It was a filthy cycle, the same cruelty repeating itself again and again. I hated this pattern, yet it always found its way back without warning. There was no predicting when it would begin. All it took was someone looking for entertainment.

And I already knew how it would end. It always ended badly for me.

Through the windshield, the streets I knew came back into view. My parents wouldn't step in to help me, not even if I were bleeding out in the yard. Still, everything shifted the moment I crossed into the house. Inside those walls, the Beta's word stood above everything.

I forced the car into a narrow space, and the sudden stop threw me forward. My hands shook as I reached for my keys, dropping them twice before finally clutching the cold metal.

Only one thought pushed me forward. I had to get inside.

The car door shut behind me. I stepped out, unsteady, my legs barely holding me up. The keys rattled against my fingers as I moved, each step tightening the fear inside me.

Just a few more steps. Almost...

A warm, damp breath brushed against my side. The air around me thickened with raw aggression.

I turned sharply, my keys clenched between my fingers like a weapon. My chest locked, and everything around me froze.

A few steps away, a wolf stood still, its coat catching the faint light with a strange shine. Its lips curled back, and saliva slipped past teeth sharp enough to tear through anything. I didn't need a second look to know it was Todd.

Making me suffer had always been his favorite game.

He didn't attack. He just watched, his eyes glinting with quiet amusement, while my hand searched behind me for the handle. The moment I found it, I rushed inside and slammed the door shut.

Tonight, he let me go. I was more than willing to take that small mercy.

The lock clicked into place. I leaned my forehead against the wood for a moment, my mind already drifting to the damage on my car. The cracked windshield would cost more than I could afford, cutting into the savings I had been building for so long.

Damn it.

"Ava. Get in here."

My stomach tightened at the sound. I straightened and made my way toward the living room.

My father didn't say a word about the wolf outside. Of course he didn't. If it didn't happen right in front of him, then to him, it didn't exist. He sat stiffly in his armchair, exactly as always. Behind him, my mother stood watching me, her expression cold and judging. I couldn't even remember the last time my father looked at me for anything other than weighing my worth.

I dropped my gaze and fixed it on his boots, the dried mud clinging to them.

I stayed silent. That was all he expected from me anyway. Someone like me didn't deserve to be heard.

My injured wrist throbbed as I shifted it slightly, unnoticed by either of them.

Then his voice cut through the room, low and absolute. "This year, you will attend the Lunar Gala. Make sure your... job doesn't stop you from dressing properly. Be grateful to the Alpha for granting you this."

Cold dread spread through me. My fingers tingled as my thoughts scattered. The Gala?

My heart stumbled in my chest. It had been two years since I last stepped into that place.

It was the biggest gathering in the Northwestern Territories. Werewolves came from everywhere, all hoping to meet their mates. Officially, it served as a break after the Council meetings, but everyone knew what it really was. A masked ball where deals were made and powerful matches were arranged.

The Blackwood pack almost never showed up. Even Jessa had never been invited before. They always blamed it on conflicts between Alphas, but I found that hard to believe.

The tension around my father pressed down on the room. His gaze stayed fixed somewhere above me, as if even looking at me was too much. His nose creased, like my presence alone offended him.

"Phoenix and Jessa will stand for this family. Make sure you don't disgrace them."

Without another word, he turned and walked away. That was all I got. An order thrown at me like something insignificant.

I forced my unease down, but something still flickered inside me. A quiet thought. A chance to leave, even if it was just for one night.

The Lunar Gala felt like a breath I had been denied for too long. It carried the promise of stepping outside this invisible cage. Still, I kept that hope locked away. I would never let them see it.

My mother moved closer, and her smooth voice sent a chill through me.

"Don't embarrass us, Ava. Try not to look like something that belongs in a cage."

I kept my eyes on my shoes as her scent drifted around me, jasmine and honey, stirring memories I wished would stay buried. There was a time she held me close and spoke to me with warmth. That version of her no longer existed.

"Of course," I breathed out. I would do whatever was required.

Their concern lay with Phoenix and Jessa. I didn't matter.

I would be nothing more than decoration. Something to display.

She drew in a slow breath, forcing herself into a calm front. Her hand rose toward my shoulder, then halted just short, lingering in the air without ever touching me. An empty gesture, cold and distant.

"Jessa will take you to pick out a dress. Make sure your hair is done. And get rid of those coffee-stained clothes, alright?"

They would never spend a single coin on me.

"Yes, Mom."

Her jaw tightened as she ground her teeth.

