---- Chapter 13 LAURENCE POV: Felix entered my office, his face grim. He placed a thin folder on my desk without a word. "What is this?" | demanded. "The full report on the death of Josie's father, Alpha. You asked for every detail." | opened it. Inside were bank records, encrypted communications, and sworn statements from the guards who survived the attack. It was all there, laid out in cold, undeniable fact. The Rogues who attacked the transport were mercenaries. The payment was traced to an offshore account. An account controlled by one of Rosalie's ladies-in-waiting, her most loyal confidante. The world tilted. It couldn't be. The Rosalie | knew was sweet, gentle, and kind. She comforted me. She understood the pressures of being an Alpha. She wouldn't... she couldn't... But the evidence was absolute. My obsession wasn't just a woman; she was a murderer. A manipulator who had used my infatuation as a weapon. ---- And then | understood. Rosalie didn't want my love. She wanted my title. She wanted to be Luna of the most powerful pack in North America. Josie wasn't just a rival; she was an obstacle. An obstacle that Rosalie had removed with brutal efficiency, creating a river of blood and grief between me and my mate that she thought could never be crossed. The sweet, innocent girl | had cherished in my memory for years was a phantom. The real Rosalie was a monster. And | had been her willing fool. A sound escaped my throat, something between a sob anda roar. | brought my fist down on the solid oak desk. The wood splintered under the force of the blow, sharp edges digging into my skin. Blood welled up, dripping onto the damning report, but | felt nothing. The only pain was the inferno of guilt and regret consuming my soul. | finally saw it all. Every lie, every manipulation. Every time she'd called right when Josie needed me. Every time she'd subtly turned me against my own mate. | had let this monster destroy the most precious gift the Goddess had ever given me. "Book me a flight," | said to Felix, my voice a hollow rasp. "The next one to Eldoria." He nodded. "What should | tell the council, Alpha?" "Tell them nothing." ---- | was done trying to save my title. | was done trying to save my pack. All | wanted, all | needed, was to find her. To get on my knees and beg her to forgive me for the hell | had put her through. To tell her the truth. To offer her anything, everything, if she would just let me try to piece back together the soul | had so carelessly shattered. The twelve-hour flight was torture. | didn't sleep. | just stared out the window into the blackness, my mind replaying one memory over and over. The day we first met. The Recognition Ritual. She had walked into the room, and her scent hit me first-rain after a long drought, and the sharp, sweet tang of wild herbs. It was a scent my soul recognized instantly. My heart hammered against my ribs, my blood turned to fire in my veins, and for the first time in my life, | felt a sense of peace, of coming home. My inner wolf threw its head back and howled one, possessive, undeniable word in my mind. "Mine!" And | had silenced it. | had looked at her plain dress and her shy smile, and | had told myself she wasn't worthy. | had crushed my own wolf's instincts, convinced myself that Rosalie was my destiny. How could | have been so blind? So arrogant? So profoundly, ---- catastrophically stupid?