I felt like a ghost as I made my way to the pack hospital. When I arrived, everyone had the same somber look on their faces, like they already knew something I didn’t.

“Where’s my dad?” My voice cracked, breaking the heavy silence. No one would meet my eyes.

I turned to the Alpha, whose expression was the grimmest of them all.

My lips trembled as I tried to hold it together, but my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. With a heavy sigh, the Alpha gestured for me to follow him into the emergency ward.

Each step felt heavier than the last. A part of me didn’t want to know, but I already did. I was terrified that the thing I dreaded most had come true. And it had.

I collapsed beside the bed, my hands flying to cover my mouth as sobs tore through me. My dad lay there, cold and unmoving. No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t wake up.

“No... no, Dad!” I wailed, clutching his freezing hand to my cheek, remembering how just hours ago he’d held my face with warmth. “This can’t be happening. Please, wake up! Don’t leave me!”

Tears poured down as I pleaded for something I knew was impossible.

“Elliot fought hard, but... he didn’t make it this time.” The Alpha’s voice was soft as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Before he passed, he told me he loves you with all his heart. He wished for you to be happy.”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, before quietly leaving the room.

I stayed there, holding my dad’s hand, crying, apologizing—hoping he could still hear me somehow. But there were no more words from him. No more warmth.

Two days later, I watched as we buried him beside my mom’s grave with heavy hearts.

Dad wasn’t just the Beta to us—he was a friend, a father, and a mentor to everyone, even to Liam. But Liam wasn’t here. He hadn’t shown up since that night after running off with some other she-wolf from a distant pack.

My claws dug into my palms as I fought back the rage. After all these years by his side, I never realized how callous and selfish he truly was. How could I have been so blind, so stupid, to love him?

Regret settled heavily in my chest, and the tears came before I could stop them. I sank to my knees in front of Dad’s grave, shoveling dirt over him with my bare hands. Each handful carried the weight of all the things I should’ve said to him while he was still alive.

As the burial ended, people quietly began to leave, one by one, until it was just me—alone, drowning in my grief.

For three days, I barely left Dad’s grave. I only did, when I was forced. The Alpha couldn’t stand seeing me wasting away in the backwoods of the packhouse, muttering something about not wanting Dad to haunt him if something happened to me. So, he kept sending Leia to drag me back.

Today, I woke up feeling just a little lighter. Maybe it was time to try honoring Dad’s wish for me to be happy. So, I grabbed a bucket of gardening tools and headed back to his grave. I spent yesterday planting my mom’s favorite tulips, using them as his tombstone. I knew he’d prefer being surrounded by things she loved rather than a cold slab of stone.

But as I reached the grave, my heart stopped. Liam—and some woman—were digging it up.

“What are you doing?!” I screamed, running toward them, horrified at their disrespect.

Without thinking, I grabbed the woman by the collar and shoved her back. The flowers I’d planted were torn up, and in their place, they’d buried a dead rabbit.

“How dare you!” I growled, fury surging through me, my fur bristling. “Haven’t you done enough?!”

I was ready to throw them down, but what stopped me was the look on Liam’s face—cold and murderous. Before I could even react, he kicked me like I was nothing, and I dove face-flat on the dirt.

“I should ask you that. How dare ‘you’ hurt my mate?” he snarled, his voice crashing over me like thunder.

Wincing from the pain, I grabbed the dead rabbit and hurled it at their faces. Liam’s mate shrieked, cowering behind him like I was the villain here.

“I’m warning you, Astrid,” he growled, his voice strained as if he was barely keeping himself in check. “You wouldn’t want your dad to see you all banged up.”

“Shut up!” I snapped, my anger spiraling out of control. I couldn’t believe I had once loved this pathetic excuse for a wolf. “Don’t you dare talk about my dad with your filthy mouth!”

My voice echoed through the forest, vibrating with every ounce of rage I had bottled up. “You humiliated me at our ceremony, left me to deal with the aftermath, and now you’re desecrating my family’s grave with your garbage?”

The audacity of it all was staggering.

“It’s just a rabbit, Astrid,” he said, scoffing like I was overreacting. “Your mother’s been dead for years. Get over it. Besides, she loved animals—she wouldn’t have minded.”

I couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. The sheer disrespect, the callousness—it was like he had gone insane.

I was too stunned that I could feel my rationality leaving me. Sure, my mom wouldn’t have minded a rabbit on her grave—she loved animals—but Liam knew it was her resting place. And he still let his pity little mate defile it. The nerve!

