On the day my twin sister drowned in the lake, she made me promise to look after her son and mate.

Six months later, her mate James asked me to marry him for his son, Liam's sake.

On the fifth anniversary of her death, I made the mistake of wearing her perfume to the memorial service. Eight year old Liam caught the scent immediately.

Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed the sea water meant for the blessing and threw it directly in my face.

"How dare you wear her scent!" he shouted as the cold water drenched my white dress.

"Take it off!" he demanded. "You don't deserve to smell like her. You don't deserve to stand where she stood!"

When I didn't move fast enough, he tore my sleeve until it ripped, exposing my shoulder to everyone present.

"My mom would still be alive if you hadn't been too scared to help her that day. You watched her drown because you were too pathetic to jump in."

Then he turned to the gathered pack. "She let my mother die! She stood on the shore and watched her sink! She's not our Luna, she's a murderer!"

Five years I'd spent trying to love this child who only saw me as his mother's killer, and suddenly I was done trying.

Three days later, I left without a word. I called my lawyer from a motel fifty miles away.

"I want a divorce," I said firmly.

What I didn't expect was the hunting parties. James had mobilized the entire pack to search for me.

——

"Ella," my grandmother said softly through the speaker. "It's time, child. Liam is old enough now to manage without you. The Northern Pack needs you to claim your inheritance as Alpha's daughter."

I stood suddenly, water still dripping from my clothes. "You're right. I'll leave tonight and reclaim what's mine."

I never wanted to stay in the Wilson pack. I wasn't here for love or power. I was here because of a promise whispered to a dying woman. For five years, I'd kept that promise, enduring everything for Liam's sake.

But now, maybe it was time to let go.

I was about to rejoin the gathering when Liam stepped directly in my path.

"Seems you haven't learned your lesson yet," he sneered. "The dirty water wasn't enough for you? First her perfume, now this.”

I hadn't worn anything of my sister's this time. I'd simply placed a small photograph of her in a locket around my neck. Liam had seen it and decided it was another offense.

"You're not worthy to keep her memory," he snarled. "You're the reason she's gone. You should have been the one to die that day!"

Before I could step away, his small hands shoved me back with strength and I fell straight into the swimming pool behind me.

"That's where traitors belong!" he shouted over the gasps of the pack members. "You deserve to drown just like my mother did! Maybe this time you'll know how it feels!"

The cold water engulfed me as panic seized my chest. I'd never learned to swim because of the trauma. I thrashed wildly, trying to reach the surface but my dress wrapped around my legs like a trap.

Mrs. Turner, our housekeeper, plunged in and dragged me to the surface. She pulled me out while someone else grabbed Liam and took him away.

Dripping and bleeding from some cuts, I limped to my room and tried to clean the wound on my ankle. That's when I heard the cry from outside.

I ran to the window and saw my little pet Cat, Max, lying motionless on the ground. A kitchen knife stuck out from his side, and words were scrawled in the dirt beside him: "BLOODY MURDERER."

I collapsed beside him, sobbing uncontrollably. Max was my only friend here, the only one who listened when I needed to talk. When the nightmares of Amelia's death kept me awake, he'd curl up beside me.

This wasn't the first time Liam had lashed out so viciously. Last Christmas, he'd put crushed glass in my slippers. I spent the holiday in the emergency room getting stitches. When I returned home, bandaged and exhausted, he looked me straight in the eyes without remorse.

For my birthday last month, Liam had replaced my shampoo with hair removal cream. Clumps of my hair fell out in the shower.

I stormed back toward the house, finding Liam in the kitchen.

I grabbed his arm. "How dare you! Max never did anything to you!"

Before Liam could answer, James appeared, pulling him away from me.

"What's wrong with you?" he demanded, glaring at me. "He's just a child. He's feeling emotional about his mother. You're overreacting."

"Overreacting? He killed my pet, James! Look at what he wrote!"

