"You think this is strength?" Kael spat, voice shaking with fury. "You think flashing claws and a bit of borrowed aura makes you unstoppable?" That's not real power, Riley. It's desperation. And it reeks." He pointed at me, eyes narrowing. "Just like I told them-you probably used some kind of black magic tonic to force your wolk out. That scent? It's unstable. Fading. A trick." "Wolves like us earn power through blood, through battle, not shortcuts. Keep chasing easy paths and you'll destroy yourself." His words were like a desperate mantra, a way to comfort himself-denying the truth of my strength while trying to shove me back into the box they'd always kept me in 1 looked at him coldly and said quietly, "Then pray I don't take the hard path. Because if I do, you'll be the first one down." "Keep dreaming. Riley," You'll burn out within arlett sneered from behind him. "Whatever you took to summon that wolf of yours? It won't last. Zara's voice followed, soft but sharp like the edge of a poisoned dagger. "No amount of dark magic can rewrite fate. You were born to kneel, not rule. And when that twisted power turns on you-don't expect anyone to catch you." "Mark my words," Scarlett added, eyes gleaming with bitter fire. "That wolf will devour you from the inside out. It's not strength. It's a curse." I didn't even flinch. I walked straight into the dining hall, pulled out a chair, and sat down like I hadn't heard a damn thing. I picked up my fork and started eating slowly, deliberately, like their panic and screeching didn't exist. The roast venison was delicious-tender, marinated just right, juices still warm from the hearth. Funny, isn't it? I've lived twenty-three years. And this was the first time I've ever tasted meat this rich, this full of flavor. In the orphanage? We were lucky to get dry bread and overcooked stew. Back at the Ebonclaw estate? I only got cold leftovers-sometimes even discarded bones scraped clean by others. It was only when I was thrown into prison that I tasted actual warm, decent food. If Ronan hadn't ordered the guards to "look after me," I would've sworn that a cell was still better than this damn house. I chewed slowly, savoring each bite, letting the flavor sit on my tongue before swallowing When I finally spoke, my voice was calm and crisp, cutting like ice. "You think your opinions matter to someone who crawled out of a grave you dug?" "Save your breath. You'll need it for the next time I knock the air out of yo your lungs. "My heart? You're asking if I have one? That's rich, coming from a family that trampled mine until there was nothing left Why? Because I'm treating you the same way you treated me, and now it's suddenly a problem?" Zara's tears flowed freely now. "Riley, how can you be so heartless? Your father's barely breathing, and you still have the nerve I didn't even look at her. I stabbed another piece of meat and placed it in my mouth. They say when you're dying, your senses sharpen Eremembered thus from prison. Ed almost died there too. But here, in this ding, surrounded by people whas calles themselves family, Frealized something else My soul shied long before Lever set foot in a cell. I swallowed and met Zara's tearful gaze with utter indifference, "You want to talk about heartless? Let me remind you what heartless really looks like I was the Spring Moon Festival during my final year at Monnerest Academy. I was burning up with fever-three days and ights of pure hell. I couldn't shift, couldn't move, couldn't even crawl from the freezing storage rooms they locked me in. No water. No food. Just cold shadows and silence. It Mia hasn't returned from her huslislay and found me half-dead on the floor, I'd be rotting beneath the Ebonclaw Pack's sacred tree by now. And when she confronted Alaric and Zara? Maric shrugged, "She's taking it. Always is. Trying to win sympathy again. I know her game" Zarasighed, ever so gentle. "Riley really shouldn't stay in her room three days without eating. It's not healthy for a young She knew. They knew. But they didn't litt a claw. I remember dragging myself to the kitchen to find water, and Laverheard everything That night, the frost in my veins was no fever-it was the truth finally settling into my bones. They didn't care if Llived or died. Hell, even Scarlett's mutt was worth more than me. When that decrepit old hound fell ill weeks later, the entire family went into mourning. They spent tens of thousands on herbal healers, rune-charged diagnostics, moonstone therapy-you name it. The dog died of old age, obviously. It was eighteen. Could barely walk, But they cried like they'd lost a firstbor They held a moon-blessed funeral, Chanted prayers. Burned sacred sage. And then Scarlett sand it was my fault. That I'd cursed her dog by being sick near it. Of course, Alaric believed her. He forced me to kneel barefoot in the snow to "repent." It was during my heat cycle. I was still a late bloomer, barely had my moon blood then. 1 fainted Agalli Atia saved me. Again. That sickness lingered for weeks. My cycles were delayed for months after. And when they returned, they brought pain sharp enough to make me wish I never shifted at all. All of that-because of them. I stepped forward and pulled it open, placing it gently over Alaric's face. Everyone lost their minds. Scarlett screeched. "You're killing him! You witch-you're trying to suffocate him!" I shoved her back. "Be quiet if you don't know what the hell you're talking about." They gaped at me in silence. "Stormleaf is a grounding herb," I explained coldly. "It traps a wolf's own breath aura. He's over-ventilated-his body's expelled too much primal energy and lost balance. He's not dying. He's resetting." I glanced at Scarlet. "Didn't you place top ten at Halston Academy? What, no basic understanding of wolf physiology?" She flushed but said nothing- A few tense minutes later, Alaric stirred. He ripped off the sack and gasped for breath, his pupils finally returning to center. Then, like the brute he was, he launched up-trying to attack me, "Careful," I said icily. "Lose control again, and next time, I'll let the spirits finish what they started." "You ungrateful- I turned away, already heading for the stairs. "Stay out of the upstairs rooms!" he bellowed. "You belong in the storage den!" I stopped halfway up the steps. Then turned slightly and looked down on him. "Before, I stayed out of guilt," I said. "Now, I stay out of pity: I saved your pathetic life. That room? It's your debt to me. Be grateful I don't charge more. Because if I did..." I smiled coldly. "I'd be taking this whole damned house." Alaric's eyes bulged. "You-1" Kael hurriedly shoved the stormleaf sack back over Alaric's head I watched him wheeze into the bag, the pouch inflating and deflating like a balloon. li was almost funny. I smirked to myself. Turns out, once you stop giving a damn, you get to enjoy the chaos. And for the first time in years, I was starting to feel alive.