Riley’s POV
“Ah… ah… Riley, don’t do this to me… I’m your father!”
Father?
Finished
The corner of my lips curled into a silent, bitter smile. From the moment he cast me aside, I stopped having a father.
I met Alpha ric’s eyes, my own amusement never reaching their depths. “You and Scarlett share such deep father- daughter affection. I wouldn’t dare tear you apart. Why not let Scarlett follow you into the Rogue territory? She can take care of you there… good father that you are.”
Scarlett trembled violently, her scentced with fear.
I knew why.
She once told me, with false pride, how she had flown over thosewless Roguends in her private jet–dark forests stretching endlessly, the shadows deep enough to swallow you whole. If she were thrown in there, she’d never make it out. And more likely than not, she’d end up in the clutches of unmated, feral males who would im her by force.
“No! I don’t want to!” Scarlett shook her head desperately, tears welling in her eyes. But her pleas didn’t even scratch me.
I turned to Luna Zara. “The Luna’s mate is a cheating Alpha, her son rots in a cell, and the stress has shattered her mind. Send her to the psychiatric ward.”
Zara froze as if struck by lightning, her breath catching.
She was shaken, yes–but far from insane.
She simply never imagined I would <i>dare </i>to treat her this way.
She knew exactly what a ce like that was. The stench of unwashed fur, the screams in the night, the endless chaos of the truly broken. A normal wolf went in… and never came out the same.
“Riley<i>… </i>I’m your mother. Are you sure you want to do this to me?”
I smiled faintly. “The Luna is mistaken. I’m simply returning your mercilessness to you, exactly as you taught me. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”
“No, Riley, please–give your mother a chance. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I swear it, I vow on the Moon -if I fail…” Her voice trailed off as I cut her short, cold and clean.
“I don’t need it.”
My gaze softened–only when it shifted to the Duskgrave family.
“I have a grandmother now. Mrs. Beck. Mia. And my fiancé…”
As if hearing my unspoken call, Lucien Duskgrave reached for my hand, lifting it for all to see. The silver light from the ring on my middle finger glinted like a de. His voice was firm, steady, absolute.
“Riley has long epted my proposal. For the rest of her life, she has me.”
The tightness in my chest made my eyes sting.
Lucien didn’t look away when he told Duke, “Do as she says. Send them where they belong.”
“No–1 Zara’s wail cur through the air like ws raking stone. “Riley! I can’t live in a ce like that!”
Iughed softly. “I survived in prison I’m sure the Luna will find a way to survive in a ward”
She shook her head violently “No… no, I can’t. I won’t go to that ce!
“Riley, please–I beg you–just forgive me this once. Anything you want. I’ll do it.”
I stared down at her tear–streaked face, my lips pressed into a thin line.
Finished
Zara’s desperation spilled out in waves, her eyes wide and glistening, as if drowning and reaching for thest branch before the river swallowed her whole. She tried to crawl closer, her trembling hands stretching toward me.
But before she could touch even the hem of my coat, Duke stepped in, grabbing her wrists and tearing her away.
“Riley!” Zara’s sobs turned into full–throated cries. “I’m begging you! Can’t you pity me just this once?“.
“Pity you?” My voice cut sharper than ws. “Coming from <i>you</i><i>, </i>that’s almost funny.”
I bared my teeth. “At the auction that nig
Scarlett drugged me, when I nearly lost everything–did <i>you </i>pity me?”
Her eyes widened, the scent of her fear spiking as the memory mmed into her.
That night.
She, ric, and Kael Vale stood there–watching me, wounded and humiliated–not to protect me, but to defend Scarlett. They used me of lying, of scheming, of tarnishing the reputation of their precious daughter.
I’d snapped. I’d thrown myself at Scarlett in a blind fury.
And then…
Zara’s posture crumpled as if the bones had been ripped from her frame. She couldn’t even meet my eyes.
I let my lip curl into a cold, knowing smile. “Do you remember now, Luna? You gave me the wolfsbane suppressant that night -do you even understand its side effects?”
Her pulse stuttered.
“That night, the rain was pouring, and you threw Mia out into the storm. She begged you, for my sake, for the sake of your own <i>blood</i><i>. </i>But the four of you stood there–unmoved. Uncaring. Watching me suffer.”
I stepped closer, letting her feel my shadow over hers. “So tell me why should I
–
care now, when you never did?”
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