---- Alpha charm. "Tn your dreams, Alpha." I turned on my heel, tuning out his enraged shouts as I walked away from the only pack I'd ever called mine. Minutes later, I was at the airport, my boarding pass in hand. Relief coursed through me like the first breath of a new moon. I was leaving it all behind. Just as I powered down my phone, it rang again. Alpha David. I picked up, already regretting it. "What now?" "T understand you're angry about Kiera," he said, tone low and coaxing. "But come back. Give me a pup, Becky. If you do, I'll name you in my will. You'll have security-for you and your bloodline." I nearly choked on my laughter. ---- "Burn in hell, Alpha David." I hung up. Then blocked him. For good. The flight was long. I drifted in and out of sleep, haunted by memories, by betrayal. But when the plane touched down, I felt lighter-as if my wolf had finally found a breeze to run with. I stepped into the arrivals hall, where a tall man in a tailored tuxedo held a sign that read: Becky Blackridge. He spotted me instantly. "Miss Blackridge," he greeted, bowing slightly. " I'm Joe. Your personal guardian." Guardian? Not just a driver, then. My grandfather wasn't taking any chances. "Thank you, Joe." He took my luggage, loaded it into a black SUV that smelled like new leather and pine. The drive ---- through the hills was quiet, comforting. Then, rising from the woods like a fortress, stood the ancestral estate of the Blackridge lineage. It had been three years since they contacted me- Elder Appleby and Luna Liora Blackridge, my mother's estranged parents. I'd been shocked when they first reached out. My mother had eloped with a low-ranking wolf from another territory, choosing love over the mate bond arranged for her. She'd been cast out... until she was dying. That's when she told them about me. I was their blood. And now, I was their legacy. "Becky!" My grandmother's voice rang like a lullaby across the courtyard. She and Elder Appleby wrapped me in warm, welcoming arms. The scent of herbs, family, and old power lingered in their embrace. 'We're so glad you came," they said, their voices trembling with joy. ---- "Thank you," I whispered. "For letting me in." "Nonsense," Luna Liora said firmly. "You are of our blood. This pack, this legacy-it's yours." Elder Appleby placed a strong hand on my shoulder. "You're now the rightful heir of the Blackridge Empire. And of this land." And I smiled. Because the time for retribution had come. And my enemies had no idea who they had tried to cast out.