Charlotte POV:

"You little brat!"

I lunged, grabbing Leo's arm. I just wanted to shake him, make him understand what he destroyed.

"That was my grandmother's!"

Leo let out an ear-piercing scream. "Daddy! Help! She's hurting me!"

The front door burst open. Aiden was there in a second. He didn't ask questions. He saw his son crying and me holding his arm.

"LET HIM GO!"

The Alpha Voice hit me like a physical blow. A command woven with dominance that forced every wolf instinct to submit. My knees buckled. I fell, gasping.

Leo scrambled to Haven, who had just entered. He buried his face in her skirt, fake sobbing.

"She hit me! I was just looking at the doll!"

I struggled against the pressure. "He... he smashed it on purpose..."

"Silence!" Aiden roared, eyes flashing gold. "You dare touch a pup? You dare touch my son?"

I forced myself to stand. My legs shook.

"Your son?" I spat out. "Yes, your bastard son. The one you're stealing my family's legacy for."

Dead silence.

Aiden's mother, the Dowager Luna, walked in. She looked at me with pure disdain.

"Watch your tongue, you barren mule," she sneered. "You are just jealous because Haven gave this pack an heir and you gave us nothing but medical bills."

"I gave you everything!" I screamed. "My land! My dignity! My..."

"Enough," Aiden said. The Alpha Voice vanished, replaced by cold indifference. "You have disrespected the hierarchy. Go to your room. Do not come out until I decide your punishment."

I looked at them. The Alpha, the mistress, the bastard, the cruel mother-in-law. A perfect, twisted family portrait.

"No," I said softly.

Aiden blinked. "What?"

"I said no." I stepped over the porcelain shards. "I am not going to my room. I am going to pack."

I walked past them. As I passed Haven, she leaned in close.

"You should have left years ago, Lottie," she whispered, venom dripping. "You're just a waste of space. A wolf who can't shift is just a dog. Time to put the dog down."

I kept walking up the stairs, back straight, while my heart bled out.

Charlotte POV:

I threw the last of my clothes into the suitcase. I signed the divorce papers with a flourish, the pen tearing through the paper.

"Leaving so soon?"

Haven stood in the doorway, holding a glass of wine.

"Get out," I said.

"It's not your room anymore," she said, walking in. "Aiden promised me I could redecorate. I'm thinking... pink."

"Take it. Take him. You deserve each other."

Haven laughed. Cold, tinkling. "You still don't get it. You think you're the victim." She stepped closer. "Do you know why you can't shift, Charlotte?"

I froze. "The surgery. When I donated my kidney."

"Oh, sweetie," she cooed. "You didn't donate a kidney. Aiden's kidneys were fine."

My blood ran cold. "What?"

"Aiden needed power to secure his Alpha position. The Witch Doctor suggested a transfer. Wolf Essence." Her eyes glittered. "We took your essence, Charlotte. We drained your wolf to boost Aiden's. That's why you're weak. That's why you're barren."

The world spun. Not a sacrifice for love? Theft? They violated my soul?

"You monster," I whispered.

"And the best part? I took the credit."

Rage exploded. I grabbed a silver letter opener. I just wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.

"I'll kill you!"

I took a step. Haven suddenly threw her wine glass at the wall, ripped her blouse, and threw herself onto the floor, screaming.

"Help! Aiden! She has a knife! She has silver!"

The door crashed open. Aiden took in the scene: me with the opener, Haven sobbing.

"DROP IT!"

He backhanded me across the face. The force sent me flying into the wall.

"She told me..." I spit blood. "She stole my essence, Aiden!"

"Liar!" Haven sobbed, clinging to his leg. "She's crazy! She tried to kill our baby!"

Aiden looked at me with disgust. "I checked the medical records myself. You gave a kidney. Stop inventing stories."

"Check the security crystal!" I pointed to the recording orb in the corner.

Aiden grabbed the crystal and crushed it. Dust fell from his fingers.

"I don't need proof to know who you are," he said coldly. "Get out. You are stripped of your title. You are nothing."

I stood up, wiping my lip. I grabbed my suitcase.

"You win," I told Haven.

I walked out into the rain. No pack. No wolf. No home. But as I stepped off the porch, the silver anklet felt heavier than ever. And deep inside, something stirred.

Something white. Something angry.

Charlotte POV:

The smell of smoke hit me first. Acrid, chemical.

I ran to the backyard. A bonfire raged on the lawn. Guards were tossing my paintings into the flames. I saw my seascape curl and blacken.

"Stop!" I screamed.

Haven stood near the fire, holding a silk handkerchief to her nose.

"Clearing out the trash," she said. "Making room for the nursery. Can't have the smell of failure lingering."

By burning my things, she was erasing my scent signature. Scrubbing my existence from the Pack.

"You didn't have to burn them," I whispered.

"And let you carry the Herrera shame with you?" She tossed a thick envelope onto the wet grass. "Going-away present."

I picked it up. The divorce papers. Signed. Aiden's signature was hasty, jagged.

"He didn't even read it," Haven gloated. "Told him it was a contract for waste disposal. He signed without blinking."

It should have hurt. Instead, I felt light. The legal tie was severed.

"Thank you," I said.

Haven's smile faltered. "You're pathetic. You'll be dead within a week."

"Maybe," I said. "But at least I won't be here."

I looked at her, really looked at her. "You've won a prize that is already broken, Haven. You think you control the beast? You just woke up something you can't put back to sleep."

"Get out," she hissed.

I grabbed my suitcase and walked toward the main gates. I was ten feet away when the sirens wailed. Perimeter alarm.

A black SUV skidded to a halt, blocking me. Aiden jumped out, looking frantic. Haven ran down the driveway behind me, screaming.

"Stop her! Don't let her leave!"