"Don't just grab the cheapest option. You carry our name. And cover those marks. I won't have you making us look like savages."

With that, she turned and left, her scent lingering in the air along with the emptiness she always left behind.

I stayed where I was, my chest rising with a strange mix of fear and something dangerously close to excitement. The Lunar Gala felt like a crack in the walls around me. A chance to step outside, even if only for a moment, and see what else existed.

Maybe I'd meet someone there. Maybe I could leave this place behind. Maybe everything could finally change.

Was it wrong to hold on to that hope?

Night after night, the weight pressed down on me, and every time I slipped beneath the covers, something twisted tight in my stomach. I stared at the moonlight spilling through the window, as if it could show me what waited ahead, or give meaning to the change closing in on me.

After that ridiculous trip to the mall with Jessa, who spent the entire time mocking my choices while pretending to help, I stopped going out unless I had to. I went to school. I went to work. Outside of that, I stayed locked into a strict routine, clinging to it like it could keep everything else away.

I gave up what little free time I had and took extra shifts at Beaniverse, trying to make up for the ridiculous debt from that three-hundred-dollar dress. Three hundred dollars, just to keep me from looking like a wrinkled mess, as Jessa liked to put it.

Even Lisa began to drift away. Our conversations turned short and distant, reduced to quick messages about school or work.

At home, the silence between us felt heavy and constant. Still, beneath all of that, something small refused to go out. Maybe I could get through the gala without humiliating myself. In just one week, everything would be decided. Either I'd find a way out of this role I'd been stuck in, or I'd be marked by it for good.

Today felt like the days before it. Quiet. Strange. Like something was waiting. With grocery bags piled on the passenger seat, I drove home, barely breathing.

Phoenix was coming over for dinner tonight. I made sure everything was perfect. I roasted the chicken and covered it in a rich garlic and parmesan sauce. I wrapped Brussels sprouts in bacon and glazed them with maple syrup, finishing them with a touch of balsamic. It was a recipe I found online, simple underneath but dressed up to look impressive.

As the chosen heir of the Blackwoods, Phoenix had always been treated like he mattered more than the rest of us. My mother adored him. My father took it even further. When Phoenix was named heir after Alpha Renard's last son died in a clash with rogue wolves, my father couldn't hide his pride. For an entire month, he walked around like he owned the world.

One day, he would become Alpha Phoenix Blackwood. For now, though, he was still just a Grey.

The grocery bags weighed down my arms, making them shake as I struggled forward. I moved clumsily, unsteady, like something already half broken, as I approached the quiet house.

Maybe the past two weeks of calm had made me careless. I didn't notice anything off. I didn't feel the danger waiting as I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

A sudden breeze grazed the back of my neck. The door slammed shut behind me with sharp intent, and a scent filled the air. I knew it instantly. I hated it.

Todd Mason.

The shadow that had followed me since childhood. The one who never stopped making my life hell.

He was already inside. With me.

And he hadn't come to play.

He stood in front of me, a crooked grin pulling at his lips. I couldn't move, couldn't step back, as his hand reached behind him and secured the lock.

"So, the little dreamer thinks she's finally going to be paraded around for a mate?"

His voice carried that same mocking edge. He stepped closer and shoved me hard.

My back slammed against the wall, and his hand clamped around my throat, forcing me up onto my toes.

The bags slipped from my grip and hit the floor. My thoughts scattered, and somehow, I fixated on the apples rolling across the wood. They would bruise. We'd have to eat them right away.

"You really think you belong at the gala? You think you can just walk away from this pack?"

His breath hit my face, warm and sour, making my stomach turn. I twisted my head to the side, trying to avoid it.

His hand struck my cheek, snapping my face back toward him. His words cut deep. "Who would even want you? A freak without a wolf. You'd be thrown aside in a second."

My heart pounded hard against my ribs, frantic and trapped. His grip tightened, and the air started to slip away from me.

"Defective," he hissed into my ear, his breath brushing my skin.

Nausea surged through me. My chest burned as I struggled to breathe. I had endured the hits, the insults, the stones thrown at me. I knew that pain.

But this was something else.

This was worse.

Rage surged through me. I dug my nails into his forearm, dragging them down hard enough to leave burning lines. I tried to kick him, but he blocked it and forced my legs against the wall.

"Let me go," I hissed, my voice shaking as I tried to ignore the hard, pressing proof of his excitement. "If I show up covered in bruises, Dad won't like it. You really want to deal with that?"

Dad usually didn't care about what happened to me, but with the gala coming up, anything visible would matter.

