---- Chapter 12 Becky's POV I burst out of the bathroom, the fury in my veins hotter than a fresh shift under the full moon. My fists were tight, nails biting into my palms, still feeling the phantom heat of Alpha Michael's touch -a touch that reeked of dominance, not desire. I wasn't going to let him toy with me. Not anymore. "This bond was a mistake," I muttered through clenched teeth, striding to the wardrobe. My hands flew to the doors, yanking them open with a force only anger could lend. "I should've never accepted the mating call." But just as I reached for my travel bag, his voice sliced through the room like a wolf's howl in the dead of night. "You're not going anywhere." ---- I froze mid-motion. There was a growl hidden beneath his words, low and lethal. "Especially now that you know what I am," he added, his tone turning feral. I turned to face him slowly, my hand tightening around the suitcase. "You hid the truth, Alpha Michael," I snapped. "I don't care what blood runs in your veins-I'm done being lied to." He stepped closer, his eyes dark pools that revealed nothing. "And where will you run?" His voice was laced with a quiet menace. "Back to Alpha David?" I stiffened at the name. "Don't mention him." His jaw flexed, a muscle ticking with restraint. "T never want to hear his name in this den again," I warned, my voice a low snarl. "I severed that tie the moment I escaped his territory." ---- Alpha Michael let out a cold, bitter laugh. "Do you really expect me to believe that? After eight years, you just broke the mate bond and walked away?" Iheld his gaze, my hands trembling, but I didn't flinch. "Yes. I broke it. I buried that past. I wanted nothing to do with him or his cursed pack." He crossed his arms, skepticism written all over him. "Why?" I took a shaky breath. "Because they betrayed me," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Alpha David turned his back on me. His heir-his son, Dorian-pierced me with a silver-tipped arrow... and they left me to bleed out in the woods." Alpha Michael's eyes darkened, the shift in him immediate. "An arrow?" I nodded, rotating my shoulder to indicate the scar. "Right here. The silver nearly killed me." For a moment, something unreadable flickered in