<b>Chapter 5 Coming Home</b>


    <span>Leslie-Rogue’s POV (Rogue Pack – Royal Court)


    The aircraft pierced the familiar energy barrier andnded smoothly on ck Rock za. The moment I stepped out of the cabin, the air—sharp with pine and steeped in ancient power—rushed into my lungs and instantly calmed the restlessness within Asphodel.


    I was home.


    Finally… I was home.


    My father, Lars—my father, the Lycan King—stood solid as a mountain. In his eyes, beneath all the royal authority, was a sorrow he could no longer hide.


    My older brother, Thorbane, stood at his side, his ice-blue eyes zing with fury toward the Crimson Moon Pack.


    “Father! Thorbane!”


    I threw myself into my father’s arms, into the warmth and safety where I could finally drop every disguise I’d worn. Three years of humiliation and suppression found their release in that one embrace.


    “You’re home now, Leslie,” my father said in a voice low and full of power, his hand gently patting my back. “Now tell me—who hurt you?”


    By the fire in the great hall, I briefly recounted what Kirby had demanded.


    My father’s and brother’s expressions grew darker with every word I spoke. The Alpha pressure they released was so heavy it seemed to freeze the very air in the court.


    “He wanted your heart?!” Thorbane mmed the table beside him. The thick mahogany cracked instantly under his palm. “Those Crimson Moon bastards! They dared treat you like that? Leslie, I’ll lead our forces and tten their Pack right now!”


    “Calm yourself, Thorbane,” my father said, his voice as cold as eternal ice. “We’ll settle the score. But right now, Leslie’s safetyes first.”


    He turned to me and opened an old sandalwood box, retrieving a scroll of ancient wolfkind parchment infused with the Moon’s Essence.


    “This is the mate bond dissolution scroll. Sign it with your Lycan Spirit’s mark. From this moment on, you and that Kirby will be nothing to each other.”


    I took the scroll, my heart flooding with emotion.


    Thorbane looked at me, his toneced with helplessness. “Father prepared this the day you chose to bond with Kirby. He said the Crimson Moon Pack wasn’t worthy of you. And that Kirby could never give you real happiness.”


    So… my father had been protecting me all along. He had prepared my way out from the start.


    I took a deep breath, raised my head, and with it, shed thest traces of hesitation in my eyes.


    I am Leslie-Lycan, Princess of the Rogue, daughter of the Lycan King.


    My life was never meant to be lived in submission.


    I unrolled the scroll, and at my fingertip, summoned a silver ze of Alpha power—Asphodel’s proud will burning within it. I pressed it firmly into the ancient runes that symbolized the mate contract.


    The bond was broken.


    In that moment, Asphodel let out a howl of pain. The severing of the mate link tore through my soul and body with agonizing force.


    I clutched at my chest as a searing pain gripped my heart—but in that pain, I felt release.


    From this moment on, I had no ties to Kirby-Crimson Moon.


    From now on, I would reim the name I once left behind: Leslie-Rogue.


    The nightmare of the past three years… was finally over.