“Then let him live with his choices,” Benedict said quietly. “And when you leave, make sure he understands exactly what he lost.”
“Thank you, Ben,” I whispered. “I just need a few more days. I’ll be alright.”
After we ended the call, I sat there for a long time, holding the phone close to my chest.
Outside, the full moon glowed pale and distant, silently watching everything unfold.
That night, I finally accepted the truth I had been avoiding.
Alpha Xavier Raven of the Stormvale Pack was no longer mine.
Maybe he never truly had been.
And on my birthday—the day he forgot—I would reclaim what he had taken from me.
My freedom.
My pride.
And the shattered pieces of my heart.
Brielle’s POV
The dining hall carried the warm scent of roasted meat and freshly baked bread, but even that comforting aroma couldn’t soften the tension thickening the air. I sat quietly across from Alpha Xavier, my appetite long gone, while Victoria Blackwell spoon-fed her son like she belonged at the head of the table. Her laughter echoed brightly through the hall, light but edged with something mocking. When our eyes met, she didn’t even pretend to look away.