Todd paused, his grip still tight around my throat. His fingers pressed deeper into my skin. I dropped my gaze.

There was a time I refused to bow. I used to believe things would change, that I'd fight back and win. But that wasn't how the world worked.

If he wanted submission, I would give him a convincing lie. Whatever it took to stay alive. Whatever it took to keep him under control.

"Please," I whispered, letting my voice tremble on purpose. I tilted my head, leaving my throat exposed.

He reacted exactly how I expected. A low, satisfied sound left him, and it made my stomach turn. He leaned in, inhaled, then dragged his tongue slowly over the curved scar on my neck.

I forced the nausea down before it could rise.

"Please," I said again, and this time his grip loosened slightly. His other hand slid to my hip and dragged me closer. I shut my eyes, breathing through my mouth to get past the metallic taste sitting on my tongue. "I need to finish dinner. Phoenix is coming back tonight."

His teeth sank into my shoulder. Pain exploded through me, sharp enough to steal the air from my lungs. A cry slipped out as I shoved at him, twisting hard to get free. "Todd! Damn it!"

He growled but finally released me, though not before leaving a mark behind on my skin. His hand clamped onto my jaw, forcing me to face him. His eyes burned with twisted satisfaction.

I had braced myself for another hit.

But instead, he smiled.

Something passed between us in that moment. He understood. So did I.

"You're not going anywhere," he murmured, his voice laced with venom. "You're nothing but a reject, and this is where you belong. No one's coming to save you at that fancy little gala. Sooner or later, you'll end up as our Omega breeder, wolf or not."

The words hit me hard, stealing the air from my lungs. "Omega... breeder?"

His grip on my jaw tightened as laughter ripped from him, cruel and tearing. "Our little pack bitch, Ava." He didn't bother hiding what he meant. His hand moved lower, brushing past my chest before sliding between my thighs, pressing where he wanted.

"At least you're good for something. We can still make use of you."

Everything inside me went numb. His voice turned the air toxic.

His hands locked onto my hips as he pushed himself against me, his movements rough and possessive. Drool slipped down onto my jaw as he let out broken sounds. "Such a pretty flaw, Ava. Easy to break, easy to shape." He moved faster, forcing my legs around him. "I'll teach you until it sinks in."

Yes. I understand.

My body didn't belong to me anymore.

His breath hit my ear as he kept talking, but I shut it out, retreating somewhere deep inside my mind. I tried to stay there, far away from him, until a sharp blow to my stomach dragged me back into the pain. My knees hit the floor as he shoved me down, his movements turning frantic and ugly.

"Beg," he ordered, forcing my hand around him.

The distant sound of an engine cut through the moment. Todd went still, listening. Then everything sped up. He shoved himself into my mouth, his movements rough and choking. I struggled to breathe, my lips splitting under the force. The taste hit fast, bitter and suffocating. He growled low, urging me to swallow, then quickly fixed himself just as the door opened.

Phoenix stepped inside. His brown eyes settled on us, then drifted to the scattered groceries on the floor. He didn't say anything. A faint smirk touched his lips. "Mason," he said simply.

He knew.

I saw it in the way his nose flared, how he took in everything without missing a detail. Yet he stayed where he was.

He did nothing.

Todd straightened, a satisfied smile still lingering as he dipped his head slightly. "Alpha heir." He gestured casually. "Ava was just telling me you'd be back for dinner. I stopped by to check on her."

I bolted toward the bathroom, his laughter echoing after me. The tears that blurred my vision weren't from fear or shock.

They came from something deeper.

They fell for the one who had seen everything. The one who understood. The one who chose to stand there and do nothing.

Damn it.

I couldn't stay here anymore.

No matter what it would cost me, I had to leave.

For three days, time blurred into something thick and distant, and I locked myself away on purpose. I barely stepped outside my room, only leaving when I absolutely had to. My world shrank into something closed off and quiet, where every second went into planning how to get out. Staying here wasn't an option. Accepting a life as something owned and used by the pack wasn't an option either. As for Todd, I forced him out of my thoughts, like ripping out a ruined page. Silence cost less than facing it.

The walls felt like they were inching closer, tightening around me like a trap. My heart wouldn't slow down, my eyes stung, and nothing eased the weight building inside me. I tried reading to distract myself, but it didn't help. Every line felt like a cruel joke, every page reminding me of where I was stuck. I stopped caring about school. I knew I wouldn't be going back. It felt like saying goodbye without saying anything at all.

