He yanked me to my feet like I was garbage.
“You lured Tessa into that forest. You know what happened to her. And you still dare to act like a victim?”
I looked up at him from the ground, swallowing the scream in my throat.
“You were convicted because of evidence. Because the scent at the scene was yours.”
“And Scarlett’s?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
He knew the earring he’d found in the mud wasn’t mine.
He knew the message came from Scarlett’s device.
And yet, he stood in court and said nothing.
He yanked me to my feet, sneering.
“Don’t think your time’s up. Tessa’s still unconscious. Until she wakes, your guilt remains. And you still owe Scarlett an apology.”
Apology?
I didn’t answer. Just pulled my arm free, stepped away.
The distance stung him more than my words could.
“Come home,” he said again, trying to make it sound like an offer.
Like it meant something.
“Riley.”
My heart clenched.
That voice.
Even after all these years, I knew it immediately.
Maddox.
He stepped into view-shoes polished, suit immaculate, face carved from the same cold stone as always. But it was the voice that gutted me.
“Congratulations on your release,” he said, like this was some kind of graduation ceremony.
If someone else had said it, I might’ve forced a smile. Might’ve said thank you.
But not him.
Not the boy who once swore to protect me.
Not the man who stood in court and helped condemn me.
Not the one who begged me-begged me-to take the fall so Scarlett wouldn’t have to suffer.
“She wouldn’t survive prison,” he’d said.
“But you… you’re strong, Riley. You’re used to pain.”
I nearly vomited.
This man-this mate-had stood in the courtroom and watched them drag me away.
He’d looked me in the eye as the sentence was read and said nothing.
Worse.
He’d rejected me through the bond the moment the cell door closed.
I still remembered that pain. The mindlink tearing like muscle off bone. His voice saying,
“I reject you.”
And now?
He wanted to pretend we were still something?
He reached out. “Riley, I came to take you ho-“
“I’m going home with Kael,” I said, cutting him off without looking at him.
Just loud enough for him to hear the contempt in every syllable.
Kael blinked in surprise.
Maddox’s hand froze mid-air.
I walked away-limping, trembling, barely holding myself together.
But I didn’t look back.
Not because I wanted to go home with either of them.
I didn’t want to go anywhere with anyone.
But the truth was, I was still on a leash.
One month. That’s how long my observation period lasts.
One wrong move, one excuse, and the Vale family could have me thrown right back into that werewolf prison.
And this time, I wouldn’t come back out.
So I walked. Not for Kael.
Not for Maddox.
Not even for myself.
I walked because the system was still watching.
And for now, I had to play the part.
Riley’s POV
The car ride was silent, but the silence wasn’t empty.
It was loud with everything Kael wasn’t saying. Everything he refused to acknowledge.
I sat in the back seat, the worn denim of my prison jeans rough against my skin.
My gaze drifted over the interior.
Fuzzy pink seat cover on the passenger side.
Strawberry bear plushies lined up perfectly on the dashboard.
A woman’s photo swinging from the rearview mirror-she was older now, softer, her smile bright and confident. Coddled. Protected. Untouched.
Scarlett.
She looked like she belonged.
Like this car, this world, had been molded
A Broken Alpha Heiress’s Revenge around her.
And somehow, she still made it look like I was the outsider.
I turned my face away from the mirror.
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