James barely glanced at its body. "Don't be dramatic," he said. "It was just a little water earlier. Now you're making too much of this. Liam would never hurt an animal."

He steered me toward the stairs. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and take care of that ankle."

Once in our bedroom, he tried to help me remove my wet clothes. "Let me bandage that wound properly," he murmured, his fingers trailing across my skin.

I pushed him away with all my strength and stood up.

"What insanity is this?" James demanded. "You're leaving because of a pet? After everything this pack has done for you?"

"He wasn't just a pet," I said quietly. "And yes, I'm leaving. Liam is old enough now. I've fulfilled my promise to Amelia."

James ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Are you serious right now? You're abandoning your responsibilities over a dead cat?"

"I've told you repeatedly what Liam has been doing," I countered. "The hair removal cream, the glass in my slippers, and now this. He killed Max and wrote 'bloody murderer beside him!"

"He's grieving, Ella!" James shouted. "For God's sake, he lost his mother! How many times do I need to explain this to you? You should be behaving like an adult!"

His eyes softened suddenly. "Look, if having a pet meant that much to you, I'll buy you a new one. Ten new ones if that's what you want. Just stop this nonsense about leaving."

"Leave her if she wants to go," a cold voice interrupted from the doorway.

I turned to see Martha Wilson, James's mother, standing with her arms crossed. She'd never tried to hide her disdain for me.

"She's always been ungrateful anyway. Taking her sister's place, living in her sister's home, and now making such a fuss when a little boy is just trying to grieve his mother."

“I have fulfilled my promise," I replied, meeting her gaze directly. "And I have the right to leave. You can't stop me."

She sneered. "You made my grandson cry on his mother's memorial day when he was trying to be happy. What kind of woman does that?"

James sighed. "I think it's maybe she's still traumatized from her sister's death. That's why she's so unstable. "I'll go calm her down. Maybe it's because she doesn't have a child, so she doesn't know how to treat one."

He approached me then as he wrapped his fingers around my wrist. "We should have a child of our own. It would help you understand. Help you bond with Liam. Tonight we could try; I'; I'dgentle this time."

His hands slid down my arms as he leaned closer. "Let me help you forget all this. I can make you feel better."

In the past, I might have fallen for his manipulation, mistaking his love lust, just not today. I pulled away and pushed him back.

"I'm not interested in having a child with you. And I'm certainly not interested in having sex with you."

"Who would even have a child with you in the first place, you pathetic excuse for a Luna?" Martha spat. "My grandson will never accept you, no matter what you do."

She pulled out her phone and made a quick call. Minutes later, the door opened again, and I recognized the woman who walked in immediately. Sophia, Liam's favorite and James's ex-mate from before he met my sister. She had run away from the pack years ago, but apparently, she was back now.

"Maybe James should make a child with her instead," Martha suggested. "Someone who actually belongs in this pack."

Sophia approached me. "Ella, sweetie, I've heard so much about you. The sister who couldn't save Amelia, the woman who can't satisfy her mate."

Liam appeared in the doorway. "Aunty Sophia!" he ran and clung to her.

"Yes, Aunty! Make a child with my daddy instead," he gave me a hateful look. "I hate Ella and I want her gone!"

"Poor child," she cooed, stroking his hair. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything now."

I knew she was playing a part, using this moment to hurt me with her words, but it didn't matter anymore.

Without another word, I picked up Max's wrapped body and walked out.

I carried him to the far end of the property, to the tree where Amelia and I used to play as children. With bare hands, I dug into the soft earth, tears falling down my face as I created a small grave for my only friend in this house.

When I finally returned to the house, something felt wrong. As I approached our bedroom, I noticed women's underwear scattered in a trail leading directly to our door.

Then I heard it, unmistakable moans coming from behind the closed door.

I felt nothing but bitter regret. Not for James's betrayal of Sophia but for wasting five years of my life in this prison.

"How was your cat's burial, murderer?" Liam's voice sliced through the air.