Then, his mate timidly tugged at his shirt, her voice barely above a whisper. “Liam, stop. It’s our fault, we—”

She let out a soft squeak when she looked at me, and somehow that only made Liam angrier.

“Don’t test me, Astrid! I could have you and your dad banished from the pack!” His voice was pure venom. “With his condition, he wouldn’t survive living as a rogue!”

My mind went blank. He could hate me all he wanted, but to speak of my dad like that? After everything Dad had done for him? It was too much.

“I’d like to see you try, bastard!” I roared, shifting into my wolf as I leaped onto them, all of my reason gone. I wasn’t going to stop until I tore him apart.

Liam shifted in an instant, meeting me midair, and we crashed to the ground, rolling through the mud like wild animals, each of us trying to tear the other’s throat out. His mate screamed his name from the sidelines, her voice shrill with terror, but her cries only seemed to fuel him. He fought like a beast, more savage than I’d ever seen him.

I sank my teeth into his forepaw, claws digging into his side. But he retaliated with a brutal kick to my stomach, his claws raking across my back. Pain shot through me as one of his claws sliced dangerously close to my spine. For a moment, everything cleared. The rage, the pain—everything.

And I saw the truth.

I was nothing to him. Always had been. If he hadn’t found his mate, I’d probably still be blind to it all.

With a final blow, Liam sent me flying. The world spun around me as I crashed into the wet grass. For a second, I thought maybe dying here wouldn’t be so bad. But then Dad’s face flashed before me.

This wasn’t what he would’ve wanted. Not like this.

I forced myself to stand, my body screaming in protest as Liam emerged from the trees, looking like he hadn’t even broken a sweat. I hated to admit it, but he was stronger and faster. A league above me in every way. But that didn’t mean I was about to back down. Not after everything.

Liam charged at me, his eyes filled with murderous intent. I braced myself, ready to meet him head-on, but just as our claws were about to clash, three massive wolves leaped between us, forcing us apart.

The Alpha slammed into Liam, while the Delta and Gamma held me down, one on each side.

"Enough!" the Alpha’s voice boomed through the forest, sharp and commanding. "Shift back and explain yourselves!"

Neither of us listened. I was too consumed with rage, too blinded by the need to break free and finish what Liam had started.

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed in frustration. With a swift, brutal punch, he knocked the wind out of Liam, while the elders forced me to the ground, their grips unrelenting.

Then, a trembling and soft voice cut through the chaos. "Please, don’t hurt him. He was only protecting me."

I looked up to see Liam’s mate rushing toward us.

"And who the hell are you?" the Alpha snarled, his patience wearing thin.

"I-I’m Nina," she stammered, her voice barely holding steady. "Liam’s mate."

The words hung in the air like a curse. A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd, and I could feel their judgment pressing down on me, sharp as daggers. How did I suddenly become the villain here? I snorted, shifting back into my human form, blood still boiling beneath my skin.

I didn’t need to say anything. What was the point in defending myself? I knew every bone in my body had been craving this fight.

"Talk, young girl." The Alpha ordered with a calmer tone, but his concerned gaze locked with my murderous look.

Nina fumbled nervously as she tried to explain. “Liam was teaching me how to hunt. But I felt sorry for the rabbit and told him we should bury it. We passed by some flowers and thought... maybe the little thing would want to rest somewhere nice…”

Before she could finish, the Alpha’s growl cut through the air like a blade. “You did what?!”

With a swift kick, he sent Liam tumbling to Nina’s feet like a ragdoll.

“I understand wanting to be with your mate, but you’ve crossed a line!” The Alpha was beyond furious.

Forced back into his human form, Liam coughed, attempting to reason. “What did I do wrong? It was just an old grave. Mrs. Bane…”

The Alpha grabbed him by the neck, pulling him close as his voice dripped with venom. “Elliot was just buried days ago, and you had the nerve to desecrate his grave.”

Liam’s face went pale, and his gaze slowly drifted to me, filled with shock, confusion, maybe even regret. But none of it mattered to me. All I had left for him was disgust. How had I ever loved this man? If only I could go back, I'd erase every trace of him from my life. But that wasn't an option—I’d have to carry this regret forever.

I wrapped myself with a blanket and turned away.

“Astrid…” I heard him call, but I didn’t look back.

