamma female giggled, "to kiss the strongest male here."

It was scripted. It was so obviously staged that it was pathetic.

Catalina stood up and sashayed over to Jax. But before she kissed him, she turned to look at me.

"Do you mind, Ellie?" she asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I mean, technically, you guys were... something. Once."

The circle went silent. Everyone waited for me to cry, to scream, to run.

I took a sip of my soda. "Why would I mind?" I said, my voice steady. "As an Omega, I have no right to interfere with an Alpha's choices. If he wants a Beta, that's his business."

The insult landed. Wolves cared about bloodlines. Calling his choice a downgrade was a slap in the face.

Jax stood up abruptly. The playful atmosphere vanished.

He released his pheromones.

It wasn't a command this time. It was pure, raw dominance. The scent of ozone and burnt wood flooded the clearing. It was an oppressive weight, designed to force submission.

Around me, wolves lowered their heads. Some of the younger ones dropped to their knees, baring their necks instinctively.

Jax glared at me, his eyes glowing amber. He wanted me to bow. He wanted me to break.

"You think you're clever," Jax growled, stepping over the people kneeling on the grass. "You think you're better than her?"

He grabbed Catalina by the waist and pulled her flush against him.

"She is strong," Jax announced to the pack. "She is a warrior. She is worthy of being a Luna." He looked at me with pure disdain. "You are nothing, Eliana. You are a broken vessel. You can't even shift."

He smashed his lips onto Catalina's.

It was aggressive, possessive, and performative.

The pack cheered, relieved that the Alpha's anger was directed at me and not them.

I felt the bond inside me scream. It was agonizing, like a hook being ripped out of my chest. But I didn't kneel.

I stood straight. My spine was steel.

The pheromones washed over me, trying to crush me, but I felt... detached. It was as if I was watching a movie of someone else's life.

Jax pulled away, breathless, expecting to see me on the ground, weeping.

Instead, I was checking my watch.

"Are you done?" I asked.

His amber eyes widened. The shock on his face was almost satisfying.

"Because I have packing to do," I continued. "Enjoy your Beta, Jax. I hope she's worth it."

I turned my back on the Alpha Heir. I walked away from the fire, into the dark.

My heart didn't hurt anymore. It was dead. And you can't kill something that's already dead.

*

Eliana POV:

I needed to breathe. The air near the bonfire had been thick with Jax's dominance, and it left a metallic taste in my mouth.

I ducked into the pack house, seeking the sanctuary of the guest bathroom. I just needed cold water on my face before I drove home.

As I passed the library, I heard voices.

"You were brutal out there, man."

It was Mason, Jax's Beta and best friend.

"She needed to learn her place," Jax's voice replied. He sounded bored. "She's been clinging to me since we were kids. It's suffocating."

I froze. I knew I should keep walking, but my feet were rooted to the spot.

"But Catalina?" Mason asked. "Really? I thought you said she was annoying."

"She is," Jax laughed, the sound tight. "But look at her, Mason. She's the captain of the swim team. She's got curves in the right places. She fits the image. Eliana... Eliana is just baggage."

I pressed my hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp.

"So, you're not actually rejecting Ellie?" Mason pressed.

"I don't need to," Jax scoffed. "Let her stew. She's too proud, but she's weak. Give it two weeks. Once she realizes she's nothing without the pack protection, she'll come crawling back. I can't make her Luna if she can't shift, but I'm not letting her go. She's mine to keep."

A chill went down my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.

He wasn't just choosing someone else. He was hoarding me. He wanted the shiny new toy *and* the old comfort blanket.

"I intercepted her mail, by the way," Jax added casually. "That acceptance letter from NYU? I have it in my desk. She's not going anywhere."

Rage.

For the first time in my life, I didn't feel sadness or fear when it came to Jax. I felt pure, white-hot rage.

I didn't think. I kicked the door open.

Jax and Mason jumped. Jax was sitting on the edge of the mahogany desk, holding a crumpled envelope. *My* envelope.

"Eliana," Jax said, recovering quickly. He smirked. "Eavesdropping? That's rude."

"Give it to me," I said. My voice was low, vibrating with a growl I didn't know I possessed.

Jax dangled the letter between two fingers. "This? You don't need this. You belong here. With the pack. With me."

"I am not a toy, Jax. And I am certainly not yours."

I walked forward. Mason stepped aside, looking uncomfortable. He knew this was wrong.

Jax's eyes flashed. "I am your future Alpha. You do what I say."

"Give. Me. The. Letter."

"Sit down, Eliana!"

He used the Alpha Command again. It slammed into the room, rattling the windowpanes. Mason instantly dropped into a chair, his head bowed, forced to obey.

I felt the command hit me. It was like a physical wave. But this time... it felt different.

It felt like a suggestion, not an order.

I didn't sit.

I took another step.

Jax's smug expression faltered. He looked at Mason, who was incapacitated, then back at me, standing upright.

"How..." he whispered. "Why aren't you sitting?"

I didn't know. Maybe my wolf was finally waking up. Maybe I was just too angry to care about biology.

I snatched the letter from his hand. He was too stunned to stop me.

"You think you can break me?" I hissed, leaning into his face. "You just set me free."

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from outside.

"Rogue! Rogue at the perimeter!"

It was Catalina's voice.

Jax's head snapped toward the window. The instinct to protect the pack—and his precious fake girlfriend—overrode his confusion about me.

"Stay here," he ordered, though his voice lacked the command power this time.

He bolted out of the room, Mason scrambling to follow him.

I stood alone in the library, clutching my crumpled acceptance letter.

I looked out the window. There was no rogue. I could see Catalina near the tree line, checking her nails, waiting for her hero to arrive. Another lie. Another game.

I smoothed out the letter.

*New York University. Fall Semester.*

"Two weeks," he had said. He thought I'd be crawling back in two weeks.

I wouldn't be here in two days.

*