Before the Flower Club was shut down, the madam showed a rare spark of kindness, granting everyone one chance to be bought out of their bonds.

The she-wolves mocked my mama:

"Katherine's got it made. She bore General Jameson Sutherland's pup, so he's bound to show up with a fortune to claim her and the pup."

Mama brushed off their teasing, but she stood barefoot at the gate all night, waiting.

Sure enough, Papa arrived, flaunting a fortune.

But he bought out Yvonne, Mama's closest friend.

Mama stayed quiet for a long time, then took my hand and led me to the carriage bound for the Rutledge Pack's manor.

From then on, I stopped calling Jameson "Papa."

Grandma Wolf told me he'd missed his last chance to make things right.

Mama and Papa had a fight.

Last night, I couldn't sleep right.

When I woke, I overheard Papa demanding the little pup in Mama's belly, saying he needed it as a cure for someone.

Mama refused and slapped him hard across the face.

Before storming off, Papa growled at the Flower mansion head that he was done covering Mama's fees, leaving us to fend for ourselves.

He spun around and barged into another room.

Mama's hand clutched her belly, tears streaming down like a river.

I pounded on Papa's door, but he roared, "Get lost!"

He'd never spoken to me like that before.

The madam, always good at keeping up appearances, took my hand and tried to soothe Mama:

"Fights happen, but you'll make up. You're still pure, even in this filthy place, and you've got a pup to think of."

A month's club visa fee was worth way more than a regular gig.

Papa had been covering it for eight years straight.

Yvonne slipped in from outside, saw Flower manor head Laura's state, and hurried to help her into the room.

"Just hold on," she said, coughing weakly between words. "He just earned glory in battle. Didn't he promise you the place of his true mate?"

Laura shook her head and pulled me close. "Clara's almost grown into a she-wolf. He should've bought us out long ago."

Yvonne smiled faintly. "To claim you, he'd need a fortune."

The Flower Manor she-wolves said when Mama was first brought by the trader, every club in the pack fought to have her.

Laura spent a fortune to train her as the top she-wolf, and that's what made Papa fall for her at first sight.

I perched on the windowsill, watching a few pack enforcers strut into the club.

The next moment, chaos erupted outside. Laura burst in, frantic:

"The higher-ups ordered this place shut down!"

"What happens to us?" Mama asked, her voice tight, gripping my hand in panic.

Yvonne sat still, her face blank, maybe too shocked to react.

The madam's eyes gleamed with a scheme. "The enforcers gave us three days, so I'm giving you she-wolves three days too."

"Anyone who gets bought out, I'll let go without taking a single extra coin."

"But after three days, if no one claims you, you're coming with me to my old pack in the sticks, working the grindstone in the labor dens."

I didn't know what a labor den was, but Mama's hand trembled in mine.

The news threw the Flower Manor into a frenzy.

Everyone scrambled to pack their belongings, hoping a favored wolf would show up to spare them a life of hardship in the far-off pack.

And just like that, Mama became the envy of the manor.

"Katherine's got it easy," they whispered. "Jameson might be mad, but he won't abandon his two pups, right?"

"I heard him say before he left for battle that if he won, he'd come back with a fortune and a grand ceremony to bind with Katherine in style. No wonder she's not sweating it."

Their words dripped with jealousy or admiration, but I knew the truth-Mama was terrified.

She spent the night packing her gold and silver trinkets, handing them all to the servant who swept the garden, begging her to take me away.

The first day, plenty of familiar she-wolves were bought out. Papa didn't show.

The second day, most of the others left, leaving only the old, sick, or weak behind. Still no Papa.

That night, as I slept, I felt someone gently touch my face, whispering, "Clara, I've let you down, but there are things you don't understand. I've got my reasons."

When I woke, it was still dark. I crept to the window and saw Mama downstairs, talking to someone in a covered litter.

Her face showed no joy or sorrow. Probably just another she-wolf being carried off to a new life.

On the third day, Papa finally came.

A fortune was paraded before the manor, and the pack hadn't seen anything like it. Wolves gathered, buzzing with gossip.

Laura urged Mama to change into something proper while pinching my cheek, telling me to enjoy my new life as a highborn pup.

I held Yvonne's hand-she was the only one who'd turned down a suitor's offer to buy her freedom, choosing to stay.

I wanted Papa to take her with us too.

He approached with a big grin, heading toward Mama and me. I figured if he apologized, I'd forgive him.

But he brushed past Mama, touched Yvonne's belly, and said with deep affection:

"I've brought the fortune. From now on, as you wished, we'll never be unbound."

The crowd was stunned, but I was the first to lunge forward, pounding my fists on Yvonne and Papa.

"Why would you betray Mama and me? You're both the worst!"

My hand accidentally grazed Yvonne's belly-not hard, but she yelped in pain.

Without a second thought, Papa kicked me. I crashed into a wooden cabinet, my bones rattling from the impact.

Mama scooped me up, her stubborn face streaked with tears.

A moment later, she wiped her eyes and, with every ounce of strength, slapped Papa across the face.

He was a general, but that slap nearly sent him sprawling.

"Katherine!" Yvonne stepped between them, her voice pleading.

"I'm four months along. Jameson's been supporting you all these years. Without him, you'd be just another she-wolf on display like the rest of us!"

"Please, show some mercy and let us have this."

"Jameson, you wanted my pup for her, to use as a cure?" Mama's voice trembled.

Papa's face showed no guilt. "Yvonne's frail. This might be her only chance to carry a pup. We already have a daughter. You should be grateful."

"So all this time, when Yvonne said she was staying at a suitor's private , that suitor was you?"