The gala was my only chance. In the middle of all that noise and attention, I could disappear. While everyone else drank and played their roles, I would leave. I packed my bag like it was the only thing keeping me alive. Clothes, food, every bit of money I managed to pull from my account. I didn't know where I'd go, only that I couldn't stay.

I bought a cheap phone and saved Lisa's number on it. Even then, I didn't send a message. Reaching out could put her at risk. So I stayed quiet. I kept everything from her, even while missing her already. If the pack ever noticed how close we were, she could end up paying for it. It was safer to act like nothing had changed.

On the third night, during dinner, I pushed my food around my plate, trying to make myself invisible. Then my father spoke, and everything shifted. We were leaving for the Silver Moon Pack's territory for the gala.

The walls tightened around me.

I forced myself to stay still, to keep my face blank, even as it felt like something alive was crawling beneath my skin. Maybe I had gotten too good at hiding it. Or maybe they simply didn't care enough to notice.

In two days, I would be surrounded by wolves searching for their mates, while all I wanted was a way out.

My father cleared his throat, and I looked up, caught off guard by the way he was staring straight at me. "Ava," he said, his tone soft but carrying the weight of an order. "This matters. For all of us."

"Yes, Father."

He went on, his voice steady and cold. "I would have preferred to leave you behind. But that would raise questions, especially with Jessa attending."

I glanced across the table. Jessa sat there, her expression shut off, while Phoenix watched me with that same distant look he used for things that didn't matter. The understanding between them was clear. I didn't belong in it. I felt completely out of place.

Like I didn't exist in their world at all.

My father's fingers tapped against the table. "I expect you to be flawless while we're there, Ava." His gaze slid over the fading bruises on my neck, and a shiver ran through me. They had lightened, but not enough. All I could do was hope they'd disappear before the gala.

I dropped my gaze and prodded my vegetables with my fork. "Yes, Father."

"Without a wolf, you won't be finding any mate there. So don't cause problems and keep yourself under control." He went back to eating as if nothing had been said. Beneath the table, my hand curled into a tight fist, my nails pressing into my palm.

His words should've made me shrink. Instead, they only made me harder.

The drive to Idaho felt like every other family trip. Quiet. Heavy. My parents and Jessa rode together, while I was placed with Phoenix.

The low hum of the engine and the steady rhythm of the road almost pulled me under. Phoenix drove like he owned the world, one arm resting loosely against the door, his posture easy. The radio stayed off. He carried the same cold distance as my father, the same quiet control.

The scenery shifted little by little. The worn hills gave way to darker mountains rising along the horizon. My thoughts wandered to Lisa. What was she doing right now? Would she forgive me for disappearing like this?

Phoenix's voice cut through the silence, rough and sudden. "You're not about to do anything stupid at the Lunar Gala, are you, Ave?"

A shiver ran through me before I could even think. My body tightened as I turned to look at him. Did he know something? "Of course not. Dad made himself clear."

Phoenix let out a low, unreadable sound. I wished, not for the first time, that I could understand them the way they seemed to understand me.

I looked away and focused on the window instead, watching my reflection blur with the movement of the car. "Besides, no one's going to choose a flaw anyway." The bitterness slipped out before I could stop it.

He didn't answer right away. Maybe he agreed.

Then he spoke, his tone flat. "At least Mason's willing to take you in. Not as a mate, but your kids would have a place. They'd be recognized. Protected."

The name hit me like a slap, and I flinched. "If there are even wolves left for that," I muttered.

He glanced at me for a second. "Right."

No. I wasn't going back to them.

He knew it. And still, he expected me to be grateful to someone who had beaten me for years and now saw me as nothing more than something to use.

I exhaled slowly and forced my thoughts elsewhere, focusing on the plan. The area around Shadowvale stretched wide, with too many roads, towns, and stations to track easily. If I moved carefully, I could disappear. I could leave a trail that led nowhere.

As we neared Shadowvale, something tightened in my chest. Fear mixed with something else. Hope. Stepping onto Silver Moon territory meant stepping into uncertainty, but it also meant a chance. Maybe my only one.

I glanced at Phoenix. His attention stayed on the road, his expression distant and cold. A quiet ache stirred as I thought of the brother he used to be. I pushed it down and shut it away.

That part of my life was over.

My plan came together piece by piece, steady and deliberate. Fear still ran through me, but it wasn't alone anymore. Something stronger held its ground beside it. Determination.

This time, I wouldn't just think about leaving.

This time, I would do it.

And I wasn't coming back.