Chapter 9 " Yes ! " Anya screamed , eyes unhinged . " Why do your parents get to live and mine die ? I wanted all of you buried with them ! " She laughed , a shrill , jagged sound . " From the start , it was a setup . That ' scent ' you caught from me ? I stole Seraphina's spent balm , cut it with fragrance oil , and shoved it inside my body . " Triumph flashed across her face . " And you , idiot that you are , actually believed it . Look at you now , half - dead - that's so satisfying . " Blood webbed Atticus's eyes . He drove his fist into her , again and again , then slammed her head against the wall by the hair . " Vile woman ! You played me ? Let's see you laugh now . " He was merciless . In moments Anya was limp , dragged away by warriors , a line of blood dotting the stone . Before satisfaction could register , his chest seized . Blood surged up and he crumpled , his breath tearing in ragged bursts , eyes rimmed in red . He looked up at me with terror and pleadin I sifted papers , my voice calm to the pointed tangled together . of cruelty . " You smashed my instruments . Your wolf i gone . No one can save you . " " And I'm Thornclaw Pack's witch now . Our craft has rules . We serve one pack at a time . Unless I break my contract , I can't keep you alive . " I paused , smiled a little , cold as winter . " won't live to see that day . " I turned to Liam . " It's time to renew the Moonbinding incense for your mother . Let's go . " I didn't look back as I walked out . Atticus watched my back recede . Regret rose like a tide and swallowed him . Tears slid from the corners of his eyes . Then the dark took him . He woke on a hospital bed , white as paper . The healer shook his head and gave him twenty - four hours at most . Atticus's hands trembled as he pulled a wrinkled photo from his pocket - our wedding picture from eight years ago . My smile was bright . His was young and certain . He stared until his throat closed . He remembered me keeping vigil through the night to make incense , while he held Anya and said the smell made him sick . He remembered me praying for him in the Moon Temple , while he shamed me in public until I could not lift my head in Nightfall Pack . He remembered the heirlooms I guarded smashed to dust , and Milo skinned for a rug , while he watched like stone . Shame and sorrow drowned him . He forced the words out , voice thready " Transter everything I own to Seraphina . " A warrior tried the passcodes , then looked up , helpless . " Alpha ... Ms. Lark has you blocked . We can't push the transter through . " Light guttered out in Atticus's eyes . He reached for the photo , but strength failed him . Chapter 9 Galatea 100.00 % His breathing hitched . His chest rose and fell , shallow , and he whispered , over and over , " I'm sorry... I'm sorry ... " Before the last apology finished , his eyes slid shut for good . I was across town , blending a year's supply of incense for Thornclaw's elder Luna . From that day on , I had my freedom . I could leave whenever I wished - head north to watch the snow , or drift through a seaside town and taste the wind . The road stretched wide . The view went on forever . Nightfall Pack - and Atticus - lay buried with the past , scattered on the wind .