Papa nodded.

Mama swayed, and despite my own pain, I rushed to steady her, helping her stay upright.

"What a clever plan," she said. "My pup and I waited eight years in this club, scorned by the pack for eight years."

"So when you truly love someone, you hide them away."

Mama's face grew calmer, and by the end, a faint smile curled her lips.

Papa gently brushed a strand of hair from Yvonne's face. "Your flower dance captivated the sprawling pack of Joravia. How could I bind with a she-wolf of your status as my true mate?"

"But Yvonne-she never fought or clawed for attention. I passed her off as a minor official's daughter. No one will dig into her past."

"You've made your choice. Don't regret it," Mama said softly.

Papa actually paused to think, then frowned. "If you give up the pup in your belly, I'll pay a hundred gold to buy you out as a lesser mate."

"A hundred gold's nothing to sneeze at," the Laura chimed in.

"For Clara's sake, just bear it."

They always told Mama to endure for me, never realizing I didn't want to burden the she-wolf who loved me most.

"Mama," I said, "I don't want him as my papa anymore. I just want you."

A flicker of pain crossed Papa's eyes, but Yvonne's sharp gasp quickly stole his attention.

"Jameson, this little troublemaker's kicking up a storm. When can we head home?"

"Let's go now," he said with a cold huff.

"I'm done with this stubborn she-wolf and her unruly pup."

He strode off with Yvonne, pausing only to hiss at Laura to make sure Mama suffered in the labor den.

Tears stung my eyes, but Mama stood calm, stroking my head.

Laura had the fortune hauled away, then turned to find another fortune quietly piled in the back garden.

"It's for me," Mama said, reaching out her hand. "Clara, let's go."

At the gate, the same covered litter from that night waited steadily.

An old wolf, looking like a steward, hurried over and lifted the carriage curtain for Mama and me.

"Katherine, please hurry. Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge are waiting for you at the manor!"

My mama was the prized she-wolf of the Rutledge pack, snatched by traders sixteen years ago while watching fireworks in the streets.

Mr. Rutledge and his mate had only Mama as their pup, and they aged overnight from grief.

Now, even if Mama were a beggar, as long as she was alive, that was enough.

I looked at the old she-wolf who looked so much like me and called out, "Grandma."

Her eyes welled up as she pulled me into her arms, sighing, "Poor pup, you've been through too much."

When my mama, the long-lost daughter of the Rutledge pack, returned home, the great pack buzzed with gossip, though no one knew what she looked like now.

I didn't mind-I was happy, playing with maids and making friends my age.

But then Grandma took Mama to a spring feast on behalf of an invitation from Mrs. Waverly.

There, I saw Yvonne and. Jameson again.

Yvonne's belly was round and heavy, cradled in Jameson's arms as she smiled shyly, charming the pack's highborn she-wolves.

"Well, if it ain't Katherine, the she-wolf who stole hearts across the sprawling pack of Joravia!" someone in the crowd gasped.

Jameson spotted us, and every wolf's eyes turned to him.

Everyone in Joravia knew Jameson and Mama had a past, yet here he was, clinging to another she-wolf.

As if his secret had been laid bare, Jameson stormed over, red with shame and rage. He ignored Mama and slapped me hard across the face.

My ears rang. Mama stepped forward to confront him, but he bellowed, "Katherine, I thought no one bought you out. Shouldn't you be slaving away in the labor den?"

"Or did you change your mind, crawling back to be my lesser mate?"

He spat on the ground, covering his nose. "Too bad. I think you're filthy."

The crowd roared with laughter. Guards from the General's pack closed in to drag Mama and me away.

Mama fought back. "Who gave you the nerve? I'm-"

"Katherine," Yvonne cut in, "we don't hold the past against you, but this is a place of honor. You being here. it's not right."

"Yvonne's got a big heart," one she-wolf sneered. "If some club she-wolf came sniffing around my mate, I'd drown her in the river myself."

"Yvonne's from a refined pack," another added. "She probably doesn't know how low these she-wolves will stoop to get what they want. Better deal with her quick."

Yvonne, rubbing her belly, smiled gently. "She hasn't done anything wrong. Maybe she just misses Jameson too much."

"But you were like Mama once!" I blurted. "You're not some minor official's daughter. You-"

Before I could finish, a foul rag was stuffed in my mouth.

Jameson tied it tight, not even glancing at me. "This little mongrel's full of lies. Tie her up and toss her in the pond."

He turned to Mama. "Since you can't raise your pup right, I'll do it for you."

The pond wasn't deep, but it came up to my chin.

Gagged, I could only cry and look at Mama.

"Jameson, she's your own flesh and blood!" Mama roared.

He sneered. "Katherine, you're the one who told me not to regret my choice."

"My life's good now. Why'd you bring that useless pup here to upset my mate?"

He leaned close to Mama's ear, his voice low.

"Or is it that you're too proud to handle being used by others, so you'd rather hand over the pup in your belly for Yvonne's cure?"

"You're dreaming," Mama shot back. "I won't keep this pup, but I'd never give it to a beast like you!"

Her words stunned Jameson for a moment, but Yvonne quickly wound herself around him, soft and sweet.

"They're a lone she-wolf and her pup with nowhere to go. If you don't mind, they could work as servants in our manor. We'd pay them fair wages. How's that?"

The crowd murmured their approval.

Jameson hugged Yvonne tightly, his voice thick with emotion. "Binding with a kind-hearted mate like you is the best thing I've ever done."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the maid who'd been with Mama was gone.

Mrs. Waverly glanced at a list handed to her by a servant, frowning. "The Rutledge pack's true daughter is here? Where is she?"