"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.

I twisted my body at the last second, my shoulder slamming into the edge of the fireplace instead of my head. The pain shot through me like lightning as I crashed to the floor, the heat of the flames licking dangerously close to my hair.

Liam stood over me, his young face twisted with hatred. "You should have just died like the cat."

Those words hurt more than the physical pain coursing through my body. But then something shifted in his expression. His eyes widened, filling with horror as he stared at my injured form.

"I didn't mean to hurt you..." he whispered, his voice suddenly small. "I just wanted to scare you so you'd leave fast."

I stood up, ignoring the stabbing pain in my shoulder and the burn forming on my arm. Five years of patience, five years of taking his abuse, five years of trying to love a child who only returned hatred—it all boiled over in that moment. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.

Liam stood frozen, his hand touching his reddening cheek. Shock painted his features. In all the years I'd been his stepmother, I had never once raised a hand to him, no matter how cruel his words or actions were.

He screamed, the sound raw and primal. Footsteps thundered down the stairs as James rushed into the room.

"What just happened?" he demanded, eyes darting between us.

I braced myself, expecting him to take Liam's side as he always did. But then his gaze fell on my bleeding shoulder, and an angry red burn formed on my forearm. Something unfamiliar flickered across his face.

"Did Liam do that to you?"

Before I could answer, Liam ran to his father, clinging to his leg. "I didn't mean to hurt her," he cried. "I was just trying to make her leave because she doesn't belong here."

James approached me slowly, his expression unreadable. "I'll take you to the hospital right away."

"You don't have to do that," I replied, my voice steady despite the pain. "I'll do it myself. Please just sign the divorce papers. I'm leaving." I reached for my bag, wincing as the movement pulled at my injured shoulder.

"What have we done to deserve you leaving this house?" James shouted suddenly, his momentary concern vanishing like smoke. "I told you I'll get you a new pet. We have given you everything!"

"Everything—except the things that actually mattered," I said quietly. "My feelings? Ignored. My opinions? Unheard. My existence? Only acknowledged when you needed something. I was invisible unless I was useful."

"I'm not angry, James," I continued with a tired sigh. "I just want a divorce."

His expression changed instantly, the mask of concern dropping away to reveal calculation in his eyes. "Ella, if you leave, you don't have anywhere better to be."

I stared at him, unmoved by his words. "I've made up my mind," I whispered.

James ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. "If you stay, Sophia will join you to take care of Liam. That will ease your troubles. You'll just have to remain as his mother."

I almost laughed. He wasn't saying this because he loved me or suddenly valued my presence. It was all about his position in the pack. A divorce would damage his reputation as their leader. The scandal would be too much for him to handle. The mighty Alpha, abandoned by a human woman—how would that look to his followers?

"So that's your solution?" I asked. "I stay and pretend everything is fine while your mistress moves in and takes over? And what will my role be exactly?"

"You'll still be Liam's mother in the eyes of the pack," he said as if offering me some great honourr. "You'll attend the gatherings, play your part."

"While you two sleep together under my roof?"

"It's not like that," he protested weakly.

"It's exactly like that," I replied. "You want me to be a puppet, Luna, so you don't lose face with the pack."

James's expression hardened. "You owe me this much. Where will you go? Back to that bitter old woman who raised you? She doesn't want you either. No one does."

The words were designed to cut deep, to remind me of all my insecurities. Five years ago, they would have worked. I would have crumbled, apologized, and stayed.

Not anymore.

"I'd rather be alone than be your prop," I said. "Sign the papers, James. It's over."

He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh. "You're not leaving."

"Let her go," Sophia's voice came from the doorway. She stood there, watching us with cold eyes. "If she wants to leave, let her. I can be everything she wasn't for you and Liam."

"Stay out of this," James snapped at her, but his grip on my arm loosened slightly.

I pulled away, putting distance between us. "You can't keep me here against my will."

"Watch me," he growled, his eyes flashing with that dangerous amber glow that reminded me he wasn't entirely human. "You belong to this pack. To me."

"I never belonged here," I replied calmly. "I was just too afraid to admit it."

I turned to leave, but James moved faster, blocking the door. "If you walk out that door, don't expect to ever come back."

"That's the plan," I said.

"You won't survive out there," he warned. "Not anymore.