The week following that joke of a fight was a blur of sorrow, silence, and suffocation. Our house felt more like a cage with every passing day. I was trapped inside, haunted by memories of my parents at every turn. I couldn’t step into the kitchen without thinking of Mom, how she used to hum while making tea, filling the air with warmth. I couldn’t walk past the sunroom without remembering Dad, sitting in his favorite chair, giving me advice, always so full of life and laughter.

Now, all of that was gone, except the cold emptiness that surrounded me and made me cry every night.

The Alpha advised me to rest and heal. But how could I heal when everywhere I looked, I was reminded of everything I’d lost? The scent of Dad’s old leather jacket still lingered in the air, his favorite books were neatly stacked by the fireplace. Each reminder was a punch to the gut, a fresh wound. I could almost hear his voice echoing in the house, reminding me to stand tall, to be strong, but without him, I felt anything but it.

I tried planting more flowers by his grave as a distraction, something to pour my grief into, but even that had been difficult. Ever since Liam and his mate dug up the grave like it was nothing, I hadn’t been able to go back. The thought of it made me sick to my stomach, a knot of anger and sorrow twisting inside me.

Having his cold-blooded gaze replay in my mind was like a sprinkle of salt on an open wound, and the more I recalled it, the angrier I got. The worst part, I wasn't even that mad about him. I was furious at myself.

Loving him felt like the worst mistake I had ever made. I wasted so much of my life trying to be someone who would mean something to him, but I hadn’t meant enough to stop him from humiliating me at our mating ceremony, and not enough for him to show even a fraction of respect to my father in death.

On top of that, he was showing up at my door almost every day since his dad beat him up, knocking with an air of entitlement like he had any right to be there.

The first time he came, I almost couldn’t believe it. I had heard the knock and thought it might be Leia, bringing me food or checking in. But when I opened the door, there he was, standing on the threshold with a sheepish look on his face, holding a small bouquet of tulips—the same color I planted on the grave.

“Astrid…” he started, his voice soft, almost pleading. “I’m sorry. I brought these for you.”

I hadn’t said a word. I just slammed the door in his face. I didn’t need his apologies, and I certainly didn’t need a bundle of flowers that reminded me how much of an asshole he was.

But he didn’t stop. Every day, Liam came back with something else. One day, it was a basket of fruit; the next, a necklace I’d once admired in a shop window. I didn’t touch any of it. He was trying to buy his way out of the guilt, thinking that gifts could somehow erase the past, that they could patch up the deep wound he had torn open in me. Every knock at the door only made me angrier, every forced apology only added to my disgust.

Today, when I heard the knock again, I groaned, sinking deeper into the couch. I knew it was him. No one else would have the audacity to keep showing up after what he’d done. Part of me wanted to ignore him, to let him stand out there until he gave up. But he wouldn’t leave until I confronted him, so I dragged myself to the door.

I threw it open, not caring how disheveled I looked. Sure enough, there he was, standing with that same pitiful expression, holding yet another offering. This time, it was a small, carved wooden wolf, something Dad would have loved.

“Astrid,” he said softly, as if trying to gauge my mood. “I… I just want to talk. I know I messed up, but I never wanted to hurt you or your dad. I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry?” I laughed bitterly. “Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover what you’ve done, Liam. You humiliated me, abandoned me at the altar, causing my dad's death, and then you thrashed his grave. Now, you think some gifts and apologies will fix everything?”

His face fell, and for a moment, he looked like he might cry, but I didn’t care. He deserved to feel this pain.

“I just… I didn’t know and...” he stammered, voice wavering. “You know how it is with mates, I—"

I cut him off, my fury rising to the surface. “Don’t you dare blame this on fate! This is about you being a coward and a selfish bastard. You hurt the one person who stood by you through everything, and for what? So you could run off with your fated mate? Was it worth it, Liam? Was me losing my dad worth it?”

He didn’t respond. He just stood there, looking like a scolded child.

“Get out of my sight,” I spat, slamming the door before he could say another word.

I leaned against the door, trembling with rage. The audacity of him, to think he could waltz back into my life after everything he had done. I wanted to scream, to tear something apart, but I was too tired—tired of being angry, tired of grieving, tired of Liam.

I slid down to the floor, my hands shaking as I pulled my knees to my chest. The house felt emptier than ever, and I realized, with a hollow ache, that no matter how many times I turned him away, it would never fill the space Dad left behind.