Let it go?
Carter's words burned in my head. What had he ever let go of? Nothing. His gaze had carried the sharpness of a wolf who never forgot a wound, never forgave a rival's trespass. I stood stunned, confusion gnawing at me, while Caleb's expression only grew darker, like a storm breaking over the pack's hunting grounds.
Not far away, Serena basked in the glow of false praise. She stood tall among the Sanders, my family my blood but their devotion wrapped around her like a crown of thorns pressed deeper into my heart. My mother, Kate, was beaming at her. "Serena, you're remarkable. Just a few strokes of your paw, and you've brought in fortunes. Unlike Isabel… useless Isabel. They said she had talent, but she's never created anything of worth. She's nothing compared to you."
The words carved deep, sharper than any fang.
Ethan added, his tone dismissive, "Has anyone heard from Isabel? I can't reach her. That girl grows more reckless by the day, never caring how much she makes the pack worry."
Another voice chimed in, steady and scolding. "She's in Cloudville, I heard. I warned you long ago stop spoiling her. She causes chaos, then runs off without a thought for the rest of us. Selfish, always selfish."
"Don't be so harsh," someone else offered halfheartedly. "Maybe she just needed time to clear her head. But when she comes crawling back, she'd better apologize."
"If you ask me," Ethan snapped, "she deserves a beating, to finally learn her place."
I stood there, invisible, my spirit howling in rage. Serena's smile was sweet, her mask polished, and they all bowed to it. Not a flicker of doubt touched their eyes. They hung on her every word as though she were the alpha female chosen by the moon itself.
My chest burned. I could stomach Caleb's betrayal, perhaps even Serena's. But my own family? Their claws cut the deepest. I was Kate's daughter, too her blood, her womb, her howl. Nine months she carried me, and yet her tongue sliced me open without hesitation.
I remembered too clearly the day she shattered what little bond we had. It was Serena's birthday. I'd been painting, sinking into color and brushstrokes, the only place I ever found freedom. Kate stormed into my den, a storm of fury, and without a word she ripped through my canvases. Paint bled across the floor as she screamed that Serena had nearly died, and how could I, cold-hearted beast, keep creating as if nothing mattered? She called me heartless. A monster. In that moment, I saw it the resentment she had carried for years. She wished it had been me who disappeared instead of Serena.
And now, even with me gone truly gone they wasted no breath in grief. Instead, they plotted punishments, sharpening words like claws for my return.
I touched my face. Not a tear fell, yet the ache hollowed me out like bone scraped clean.
Snow began to fall again, silent and relentless. The flakes drifted down, white as death, just as they had the night I'd been torn from this life. When would they finally see the truth? When would they realize I was already gone?
Soon the gallery's chaos spilled across the world. My name dragged and twisted burned on every tongue. The moon's glow seemed to mock me as headlines flashed like snarls in the dark.
#IsabelExposed
#GeniusArtistHeiress
#DisgustingIsabel
#PricelessPaintings
#SerenaTheGenerousDonor
The world's howl turned against me. Strangers spat venom while lifting Serena as though she were the moon's chosen star.
I hovered behind Caleb as he scrolled through his device. Each headline carved his brow deeper, his frown like thunderclouds heavy with rain. His mate's betrayal, his pride's collapse all dressed up as praise for Serena.
Serena leaned into him, voice soft, laced with false innocence. "Caleb, I never imagined it would spread so wildly. Should we have the posts taken down?"
Before Caleb could answer, Kate's voice cut through the air like a whip. Her fur gleamed under jewels and luxury, but her words were as cold as winter's bite. "Taken down? And why? The wolves speak the truth. Isabel claimed what wasn't hers, and now she's reaping the cost. If she didn't want shame, she shouldn't have stolen. Meanwhile, everyone praises our Serena's beauty and kindness. Why waste coin silencing the world when the world is finally howling her name?"
Her cruelty was final, sharp. Not a defense. Not a doubt. Only venom for the daughter who was no longer breathing.
I stood there, snow falling through me, silence pressing in, and felt the ache of betrayal settle like a brand across my soul. My pack had cast me out long before death had claimed me. And still, some stubborn spark in me refused to let them break me fully. The moon may have stripped me from the flesh of this world, but the fire of a wolf's spirit betrayed, bound, and aching burned hotter still.
Kate's claws slid over Serena's hand, her voice sweet as poison. "Our Serena will be remembered by all packs. She'll carve her name into the bones of history."
My gut twisted, my wolf growling inside me.
"Mother's right," Serena purred. "Isabel brought this shame on herself. The worse she looks, the brighter I'll shine. Wolves are drawn to blood and scandal. They'll chant my name louder than ever."
Even after they'd torn me apart, my body barely cold in the shadows of betrayal, they were still clawing at the scraps of my soul using me as a stepping stone for Serena's rise.
When I painted under the moon, Kate had snapped that I was wasting my time. She spat that I was selfish, blind to the Sanders pack's future, throwing my life away on something useless.
But now? Now she praised Serena's "gift," her eyes glowing with pride even if it meant trampling me into the dirt, grinding my bones to lift her up.
She never hated the art. She only hated me. For Serena, every sin became virtue.
I'd endured the betrayal of a mate, but nothing could prepare me for the bite of my own bloodline sinking their fangs into me.
Serena tilted her head, her voice dripping with false sweetness as she looked at Caleb. "Tell us, Caleb. Should we silence the whispers? Isabel is still your mate by law. If she catches wind of it from Cloudville, she might be hurt."
Caleb's eyes darkened, a storm swallowing their light. The memory of me leaving, leaving him behind without a word, slashed through him like claws.
"Hurt?" His voice was a blade. "She brought it on herself. Let the words spread. If shame burns her, she can crawl back sooner."
No flicker of bond. No ember of concern. Nothing.
All these years side by side, and the only words I was worth were: She brought it on herself.
The Sanders and the Boltons both had the strength to tear down those vicious howls echoing through the packs. But they chose not to. They chose to let my blood drip for Serena's glory.
Family. Mate. What were these words worth if they only meant sacrifice on one side?
I curled tighter in the dark corner of my den, listening to their laughter fill the night, sharp and cruel. They looked perfect together. Radiant. Complete.
And me? I finally understood. I was the shadow meant to vanish. The ghost no one wanted to see.
I don't know how long I sat there, lost to the hollow ache. When I finally raised my head, the air was different.
The warmth of their voices was gone. The scent of my pack faded, and I stood alone in a place I had never known.
It was damp, suffocating. The walls around me weren't wood or earth but stone, cracked and bleeding with time. Faint candlelight flickered, licking shadows across the narrow passageway.
Yet when I looked there was no shadow of me on the wall.
The silence was unnatural, pressing against my ears until my wolf whimpered.
At the end of the hallway, something called. A stone chamber, waiting like a beast with its jaws open.
My pulse thundered as I walked toward it, claws itching to extend.
A stone bed rested at its heart. On it lay a woman.
Why would anyone lie in such a place?
My steps quickened, the closer I came the more my heart slammed against my ribs, as if my body already knew what I was about to see.
When my vision cleared, I froze.
Her skin was pale, lips drained of warmth. Her chest did not rise. Her eyes were shut forever.
The woman lying on that cold slab of stone…
Was me.