"Did you cry over that worthless animal? I hope you buried him deep. Maybe next time, it'll be you in the ground instead," he sneered.

"I bet you wish you could've saved him like you couldn't save my mom. But we both know you're too pathetic to save anyone, aren't you?" he continued.

"Your mother's probably ashamed to even call you her sister from wherever she is now. A coward who let her own twin drown!"

I didn't bother explaining to him that the reason his mother drowned that day was because she had jumped into the lake to save him after he'd fallen in;

I couldn't tell him that I couldn't save her because I was pulling his unconscious body from the water while she struggled and disappeared beneath the surface. Instead, I kept silent, letting him hold onto his hatred.

The bedroom door swung open, and James emerged with Sophia. Their clothes were dishevelled, her lipstick smeared across both their faces.

"Clean up the room," James ordered. "Since you're not ready to be a proper Luna, you might as well be useful in some way."

I stared at him in disbelief. "I won't be cleaning anything. You made the mess with your whore. Clean it yourself."

He grabbed my throat so quickly that I had no time to back away.

"How dare you talk back to me? After everything I've done for you? Taking you in when nobody wanted you? Giving you a position you never deserved?"

His words cut deeper than they should have.

"You should be grateful I even touched you at all," he continued. "Everyone knows you're just a pathetic replacement. Amelia was the one with the strength, the beauty, the courage. You're nothing but her shadow."

He grabbed my arm. "If I didn't need someone to keep this house in order, I'd have thrown you out years ago."

Before I could respond, he shoved me toward the bedroom and slammed the door shut. I heard the lock click from outside.

"James!" I pounded on the door. "Open this door right now!"

"You can come out when you've calmed down," he called back. "And when you're ready to apologize."

My fists grew sore as I continued knocking, but there was no response except distant laughter from downstairs.

"Let her stay there until she learns her place," James's voice carried through the floorboards.

"She won't last the night without food," Sophia replied with amusement. "She'll be begging for mercy by morning."

"The cat had a more dignified death than she deserves," Liam's childish voice added.

My stomach growled painfully, but hunger was the least of my concerns. My lawyer had already sent the divorce papers to my phone, and I began gathering my belongings from the closet.

Hours later, until night, footsteps came up the stairs, and my door opened.

"Dinner needs to be prepared," he announced as if nothing had happened. "Liam wants your special lamb stew."

I stood facing them with my packed bag in hand. "I won't be cooking dinner tonight or any other night. I'm leaving."

James's face darkened with fury. "How dare you! After everything I've done for you!"

"You can't just walk away from your responsibilities," he growled, stepping toward me.

As we argued, my phone buzzed with a message. Before I could reach for it, Sophia snatched it from my pocket and read the text aloud to James.

"'We are expecting you already,'" she quoted with venom. "From your grandmother." She showed James the screen. "Looks like she's been planning this for a while."

James grabbed my wrist, his grip painful. "Do you think you can leave me just like that? No one walks away from an Alpha."

"Let her go," Liam said suddenly. "I want Aunty Sophia here anyway. She's prettier than you, nicer than you, and she doesn't smell like a traitor."

He moved to stand beside Sophia, looking up at her with adoration. "Dad, please let Aunty Sophia be my new mom. She already promised to take me hunting at the full moon. She's a real wolf, not a coward like her."

"You hear the boy," I said, meeting James's furious gaze. "Let me go."

James's grip loosened slightly and he released me with a shove.

"Fine. Go. But you have nowhere to belong. You'll come crawling back here in no time."

I walked away not bothering to respond. My hand was on the front door handle when I heard rapid footsteps behind me.

"Murderer!" Liam's voice rang out. "You don't get to leave!"

I turned just in time to see him charging toward me, his hands connected with my chest and I fell straight toward the stone fireplace where a fire blazed hotly.I felt nothing but bitter regret. not for James's betrayal with Sophia but for wasting five years of my life in this prison.

I walked away not bothering to respond. My hand was on the front door handle when I heard rapid footsteps behind me.