Kael leaned on the banister, eyes locked on me, pain etched across his face. It shouldn’t have been like this, I could hear him thinking. You used to care.
“Riley,” he called after me.
I paused.
His voice softened, trembled even. “Riley, my stomach hurts.”
I almost laughed.
So this was the olive branch?
I glanced up, met his eyes. “Kael, if you’re unwell, call a Healer. I’m not your caretaker.”
His face crumpled as if I’d stabbed him. He dropped to his knees, clutching the railing, the pain in his body no match for what now clouded his heart.
But I didn’t stop.
Alpha Alaric roared, “Riley! Get back here! Go fetch your brother’s medicine, now!”
Luna Zara cried, “Riley, you always helped him before. How could you be so heartless now? He’s your blood!”
Even Scarlett dared speak. “Riley, I know you carry resentment for what happened. But you can’t play with Kael’s life like this. You know better than anyone what medicine he needs.”
I stopped once more.
And then I turned.
They expected tears. Repentance. Instead, they saw a smile. A cold, cutting thing.
“So you knew,” I said quietly. “All those times I helped him, you noticed. You remembered. You just didn’t care. Because it was expected. It was convenient.”
Their silence confirmed everything.
“That stops today. Whatever happens to the Ebonclaw Pack is no longer my concern. You never treated me like one of you. So don’t expect me to act like I am.”
Luna Zara’s face crumpled as she sobbed. “It’s not like that. You’re my daughter. I carried you for ten months, prayed for you, bled for you.”
Alpha Alaric’s face darkened. “You ungrateful child! We should’ve left you with the rogues when we had the chance. All you’ve brought to this house is chaos and shame.”
Zara tried to calm him, tugging at his sleeve, but he shook her off.
Scarlett played her part flawlessly, eyes glistening. “It’s okay, Dad. I deserve Riley’s anger. I took her place as the real daughter of the Ebonclaw Pack. If she wants me to suffer, I will. Just please don’t fight because of me.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she choked on her own sobs.
I let them finish.
Then I said, “Are you done? I’m going to bed.”
Alpha Alaric exploded. “You say you don’t care about this family? Then why come back at all? You think we owe you something?”
His voice dropped, venomous. “Let me be clear-just because we brought you into this world, doesn’t mean we owe you a damn thing.”
Riley’s POV
I knew it long ago-they never cared about me. But hearing Alpha Alaric’s words still sent a sharp ache through my chest.
He couldn’t even pretend to love me. Not for a second.
I kept my expression impassive. On the outside, I looked as stubborn and cold as ever. No one could tell how badly I was bleeding on the inside.
“Fine,” I said.
Alaric’s brow furrowed. “What did you just say?”
I lifted my eyes and looked at the four figures watching from the second-floor landing.
“I said fine. I’ll leave the Ebonclaw Pack. Starting today, I sever all ties. Don’t worry, Alpha Alaric, Luna Zara-I won’t cling to you.”
Even if I die out there, I’ll never come crawling back. That was the vow I made in my
A Broken Alpha Heiress’s Revenge heart.
I turned. No more hesitation. I had no illusions left about this place. Three years of pain had taught me better than to hope for love that never existed.
Each step away from them was agony. My leg throbbed with every movement, but I kept going. For the first time in years, there was light ahead of me. Not hope. Not happiness. Just freedom.
I flung open the front door and didn’t look back. Not once.
Behind me, Kael’s voice broke through the air like a whip.
“Riley! You get back here right now-!”
The roar echoed through the manor, fierce and desperate.
But I didn’t turn around.
I couldn’t hear it clearly anyway. My right ear hadn’t worked properly in years, and with the door closed behind me, it all became a faint blur.
It didn’t matter what he shouted. None of it did anymore.
For the first time in years, I felt the weight lift. My body was tired-so, so tired-but my spirit felt lighter.
Five minutes into my walk, I spotted someone approaching from the opposite direction.
At this hour?
I instinctively stepped into the shadows beneath a flickering streetlamp.
As the figure drew closer, I recognized the tall, lean silhouette. Theo.
Kael’s friend. The so-called Healer.
My stomach turned.
I remembered the first time I met him. He looked me up and down like I was a stray mutt, then sneered, “So this is the long-lost sister? Doesn’t look like much. If it weren’t for her eyes, I’d say you picked her up off the street.”
Kael didn’t defend me. He just exhaled through his nose, like he agreed.
That hurt more than Theo’s words ever could.
I was fifteen. Just a girl trying to belong. And they made sure I knew I didn’t.
Theo passed right by me now, oblivious to my presence in the dark.
I watched until he disappeared inside the manor.
Probably here to treat Kael. Again.
I stepped out from the shadows and moved faster. I had a plan.
Originally, I wanted to find a cheap motel and rest for the night. Then, tomorrow, start looking for work.
But now? That wasn’t enough.
I needed to leave the city. Leave Ebonclaw behind.
I’d heard them in the study. Alaric wanted me to bow my head and kneel before Ronan’s comatose sister-to pay for a crime I didn’t commit.
They all knew it was Scarlett who pushed her.
They were willing to sacrifice me for the good of the pack.
Again.
I’d already paid five years. I’d lost a leg. Lost an ear. Lost a kidney.
I had nothing left to give.
And now Kael had burned their last bridge, and they’d come for me to make it right.
No. I had to get away. Far away.
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