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!"

Charlotte POV:

Guards surrounded me.

"Where is he?" Aiden roared, grabbing my shoulders. "Where is Leo?"

"What?" I gasped.

"He's gone!" Haven shrieked. "She took him! I saw her talking to Rogues at the fence! She paid them to take my baby!"

"I haven't left the house in two days!" I yelled. "Check the tracker!"

Aiden froze, looking at my ankle. He pulled out his phone.

"She's right," he muttered. "Signal hasn't left the estate."

"She hacked it!" Haven cried. "She's a witch!"

"Alpha!" a guard shouted from the woods. "Found him!"

A guard emerged carrying a muddy, sulking Leo. "Hiding in the fox den. Wanted to see if you'd look for him."

Relief washed over Aiden. He crushed the boy in a hug. "You foolish pup."

I stood in the rain, forgotten. Haven had tried to get me killed with a kidnapping accusation. And Aiden believed it.

He looked at me. A flicker of... guilt? He reached out. "Lottie..."

I stepped back. "Don't."

Aiden looked torn between his sobbing mistress and his retrieved son. "Get Leo inside. Haven, go with them." He turned to me. "We will discuss this later."

"There is no later," I said, waving the divorce papers. "Goodbye, Aiden."

A taxi pulled up—I'd called it twenty minutes ago. I threw my suitcase in and climbed in.

"Rough night?" the driver asked.

"You have no idea."

We drove for five minutes into the dark forest bordering Pack lands. Suddenly, a hissing sound filled the car. White gas vented from the AC.

Wolfsbane.

Panic exploded. I tried the door handle. Locked. My limbs turned to lead.

The driver turned around, wearing a gas mask.

"Sorry, Luna. Orders are orders."

My vision blurred. The last thing I thought before darkness took me was that Haven didn't just want me gone. She wanted me dead.